What’s stopping you opening your Dog School?

I have a confession to make.

I was interested in training dogs for years.

I competed at a high level with my dogs for years.

I even made up a couple of Champions.

I read avidly ALL about dog training force-free - with no intimidation or yelling or nasty gadgets - that’s me, and - I hope - you! I did courses on dog training. I really had a lot of skill and plenty of experience, but when people said to me,“You should teach this!” and “You should write a book on this!” - you know how they do - I would shrivel back into myself and say, “Oh I couldn’t do that!”

I had a bad case of Impostor Syndrome - lack of confidence that was preventing me from doing what I’d clearly be good at!

How mad is that? So I really do understand when people say to me,“It’s been my dream for years to work with dogs but I just don’t know how to start”

I get it. I’ve been there and … I got started! 

Point 1: WHY are you stopping yourself?

So the first thing to do is step outside yourself and find out just what’s stopping you.

You may say it’s money.

You may say it’s time.

You may say you don’t have the support you need.

But is that really true?

How much money do you need to tell people you’re starting a new direction?

How much time do you need to devote to start one class a week? (HINT: turn off the tv!)

How much help do you really need? 

You can do this very well all on your ownsome! And those who poo-pooed your idea will come round  once they see it’s working.

So there are lots of things you can say! Lots of excuses you can manufacture! But when it comes down to it, it’s up to you to get going.

Can you see this? Answer yourself honestly if you think you may be holding yourself up like this.

Believe it or not, quite a few of my students in The Brilliant Family Dog Trainer Business Program had been on the fence before they finally said “enough!”. Being on the fence is uncomfortable! Get off that fence and get yourself moving! 

Point 2: Find what you need and get it done

You see, we’re really good at coming up with excuses as to why we’re treading water. We’re really good at finding something or someone to blame for why we can’t move on! But look - we’ve only got one life! It’s up to us to spend that life doing what we want - and if you’ve been dreaming for years about working with dogs - why not? And why not now?

So your first step is to find out what you need. 

        1. Do you need more learning? 

Like many industries, dog training is not regulated. There is no requirement for any particular qualification, but - of course it should go without saying! - you must be properly educated in your subject whatever it may be you want to build a business from.

 You owe it to your clients and their dogs so establish what more you need to learn and learn it!

Are you stuck in the learning phase? It can be very seductive to keep taking in and never getting as far as giving out! Another honest answer needed if this seems to be you!

(HINT: there are a lot of excellent books you can learn from, also a lot of online seminars and masterclasses - there’s no need to hand over 5000 pounds or dollars. The dog training how-to is the easy part of starting your business: Learning + experience + business knowledge = Happy Dog Trainer!)

 2. People skills

I hear people say they want to work with dogs because they don’t get on with people. Well, you’re going to have to get on with people in order to reach their dogs! Lacking opposable thumbs, dogs can’t write out cheques - and credit cards with toothmarks in don’t work so well.

So you’re going to need to deal with people. Has this been holding you back? You’re great with the animals, but don’t know how to handle their owners?

Add this answer to your list if you think you could do with brushing up these skills - and I can tell you, this is actually the fascinating part of dog training!

Finding out that what works with dogs works just as well with people! All that Learning Theory science you learnt? This is where it comes into play for the owners as well as the dogs!

Once you’ve got over any initial shyness or reticence you’ll find that working with people is fun! and rewarding and knowing that you’ve taught the dog’s owner so he’ll be in safe hands for the rest of his life is wonderful!

You will make long-lasting friendships from your Dog School and learning how to initiate those friendships is vital for your business success. And you do need business success! Unless you have a sugar daddy or sugar mummy and never have to earn a thing you need revenue to keep the thing afloat. So this brings us to the next point:

       3. Business skills

While you’ve got the knowledge and the experience to do all the dog training and you’ve learnt skills to work happily with their owners, it’ll all fall apart if you don’t have the business skills to support your venture. Now you don’t have to get an MBA! You just need to know a few key things. Some are common to all businesses, and some are peculiar to a dog training business. But you do have to know what they are!

And when to do them … 

So find out what you need to look for:

Maybe you have to follow some legal directives to set up your business. That’s the case in some countries.

Do you think, perhaps, maybe you need to know who you want to serve and where to find them.

A dog school with no dogs in won’t do so well! And the best way to learn is from someone who’s already done it!

 4. You need a Mentor 

To acquire your skills working alongside another trainer is a great way to learn a lot of these skills - not just with the dogs, but how they handle the people too. You don’t have to be just like them, but you can certainly pick up a lot of tips from them. And for your business skills you need someone who can show you exactly what you need to make your dog school successful!

This is where I can be of great help to you! From my early misgivings that I couldn’t train dogs and couldn’t write books - I’ve now trained several thousand dogs and written 12 books, with three more publishing next year.

I made the leap and I’d love to help you make that leap too.

Point 3: SET A DATE and get into action

And the third point in all this is to set a date and get into action! Set that date, announce yourself to the world that gives you accountability and now you’ve got to get started!

A lot of your worries will evaporate once you set that date! and that’s why I like to work with a 90-day plan to get people from the thinking-about-it stage into the “My Dog School is OPEN!” stage! 

Is this you? Would you love to kick all your worries to the kerb and get moving in what you’ve been dreaming about for years?

If you want to know the details of how to do all this, head over to The Brilliant Family Dog Trainer Business Program and I can share with you exactly how I help people ensuring they avoid the dead ends, Helping them get their marketing in place and then, critically! - how to increase their revenue without increasing their outgoings and their stress! 

Go there right now! See you there.