business
Ask the Experts: Finding Longevity Veronica Boutelle of PPG corporate partner dog*biz provides suggestions on how pet professionals can streamline their businesses when feeling overwhelmed
Q
: When I first started building my dog training busi‐ ness, I was pretty desperate for all income and every op‐ portunity I could get. Now that things are a bit more established, I’m feeling overwhelmed. I teach classes in six, yes, six, different locations across town. The driving and set‐up are killing me. I volunteer at two local shelters. I do “Ask the Trainer” events at two different pet supply stores. I’m even still pet sit‐ ting for some clients (though I have taken pet sitting off my website). I do day training (which I love) and coaching (which I don’t so much love) as well as classes. I’d really like to do some board and train (clients have been asking), but I don’t know where I’d fit it. My schedule is a mess and I’m worried I’m start‐ ing to burn out. I know you’re going to tell me I should sim‐ plify, but I just don’t know how. I feel bad pulling back from anything, and I’ve got some FOMO going, too. Help!
all forever. And here’s another real ity—you don’t need to do it all to maintain (and even grow) your suc cess. The trick here is to ask yourself two questions: What do you want? And which things contribute most to that goal?
Gaining Control Making a small business sustainable is essential for longevity and avoiding burnout
‐ Stacy, training down South
A: Let’s start with some +R. Kudos for doing the legwork to build those referral relationships, and huge congrats on getting yourself established. Kudos also for being ready to now make your business work for you before you burn out, even though you feel a little nerv ous about doing so. I’ve seen a lot of trainers in your situation wait too long to make the changes necessary for longevity. Change is hard, especially when you’re already stretched thin. And feelings of guilt and fear are challenging to wrestle with. It’s always painful to adjust a relationship or end an era, and the fear of missing out (aka FOMO)—of leaving a void for another trainer to step into—can be para lyzing. But the reality is that you can’t do it
If you could snap your fingers and have your business be exactly what you want, what would it look like? If you were designing it from scratch today knowing what you’ve learned from the process the first time around, which services would you choose to offer? What do you most enjoy doing? What is bringing in your best income? Where do you see the most growth poten tial? From the bit you’ve shared with me, it sounds like your inter est may lie primarily in day training and board and train. In that case, one option to get your schedule under better control and make more room for these services is to cut back on the number of classes you’re teaching. Assess each loca tion. How much money do you make at each? What is the time com mitment, including drive time? Who are the students, and what kind of conversion rate are you seeing from classes into private training? Keep the locations that best serve your pri vate training goals and let go of the others. Let go of the guilt of saying goodbye, too; it really is okay to © Can Stock Photo/leungchopan
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BARKS from the Guild/March 2020
