Discover how to organize your pet care facility for maximum effectiveness. Alex Varney, VP of Operations at Pinnacle Pets walks you through how to identify and resolve the inefficiencies in your daily operations that hinder your team's performance and those that lead to chaos and customer dissatisfaction. In addition, you’ll gain insights into creative problem-solving techniques to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and improve clarity for your team.

In this episode, we dive into the ins and outs of adding a transportation service to your pet resort or daycare. Joined by Katrin “Kay” Green from The Dog Patch, we explore how a simple idea—using a minivan to shuttle dogs during COVID—grew into a full-scale operation with multiple buses. Kay shares her journey from that initial minivan setup to running three shuttles daily, discussing the costs, logistics, and unexpected perks of providing transportation for clients. She also offers practica...

In this episode we dive into the world of luxury branding and explore how positioning your pet care business as a premium service can set you apart in a competitive market. From fostering unmatched customer loyalty to enabling higher profit margins, creating a high-end brand experience offers significant benefits for businesses willing to go the extra mile.Whether you’re just starting out or looking to elevate your existing services, this episode offers actionable insights for creating a prem...

In this episode, we’ll explore the potential pitfalls that pet business owners face after reaching success. Achieving your business goals is an incredible milestone, but what happens next? We’ll dive into the dangers that can arise from complacency, missed opportunities, or simply not knowing how to leverage success to reach even greater heights. Plus, we’ll offer actionable strategies for staying on top and continuously growing your pet business.

The big buzz in the dog daycare industry is enrichment. Everyone seems to be talking about it, and many businesses have been rolling out different enrichment programs with great success. It’s exciting but also a bit overwhelming.Today, I’ve brought Dominic Hodgson back on the show to tell us all about his recent Enrichment Summit, share some of the key takeaways from the event, and help us understand how we can make enrichment work.

You and your business will always be limited by the knowledge you don’t have. The good news is that there’s no shortage of places to learn and expand your skills. To truly reach your full potential, you need a lifelong commitment to continued learning and education. The more information you have, the better equipped you’ll be, and the fewer mistakes you’ll make.In this episode, Fern shares his five favorite books that will not only help you take your business to exciting new heights, but also...

In this episode, we’re diving into why employee wellness is not just a corporate buzzword but something that can make a huge difference in your dog daycare or boarding facility. We’ll talk about simple, practical ways to keep your team happy, healthy, and energized (because let’s face it, taking care of dogs can get hectic!).Imagine fewer sick days, more productive shifts, and a team that actually looks forward to coming to work. Wellness isn’t just a perk, it’s a game changer for both your s...

Dog parks are great in theory but often flawed in reality. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could start your own private indoor dog park, creating a safe, fun environment for dogs while adding a new revenue stream to your business?If you’re thinking “yes,” but feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to be considered and set up, this episode is for you. We’ve invited Raechel MacQueen from The Pack Dog Park to share how she’s built a thriving business around her private dog park.

It may seem that offering services to cater to every dog and person is the best way to grow your business and maximize revenue. However, this approach can sometimes dilute the value you provide and create a business that doesn’t truly resonate with anyone. By choosing to specialize in one particular area, you can flip that around and take care of your customers in a way that other businesses can’t.In today’s show, we’ll dive into the idea of creating a specialist business that makes your bran...

Building and running a pet business involves managing many different aspects to ensure success. One area that I often see neglected is the legal considerations that need attention to set up your business for smooth operation and to avoid future issues.Today, I’m joined by Peter Tanella, an attorney specializing in the pet care industry, who will shed light on key legal matters and offer guidance on handling common situations to prevent problems and unnecessary stress.

There are a few key positions in your pet business that are critical to the amount of revenue you bring in. Not having the right people in these positions and neglecting to properly equip them to do their jobs can result in significant financial losses.Lori Davis from Paramount Success Group joins us today to explain the importance of a good reservation specialist, how they should be trained, and how you can find the right person to fill this crucial role.

How would you like it if your summer daycare numbers didn’t decrease, but actually increased? And what if that increase caused a ripple effect, leading to additional service purchases and a flood of social media exposure, making your next summer your best ever?That’s exactly what happened at Perfect Pooch. On today’s show, Kelli Dodds, the general manager, shares how their new summer camp program greatly exceeded all expectations and significantly boosted their summer revenue.

When times get tough and money gets tight, you still need to bring in new customers and try to increase your revenue. To accomplish that and get yourself in better shape, you’re going to need to do some marketing. Even when you’re on a tight budget, you still need to get out there and continue to generate business.On today’s show, we’ll discuss some ways you can market your business for free or with minimal investment. By implementing these marketing strategies, you’ll be able to improve your...

One thing is certain: nothing stays the same—in life or in business. When the economy takes a dip, business owners may panic and overreact, leading to long-term negative effects on the business. However, there are ways to navigate these challenges with grace and take actions that will help your business emerge more successful.In today’s episode, Fern explains how you can take specific actions to strengthen your brand image in the public eye, improve your business operations, and create a foun...

If you really want your pet business to show up in online searches, you need to focus on search engine optimization (SEO). What stops most people from tackling this important business task is that it can be incredibly complex. We want to help you with bite-sized SEO tasks that can positively impact your business’s visibility in online searches.In today’s episode, Fern explains exactly how to create location pages for your website that will help you rank in search results for your specific ser...

Too many pet businesses are only focusing on one or two marketing angles as they are promoting their business. This limited approach will only give you very short lived results. However, if you have a comprehensive marketing strategy that hits all levels of customer awareness and helps people know, like and trust your business, you will enjoy much greater and long lasting success. In this episode Fern goes over the top five marketing goals you need to be utilizing in your organic and pai...

One of the ways to create a positive relationship with your clients is using gift giving in your marketing plan. Surprising your clients with something special from time to time will increase their loyalty, encourage them to talk about your business and make them smile. Today we’ll go over some ways that you can give gifts to super charge your relationship with your customers. We’ll talk about when you should give gifts, how to do it and give you a lot of great ideas to get your gift-giv...

To build a business and brand that your staff, your customers, and everyone who comes in contact with your business understands and can get excited about, you need to start by creating your core values. Think of your core values as the DNA of your business. They will guide all your decisions and attract the people who are the perfect fit for you.We’ll go over how you can create your core values and show you how they should be injected into your daily business operations to be effective. Once ...

Whether you’re just beginning your journey on building your pet business or have an existing facility that you’re looking to expand upon, you’re going to need some money. For most, that will mean getting financing from a bank. To make that a pain-free and successful process you need to understand how it all works and what you need to do. To help with all that, I invited Claire and Jacqueline from Live Oak Bank back on the show to give you the honest truth on the options available to you ...

Running a pet business can be very overwhelming at times. With all the different things you need to do in your business and competition always on the rise, you can often feel like the odds are stacked against you - like you’re the underdog. The good news is that there’s never been more information and resources available to you. On today’s podcast episode Fern will go over 10 things you can focus on in your business that, if properly implemented, can transform you from the underdog to th...

If you want to keep your staff on the same page and get them working as a cohesive team, you’ll need to have some meetings. The problem is that if you’re not intentional about them, meetings can become inefficient wastes of time. However, if done right, your meetings can energize your staff and improve your overall business operations. This week, I invited on a few people to the podcast to share some tips and best practices for your meetings. You’ll hear from industry experts and coaches...

If you want to create a pet business that excites, not only your dog customers, but the human clients that bring them, you need to focus on constantly improving your customer experience. Unfortunately the current pet business model doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities to engage people or allow them to have a much of an experience with your business at all. Allison Strauel of Skydance Pet Lodges joins the show today to share how her team dazzles their customers and creates memorable en...

Finding and keeping good staff is something that comes up again and again in this industry. The main reason that you’re not finding the fright people is that you’re not asking the right questions when you interview. In this episode you’ll learn how Natalie Kramer from Albany Pet Hotel switched to behavior based interview and how it totally changed the quality of of the people she hired and improved her company culture.

If you’ve ever dreamed about growing your pet business to multiple locations and creating a recognizable brand that customers love, this is the episode for you. On today’s show, we’re joined by Dan Rubenstein of Pups Pet Club, who shares his journey, including various obstacles and detours. Dan reveals the important steps you can take to grow from one location to two, and eventually to multiple locations.He has a great story and has created a strong business and brand. You’ll come away with l...