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Expert dog training business coaching
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Veronica

Bridging the Gap: 6 Ways to Make Dog Training More Accessible

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Why did you become a dog trainer? If you’re like most of the trainers we work with, you probably discovered the benefits of R+ training with your own dog, you love helping dogs and their people, and you’re passionate about animal welfare. Your dedication to making the world better for dogs probably extends well beyond your paying clients. And this may sometimes feel like a dilemma. There can be tension between the goal of building a profitable business and the desire to share your skills with dog lovers who may struggle to access them.

The good news is that it is possible to do both, without giving all your time away or feeling like you’re only serving a small portion of your community. Here are some of our favorite ways to build your business and share your expertise with a wider audience.

  1. Create Online Resources

These days there are a plethora of options to make your dog training knowledge accessible to everyone. Consider creating online resources such as video tutorials, blog posts, or downloadable guides. These resources can cover basic training techniques, common behavioral issues, and tips for dog owners. By offering free, easily accessible content, you contribute to a more informed and empowered canine community while sharing your expertise with potential paying clients.

Running webinars or virtual workshops as a ‘taster’ for your services is another way to use your knowledge to serve a broader audience while serving double-duty as a marketing project.  These sorts of projects can be particularly powerful if you have a specific training niche to highlight.

  1. Develop Online Courses

While your premium services may cater to a specific audience, you may also want to create online courses for those on a budget. These courses could cover fundamental training principles, basic behavior modification techniques, and management strategies. Modern learning platforms offer a user-friendly way to structure and deliver online courses, making them easily accessible to a wide range of dog lovers.

  1. Utilize Social Media For Bite-Sized Tips

Harness the positive side of social media by sharing bite-sized training tips, including short videos or posts that provide quick insights into dog training. While it’s important that this work doesn’t take over your entire schedule, it can be a helpful way to share and democratize your expertise. Schedule these posts as part of your marketing strategy so you can ‘set and forget’ while you focus on other parts of your business.

  1. Collaborate With Your Community

Reach out to local community centers, libraries, or educational institutions to organize dog training workshops or seminars. Many people may not have access to formal dog training classes, but by partnering with community organizations, you can bring your expertise directly to them. Are wandering dogs a problem in your local neighborhood? Or tension in elevators and tight hallways? Your events can be tailored to address common issues in the community, fostering a sense of shared responsibility.

You could also explore partnerships with animal welfare organizations dedicated to community outreach. Many of these groups are eager to provide educational resources as part of their programs. By collaborating, you can contribute articles, provide advice, or share your knowledge through their channels, reaching dog lovers who may otherwise not have access to a professional dog trainer.

  1. Offer Services To Those Needing It Most

Consider setting aside a certain amount of time each month to offer subsidized or pro bono services to individuals or organizations in need. This could involve volunteering at animal shelters, providing free consultations to rescue organizations, or assisting community projects focused on dog behavior and training. By giving back to the community, you contribute to the welfare of dogs and build a positive reputation for your business.

  1. Establish a Mentorship Program

If you love supporting aspiring dog trainers or enthusiasts, consider developing a mentorship program. This program could involve periodic mentorship sessions, access to exclusive resources, and opportunities for hands-on experience. By nurturing the next generation of dog trainers, you contribute to the growth of the R+ community as a whole.

Giving back to the community and sharing your knowledge can take many forms, and it’s crucial to balance these options against your day-to-day business activities and costs. Done right, it can be an energizing and rewarding way to make dog training more accessible, as well as a great way to get your name out there. 

We’d love to hear about approaches you’ve discovered to bridge the training gap! Or if you’re seeking inspiration, our THRIVE! members are always impressing us with their innovative accessibility ideas.

Consulting Services from dog*biz with Sarah Hoth

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If you know which package you’d like, you may choose from the options below. If you’re not sure, we generally recommend starting with a single appointment to get a feel for the process and you and your consultant can explore what might be best for your goals. If you decide on a package, at the end of your one hour consult, we’ll roll that first appointment into the package you choose.

Please choose your 0ption:

$245 USD – one hour

$675 USD – 3 hour Package

$1050 USD – 5 hour Package

$1850 USD – 10 hour Package

Your Year, Wrapped: 5 Ways To End On A High

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As the holiday season begins, you may be thinking about how to end the year positively for your business. And let’s be honest – between wrangling your household, travel plans, and one too many servings of eggnog – it’s best to keep your business activities quick and easy. This time of year is also ideal for showing gratitude to your clients, particularly those you have loved working with. 

Here are 5 ways to finish strong, engage with clients, and promote your services during the holiday season:

  1. Send a greeting card or special newsletter

One of the simplest ways to thank your clients is to do just that! Send out a personalized holiday card or special edition newsletter to express your gratitude for their trust in your services. This is a great way to showcase your work and share some highlights from the year. It’s also an ideal opportunity to offer any holiday discounts as a thank you. For example, you could offer a percentage off for sessions booked during the holiday season or a buy-one-get-one-free deal for training packages or classes. You can also encourage clients to give the gift of training with holiday-themed gift certificates. 

  1. Celebrate client success

Dog training and behavior modification is not always easy – we all deserve a pat on the back for our hard work and dedication to our beloved dogs sometimes. As part of your end-of-year communication, and/or on social media, share those client success stories. Highlight what your clients and their dogs have achieved, and how they did it. This an uplifting way to show your training has impacted their lives while also acknowledging the work they’ve put in. Win-win!

  1. Theme your training

If you have classes coming up, why not theme them to the season? If you run a trick training class, you could focus on behaviors that are particularly adorable when guests come over (bring me a present from the tree, anyone?). If you work with nervous dogs or puppies, tips on managing holiday stress and visitors may be particularly helpful. For those agility enthusiasts, could you add some festive decorations to the course or end with a small gift for your canine attendees?

If you run private sessions, you can also help your clients with personalized training plans relevant to the season, such as dealing with holiday decorations, safety around food, or travel-related stress. Tailoring your services helps to set your clients up for success at a busy time of year.

  1. Theme your content

Create engaging and festive content for your social media platforms and newsletters. Share tips on keeping dogs safe during holiday festivities or demonstrate fun and seasonal training exercises. This not only promotes your work but also provides valuable information to potential and existing clients. Encourage engagement by running a holiday-themed social media contest – most people don’t need to be asked twice to show off pictures of their dog! Prizes could include discounts on training, a free class, access to some of your online content, or a product you recommend.

  1. Collaborate with another business 

Try the ultimate trifecta of networking, client appreciation, and business promotion. Partner with a local business to run a holiday promotion that you can share with clients. For example, you could partner with a pet photographer for some holiday-themed photoshoots or team up with a local pet store to offer some ‘trainer recommended’ product packages. If you’re keen to give back to the community, you could host a charity event, organize a dog food drive, or donate a percentage of your holiday sales to a local animal shelter. 

While you may just want to get to the finish line as the year ends, don’t underestimate those final opportunities to celebrate your year, thank your clients, and promote your business. A strong ending can also be the start of a strong new beginning.

Happy holidays!

And if want to give  yourself a gift for the holiday season, considering our group coaching program THRIVE! 

5 Conversations for successful collaboration

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Do you have vivid memories of those dreaded group projects at school? Maybe you got lumped with the entire project, exhausted by your efforts to wrangle your wayward classmates. Or – be honest – maybe you were barely aware there was a project, but got away with it by bringing chocolate to the planning sessions. Whatever your style, working in groups has unique challenges and benefits. Many dog trainers run solo ventures, but that doesn’t mean collaboration isn’t possible. Working with other dog pros can add fuel to a range of projects, from running events and workshops, to joint marketing projects, to online education campaigns.

The key to making it work? Communication. Here are 5 essential conversations to keep your collaboration on track.

What exactly is the project?

With new ideas, it’s easy to rush in like an adolescent spaniel encountering a flock of seagulls – loads of energy, but lacking strategy. Enthusiasm is great (hold onto it!) but rigor around the project aims will keep everyone on track. Step one of successful collaboration is figuring out what success looks like, for both or all of you. 

If you’re planning a workshop with another trainer, for example, is there a financial target or participation number that suits your businesses? Are there learning goals you want to achieve? Or a specific audience you want to reach? A shared understanding of what you’re trying to achieve (and why) will prevent misalignment and tension further down the track.

Who is doing what and by when?

This is a big one! Resentment can build if one person feels they are contributing more, or the other is being too controlling. That’s why defining and planning your projects is so important, particularly when it comes to breaking down tasks and setting deadlines. Make a list of what’s involved, including the time and resources required. Get specific here – ‘a few social media posts’ to promote a new service can end up being a full-time gig! 

Draw on the strengths of everyone involved, and outline who will be taking responsibility for each area of the project, and when it will be done by. Which decisions should be shared, and which can be made by the individual taking on that role? If you’re in charge of bookings for a big online event, for example, letting an extra participant in above the limit may be no big deal. If you’re running a small class for reactive dogs, however, extra participants are likely to require some shared decision making. The final and most important step? Write it all down. It’s all too easy to say ‘yep I’ll do that’ and then forget when the tasks start stacking up.

How do you want to approach working together?

Successful collaboration isn’t just about getting the job done. It’s also about enjoying the process, learning from one another, and hopefully having some fun. Understanding how your fellow collaborator loves to work will help make this happen. Get curious about each other. Ask your colleague how they like to receive feedback, what irritates them when working in a team, and what helps them stay motivated. 

This is also an opportunity to set some boundaries. Perhaps your early bird colleague has their best ideas during their 6am dog walk, and loves to share them immediately. For you, a voice note you can listen to as you crawl towards your morning coffee may be preferable to a phone call.

Plan a time-bound experiment

Once you’ve sussed out the project parameters and roles within it, it’s time to take action! Rather than pour everything in at once, particularly if it’s a new collaboration, choose a bite-sized starting point. If you want to start a podcast series about cooperative care, for example, choose the first topic and launch date, as well as how many episodes you’re aiming for in the first season. Open-ended projects lose steam quickly, feel overwhelming, and can sap your creativity.

The secret sauce: retrospectives

Retrospectives are a chance to zoom out and analyze how the project went. They generally involve a discussion about what went well, what was challenging, and what you would change next time. Dog trainers are busy and dynamic people – often problem-solving for themselves, their clients, and the dogs they’re trying to help. Stopping to reflect, assess, and plan can be challenging. Yet these steps are vital to healthy collaborations – without them, learning tends to stall and frustration builds. If you’re planning a project with a fellow dog pro, don’t treat retrospectives like an afterthought, or in response to something going wrong. Book them in as part of your early planning process.

Our THRIVE! community is all about collaboration and celebrating success. Find out more to be part of the magic.

Mariana’s THRIVE! Success Story

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Mariana went from selling off treasured items to make ends meet to running a successful business she loves – and doing it with confidence.

I went from living an unbelievably stressful life but making a stupid amount of money to living my very best life and making no money.

Before joining THRIVE!, Mariana had four very different careers. From a successful modeling career that spanned nearly a decade to restaurant management, followed by a long stint in the corporate world, she’d seen it all. It was her transition to the world of dog training, however, that marked a profound shift in her life.

Mariana’s previous careers had been demanding and stressful, but they had also brought in a healthy income. Now, as a dog trainer, she found herself living her best life in terms of fulfillment and happiness, but struggling to scrape by finanically. Mariana was determined to make her dog training business work, but she faced numerous obstacles – not knowing how to attract her ideal clients, struggling with marketing, and grappling with time management.

Her introduction to THRIVE! came at a critical moment. Although initially hesitant due to financial constraints, the encouragement from Veronica and the THRIVE! team convinced Mariana to take the plunge. Little did she know how profoundly this decision would impact her life.

You have all changed my life because nobody had ever said I deserved to invest in myself and that I was worth it.

Fast forward to today, and Mariana’s business and life have transformed. No longer forced to sell her beloved “Swarovski sparklies” to make ends meet, she has networked with local trainers, established herself as a specialist trainer in her area and raised her prices to match her worth. Her monthly revenue is approaching her targets, and she’s well on her way to financial stability.

Mariana no longer complains about being busy because she’s confident in her ability to prioritize her life. She can now “say ‘no’ to things, knowing that I’m saying ‘yes’ to my priorities – which are my kids, dogs, family, friends and me!”.

Mariana set five goals when she joined THRIVE!, and she’s achieved 4.5 of them within a short span. Her new goals are equally ambitious, including becoming the community’s trusted subject matter expert on canine behavior and hosting her first annual Be Your Dog’s Superhuman Event in 2024.

We band together when someone needs help, we share our successes and are not afraid to reach out when needed. It’s an incredible community of kind, empathetic, compassionate, like minded people….it’s truly remarkable!

Mariana credits THRIVE! to opening her eyes to opportunities she never knew existed. The ongoing business education and support has helped her set smart rates, understand the importance of an ideal client, structure her programs, and approach marketing with enthusiasm rather than fear. The concepts of “done is better than perfect” and “you can’t do all the things” have reshaped her perspective. 

What’s most remarkable to Mariana is the generosity, kindness, and empathy of the THRIVE! team and fellow members. The community’s unwavering support, the weekly sharing of wins, and the willingness to lend a hand when needed make the program “truly remarkable!”.

THRIVE! helps all R+ trainers, in all stages of their business to do exactly what the program is called…..THRIVE!

Create YOUR business success story with THRIVE!