Section 1
Pets Equal People
If you want to start or improve your business with a committed focus on financial success, we must take a moment to recognize what type of business it is. Many people want to start a dog-training business so they focus on how well they can train a dog and simply charge what they think is reasonable for their services. You're going to do things differently. The first step in doing things differently is recognizing that your business is not going to be a dog-training business. The fact is that there are very few dog-training businesses out there. That's right-there are very few dog-training businesses out there. Why? Because a dog-training business revolves around and focuses on the dogs.
At The Martial ARFS, we provide dog-training services, but we're not a dog-training business. So, who are we? The Martial ARFS is a business that teaches canine-training techniques for behavior and sports and provides physical activities and health-improvement services for people's dogs. Nevertheless, even though we provide the above list of services, in the dog world, we're called a dog-training facility, and I own a dog-training business. However, the point here is that you must not get stuck thinking of your business as how it might be defined. So, although you train dogs, that's not what your business is, or at the very least, that's not all your business is. The closest thing you could have to an actual dog-training business is if your business specialized in training dogs within an animal shelter. For example, you and your team were hired by shelters to train the dogs on site to make them adoptable or solve some of their behavioral issues.
So, as I said earlier, I own a business that categorized as a dog training business. However, the question of what type of business it is can be summed up by who I do it for. To use an example, I used to teach Karate to kids. I didn't teach Karate "for" kids. So, when you're training someone's dog, as much as you may feel you're doing it for the dog, just as I felt I was teaching Karate for the benefit of the child, in truth, it was for the parent. You are training the dog for the owner.
To repeat, just because you call it a dog-training business doesn't mean that's what it is. That might be a part of what you do, but that doesn't mean that's what the business is. When you are training a dog for an owner, it is a people business, and the owner needs to participate in the training as much as the dog Therefore, if you don't know how to get the most out of people, you cannot achieve the successful dog-training business that you planned.
Now that we recognize this, I will show you the two main principles of how to create a financially successful dog training business: First, what makes a successful people business model, and second, how to apply your dog-training programs to that successful business model. That is how you build the financially successful dog-training business that you intended when you originally set out.
It's a People Business
It's a people business. What does that mean? Regardless of what type of training-or business, for that matter-people are your customers, and you want money from those people. Dogs don't pay for themselves, just like kids. Everything you do for the dog; you do for the people. Think of it like this: If you embroider shirts, the shirts are not your clients. You provide that service for people who want to get shirts embroidered. So, the analogy is that the shirt is a dog, and the people who bring the shirts are dog owners. Or think of it like this: If you taught pottery class, the pottery would not be your client. I know that sounds silly, but this is an extremely important concept to understand. Though many dog trainers will say they get this, and in truth, they might, they do not operate their businesses accordingly.
The owner is paying you for the service of providing them with dog training and education, so the owner must get something out of the lesson. I'm not saying the dog can hate being around you, but if the owner does not enjoy the lesson, you're not operating your business properly, and it will make it harder for you to succeed. Remember, we're looking at the principles that make people businesses successful. Now, an owner could say, "If my dog is happy, I'm happy," but that proves my point. They just told you how to make them happy. Again, think of the embroidery. It doesn't matter how great you think the shirt is, if the owner does not like it, does not appreciate it, or does not feel like they got anything out of it, then it will not matter.
Many trainers don't understand how important this is. People want to feel like they've gotten something out of each session or class that they attend, no matter what the dog accomplishes, even if you trained the dog without them. The truth is: they are paying for it, so why shouldn't they feel like they got something? Many times, what they get out of it is improved behavior in their dog or an understanding of how to improve their dog's behavior or agility performance. The dog is not reacting as much to other dogs, or its compliance goes up in situations where the dog used to not listen. This is also true with dog ailments and injuries. The owner doesn't have the expertise to work with the dog, but they can see the dog is walking better, so they feel they're getting something out of the class.
Improvement doesn't happen instantly, and sometimes, even though improvement is happening, it doesn't always matter. The dog could have improved, but not to the extent the owner hoped for in the timeframe they wanted. If that's the entirety of your focus-behavior improvement-then even though the dog has improved, you still may have an upset client. This is the start of our understanding of what our business is. I'll keep repeating this. It is about the principles that make people businesses prosper. So, in addition to the improvement of the dog, what else might the owner get out of any lesson or class?
The owner can learn so much about their dog that they didn't know. This happens often when training. The owner realizes they've misunderstood so many things about their dog or truly don't know what's going on with them. This is essential because we want the owners to learn how to do what we do so they can practice what we teach them at home. As well, they should enjoy their dog learning and participating in your programs themselves. This is a big reason people take their dog to a dog park: they enjoy seeing their dog play with all their friends.
How much fun can the owner see their dog having with you or at your facility? That will compel them to come more often, the same as with the dog park. On top of that, the owner should enjoy being a part of the fun their dog is having. So, dog training activities like dog agility, trick training or even just obedience training should be fun for the owner in addition to the fun the dog is having. That is the reason we offer so many different activities for owners to enjoy with their dogs.
No matter how you recognize the reality of owning a people business, it must happen. After you recognize this, you will need to ask yourself whether you really want to own a people business, because how you handle them will dictate how well you do. While there are some options to minimize your interaction with people, like drop-off, board, train, and so on, the dogs still do not pay for themselves. Everything that's both good and bad about working with people will be part of your business.
Training the People
We've established we're a people business. As a people business, we must understand that the success of our dog-training program is connected to the behavior of the owners. Because the dog's behavior ultimately relies on the owner's ability to engage their dog at home, the success of our dog training is connected to the behavior of the owners.
We're only working with the dog a few hours a week at most; the rest of the time, the owner is reinforcing or diminishing what you taught. If they're not doing the work, then they will not see results. So, we must learn how to train people to perform the skills and behaviors necessary to help their dogs improve. The dog has to do it for the owner, and the owner will have to be able to do everything necessary to train their dog so the dog can be a better one with them.
So, if the truth is that the owner is not doing the work, you're not doing your job well enough. You can't just say that this person is failing because they're not doing what you're telling them. I like to say, 'Telling isn't teaching.' This is a principle we use with owners for their dogs, but it also applies to you working with people, whether they are clients or staff.
The point here is that you recognize that your job is not to train the dog. It is to provide a service for the people who are bringing you the dog for training. This is how your dog-training programs will succeed, because the goal is for your client to become capable of getting their dog to be a better dog. Then they can understand how to provide opportunities for their dog to learn how to behave better. That will make our dog-training programs successful, which will make our business financially successful.
Of course, there will always be the client who says, "Train my dog and give it back to me trained." Such as...
