After speaking to several hundred clients over these last few years – a few trends have emerged and today, I’m going to share my observations with you.
Which dog trainers become super successful? How can you adopt their characteristics to see similar growth? Here are some things I’ve learned as I’ve worked with a variety of dog trainers.
1) They take action despite fear.
Its not that it isn’t scary to grow a business – of course it is! But they don’t let their fears stand in their way of pursuing their dream. Everyone has some level of fear. It is normal – but it should not paralyze you!
Learn to do the work despite the fear. Learn to set yourself up for success with tools or a schedule that will enable you to be your best self every day so you can continue to grow. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Being a self-employed dog trainer also means being an entrepreneur.
2) They research like crazy.
They google. They ask questions in Facebook groups. They read a ton. They believe in their ability to figure it out. Even if they don’t know, they do what it takes, speak to people, google, to learn and make it happen. They never throw their hands up and give up if they’re facing a new obstacle.
3) They treat their dog training business like a business.
I ask every potential client that wants to work with me – what is your current revenue? Most trainers are unable to answer this question. Its makes them face the hard fact that they are not treating their services like a business. But it is critical to treat your dog training business like a business if you want to take it fulltime or
4) They give themselves permission to make a living.
Even if they aren’t making a huge amount of money – they still see bringing an income seriously. They don’t see themselves as volunteers or as someone that is just doing good in the community. Of course they are doing GREAT things for their community – but they are also earning an income to make it all worth it.
5) They aren’t scared to pay someone else to do some work.
Don’t like the technology side of things? Charge enough to pay someone else to set you up for success. There’s no need for you to start from scratch and learn every tool out there from the ground up. You should absolutely be charging enough – not just to invest in continuing education – but also to hire contractors to help you improve your systems.
6) Most importantly – they have BIG audacious goals.
They have a vision. They want to have a successful facility – or three. They want to be recognized around the WORLD for their expertise. They want to be a leader in the industry. They want to be SEEN. The services they offer are only a subset of their mission and vision for their business.
Your goals will either keep you at the status quo or propel your to take massive and consistent action towards your growth. You’re either aiming to “make ends meet” which isn’t that inspiring when you’re facing scary, put-yourself-out-there type work. OR you are going to make a BANG in this industry or in your community and build yourself a wonderful life along the way too.
Which one are you choosing?
Why you are stuck at your current income level in your dog training business…
Right now, you’re working with 3 or more clients a month, maybe even more.
But you’re starting to notice, it’s going to take a ton more work in order to get a decent income.
You might be thinking:
Will there be enough clients next month?
Will I ever get out of this feast or famine cycle?
How do I get more consistent income without completely burning out?
You started out as a dog trainer to save lives. To help people see the best in their dogs.
You looked around to see what others were pricing themselves at.
You saw that they were selling lessons, packages, and classes – so you started doing that too. It must be the norm.
It must be the expectation that clients will have.
You also used this approach to set your pricing – and maybe even your availability.
Ultimately, you set your whole dog training business to mimic what others were already doing.
I’m here to tell you I did TOO. And it’s OK if that’s how you start out.
Just know that it’s not the best strategy FOREVER and you can change it.
Deep down, you’re scared your business won’t last. You might be burning out. You might be feeling pressure to find a real job.
This just isn’t how you imagined it would be! These things might be happening…
- You are not taking yourself seriously. You’re not seeing yourself as a CEO of a potentially super successful business.
- You’re not seeing and explaining your own value to clients. You’re getting resistance to your prices as they already are because you’re not articulating how you’ll actually impact their lives. (Hint – Your value isn’t about how many hours of time they’ll get to spend with you…)
- Your clients might be not-ideal because you want to help everyone that comes your way.
The 30 Days to 3K is exactly for the dog trainer that want to go from working with 3+ clients a month earning $200-$350 per client to working with 3+ clients a month earning $1000 or more per client. You’ll accomplish this by
1) Understanding what a premium dog training program looks like and includes.
2) Using a proven organic marketing strategy to generate new clients every day (no ads or referrals needed)
3) Discover the value and impact of your own services so you are confident while marketing and selling your services.
It is jam packed with the information, tools, systems, and templates to give you a mega jumpstart to earning $3,000 or more in your dog training business. When you put on your own oxygen mask and get your own head above water – you will be infinitely better off and able to help those in need (for free) if you want to. But you have to have take care of yourself first.
Check out all the details here: 30 Days to 3K Dog Training Program Template Bundle
