Unleash Your Time From Your Business
INTRODUCING
Pawfitable Success Specialists that set you free to focus on transforming pups and their owners!
Pawfitable Success Specialists are experienced & specially trained virtual assistants with plug-n-play skills for ambitious R+ dog trainers.
After helping hundreds of professional dog trainers around the world launch, grow, and scale their businesses for over 10 years through various coaching programs and courses, I know at least one of these statements is true about you…
No Time to Implement All the Best Practices
“My to-do list is a mile long. I’m not getting to half the things I know I ‘should’ be and I’m scared my business is suffering.”
You’re fully booked with a patient waitlist and you have dream clients, but your time is maxed out and you haven’t caught your breath to really get ahead. You feel like you’ve got no time left to show up for your future clients because you’re so busy with your current ones.
Difficulty Hiring & Retaining Great Admin Help at a Reasonable Cost
“‘Just outsource,’ they say. But they don’t tell you how HARD it is to find the right person. I’ve found it impossible to find reliable, proactive, and talented support for my daily operations. I haven’t found someone I can trust.”
You’ve tried hiring and training and ended up let down. Between this unique industry and the needs of our clients, it’s extremely challenging to find someone “on your level” to bring in to support.
Getting Stuck in the Weeds Instead of Focusing on Clients & CEO-level Vision
“I’m stuck on a hustle-hamster wheel, and realize this is not the way I want to keep going. I need more freedom and flexibility in my time and energy. I need, but can’t even imagine, a real day off – totally offline.”
Every time to take “time off” (even if it’s just an evening), you feel guilty! This keeps you bogged down in the little things with no time to think about your bigger, next-level picture.
How We Support You
Every Pawfitable Success Specialist is trained to follow The Modern Dog Trainer’s proprietary processes to help you grow your business.
Your Pawfitable Success Specialist is your…
Admin Support
💌 Email management to keep you focused on training.
📈 Managing invoicing and tracking payments to make sure you get paid.
📆 Managing work & personal schedules and appointments.
✈️ Organizing travel for those essential workshops and seminars.
Marketing Maven
✍️ Researching & crafting or refining blog posts with the help of ChatGPT.
💌 Designing newsletters and email campaigns.
🌟 Gathering those glowing testimonials from satisfied clients.
🎥 Assisting with basic video edits and uploads.
Client Champion
📅 Sending reminders for upcoming training sessions.
💬 Handling client feedback, testimonials, and any concerns.
🎉 Streamlining client onboarding with welcome packets and materials.
💬 Engaging and moderating in dog training forums and online communities.
🎉 Organizing and promoting community-centric events.
Operation Support
📋 Crafting and updating SOPs and documenting workflows.
📅 Assisting with project planning, coordination, and tracking.
📚 Managing essential documentation and customer records.
🤝 Onboarding new team members and interviewing potentials.
📜 Keeping tabs on vaccines, licenses and certifications.
🛠️ Setting up/managing software & offering basic tech support.
🛍️ Ordering essential training supplies.
Why Choose Us?
Dog Training Business Experts
Our Pawfitable Success Specialists already have experience in the dog training industry so you won’t need to teach them the ins and outs of dog training.
Operations Optimization
Leverage a team skilled in refining systems, dedicated to streamlining your operations and freeing you to excel in delivering premier dog training services.
TMDT Pre-Trained Assistants
Our PSSs are trained on The Modern Dog Trainer’s business best-practices so they can play a dual role: assistant & advisor. It’s like having a coach that also does the work!
Traditional Options for Administrative Support
Option A
Hiring & Training Your Own Assistant (W2 Employee)
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- Hourly Cost: $15 – $60 (Varies by expertise)
- Additional Costs: Training, taxes (state unemployment, social security), paid time off
- Monthly Cost: Approximately $3200+ (based on full-time employment)
- They can quit at any time.
Option B
Hiring a General US-based Virtual Assistant (Freelancer/Contract)
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- Hourly Cost: Typically around $30 – $40, can go up to $60 – $97
- Additional Costs: May include training specific to the dog training industry, lack of proactive, strategic advice
- Monthly Cost: Often exceeds $3200/month for higher expertise or full-time work
Option C
Your Pawfitable Success Specialist
- No additional training or tax costs
- Industry-specific expertise included
- Monthly contract; Cancel anytime
- Flat Rate $2500/mon; 15hrs/week
I just wanted to say that I have absolutely loved having Lea on my team and she has been nothing but absolutely magnificent. She is quick to jump on the ball and she lets me know she can run with something so she’s not adding more to my plate. And it has been absolutely incredible to not have to worry about all of my administrative things. Before I was having frustrations with seeing messages come through on our software, it always made me feel like I had more to take care of and now I don’t have to worry about that because she takes care of it for me. I have absolutely loved every minute. She is quick and responsive and so sweet. And I’m very comfortable telling her when I want to change something. She’s never annoyed at feedback. Im so grateful and so happy and it has been an absolute lifesaver! Im very excited for others to be able to use this service!
About The Modern Dog Trainer
Ines McNeil, B.S. Biology, CPDT-KA
Founder, The Modern Dog Trainer
Board of Trustees, Association of Professional Dog Trainers
Ines McNeil is not just a dog trainer; she’s a visionary reshaping the dog-loving world. With over 15 years of experience in animal rescue and dog training, Ines has a B.S. in Biology and an exceptional talent for innovation and excellence. She founded The Crossover Trainer (2011), All Positive Dog Training (2012), and The Modern Dog Trainer (2014), each venture a milestone in her quest to empower dog trainers with essential client and business skills. As a member of the Board of Trustees for the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, her contributions stand as a testament to her unwavering commitment to elevating the field of dog training.
Ines’ entrepreneurial journey has honed her expertise in digital marketing, leading her to strategic roles for IT giants like Broadcom and IBM, and eventually to the position of Marketing Manager at a Top 50 accounting firm. Her recognition as a 2019 Hubspot Champion User underscores her proficiency in digital marketing strategy and software.
Beyond her professional pursuits, Ines cherishes family life, enriched by her dual citizenship in France and the USA. Her drive for financial independence and community enhancement mirrors her professional aspirations. Ines McNeil’s transformative vision is clear: to ensure every community benefits from talented, modern dog trainers, evolving the industry and deepening the human-animal bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tasks can Pawfitable Success Specialists handle?
Our Pawfitable Success Specialists are trained to handle a wide range of tasks, from admin support, client communications, payment & invoicing, to marketing support. We give you a professionally-trained assistant that can help manage your social media accounts and your digital presence, keep track of your business paperwork, and nurture your customer relationships–whether they’re new dog owners inquiring about your training services or if they’re returning clients you want to be treated with care and attention.
We tailor our services to your unique needs, ensuring you get the most value. The list includes, but is not limited to:
- Start and End-of-the-day check-in with your agenda
- Booking cleaning clients
- Making follow-up phone calls
- Scheduling your team (if you have them)
- Reaching out to your leads and closing them
- Organizing your schedules
- Answering emails
- Sending contracts
- Following up on payments
- Relaying messages
- And so much more!
Plus, our virtual assistants are proactive. When you’re having a light day and don’t have a task for them to work on, they’ll still add value to your business by keeping track of the current trends in the dog training business and preparing whatever would help boost your business or productivity ahead of time. We regularly hold training courses for them to pick up new skills and help serve your needs better.
What is the difference between working with your PSS and hiring freelancers?
All of our Pawfitable Success Specialists (PSS) have experience working and assisting dog trainers like you. We know the dog training industry like the back of our hands. And we don’t just keep you updated–we set you up for success. We do this by keeping a standard operating procedure that creates an excellent experience for both you (the dog trainer) and your clients (the dog owners), by keeping constant communication, and by regularly checking with you to make sure we meet your needs.
We also have a dedicated curriculum that teaches our PSSs the best practices in Sales Assistance, Marketing, Accounting, Customer Relationship Management, and all of the standard practices in the dog training industry. All of our VAs go through at least two weeks of rigorous training to learn the best ways to assist dog trainers, to learn how to use popular software used by dog trainers, and for them to get practical experience working with real dog trainers.
Working with our Pawfitable Success Specialists means saving time and effort with the recruitment process, ensuring streamlined operations, and having experienced team members in place. Additionally, your assigned PSS is dedicated to providing top-notch and customized support like nowhere else!
Would a PSS push me to change my systems to follow TMDT methods?
Absolutely not! If your systems are currently working, your PSS will simply come in and do things your way. We aren’t coming in for a complete overhaul, but we’re skilled enough to make suggestions for small improvements along the way if we see opportunities you’re open to discussing. Making sure you’re happy with the way your business is running is very important to us.
What does onboarding look like? How long does it take?
We train highly specialized Pawfitable Success Specialists based on demand and the slots are often limited. Depending on what we have available, the entire onboarding process could take anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks. Please note that because we only train 1 new PSSs a month, we only have a limited number of dog trainers we can accommodate.
We like to break down onboarding into two phases.
Phase one is all about getting to know you so we can take on admin tasks as quickly as possible. Phase 2 is all about identifying opportunities to improve and optimize the work to help your business run even more efficiently!
PHASE 1: VIRTUAL INTEGRATION PLAN (VIP)
Kick off with a 30-day deep dive. We’ll identify a handful of focus areas for your business that will take work off your plate and help you make more money.
- Identify and understand your current processes.
- Set up efficient communication channels.
- Establish marketing needs.
- Ensure we’re all set for success!
PHASE 2: Pawfitable Success Optimization!
After the first 30 days, we transition to our monthly traditional PSS service. You’ll get:
- Ongoing admin and client communication support in the ways we listed above.
- Weekly check-ins to ensure we’re aligned with your goals and preferences.
- A pro-active, dedicated assistant that helps run your business and will provide ongoing recommendations for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness!
By freeing up your time from admin tasks, you can focus on what you do best: training dogs and growing your client base. Over time, the ROI in terms of increased clients and reduced stress makes the value undeniable. LET’S FETCH THOSE GOALS TOGETHER! 🐶
What if I don't have a full-time workload for my assistant yet?
The benefit of having a dedicated assistant that they’ll be able to start coming to the table to propose new ideas to get you more business or streamline operations. The goal of the PSS isn’t to be a task executor, but really to help you grow your business and evolve as a strategic advisor as you grow. Think of all the things YOU aren’t doing because YOU don’t have the time, but you know you should – they can do it for you! Having a dedicated PSS means faster response time and more agility to support you as you grow.
How do you ensure the PSS understands the dog training industry?
We recruit experienced assistants and then they undergo industry-specific training so they are informed on the unique challenges and terminologies of the dog training world. They have received specific training from The Modern Dog Trainer so you don’t have to start from scratch. Plus, we always start your onboarding with the VIP phase to align with your specific business needs.
What tech do I need in place to successfully use this service?
We adapt to your existing systems. In the VIP phase of this engagement, we’ll learn about the tools you’re currently using to run your business. If you’re still using pen and paper, like many trainers, we’ll help you find and set up a software to allow us to support you better.
How long is the engagement for?
We know that life these days is hectic and things can change at the drop of a dime which is why we offer month-to-month contracts. That said, we strongly encourage you to go into this PSS experience with the expectation that you’ll have us in your corner for 1-2 years and more. We plan on getting to know you really well!
To discontinue your subscription, please send us a written notice at least two (2) weeks in advance through our email at team@themoderndogtrainer.com.
However, please note that should you choose to opt out of renewing your retainer, your preferred PSS will be available for other dog trainers to work with and they may not be available should you choose to resubscribe again.