What I wish I’d known when I started my first business as a dog trainer and behaviourist
Ready for my brutally honest reflection on what I wish I’d known all those years ago? Here goes…
1. You need to protect yourself
This is the kind of job that can often keep you awake at night. I mean, I guess that’s true of any job really but there’s no getting away from the fact that regularly dealing with people (and animals) in highly emotional situations can take its toll…. The list of things to worry about is endless and, for many of us, if you let it take over your head, it will…. Oh, if only this job really was just about playing with cute puppies, as so many outsiders seem to think!
Then there’s the fact that, as a new business owner, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of constantly working. ‘I’ll just make those changes to the website’. ‘I’ll just squeeze them in on my day off’. ‘I’ll just reply to that client’. The fact that it’s 11pm on a Saturday night seems to have little relevance as a new business owner. The truth is: your ‘do to’ list will never end, no matter how many hours you work. You need to set some boundaries to protect yourself.
Finally, for an industry (or sector of it) which prides itself on being empathetic and kind to animals, the same ethos doesn’t always seem to be applied towards colleagues. If you don’t have a ‘thick skin’, it’s hard not to take things personally. Which brings me on to my next point….
2. A trusted network is invaluable…
If you can find (or develop…. or infiltrate!) a group of like-minded people from within the industry, do it! Being able to talk openly, without fear of judgement or worrying that what you say will be shared outside the group, is so incredibly valuable.
You can pick each other’s brains about cases that you’re struggling with. You can have a shoulder to cry on and lend an empathetic ear to someone else when things are tough. You can celebrate each other’s successes and laugh about those moments when you wished the ground would swallow you up - Being knocked off your feet by the Great Dane you’re supposed to be demonstrating lead handling skills with… anyone? No? Just me then!
There are days when I don’t know what I would have done without being able to send a message or pick up the phone to one of my friends within the industry.
It can be a bloody lonely job at times but, I assure you, there are people out there who want you to succeed… you just need to find them. You’ll be glad that you did.
3. Thinking small doesn’t help
When starting out in business, I think many of us self-impose limits on our expectations. Whilst keeping our dreams and goals small might feel more comfortable, sometimes you just need to get out of your own way! Of course, new businesses start out small but, without a vision of where you want to go, you’ll probably make decisions that could hold you back in the longer term.
Just to be clear, ‘thinking big’ is absolutely not about spending lots of money and ‘pretending’ to yourself that you have a huge budget to justify it. Buying a swanky new car emblazoned with your branding and spending tens of thousands of pounds on a two week ‘business mastermind retreat’ in Bali is not a good choice to make (I mean, gosh… I felt I’d pushed the boat out when I got my logo embroidered on a t-shirt and had a few flyers printed!).
It’s about making good decisions that won’t hold you back from achieving bigger dreams in future. For example, if you cover a huge geographical area in person when you first start out, is this going to be sustainable as your business grows? If you call your business your own name, will it matter if you want to take on a team in a few years’ time (or sell it if you decide to move on)? If you price your services really low in order to attract customers, will it be difficult to change your position (and perception) in the market when you want to change that?
4. You’ll never feel like you know enough!
Now, I’m pretty sure (in fact, I know) that it’s not just me who feels this way. I mean, if you don’t suffer with imposter syndrome, continually second-guess yourself and never feel like you’ve quite learned enough, are you even really an animal trainer or behaviourist?! Of course, at times, you’ll feel pretty confident about everything and that’s great.
But for anyone out there who also sometimes feels like a fraud despite letters after your name, years of experience and mountains of books by the bed, know this – you are not alone!
Perhaps, if you’re reading this, you really wanted to believe that you’d feel truly validated when you finally meet the next milestone that you have in mind… gaining a certain accreditation, selling a particular service, achieving an income target, passing a hard-earned qualification… whatever. Well, I really hope you do but don’t be surprised if your joy is short-lived and you very quickly set yourself a new target!
In this industry, there is always more to learn. For many of us, not feeling like you know enough is just one of those things that comes with the job - you just have to ride that rollercoaster. Take pride in that fact that you’re always striving for more. Find joy in accepting that you’ll always be learning. Take heart in the knowledge that you’re changing lives for the better every single day. I mean… that’s a brilliant reason to hang in there!
5. Have a separate work phone (and don’t answer it).
Yeah, I’m joking… well, kind of.
Definitely have a separate work phone – remember those boundaries that I said you needed, to protect yourself? This is one of them. Turn your phone off when you’re not in working hours (yes, that means actually having ‘working hours’… which also means having ‘non working hours’). And, honestly, unless you have all the time in the world and love to chat to people on the phone all day, either get a Virtual Assistant to deal with your phone or be really disciplined about taking calls.
If you don’t have a VA (but you don’t want to spend hours giving people free advice!), you need to set some boundaries. Tell people on your contact page that email is the quickest way of getting a response from you, set your voicemail message greeting up to ask them to leave their email address or send a message via the website if possible. When you do call someone back, tell them at the start of the conversation how long you have and stick to it. As a business owner, it’s really important to be responsive and not leave calls, texts and emails unanswered but that doesn’t mean that the best use of your time is to spend two hours sharing house training tips with a lady who may or may not book her puppy in to your group class but ‘just wanted to ask a couple of questions first’.
Of course, sometimes I’ll give my time freely (in fact, while writing this, I’ve literally just got off a 45 minute crisis call with someone I’ve never even met or worked with - and never will) but I chose to do that. I wasn’t ambushed. It wasn’t a business decision – it was a personal one.
If you want more advice on handling client calls, did you know that I have this online course all about it?
So, there you have it.
I wonder how my reflections compare with others in the industry. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
And if you’re just starting out, my online course First Steps to Success would be perfect for you.
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