Love Developing Your Pet Care Business By Changing Your Mindset
12/02/24 12:03
3 Brilliant Ideas To Make Your Pet Care Business A Success
Your knowing where to start in developing your pet care business can be overwhelming. You may have lots of ideas. And want to do some of them quickly. This could be because money is an issue, and you want to increase your income. Or you may want to free up your time.
Setting goals is not new. You may have set lots of goals before? You will hopefully have achieved many already. Especially if running your own pet related business was a goal and you're doing it, then that is a success!
But how do you make your goal setting even better.
Do you ever feel that you've reached a plateau? Or that reaching new goals seems a bit difficult? Perhaps you think extra financial investment is needed? Or you don't have enough time to do what you need? Especially if you're a sole trader, or have a very small team, can you find the time or money to pay for help?
Mindset is everything. One great saying by the poet John Milton is:
The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..
This is worth reflecting on. We all have days that aren't as good as others. But we can make ourselves feel really awful, when we don't actually need to. This can negatively affect us in many aspects of our lives, that can delay or even prevent us achieving what we want to do.
So on that note, i've compiled the below list of ways to help you get more targeted in your business development, by reconsidering your mindset. Why not give them a go? Some maybe new or what you've done before. If you have done before then I challenge you to give them a go again!
3 Tips On How Can You Transform Your Pet Care Business Development
- Meditate for mental clarity. This will help get your mind really clear on what it is you want to do. So how do you do that? My top tip is to meditate. I'm not an expert on meditation, however know it does work! It takes practice - I prefer guided meditations. There are some great ones on youtube, including ones that are only 5 or 10 minutes long. Be consistent, so meditate every day. Anytime of day is better than not doing it at all. However, many experts suggest the beginning of the day, particularly when you first wake up is ideal. Meditation can help you to be clearer in your mind, and decide what is your most important goal for your business.
- Focus on what is good in your pet care business. Gratitude is vital. Practice feeling grateful throughout the day in every way. Not just for your business and all the different parts of it, but on everything. You maybe wondering why that's going to make any difference? Being grateful for even the tiny things or things you often take for granted, can improve your wellbeing. This has been proven in many research studies, including this one from Greater Good Magazine. By feeling better in yourself, will help all aspects of your life including your business.
- Take inspired action. This can be a tricky one. But by getting your mind a bit clearer, through meditating and practicing gratitude, it can help you get more inspiration. Now making a list of actions to take is a good idea of course. Writing lists can be helpful. And some brainstorming can help (see my post about brain dumping here). But some ideas are going to feel "more right" than others. Your gut instinct can be invaluable. If an idea for an action seems right, then do it. But don't force it. Feeling inspired can help you make better decisions. It can help you feel more true to yourself. Being comfortable about how you are developing your business is important. Remember to take action based on what you are happy with not what someone else thinks you should do.
To help my coaching clients i've devised the T.A.R.A. programme.
This is named after my dear horse Tara of 25 years.
So what is this?
T = Targeted. Helping you to take action targeted to helping your business.
A = Aspiring. Helping you to aspire to the life and business you want.
R = Realistic. Helping you to take action that is realistic in achieving your goals.
A = Achieve. Helping you to achieve success in your equestrian or canine business.
You can use this framework to keep you on course. To get the results you want in your equestrian or pet care business.
Action Point
- Practice my 3 tips in this post consistently every day for at least a month - or for several months or more.
- Review my previous blog posts for more tips to boost your equine or canine or veterinary business.
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
3 Top Tips To Make Wise Marketing Decisions For Your Pet Care Business
31/03/23 12:30
3 tips on how should you spend your marketing budget as a pet care business?
Promoting your pet care business is important, but where do you start? There’s lots of advice out there both online and from people you may know. In this post, I too am providing some advice. But with the aim of giving you some basic points to consider when making your decisions!
So here are 3 tips on what you should consider. These apply to whatever pet care business you provide. Whether you are a complementary therapist working with pets or horses. Or a dog groomer, dog trainer or any other business owner helping pets and their owners.
Don't Make Up Your Budget As You Go Along For Your Pet Care Business
Before you decide how to spend your budget, have you made a clear decision on what your budget is? For instance you may find tempting offers from social media companies or magazines. All encouraging you to spend your money. Whilst they may seem a good idea they can mean you spend more than what you either can afford or more than needed.
Be clear on what your budget is for different marketing activities. For instance if you would like to pay to promote your posts on social media. But also like to advertise in local community magazines, then what is your budget for both? If you pay to advertise in different places it can be easy to lose track on what your spending.
Top Tip: Keep a simple spreadsheet detailing budget, and deducting different activities.
Decide where your customers are
Now your customers are everywhere, yes! Although it may not seem like that if they’re not coming to you of course. It can be easy to spend more than you really should if you try to pay to advertise everywhere though. So decide where your main focus is.
Do you want to know how to market your pet care business more effectively? Read my blog post here showing you how to do just that.
You’ll find some local businesses - e.g. veterinary practices are happy to have you business cards on their desk. Or put up a poster on their noticeboard for free. So always try the low cost options first! Notice i’ve said low-cost option. As of course, if you’re printing posters, business cards or leaflets, then there is a cost attached to that.
But if you do want to pay to advertise, then decide on what locations you want to utilise first. Is that social media, local radio, etc. Are your customers using social media and if so which networks? Which leads me onto tip number 3.
Love Social Media For Your Pet Care Business But Don't Let It Overwhelm You
Social media can be helpful. But you can spend lots of time - which does equal money (your time!), and also money in promoting posts. So choose the platforms which will work best for your business.
Decide on what social network you’re going to prioritise using. Using several can work, but is also easy to spend lots of time, when one network will work best. Whilst social networks are (majority of anyway) free, to get your posts in front of your customers you often need to promote your posts.
If you do pay to promote your posts, test, test and test again. So try different wording, different pictures, and different call to actions. Then you can see what post styles are worthwhile paying to promote. Testing though is a great idea even if you spend no money on promoting posts!
Like to get the best out of social media for your pet care business? See my blog post here
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
OR browse this blog here, it's been designed to help you have the best equestrian or pet care business you can!
Email me for more information on consultancy for your equestrian or pet care business with me.
How To Launch Your Pet Care Business With These 7 Steps
06/09/22 12:44
7 Steps to Launching a Successful Pet Care Business
Have you always considered yourself an animal lover? Maybe you have a few pets of your own, and you imagined yourself working with animals someday. Perhaps you even have some professional experience with animals under your belt. If so, this could be the perfect opportunity to launch your very own pet care business!
Today, Taranet is here to help you decide which pet care business idea is right for you, and how to maximize your chances of success in this industry.
The Right Timing
Why is now such a great time to launch a pet care business? Younger generations care deeply about their pets, and they’re willing to go the extra mile - and spend a little more - to ensure that their pets get the care that they need. The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters states that spending on pet care services has risen in recent years, and with more families adopting pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, pet care entrepreneurs have found their services in high demand!
Choose Your Business Model
There are so many potential business ideas that fall under the “pet care” umbrella, so take some time to think about which model would be best for you. Consider where your skills and interests lie, what might be in demand in your area, and how much you can afford to spend on startup expenses. Maybe you’d like to start a dog walking business, launch an ecommerce shop for pet gear, or start a grooming business.
Pet sitting is also a great business idea. This will mean handling a wide range of pet care responsibilities for your clients, including feeding and playing with their pets, letting their pets outside and walking them, and even bringing their pets to the vet if they happen to get sick or injured on your watch.
Create a Business Plan
You’ve settled on an idea – but what comes next? You’ll want to spend some time drawing up a business plan that provides an informal road map for your company. Which details deserve to be included in your business plan? Lendio recommends writing down some key information, including your specific goals for the upcoming year, an overview of your offerings, industry and competitive analyses, a budget and financial forecasts, and plans for sales, marketing, operations, and management.
Set Up Your Website
No matter which type of business you’re planning to start, you’ll need to establish an online presence. This starts with building your website! The type of website you build will depend on your business model. For example, if you’re starting a pet grooming, dog walking, or pet sitting business, you’ll want to include a scheduling tool where new or returning clients can book consults or appointments directly through your website.
On the other hand, if you’re launching an ecommerce shop, you’ll need to choose a web hosting service that offers ecommerce functionality. If you’ve never worked in ecommerce before, you’ll want to brush up on smart digital design principles before you start developing your website. Decide on your visual branding scheme, implement a visual hierarchy with the most important information displayed near the top of each page, and use high-contrast colors for text and images to make them stand out.
Marketing Your Services
Perhaps you’ve been telling your family and friends about your new business, but you’ve only gotten a few clients through word of mouth. You need to expand your reach by marketing your services. Implementing a proactive marketing strategy will be crucial during your first year of business ownership because you’re still building up your client roster. Ideally, by your second year, you won’t need to spend as much time and money on marketing because you’ll be able to draw in loyal, repeat customers.
So how can you go about marketing your business? You can add a blog to your website, promote your services on social media platforms, make flyers to put up around your town, and create business cards. As you design marketing materials, you might need to edit the text or formatting on certain PDFs. Facebook in particular is a great place to get the word out, allowing you to reach a huge audience of potential customers, but there are a few steps to uploading a PDF onto that platform.
Networking
As a small business owner, you’ll quickly find that marketing isn’t the only way to grow your customer base - you need to get out and network, too! Networking can seem awkward at first, but there are plenty of tried-and-true strategies you can follow to make it feel easier and more natural over time. Try going to happy hour networking meetups hosted by local professional organizations, conferences, and other industry-specific events - soon, small talk will become second nature!
Expand Your Company
As you gain more clients and grow your revenue, you might start thinking about expanding your business. For instance, if you’re a pet sitter or dog walker, you could get certified as a dog trainer so that you could start offering training services. If you’re a groomer, you could begin providing additional grooming services, or invest in a van so that you can take your services directly to your clients’ homes! And if you’re running an ecommerce shop, you can expand your product selection and hire dedicated customer service representatives to better serve your patrons. Just make sure that you have the revenue to invest in these projects before you take the leap!
The term “pet care” encompasses so many different products and services that no matter your skill set, you can launch a business in this niche. With more and more demand for services in this sector, you’re sure to find long-term customers with the right approach. By following these tips, you can build a sustainable pet care business!
Taranet aims to share with you how a holistic approach can be useful for animals and help your horse or dog care business to be successful. If you have any questions, please email info@taranet.co.uk.
Photo via Pexels
About The Author
"Penny Martin of fureverfriend.info"
How To Stay Focused On Your Equine or Pet Care Business
02/05/22 12:59
Do you enjoy the job you do? Or are you not sure if you do any more?
Recently, i've had a couple of equine therapist coaching clients who've felt a bit unsure of their "why". A common theme between them, has been that they've felt a bit annoyed by others. In so far as other new businesses being setup in 'competition'. But they've also felt deflated by these other equine therapists not being 'properly' qualified.
There are differences in some of the qualifications people can get to work with horses as a complementary therapist. And some are less rigorous than others. So it's only natural if you've spent a long time training. To feel that others setting up without such thorough education, could be unfair.
Whether this is the case or not. Although it can be useful to know what competitors are doing. It's important not to get distracted by them. Especially, if it makes you doubt everything you're doing!
Staying motivated can be difficult. Especially if you're working as a solopreneur. Here are 3 tips to help you stay motivated, no matter what other 'competitors' are doing.
2. Remember your qualifications/training. It doesn't matter how under or over qualified your competitors are. You have your training and your knowledge. Don't doubt what you know. Again, write this down in your notebook or journal. Every day.
3. Think about the horses (or other animals) you have helped. There will be many. Write down as a case study some of them. If you've not done this before, it can help you not only stay motivated about the difference you do make. But also can use in your marketing (making details anonymous if you've not got permission).
Try to stay focused on you. What others are doing in their businesses, is their business..
Get more tips on how to stay motivated in your pet or horse care business, by reading other posts here in this blog. So please take a look!
Click here for more information on how I can help. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
Recently, i've had a couple of equine therapist coaching clients who've felt a bit unsure of their "why". A common theme between them, has been that they've felt a bit annoyed by others. In so far as other new businesses being setup in 'competition'. But they've also felt deflated by these other equine therapists not being 'properly' qualified.
There are differences in some of the qualifications people can get to work with horses as a complementary therapist. And some are less rigorous than others. So it's only natural if you've spent a long time training. To feel that others setting up without such thorough education, could be unfair.
Whether this is the case or not. Although it can be useful to know what competitors are doing. It's important not to get distracted by them. Especially, if it makes you doubt everything you're doing!
Staying motivated can be difficult. Especially if you're working as a solopreneur. Here are 3 tips to help you stay motivated, no matter what other 'competitors' are doing.
3 Tips To Stay Motivated On Your Equine or Pet Care Business
1. Remember your "why". And write it down! Again and again - every day. Start your day writing in your journal or notebook, why you're doing the job you're doing. If you work with horses as a physiotherapist, then presumably you love horses? And want to help them move better. Hang onto that thought. So keep reminding yourself.2. Remember your qualifications/training. It doesn't matter how under or over qualified your competitors are. You have your training and your knowledge. Don't doubt what you know. Again, write this down in your notebook or journal. Every day.
3. Think about the horses (or other animals) you have helped. There will be many. Write down as a case study some of them. If you've not done this before, it can help you not only stay motivated about the difference you do make. But also can use in your marketing (making details anonymous if you've not got permission).
Try to stay focused on you. What others are doing in their businesses, is their business..
Get more tips on how to stay motivated in your pet or horse care business, by reading other posts here in this blog. So please take a look!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on how I can help. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
3 Tips To Help You Choose Your Holistic Animal Career
26/04/22 12:04
Love Helping Animals With These Holistic Animal Career Tips
What course should you choose if you want to work as a holistic therapist with animals?
This is a question i'm often asked! There's many courses to choose from.
So here's 3 top tips to help you decide on your holistic animal care career
- Decide the type of animal you want to work with. If you want to work with dogs, then there are many courses you can complete which are canine specific. For instance canine massage, canine bowen therapy, etc.
Then there are others which are horse specific. You'll also find courses which help you learn how to help different animals. Don't forget you can always specialise afterwards.
- Do you know what sort of therapy you'd like to use? Some are only for qualified veterinary surgeons to use. Acupuncture being one of those. The pathways to access some courses enable veterinarians to complete. For instance Chiropractic. The length of training to complete varies dependIng on what your career aspirations are
You can also train and become qualified in several complementary therapies too. Some therapies can be very useful to know. For example, Reiki or Bach Flower Remedy are two therapies which help as part of a holistic approach. And can be part of your 'toolbox' of ways to help your animal clients. By being able to help with relaxation and emotional responses to situations. Can mean your animal clients get more out of their sessions.
- Linked to the type of therapy or therapies you want to use. Is what professional association do you want to join. Now there are many. You can find some links at my training links page here. Some are more established than others. And some are very clear on their role. For instance the Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners (RAMP) aims to promote Public Confidence in the Animal Musculoskeletal Occupations it Registers. RAMP also offers vets reassurance on the professional standards of its members. This may in turn increase the confidence of vets to refer their animal patients to you.
But there are many other professional associations who offer high standards and reassurance. Do take a look though, as there is variance!
Working with animals is rewarding. Especially helping to improve their health and wellbeing. I hope the above has given you a few ideas to help you on your animal care career. Find more information at my training advice pages here.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at Suzanne's Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/