physical, psychological and social needs

b u s i n e s s Ask the Experts: Innovation, Creation

Veronica Boutelle of PPG corporate partner dog*biz offers a positive outlook for dog trainers in this new year

Q: I’ve been working really hard to keep a positive outlook through this last crazy challenging year (it hasn’t always been easy). I’m trying to focus on moving forward into the new year. What advice are you giving R+ trainers about their businesses for 2021?

Thanks for any inspiration you can provide for a positive trainer trying to be positive!

A: What a year! So much stress, heartbreak, loss, fear, and overwhelm. But in © Can Stock Photo / cynoclub our industry, also some real opportu Dog training can be isolating work, but the pandemic has seen professionals coming together to support each other nity. To answer your question, I’ll focus there. Because it’s that opportunity that we’re focusing our advice Lean into Each Other: We do a lot of teaching and guiding in THRIVE!, around these days. Here’s what we’re teaching and learning in our but Gina and Tia [Guest] and I really believe that what’s creating the THRIVE! membership program, born from the chaos of the pandemic as tremendous success of our members is our members. One of the real we rushed to help R+ trainers find a way through the crisis: opportunities created out of the mess of this past year is the chance Lean into Creativity: As my dogbiz colleague Gina [Phairas] says, the profession, but the pandemic pulled the walls down. With everyone in pandemic essentially hurled our industry into the future as trainers the same boat, we let down our collective guard and found that by supwere forced to adapt quickly to continue to serve dogs and their people. porting each other we’re each individually stronger. We probably would have gotten here eventually, but at our industry’s So my 2021 advice to you, Positive Trainer, and to all R+ trainers, is usual snail’s pace the things we’ve learned (such as the benefits of simple: Step outside the box of what your business looked like before to working online and all the lessons learned there) would have taken far boldly reimagine what you do and make it work better for yourself, your longer. clients, and the dogs. Reach for other trainers doing the same because

The fast track may have been a bit discombobulating, but many we are better and smarter and more creative together. trainers who stepped outside the box and took a good look around have I think you’re spoton to be keeping a positive outlook. It isn’t easy decided to put that box in the recycling bin. This isn’t just about working every day, to be sure, but there is plenty in our industry to feel positive online. It’s about how we package our services, price them, design them about. Here’s to a successful 2021 for you and all your R+ colleagues for the immediate needs of our community. It’s about how we market everywhere! n them and talk about them and even how we feel about the value of them. Ultimately it’s about finally freeing ourselves of the fear of doing Editor’s Note: The dogbiz THRIVE! group coaching membership program things differently, and finding our creativity, our innovative streak, our will open briefly to new members this month. Don’t miss your opportu‐boldness. nity to join!

Hybrid Packages

We’re loving watching trainers experiment with video as a teaching tool, create hybridized packages combining online and inperson training for both private training and classes (and even combining the two), use the scheduling flexibility offered by working online to see clients and students more frequently, and explore new ways to more actively support them, too (like office hours and shared online task docs, just to name a couple of emerging strategies).

We’re seeing this kind of innovation in spades among THRIVE! members. The businesses trainers in this community are building and refashioning to take into a new era are astounding. The ideas being generated are aweinspiring. And the confidence and boldness growing there blows my mind. and the drive to come together. Dog training has long been an isolating

Veronica Boutelle MA Ed CTC is founder and co-president of dog*biz, and author of How to Run Your Dog Business and co-author of Minding Your Dog Business. dog*biz offers professionally designed positive reinforcement dog training class curricula, including

Open-Enrollment Puppy, Open-Enrollment Basic Manners, and short Topics classes built for retention. Do you have a question for the business experts at dog*biz? Submit your question for consideration to: barkseditor@petprofessionalguild.com