E392- How to Make More and Work Less as a Dog Trainer

[SPEAKER_00]: What's going on, no bad dog army, Tom Davis here, hope you're well. [SPEAKER_00]: This is a podcast for professionals, business owners, dog trainers who want to get to the next level or just have questions, but maybe haven't found the answers. [SPEAKER_00]: This is a gentleman named Ed, he's a great guy, and he has just completed just an online consult with me.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I do these consults weekly, sometimes every day, depending on [SPEAKER_00]: What's going on in my schedule, but I think it's important for people to just, you know, realize that in order to really figure out the success that you want for your life, whatever it is, you want to become a full time dog trainer or you want to make six figures doing it, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: you got to have a game plan you got to have a roadmap you got to have some sort of actionable okay here's what i'm going to do and so this person just reached out as a dog trainer and said hey i want to you know do better do more do it smart do it safe and do it good and so [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm not, you know, I don't write the book by any means, but I've been in it for over a decade, trying to figure it out myself as a Rubik's Cube, I wake up and I work hard at it every day, obsessively, and so, you know, on every aspect of the world of dogs, the training, the business, the marketing, the behind-the-scenes, the logistics, everything, and so I kind of give them everything that I can think of to help them out.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're a dog trainer, you're a professional, you're a business owner, anybody that's just interested in kind of how to get to that next level or the the the the roadmap to get there. [SPEAKER_00]: This is a good one for you. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you guys so much for listening and we'll talk to you in the next one.

[SPEAKER_00]: reading your email you got here. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm figured we're going to talk about your pricing and your breakdown for your dog training. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, for sure. [SPEAKER_01]: So you know what the the back of it on that is I don't know if you recall, but how many months ago you had a podcast and it was a young man who was given a phone call like this as a gift.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I remember that you had brought up this [SPEAKER_01]: offer this model, almost in passing. [SPEAKER_01]: Now, you mentioned something that the effect of me had if I was doing it again, and wanted to simplify, or stay simple, this was sort of the idea. [SPEAKER_01]: And so I just been, you know, thinking about it, and I was like, you know what, let's just pay the ignorance tax, and let's get on a call, and kind of discuss the ins and outs of it.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's where this came from. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, cool. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks. [SPEAKER_00]: That's great. [SPEAKER_00]: I love to hear that. [SPEAKER_00]: So why don't you give me a little a back history about your company that way we can get context. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sure, sure.

[SPEAKER_01]: So, um, so do you mind's Ed and I, um, I'm a retired on the officer, uh, 28 years [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not guy who is in fact way back when with the old Taylor method and the books you read before all this business. [SPEAKER_01]: So we're talking 90, you know, 90s. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I was just trying to my dog because I, you know, I had a, had a, had a doberman and a rotation rid back.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I didn't want them running the show. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, wanted to be a good neighbor sort of thing. [SPEAKER_01]: And I was that guy who was out with my dog and someone said, Hey, are you a dog trainer? [SPEAKER_01]: As far as, you know, from there on, you know, I started helping this lady down the block with her dog that was, you know, at that point, kept out in the backyard, sort of his fast forward.

[SPEAKER_01]: I said, it was in the army at that point, and then also, you know, full time to 2017. [SPEAKER_01]: I get out, I get my current dog. [SPEAKER_01]: And sort of wash rinse and repeat, I'm working with him, I'm out and about, we're doing our thing. [SPEAKER_01]: Same, almost same exact deal.

[SPEAKER_01]: Outside of dog park. [SPEAKER_01]: working with him, right? [SPEAKER_01]: So they got the fence between us and all the craziness. [SPEAKER_01]: And people just start coming to me and it's built from there. [SPEAKER_01]: And so so where I'm at professionally is I draw a pretty decent military officer's pension.

[SPEAKER_01]: But my side gig is this is this training, but I'd like to shift, as I'm sure you've heard a million times, from this being the side [SPEAKER_01]: Let's see last year total 30 something thousand I forget what it was, but just over 30 and then I've hit that already this year. [SPEAKER_01]: And which means I'm tracking to about double it and of course, you know, with the from home, just going to people's house, that's all margin, well, okay, it's 80 some odd percent margin, you know, between gas and calls like this.

[SPEAKER_01]: And but what I like it is I'd like to shift if I could if I could get to where this was a that sticks figure to one and a half, you know, hundred and a hundred and a hundred and a fifty or so between that, tensions and other stuff, my uncle sugar, the U.S. Army provides for me. [SPEAKER_01]: Life's good, kids are almost out of college and great.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but that's where it's at. [SPEAKER_01]: I do, I try to stick away from two parry of problems, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Kind of know your, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: It's mostly helping good dogs be good or, you know, people that kind of would like to have a lifestyle I have with my dog. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's sort of the level in what I'm looking to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: That's amazing. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, good for you. [SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like sounds like you got everything cut out and now you just need to kind of start to accelerate hit the gas a little bit. [SPEAKER_01]: Exactly. [SPEAKER_01]: Because I have a fairly, you know, I have a fairly [SPEAKER_01]: pride and true model, as far as how the lessons go, which, but what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to get that efficiency of almost getting more people in the door and getting some of my time back, can you know, really when you do it like this, you, it's less of business and it's more a job that you've given yourself.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you know, at this stage and it, right? [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm so what I do is, [SPEAKER_01]: Currently, the model is five private lessons. [SPEAKER_01]: And I send a little read ahead, which has like, loading the marker and then a shopping list. [SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of the gist of that read ahead.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then I then show up. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think it's fairly typical. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we'll start with the recall. [SPEAKER_01]: What is it? [SPEAKER_01]: Jason Vasconi, kind of a little bit of a mentor of mine here. [SPEAKER_01]: But what he says is, dog got to know three things.

[SPEAKER_01]: Come when you say come. [SPEAKER_01]: get when you say get because this is Texas and then don't be a jerk in between. [SPEAKER_01]: And so that's kind of how it flows from there. [SPEAKER_01]: We end up probably the penultimate sessions like the fourth out of five. [SPEAKER_01]: We end up somewhere local like out on the economy, like the boardwalk, maybe or at outlet mall or something like that, and then back to a wrap up at the house.

[SPEAKER_01]: So that's the current scale or the current set up excuse me. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm looking at the core offer, the pressure test I would assume is just like a trial that we mean by pressure tested. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So another is on the bounce it off you.

[SPEAKER_01]: So when I say pressure test, I mean a sanity check, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to, well, I hope you just work through it with you and you're like, oh, well, this makes sense. [SPEAKER_01]: That makes less sense. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, how much are you going to put how much are you charging for the five privates right now?

[SPEAKER_01]: Sure. [SPEAKER_01]: Um, just within the last month, I've raised that to 875 and people seem to like that nice. [SPEAKER_01]: So what is it? [SPEAKER_01]: The virtuous cycle of pricing, as you get busier, raise a little bit and yep, you know, we lose a little bit. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and your your overall goal is what would you say your overall goal is to do I know obviously make more money, but what would you say even bigger than that would be your overall goal here?

[SPEAKER_01]: So even bigger than that is to get back some of my time, right, because right now, you know, each client's five times I say an hour bit let's face it's usually hour to half of it or so I don't walk watch. [SPEAKER_01]: As much as maybe I should, but but the benefits to I'd love to get my some my time back and then my goal.

[SPEAKER_01]: would be, I guess it's sustainability, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Because if I can plan my talent right now, I'm a bit of fly by the sea of the pants. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, as Monday comes long, I'm getting in touch with my clients for the rest of the week. [SPEAKER_01]: I'll say, what they work for a year, you know, that sort of thing, which I fully acknowledge is not ideal, you know?

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: OK, so time, so time, would you say time is the biggest goal here to get back your time? [SPEAKER_01]: I think so. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: So, because everything flows from that, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So, okay. [SPEAKER_00]: Got it. [SPEAKER_00]: I would say this.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first thing I would do is start to put in like a self-booking system. [SPEAKER_00]: So, same thing what you use to book this is a calendly, some people call it a widget or [SPEAKER_00]: something that you can put on your website and you even have to have a website. [SPEAKER_00]: You can just create the calendar on your desktop and then send it out to your clients via email via text.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so in order to get your time back by manually scheduling everybody, you would go in on your calendar account and you would say, okay, [SPEAKER_00]: I'm training, for example, Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. That's four sessions. [SPEAKER_00]: If you're doing our sessions, whatever the sessions are.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that way, you'd send it out to your clients and it would automate. [SPEAKER_00]: So that way, when you pull up your phone, I usually connect it to my Google Calendar. [SPEAKER_00]: So my Google calendar is obviously on my phone, it's on my desktop, whatever is best for you in your organization.

[SPEAKER_00]: When I use to train regularly every single day as a dog trainer, that's the best system I have found. [SPEAKER_00]: is automating your appointment system so you don't have to do that, emailing, texting, calling back and forth, typically what we do at my facility, and even back then, and even to this next stage and my career of consulting, like what you're doing right now, it's all automated.

[SPEAKER_00]: I got a doctor's, or like, what happened with you? [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what happened with your, with your, with the schedule there, but when you book, that was like, oh, I'm in Montana working that week. [SPEAKER_00]: So sometimes things do slip through the cracks, but my point is is you basically automate on your website that and you could do the same thing for consults, too.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're doing consults with people, you can basically put on your website or again in your email blast or your text message, but however you're connecting with your clientele or your [SPEAKER_00]: You can have this automated system where if people text you call you email you it's an automated system and it's really cool You can do now with especially with AI's assistance to be able to directly respond back to the person and say are you a new client old client And then you kind of go down this this pattern of are you ready to start training do you have do still up questions and really [SPEAKER_00]: But simply enough for you for scheduling purpose, I would do all your consults and all your sessions automated.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that way, when you wake up in the morning, whatever, or even in the evening, you say, okay, tomorrow I have three sessions. [SPEAKER_00]: And that works for me just because I don't, I've never, really prepped for any of my training. [SPEAKER_00]: Almost everybody I've met in the training industry does, meaning they go, okay, I need to I need to have this type of equipment for this dog.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need to have my my head right for this dog or this client, you know, so. [SPEAKER_00]: So anyway, so that's good because it also sends them automatic type of follow-ups to it in reminders like hey your appointment with Ed is tomorrow at 12 p.m. at this location or whatever. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's the first thing I would do because I'd give you back a lot of your time.

[SPEAKER_01]: Gotcha, so currently connected to your Google calendar. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, or whatever calendar you're using, but essentially when you book with me, it automatically comes up in my my calendar. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't do anything. [SPEAKER_00]: I just kind of show up. [SPEAKER_00]: It does send me emails again, I'm I'm a little untraditional in that way where.

[SPEAKER_00]: I had to be honest, I just fly by the seat of my pants. [SPEAKER_00]: I just kind of show up and, you know, do my thing. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think for you, that would be really nice. [SPEAKER_00]: That way, you don't have to email everybody. [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, what time do you want to, so if you email 15 clients and you're kind of just waiting for them to respond on, oh, well, that dates gone now or this dates gone now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I would just use, you can look up any automation system for scheduling, but that's just what we use as calendar. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, currently, you know, as far as the [SPEAKER_01]: The, a lot of texting exactly kind of like what you're saying, you know, once once there are clients, a lot of texting back and forth, how someone becomes a client is they hear about me from our friend or from like, um, has some meta ads going.

[SPEAKER_01]: And, um, the goal of those ads is to get the phone call. [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm taking phone calls. [SPEAKER_01]: And then hopefully at that phone call got the [SPEAKER_01]: You know that with hot a little bit and and then from there, hey, you know, when you're ready, you can text me here, we can if you want to set it now, we can get us that and so that's a sort of a come into the fold, you know, yeah, and that's I think that that's what I did at the beginning to especially when I.

[SPEAKER_00]: was starting off is kind of like a little bit of a sales call to what you know really reaffirming to them like I can't help you have helped you in the past or I can't help you or I'm not comfortable with that or whatever but I think that that call is important especially for as you start to scale.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because there is, you know, there is always going to be a point where you're not going to be, well, hopefully, I guess the point would be you're not going to be able to take every call. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that comes in because then you're going to be spending more time on the phone instead of training dogs and that's where that automation system kind of comes in is.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you run your ads or your referrals to a particular website or even a tech service like an automated tech service. [SPEAKER_00]: to transfer some of that power to some sort of automation system you will get your time back. [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, there's a couple of different ways you can do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or you could even do a like a 15 minute console because if you, and that's why, you know, I think it's important for you as you grow and get more experience and have more knowledge and get more reputation and get more of a need for your service I think it's important for you to kind of block off these particular times because, you know, if you, if somebody, if somebody says hey, I mentioned dog training and you take that call [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, you could be on the phone for hour and change, and it's because you care and you want to help, but the problem with caring so much, and that's great, but you also need to be a business because you can't do it both, and that's why a lot of people who are really passionate don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: get to the next level. [SPEAKER_00]: They don't make that six figures or they're not able to get their time back because they're just they you know they're just sunken in on the phone all day long because and frankly people just want to tell you about their dog. [SPEAKER_00]: They just want to tell you I mean that's that's half our dogs jobs as dog trainers is if I have an hour session with somebody 40 minutes of that hour is going to be them telling me about their dog and that's the that's a natural thing [SPEAKER_00]: that happens in the console.

[SPEAKER_00]: So my point is, is even if you wanted to automate your console system, this is, hey, I'm going to shoot you over if you can answer the phone. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, I'm interested in. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh amazing. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't wait to talk to you right now. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to shoot you over my, my, [SPEAKER_00]: my scheduling thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to get you in for for a console and you don't have to say it's 15 minutes. [SPEAKER_00]: You can just say I'm going to get you in for a console and really what the console is is just to say They're going to call and say hey I have a dog that pulls in the leash. [SPEAKER_00]: Can you help me?

[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely. [SPEAKER_00]: I can help you. [SPEAKER_00]: Here's how I do it. [SPEAKER_00]: This is who I am. [SPEAKER_00]: This is my experience. [SPEAKER_00]: And then you can kind of do it like a set there. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, you know, when my favorite quotes and you've already kind of hit on this a bit is I don't know if you've heard of the general Omar Bradley from World War II.

[SPEAKER_01]: No, like he's kind of known as the the soldiers general he's one of the last five star generals, but one of the things he would say or when he's known for saying is Amateur's talk tactics, but professionals talk logistics love that and it speaks to me like when you're talking about yeah, you know your time and you can automate this and and work on that because I got okay.

[SPEAKER_01]: because I'd be get wrapped around the axle sometimes on tactics, which is a lot of my questions I have or some specifics on that. [SPEAKER_01]: Yep. [SPEAKER_01]: But I do, I can appreciate where you're coming from on that. [SPEAKER_01]: So thank you. [SPEAKER_01]: So what I do want to ask about maybe, the way I see this in my little fantasy world, again, sparked from your, your discussion with that other man, the first [SPEAKER_01]: Three sessions, what I see with this hybrid sort of model is I would pretty much do exactly what I'm doing now, show up work with them individually, just because my experience or at least my ethos on this is, man, the dog learns better, we can get some basics down, not in Disneyland, right, so someplace nice and quiet and a little lessons at the home and get the, and get the owners up to speed.

[SPEAKER_01]: dream or group or small group, plus it's so my first question on that in particular is I'm wondering what specifically the criteria should be, or maybe the ship maybe it's just do it to to graduate from the privates to where I'm going to have you around other people with their dogs. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it depends on it depends on what they're working on.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there's two folds there. [SPEAKER_00]: It depends on the skill sets of the dog owner, and then it depends on the readiness, if you will, of the dog. [SPEAKER_00]: So for an example, I try not to put an exact number on an entry to the next level, only because if the dog owners aren't doing their homework, [SPEAKER_00]: then you can't safely get them into a realistic environment or downtown or around other dogs or in a group setting just because you know so really for me the criteria would be more predicated off of the owner's ability than the specific amount of training because you can get the highest package you have but if the owners are screwing off and not doing [SPEAKER_00]: the work because their kid broke their arm and they got they got laid off and then you're like all right it's session five we're going to meet downtown and they haven't done diddly squat you're not only setting the plan up for failure but it could potentially be dangerous depending on you know the dog you're working with so for me the criteria should be more

[SPEAKER_00]: of a punch list of skill sets rather than a duration of time or sessions. [SPEAKER_00]: So for me to be granular on that, it would be the dog needs to know heel, leave it, sit, stay, those are the, those are the things, those are the levers you're going to pull when you're out in reality.

[SPEAKER_00]: If I asked my dog to heal, they're going to walk nicely next to me and they know it and they know when they get corrected what to do with that. [SPEAKER_00]: If I tell my dog to sit, they're going to sit. [SPEAKER_00]: If I tell my dog to stay, they're going to stay. [SPEAKER_00]: So when we're at a stop light, stop sign, or there's a parade going by, my dog's going to sit there and be okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: So for me, those are the things. [SPEAKER_00]: And if the owner can't get to that point, then we really just wait and I've had that happen before. [SPEAKER_00]: And really, that's like the key to, I think successful dog training is making sure you're a good coach. [SPEAKER_00]: You need to be able to give the client everything that they need to get to that point.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, yeah, yeah, please, and a lot of times what I do add is before they leave a session, I'll handle the dog and show them what their dog is capable of if they're willing to put in the work. [SPEAKER_00]: So that way, because a lot of people, a lot of dog owners kind of getting their own head, where they're like, oh, I can't do that, or I've tried.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, no, your dog can do it. [SPEAKER_00]: I just did this. [SPEAKER_00]: I just did this, Ed, I went out to Montana and filmed a documentary on working-class border colleagues. [SPEAKER_00]: I hopped on a horse, because we were all horse back out in the Montana range. [SPEAKER_00]: I hopped on a horse, and the horse would not go for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Wouldn't go. [SPEAKER_00]: And the cowboys are telling me, yeah, just do this and do that. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, man, this freaking thing won't go for me. [SPEAKER_00]: And then the Cowboys, let me check it out bang, he gets on. [SPEAKER_00]: He's literally, I'm not exaggerating, running circles around me as dusk is kicking up.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he's telling me not the horse, it's you, buddy. [SPEAKER_00]: So same thing, like I need to learn more. [SPEAKER_00]: I need to be better. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's important too, that, because what'll happen is, and I hear this and consults all the time with dog owners, as they'll come in and say, oh, I tried edged dog training, but it just didn't work for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the reality is, is you put things into their hands, and you said, if you don't do your homework, [SPEAKER_00]: but at the end of the session, if you show them what you're capable of and what their dog is capable of, it really highlights the fact that it's up to them. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's funny because in perhaps it's the poorly trained business man in me, but that seems to be a lot of the console to say, guys, this is a good bit of work.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I'm going to come and work with you for a little bit, but then I'm going to go home. [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, the benefits or the magic happens in between, you know, but yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So, okay, okay, I got you. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give me something to hand it in, I guess to pour over.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now, what I'm thinking specifically on the group side of it in my mind, what I see is [SPEAKER_01]: 15-20 feet between each one in a circle or semi-circle, depending on how many people show up. [SPEAKER_01]: And that kind of being the basis for what we're doing. [SPEAKER_01]: It's a sort of that little bit of control.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then from there, whether it's two dogs, one dog, however many dogs, through whatever exercises that we might be doing, then perhaps a walk or something like that. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of, you know, [SPEAKER_01]: That's sort of what I have in mind for those those types of the group classes, you know.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I guess let's see what we're going to next. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I guess we'll run it. [SPEAKER_01]: So as I am talking to people, because I will say that's the one thing like when I listen to whether it's to you or who never else I might have on my podcast, or you know on my earbuds, the techniques, it's good [SPEAKER_01]: to put into play.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean? [SPEAKER_01]: Because you're got a dog and prettier. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, like, oh, man, what would I do if this happened or whatever? [SPEAKER_01]: But what I do appreciate is the the sort of looking for the interaction with the customers. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, like, the way you explain some stuff like, oh, man, that was really nice how he put that.

[SPEAKER_01]: If I'll find myself like, all right, you know, these less judging, even though I don't mean to be, then I'll sound that way or be less. [SPEAKER_01]: So, so I guess what I'm where I'm leading to with this is [SPEAKER_01]: for the marketing, for the talking to people about this program. [SPEAKER_01]: I think that it is a good argument could be made that this actually provides more value than the current five privates.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because one thing I do here a bunch of is, well, yeah, it's okay to get around other dogs or this or that. [SPEAKER_01]: And this sort of baked that into the program, I guess I just wouldn't tell you some feedback on that in how you, yes, you need your reaction to that. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly what you said.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the dog owners don't probably need any more than that. [SPEAKER_00]: Just to say, hey, the five privates is really allocated towards dog owners who have already gone through my main package, which includes privacy and groups. [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason why we do the groups is to make sure that you can actually do this in reality.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think you don't [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think any dog owner is going to go, no, no, no, no, I only want to train my, I only want my dog to listen at home. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think you just, you really need to just lay it out to say, hey, um, the first package that you need to do is going to be a mixture of privates and groups.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need the group classes to test your dogs obedience and to test your skill sets in reality, because I want this to be sustainable and just that's, I mean, nobody's going to argue with that or even blink at that. [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to say, yes, sign me up. [SPEAKER_00]: And then you're going to say like these alicard sessions or these private session blocks are for clients who've already completed that program and or You know like for us what we do is we do that private session block for like e-colour training particularly because There's kind of like a step system.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's five privates for the e-colour, but that's very like niche [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so that's very interesting. [SPEAKER_01]: So then then this, what I'm caught when I've been keep referring to is sort of the core or the basic course, that then would be the entry into my little ecosystem.

[SPEAKER_01]: This kind of sounds like that. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So the recommended package at 75, six lessons, three privates and three groups. [SPEAKER_00]: So that would, would that be three group classes or would that be three sessions in a, in a downtown environment?

[SPEAKER_01]: three group classes, and then the idea with that would be at a local park. [SPEAKER_01]: Um, which also makes some more questions, but three group classes in a park for now. [SPEAKER_00]: So three private three groups. [SPEAKER_00]: So, and the group class is with other dogs. [SPEAKER_00]: I assume, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. [SPEAKER_00]: My suggestion in what I've done over the years, which has been a better selling point is to beef up. [SPEAKER_00]: your private sessions. [SPEAKER_00]: So for our private, it would be like, you know, four private's three groups, just because the group classes, so we talk about time, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And as a dog trainer, that's the most important thing. [SPEAKER_00]: Anybody who does a service, doesn't matter if you're an attorney, a surgeon, or a dog trainer. [SPEAKER_00]: If you're in the room, [SPEAKER_00]: et cetera, that's what we're paying you for, right? [SPEAKER_00]: So that's where your value is.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when you're doing group class, you're showing up and if you have five dogs, great, if you have one dog, okay, if you have ten dogs, okay, but your time of being there for that hour is the only time you have to give. [SPEAKER_00]: So when somebody looks, when somebody looks, [SPEAKER_00]: what i would do i mean that's a perfect package there's nothing wrong with it that's perfect it's fairly priced but what i think people are gonna look at the most is the private sessions and so i would um are you just doing this one core program or you're doing multiple options [SPEAKER_01]: Well, just it would it would be the one core program and then just some people will say, well, I just probably do a lesson or whatever.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I wanted to price that and if we're I don't really want to do singles, but if they want to pay the, you know, the premium for that, okay, and then the privates, because I did the, I did the researcher and here, and so like in my zip code, [SPEAKER_01]: The median household income is something like 120,000 a year.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then my, and we're number three, I'm looking for my surrounding zip codes like the median, so not average, because we got rich folks that throw that way off. [SPEAKER_01]: But the median half or above half or below 130 to 150 or 155-ish. [SPEAKER_01]: I have people that are building, depending on the zip right next to me, and that I'm willing to travel for that higher amount.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I want to, so I want the, [SPEAKER_01]: The line share to be those groups that core package and then, you know, the others. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: you know, the others can supplement it. [SPEAKER_01]: But I don't want to get too crazy with different stuff going. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I was just curious. [SPEAKER_00]: So like, yeah, I think the, I think the core program's fair. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I, I think that's good. [SPEAKER_00]: I would just as you scale and people want more, or they're like, okay, three privates isn't going to be enough. [SPEAKER_00]: What's next?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like you always want to, like, in business, from what I've learned over the years, as you always want to give, like, [SPEAKER_00]: crazy package because if I came in with a really chaotic dog and I'm looking at this and I'd say oh man, three hours have been home training. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that's going to be enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: What else you got? [SPEAKER_00]: And you go, uh, basically they're saying I want to give you more money and you go, uh, well, you can't, you know, you never want that as a business owner. [SPEAKER_00]: So you might want to do like first ever, I didn't do that. [SPEAKER_01]: Just not being prepared, you know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and the exactly. [SPEAKER_00]: And so the core program, if you were, if we were to look at, let's say consumer psychology, if somebody said the core program, that would be like the the most popular one, but if somebody, so people who are [SPEAKER_00]: people who are wealthy, people who are well-off, people who just want the best of the best, they're going to look at this package and go, what's your highest package?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because I don't want the core, I want the best. [SPEAKER_00]: I want the most. [SPEAKER_00]: That's how we roll around here, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I don't, I'm not. [SPEAKER_00]: I, it's just people who are like that. [SPEAKER_00]: But if that's not optional, so you're going to, you're going to potentially lose that.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, you have good media income in your demographic. [SPEAKER_00]: So, I would make like a complete program, I'd have the core program and then maybe a complete program. [SPEAKER_00]: So, if somebody says, okay, the core program, Ed isn't going to work for me because I have a Belgian mountain wall and I want to do all this crazy stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then he said, what else you got? [SPEAKER_00]: I want, I want to 10 private, so whatever, then you can kind of scale it out. [SPEAKER_00]: That would be my opinion, because there's places that you go and there's people who are going to say, I don't want the core, I want the premium, maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like people who have money and love their dog are not going to want a core program. [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to want a premium program. [SPEAKER_00]: So use words like that, the premium, the complete whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: Nothing basic about it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I wouldn't put basic, but course, good.

[SPEAKER_00]: I like, or you're going to, course, going to be your highest-selling program. [SPEAKER_00]: Those are just people who, okay, I heard about you. [SPEAKER_00]: You got good reviews. [SPEAKER_00]: I like, I like you. [SPEAKER_00]: I think this is good. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's start here. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, great.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then you're going to get people that are like, no, I want to go all in. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to do more than this. [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to get people who just got a dog, and they're excited and they have some money, and they have time, and they're retired. [SPEAKER_01]: So then does it strike you as it sits that that the private, so the five private, it's not probably doesn't qualify as top of the line does it because it's really kind of just more of the same.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, looking at it with clear eyes. [SPEAKER_00]: I would just, I think it's a good package. [SPEAKER_00]: I would just change the name of it. [SPEAKER_00]: I would just say the premium premium and then maybe add, you know, two, two groups in there or something. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, gosh.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, like I would just do the core and then the premium or the whatever, whatever, your lingo wants to be, but yeah, I would give the option for that. [SPEAKER_00]: Because if it's on the menu, it's like restaurants that put the $300 golden burger on there. [SPEAKER_00]: 99% of people are gonna look at that and just take a picture of it in life.

[SPEAKER_00]: But then there's gonna be the 1% who walk into a restaurant and they're gonna want it. [SPEAKER_00]: Just because it's the most expensive. [SPEAKER_00]: That's just how some people are. [SPEAKER_00]: And you always want to kind of have that on there. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, no, I got you. [SPEAKER_01]: We got you.

[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, so earlier you were mentioning shifting perhaps the number of privates, if we were to stay with the six total, would you would you consider maybe it'd be four privates and two groups? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Then it's a two, there's a two to one. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that kind of.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and then then you might want to add on like just a group [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I just said that because that reminds me also group. [SPEAKER_01]: I look honored. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: So, Claude doing it's best to advise me.

[SPEAKER_01]: I've been that in stuff back and forth. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying to figure out the idea of cohorts versus start whenever and then come to the groups whenever versus [SPEAKER_01]: anything in between there, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm almost thinking for the launch, Oh Horrors, the way to go for the very first iteration on this, but what do you [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think you could do either.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's really, I think it's discretionary on your schedule and how, you know, how like, if you do something that's more structured where you do like, you know, week one, week two, week three, week four, graduation, you could probably stay more organized and stay more, [SPEAKER_00]: on top of things, but for me, I think because the, again, the way that I, and this is discretionary and subjective to me, the way that I train, the way I coach, the way I teach, all of the success comes from the owner.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so by putting dog owners like a structured system, [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of like the education system now. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, well, what if one kid's more ahead and one if one kid's back? [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, well, the average medium is we don't worry about them. [SPEAKER_00]: They just that's it.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're going at the pace of the middle one. [SPEAKER_00]: And so same thing with dog training. [SPEAKER_00]: If you get somebody that, again, doesn't do their homework and then you get somebody who does do their homework, when they're kind of graduating the program or they're on their last session of the program, you're going to get two different results.

[SPEAKER_00]: And ultimately, you've got to remember that the result of the dog is going to be a direct correlation and representation of you and your skills. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's why I always tell people it's not dogs by Tom, it's people by Tom. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't train dogs. [SPEAKER_00]: I coach people.

[SPEAKER_00]: The dogs are not really a part of this. [SPEAKER_00]: This is all about the person. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's like a general idea of like structuring them in cohorts or structuring them kind of individually or tailored. [SPEAKER_00]: That's just my two cents on that. [SPEAKER_01]: And then like you said, with that punch list, get this down, then you get access to your to the group lessons.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, I think for me, like there's again, like I kind of have this, hey, once you're able to heal, sit and stay, then everything is kind of like coming [SPEAKER_01]: Still one one challenge that does bring up. [SPEAKER_01]: So let's go a worst case scenario here.

[SPEAKER_01]: So you got a person for whatever reason at the end of the we'll say four in this case at the end of those four lessons. [SPEAKER_01]: The private's that they're not where they need to be. [SPEAKER_01]: Is the remedial stuff, you know, is that that complimentary? [SPEAKER_01]: Is it a, you know, I wonder, I'm just wondering how [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, how to frame that to just keep within our values, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's where you can fall back on like two things is what we would do in the in the, well, the goal is is to not get to that point, but I think again, every single session, you let them know, hey, your dog is capable, you're capable, you just got to remember the only way that this is going to work is if you're putting in the work.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, so again, you take the leash, you say, okay, look what I can do. [SPEAKER_00]: Your dog heals, sits, days, plays, right? [SPEAKER_01]: And then that way when progress reviews. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, pretty much just basically add what you're doing is you're letting them know each session.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is not your dog. [SPEAKER_00]: This is you. [SPEAKER_00]: This is not your dog. [SPEAKER_00]: This is you. [SPEAKER_00]: So when we get to the end of our program, we get to the end of our sessions. [SPEAKER_00]: We get to end of our package. [SPEAKER_00]: you have not done your homework and that's why we are where we are and so I always remind my clients that's the that's those are the facts and then after you could either [SPEAKER_00]: But you tell them that in console, you don't sign them up and then at the end they're not like, well, at you said by the last session, we're going to be able, you tell them right when they sign up the transparency, hey, look, this if you paid me a million dollars and came every day for the next six months, but you went home and done did nothing, you're not going to see any change in your dog.

[SPEAKER_00]: You really have to be up front and honest with them to set yourself up for success because a lot of people think like my dog has issues. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to hire a dog trainer. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be gone. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, no, that's like saying I'm overweight and I'm going to hire a personal trainer and my problems are going to be gone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nope, it's not how it works. [SPEAKER_00]: You can't throw money at that. [SPEAKER_00]: Dogs are not like that. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to put in the work. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to put in the grit, you know, so so I think just being open and honest to say, hey, I'm going to be able to get you to this point if you follow instructions.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then when you, as you're progressing high light, [SPEAKER_00]: Well, here's what I do at the end of a session again. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, all right, here's your homework You're you're just on the cusp of teaching your dog to heal and engage with you and stop when you stop and Then when they come in, okay, I'm picking up where we left off.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's heal. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you're not there. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna do it again I have a ton of stories like that where dog and I've had one person in my entire career Get upset with my one Trainer not me, but one of my trainers. [SPEAKER_00]: They say I want to work with somebody else.

[SPEAKER_00]: This isn't making sense [SPEAKER_00]: you're not doing your homework, your dog's going to stay here. [SPEAKER_00]: We are not fixing your dog, we are not stopping all your problems. [SPEAKER_00]: We are teaching you how to, we are teaching you why this happened and how to overcome it. [SPEAKER_01]: So I do wonder if, if with that in mind, I might need to simplify what I'm doing in these private.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because in effect, I kind of split it between the behaviors and which was like, [SPEAKER_01]: decent use right so things like house manners like rushing through a door or um you know and so currently because kind of the tagline is sort of a dog you can live with right and I'm kind of wondering getting if I get you know less being more for a lot of people I'm almost wondering if if I need to have that back or or distill it down to [SPEAKER_01]: You know, maybe threshold banners, because that's one of the threshold manners.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, as amongst the first things, we'll do a recall if nothing else on a first session after we talk, we'll do recall work and then maybe some threshold stuff. [SPEAKER_01]: But I do wonder if I switched to this new format. [SPEAKER_01]: do we keep that in? [SPEAKER_01]: So they feel the value with that or I don't think I'm out loud on that and those are really prepared for that question.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's, I think it's, you know, it just depends on the dog and the person you're working with, but for me, any, because I deal with so much behavior, stuff, anytime a dog comes in with behavior issues to any degree, jumping or biting, I audit their skills and their foundation.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I say, okay, what do you [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, we're gonna, we're gonna introduce heal, we're gonna introduce leash pressure and you start walking them through that threshold is a good thing to put in there and telling them why. [SPEAKER_00]: Because we're working on, like you said, your behaviors and your skills, but we're also working on your relationship.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think just having an outline, you know, to to give to your client session one through five or whatever is going to look like this. [SPEAKER_00]: These are our roles, but understand if you don't do your homework, you know, then we're not going to get there. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_01]: So another, and again, my buddy Quad pointed this out as a weakness, and I didn't think of it that way. [SPEAKER_01]: One of the, one of the strengths I do, or I think is a strength that I have going right now is my dog himself. [SPEAKER_01]: Is a bit of a local celebrity. [SPEAKER_01]: The blue hairs on next door, love him to death, [SPEAKER_01]: we go out and about like we're doing on the parade this weekend, but a big part of his people work with Charlie the Texas Brown Dog, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: That's his little moniker. [SPEAKER_01]: He's nine years old. [SPEAKER_01]: As so, there's a bit of team-annorist to that. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I thought it was a strength. [SPEAKER_01]: I thought like, oh man, you know, because I can put that word group lesson, let's say if only one person shows up, we're still going to work with Charlie.

[SPEAKER_01]: So how it works right now is typically Charlie's coming with me. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm usually the third lesson, like if I had to put a average on it. [SPEAKER_01]: Because that's where we start working on things around another dog. [SPEAKER_01]: So I have my, you know, my studio dog, right, my helper dog who I know is pretty much bulletproof.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I guess I'm trying to, and I'm just thinking out loud here again. [SPEAKER_01]: So forgive me for rambling, but I guess I'm trying to think about [SPEAKER_01]: more into that. [SPEAKER_01]: Do I even maybe introduce him in a maybe with that fork if we go foreign chips or for private's and to maybe on that fourth one, that's the stepping stone that's coming to a full group.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, what do you yeah thoughts on that or just by using him as a using him as a distraction. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So what it would look like, tip of stuff is [SPEAKER_01]: But with a guy in a wheelchair and this is his leg from a motorcycle accident two years ago, so for instance, with him, the first two or three sessions, we were getting into a place, working the house, getting the guy to to give the recall and actually walking around a little bit, well, so then when Charlie enters the picture, he's sitting in my car and so we're outside working with what we're working on and then I'm not waking up, you know, you can look out and the dog does whatever he's going to do, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: And then safely, depending on how that goes, then we'll maybe the owner has his dog. [SPEAKER_01]: I get my dog out. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I'm not telling you anything you don't know here. [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm just telling you how I do it. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And then hopefully, and I tell the people, well, you're dog may never meet my dog.

[SPEAKER_01]: And that's okay. [SPEAKER_01]: I said, but we're going to work him. [SPEAKER_01]: He's got to understand if you ask him to place, even with, even with Charlie, no, he's still got to do it. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, so that's how I've been using him. [SPEAKER_01]: And people love it because 99 out of 100 [SPEAKER_01]: I might have had to get my dog stapled.

[SPEAKER_01]: He got bitten me ass one time by the, I've had a, just an asshole to dog, kind of hell, I was to put it, but he was just not an ice dog. [SPEAKER_01]: And my fault, because I had two posts behind my dog, and he was able to lunge before I could get him, and I was seven hundred dollar stapled.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had a shit with my dogs, but let's go. [SPEAKER_01]: I have my dog's credit, so my dog's credit, I built up enough credibility, because if he'd quit, like you can die, I'm not even getting that pro with you dude. [SPEAKER_01]: You might have, oh, that's reasonable. [SPEAKER_01]: I can understand that.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I've got stable enough. [SPEAKER_01]: All right, where are we going? [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go do it. [SPEAKER_01]: Cool. [SPEAKER_01]: Thank God, you know. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry, this is a long story to just try to think through how I integrate him into this. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think I think just using him as two things as a demo dog of this is what he'll should be.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what play should be, et cetera, showing people because anytime, like, you know, when, so for an example, when I get a client out and, you know, they say, oh, my dog is here for reactivity and I bring him out back and I say, let me see you heal your dog and they can't. [SPEAKER_00]: And they go, oh, I don't like his dog owners just think like, [SPEAKER_00]: we're working on heal why.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't understand. [SPEAKER_00]: I came here for reactivity or I came here for recall and so I have to explain to them. [SPEAKER_00]: This is your foundation. [SPEAKER_00]: This is your base. [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know the ABCs, you can't write spell. [SPEAKER_00]: Learn another language.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so then what I go, let me show you something. [SPEAKER_00]: I get on a train dog. [SPEAKER_00]: People are blown away. [SPEAKER_00]: They've never seen a trained dog in their life. [SPEAKER_00]: They've never seen that advanced obedience in their life. [SPEAKER_00]: They've never seen a dog go to a place.

[SPEAKER_00]: They think it's like America's got talent. [SPEAKER_00]: You're just, you know, doing it with your eyes closed. [SPEAKER_00]: But the point is, as you explain to people then, if you had this level of obedience, [SPEAKER_00]: you wouldn't have all the issues you're having, et cetera. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think using him as a demo is great, but then also he's a good segue into the group class to say, OK, when we get into group class, you're going to see multiple other dogs, but your first test is making sure that you can do all the things that we've been working on in this program around just one other dog.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's going to be a well man or chill dog. [SPEAKER_00]: So he could be an entry level into group class and just assessing that. [SPEAKER_00]: But then he can also just be a demonstration on what advanced obedience looks like. [SPEAKER_00]: Because that gives, you know, when I first started off that gives people some sort of confidence thinking like, oh, okay, this person knows what they're doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Especially when I, you know, was 23 years old and look like I was 17 and that was helpful. [SPEAKER_00]: But um, yeah, but I think for you, it's just this is what a train dog is supposed to look like. [SPEAKER_00]: This is what we're working on with you. [SPEAKER_00]: And then also your journey into group class.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need to make sure if you can't heal, sit and stay around one dog. [SPEAKER_00]: We're not going in the group. [SPEAKER_00]: Can't run, can't run, you'll fail. [SPEAKER_01]: Can't. [SPEAKER_01]: So, bit less field, but I brought it up. [SPEAKER_01]: So at nine, you know, at some point he's not going to want maybe not want to do it anymore.

[SPEAKER_01]: I've noticed he's gotten a bit more selective, where if a dog, if he gets whatever his fields are, I don't know, I don't speak dog, but whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: He might like avoid a dog or whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, on that Connie, [SPEAKER_01]: That dog, like I said, so sweet, but just a bowl on a chimey shop to where my dog, like, would you say you're not with the guy in his wheelchair?

[SPEAKER_01]: My dog, like, give him a wide berth and just came around because he got bulldozed by him. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: But I did all that to say, as I'm considering and they're not, well, hopefully not to near future, but at some point here, I'm gonna have to get me another dog.

[SPEAKER_01]: If I wanna hold that, if I wanna have that position filled, when my initial thought, and certainly my wife's thought, she's like, well, it's more impressive, [SPEAKER_01]: how Charlie is because he is not a super dog. [SPEAKER_01]: Like this isn't the, you know, it's not the Maladlaw, what does he chase down Ben Law?

[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, he just turns food into poo. [SPEAKER_01]: And I could take him to visit my grandma and she was at the senior living facility. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: So people can relate, is that, what are your thoughts on that? [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, because exactly, well, if I get a purpose bread though, I'm more, [SPEAKER_01]: I can be more sure of the outcome of training.

[SPEAKER_01]: She's like, yeah, but the brown dog, the Texas brown dog, the mud. [SPEAKER_01]: That's got some, you know, some relatability to it. [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it just depends on, it depends on how much of a role the dog plays in your business. [SPEAKER_00]: Like for me, Lakota, my Dutchie, she was a big part when I was training every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was a big part of, she went to work with me every day and I brought her out almost every session and that was a big part of, just to show people, you know, when they were like, what are we doing this heel thing for? [SPEAKER_00]: What are we doing this for? [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, all right, let me show you something.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want that. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, I know you do. [SPEAKER_00]: You're paying attention now, he's like, you know. [SPEAKER_01]: Wanting this hand, shit in this hand, tell me which one feels that first? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's it. [SPEAKER_00]: It's just explaining to people.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think, you know, it's just different, how businesses are set up. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, back then, I had something to prove. [SPEAKER_00]: I had to, you know, I had a lot to prove. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, now I feel more comfortable and I [SPEAKER_00]: Because I have so much content out there and People get to know me via social media, et cetera I don't have as much to prove like when they walk in they know who I am and what I've done and what I can do So it's a little bit different for me nowadays Lakota is retired.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean she doesn't the only thing that she wants to do is play and that's what she does all day She doesn't go to work with me anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: She doesn't [SPEAKER_00]: rarely films with me, you know, so, um, so it just depends. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I think you've got a couple of really great years left and I think you just, you should just take it step by step.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't sure. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you should be like, well, if, you know, if I retire the brown dog, it's going to read, you know, then I can't work or then I can't do this. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think so. [SPEAKER_00]: I think, uh, [SPEAKER_00]: I think you should just take your time because the last thing you want is to gum yourself up with too much work with a puppy trying to get the puppy to that point when you don't need to right now I think that that's later years [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, I don't, I'm emotional.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a daddy circling the drain. [SPEAKER_00]: No, yeah, he's fine. [SPEAKER_00]: I think you got, you know, you probably got three years of good work, you know, God willing. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think you'll be fine with that. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think like once you get to a point like again with Lakota, she just doesn't, she was filmed for so long, like honestly she sees a camera and she runs away.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to do this. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not, I'm not your circus boy anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: I just, because she knows it's not going to be, it's not going to be play. [SPEAKER_00]: It's not going to be free. [SPEAKER_00]: And she's just, I will say, don't. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, I get it.

[SPEAKER_01]: I will say we switch to a raw, as far as I know it's raw, or a farmer's dog better dog food than what we were given. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And all boy, we got him down from 93 pounds to 89, which we didn't think was possible. [SPEAKER_01]: He's not happy about it at first, because he, of course, kind of hungry.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: But he does enjoy the lessons more because other people, although here baby, they're feeded. [SPEAKER_01]: All right, dude. [SPEAKER_01]: just to get out and actually get a little treat now. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's a big difference when you change your dog from highly processed kibble all day.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a big difference for them. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like growing up on every meal being McDonald's and then you sit down and eat a locally sourced grass fed organic salad [SPEAKER_00]: for sure. [SPEAKER_01]: All right. [SPEAKER_01]: I'll tell you that as we're wrapping up here, um, so if I were a smarter guy, I would public school.

[SPEAKER_01]: So you got to forgive me, um, what should I be asking you, like, what are you, like are you seeing any gaping holes in my thought process or, um, any, you know, no, I think it's good question. [SPEAKER_00]: I think, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um [SPEAKER_00]: What I would do differently, sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: Everything I did in my career and continue to do my careers is a learning curve and a learning experience. [SPEAKER_00]: And at the time, [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it doesn't seem like that. [SPEAKER_00]: What was me? [SPEAKER_00]: Why did this happen? [SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't this happen?

[SPEAKER_00]: I can't believe it. [SPEAKER_00]: That was my chance. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just realizing as I kind of go through life, like all those are just learning experiences. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I think for you in particular, you really just should be looking at your end goal. [SPEAKER_00]: Like what do you want to do?

[SPEAKER_00]: in the next five years. [SPEAKER_00]: I know what I want to do. [SPEAKER_00]: And I work towards that every day to make that happen. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's how I've grown like anything in life. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know, I wear a lot of hats. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a business owner.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a, you know, I surf. [SPEAKER_00]: I ride horses. [SPEAKER_00]: I do strategic. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I, I literally am like, if I want something, [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to figure out a way to make it happen. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I think for you, you got to have like a clear road map on what you want to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you say, hey, in the next next five years, I want to be making six figures, you have to write down exactly how you're going to be able to do that. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. [SPEAKER_00]: I need obviously to make that money. [SPEAKER_00]: I need to either raise my prices or get more clients or both.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so what's going to allow me to do that? [SPEAKER_00]: Well, what's going to allow me to do that is I need to be more valuable. [SPEAKER_00]: How do I make myself more valuable perceived to the general public? [SPEAKER_00]: You know, what does that mean, you know, so that means, you know, putting up before and after.

[SPEAKER_00]: That means showing people, telling people, creating content. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, social media is taking over, now it's life with social media. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's, there is no, it's not going away. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's a blessing and a curse depending on your discipline.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, if you sit there all day and you're doomed, scroll, it's going to be awful for you, and that's been proven. [SPEAKER_00]: Right, your anxious and depressed and sad and comparing yourself, etc. [SPEAKER_00]: But if you use it from a business standpoint and you explain to people, you know, like, for an example, if I make a video, like, let's say two people make a video on whatever platform you want.

[SPEAKER_00]: Two different people. [SPEAKER_00]: One person is not a professional. [SPEAKER_00]: It has no experience. [SPEAKER_00]: Like dogs has a little bit of a falling but doesn't they're not professionals and they make a video on dog behavior. [SPEAKER_00]: versus somebody else who has in the intro of the video says I have over 10 years a professional dog training experience and here's my well if you watch both videos or even if you're you're looking at the packaging of dog lover explains why versus professional and expert explains why the general consumer is going to be more interested more trusting and more engaged to the person who actually knows what they're talking about.

[SPEAKER_00]: So as you're scaling, it just depends. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, as you're scaling, you've got to think. [SPEAKER_00]: what you want. [SPEAKER_00]: How many clients do you want? [SPEAKER_00]: How perceived value you are? [SPEAKER_00]: You know, like once you get to a certain point, your value starts to go up.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, like you said earlier, well, my prices are going up because my demands going up and blah, blah, blah, blah. [SPEAKER_00]: And so that's just kind of what happens is that's life. [SPEAKER_00]: Like the more need, the more want, the more experience that price starts to go up. [SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to make more money doing less, you have to explain [SPEAKER_00]: and why you're pricing is more than the guy next to you or the girl next to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, and at the end of the day, you don't have to come out and say, I'm better or I'm more experienced, you just, it's your, I always, I think the biggest advantage for anybody is to just do things that other people can't. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, do things that other people can't and you will get through the noise.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, so that would be me. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I mean, you could say, oh, I want to make more money. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to work more. [SPEAKER_00]: You could, but how sustainable is that for you, you know? [SPEAKER_00]: So if you wanted to make triple the amount of money you made last year, you have to somehow figure out how to get clientele that's going to pay more money with the same or less work.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in order to really do that, you have to have good marketing, you have to have a good landing page, you have to have good social proof, you have to, at the end of the day, I mean, that stuff is important, but it's not the only thing. [SPEAKER_00]: If you created an Instagram and a Facebook and a TikTok and a YouTube today and started doing hundreds of before and after a month, you can start to gain traction.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when people have [SPEAKER_00]: use three or four other dog trainers that only fed their dog cookies and they're looking through the internet and they're trying to figure out who's going to help. [SPEAKER_00]: And you have four videos posted that week of the exact problem and the owners, you know, doing testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what we used to film testimonials with the owners, the before and after, all that stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: So anyway, so that would be my recommendation to you is I'm not telling you to jump and go heavy on social media but what I'm telling you is is if you want to make more money and have it be sustainable you have to write out an actual game plan on how you're going to do that because it's not just going to pop in your lap like you have to how am I going to get to this point [SPEAKER_00]: That's how I've done everything I've ever done in my life, is if I want something, I have no fear, no shame, nothing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I go all in, I'm going to do it, sometimes it takes me 10 years to do it, but I'll figure out how to do it. [SPEAKER_00]: And when I get there, I'm like, okay. [SPEAKER_00]: So that would be my advice to you is really right down a road map to your goals and then just punch every single one of them out till you get there and keep swinging.

[SPEAKER_01]: All right. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I certainly appreciate your time. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you're welcome. [SPEAKER_00]: It's nice to meet you. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you got to consider doing something that Houston, 4th largest city in the nation, depending on the, what's going on in Chicago will be the third at some point.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it's a pretty decent, there's good opportunity here. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I think good. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Texas is great. [SPEAKER_00]: I like I like Texas. [SPEAKER_00]: I've been asked in a couple times and I've been a Houston a couple of different times.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've been to Tyler. [SPEAKER_01]: I've been to Dallas for a year and get the dog not too far from Houston. [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, a tomb all kind of area. [SPEAKER_01]: I think up there. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: The next. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, just north of Houston. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: We did the IACP in the International Social Security and Professionals. [SPEAKER_00]: That was a couple of years ago at one of the stockyard arenas. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, for worth stock. [SPEAKER_00]: You know what I'm talking about? [SPEAKER_00]: The cattle.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that was fun. [SPEAKER_00]: So I've been there. [SPEAKER_00]: But cool. [SPEAKER_00]: And well, good luck with everything. [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks, sir. [SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate your time. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, sir. [SPEAKER_00]: Have a good day. [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_01]: Bye.

[SPEAKER_01]: Bye. [SPEAKER_00]: Bye.

E392- How to Make More and Work Less as a Dog Trainer

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