The thing about a service industry where you’re making appointments with clients, is that your availability needs to match your client’s. They need income to pay you, often meaning that you’ll need to make appointments outside of standard working hours.  

Dog training classes are traditionally held on weeknights or weekends so that more people can attend. If you’re running group classes, it makes sense to hold one during these times.

Does that mean that all dog trainers need to slave away after hours and on weekends?

Like many dog trainer business myths, this is one that just comes with the territory. But one thing that I’ve learned is that if you have your own business, you can shape it to run the way you enjoy it. If you don’t like something about it, you can change it. Including how much work you do out of hours and which clients you accept.

If you want to accommodate every client, you’ll need to work some after hours and/or weekends. The real question is – do you really need to run your business to suit everyone and anyone that enquires?

Most dog trainers will do it this way. They’ll try to say yes to everyone that calls and book in anything they can get. Inevitably resulting in burn out – working all hours for minimal pay. This is due to fear. Fear that if they don’t take every client, they won’t be able to cover the costs as their business strategy continually needs more and more money, time and effort. As well as fear that if they raised their standards and said no to anyone, their business would start to crumble. It is a costly mistake because they’ve set up a business model that traps them in a continual cycle of grasping for new clients.

If you work like every other dog trainer, you’ll get the sames results as every other dog trainer – including the results in your personal life and your work-life balance, or lack thereof.

You may already know, I only run private lessons and online coaching. This is due to realising that the reason I want to work for myself is to shape the lifestyle that I desire. If my work still dictated my lifestyle and free time, I may as well have continued working for someone else.

While the online part of my job now affords me more time flexibility, it hasn’t always been that way. Before I started online training, I made a full time income on only private dog training lessons – three days per week, weekdays only. I limit how many days per week I will work after hours (7pm finishes at the latest) and I make only the occasional and very rare exception for a Saturday appointment for those who travel long distances to come for a consultation.

Because I set the standard of what my available hours are, most people are happy to work in with it.

Think about it – have you ever had to change YOUR schedule to see a professional that you needed to hire? It happens all the time – dentists, doctors, tradespeople, the vet clinic, specialists, after school activities for the kids – you just make it work. And as you’re also a professional that the client needs, they can make it work too – probably more often than you think.

Group Dog Training Classes – The Benefits and The Beliefs

Before I switched to private lessons only, I ran Saturday morning group classes for a few years. I admit I only started group classes in the first place because I was convinced by other trainers that it was a compulsory part of the business.

I enjoyed the group classes a lot. We had such an awesome group of clients. I say, if you enjoy group classes, run them whenever you would like to! At first, you may have more people wanting a weeknight or weekend session. Regardless, run the sessions the way you want, because it’s what YOU want. If you’re happy working weekends, that’s cool too.

If you’re not, you can run a middle of the day, week day group class if it’s what you prefer. Could everyone attend? Nope. Do you want everyone to attend? Nope. You want ideal clients. This means clients that can only attend on weekends no longer fit into the category of the ideal client for your classes. And that’s ok!

Many trainers make most of their income from group classes (they are certainly popular). When I started out, I was told that is where the money is because group classes are what the public wants. Why do they want it? Is it because of the long standing image of training a dog being in a group dog obedience class? It might be what they think they want, but is it what they really need? Some clients may be better off with private lessons or a board and train program.

If you love offering group classes, you will be the best dog training class in your town – no matter the time slot. However, if you’re showing up resenting the fact that it’s a cold Sunday morning and you’d rather be in bed, you won’t be at your best nor do your best work.

In short – offer group classes if you enjoy it. If not, don’t feel that you have to offer them. If you want to run group classes but don’t want to work every weekend, become inventive! You might be happier running a block of weekend classes, then having a few weekends off before the next block. Maybe you could offer a day time class with a twist – like a dog training group for stay at home mums, where you team up with a baby sitter to help with the kids while the mums have fun at dog school.

I did enjoy my group classes, but I no longer wanted to commit every Saturday morning to work. So I stopped the classes and focused on offering the best private lessons. That is what I’m known for and attract more of. Essentially, putting the majority of your focus into one main service can only make that service better.

The Ideal Client

Do you know who your ideal client is? If you’re booking anyone with a dog, the answer is no.

You should know the type of client you want to attract and work with. Most trainers try to book everyone, then wonder why the human end of the leash is so frustrating and difficult to work with. By attracting your ideal clients, you’ll find people that are more cooperative, enjoyable to be around and fit to your schedule.

For example, my ideal client can make a booking in the day time and has a flexible work schedule to be able to do so. I know in my mind the age range, the location, the type of dog problem and the personality type I like to work with and aim to attract.

If you haven’t heard of the concept of attracting your ideal client, you should attend my free workshop, where you can learn how to attract the type of client you love to work with and increase your income. Register here.

Do It Your Way

If you work more hours, you can fit in more clients – that is simple maths. However, more isn’t necessarily better. I prefer the quality over quantity approach.

Just because most trainers operate a certain way, it doesn’t mean you have to structure your business to follow suit. No particular type of training service or operating hours is essential for a successful business. If you’re slaving away all hours, still not feeling like you’re making enough money and always feeling exhausted, this is a sign that something needs to change. If you are fine with some after hours work that is great. But if you’re hating it and wishing you could have more weekends off, it’s up to you to change the way you operate.

It’s all part of structuring your business to provide you with your ideal work-life balance. At the end of the day, if you don’t love your business and the lifestyle it provides you, what are you gaining from being your own boss?

Let me know in the comments – do you design your training business to work for you?

Want to create the dog training business of your dreams, increase your income and get better clients? Make sure you catch the free online training – register here.

Unfortunately, this phrase comes out of the mouths and minds of dog trainers all over the world. No matter where they live, every trainer thinks that their area really is different. In fact, this way of thinking isn’t unique to dog trainers, it’s one of the most common objections of many small business owners.

I hear it a lot in my town too, from all sorts of business owners or people that are thinking of starting a business, but putting it off because, “people here won’t pay for that. You know what it’s like in this town!”

I find this really sad because these people believe this to be true to the point they don’t bother trying. Why try building a business if you know in your mind that no one around you will pay for your services?

A belief that for whatever reason, “it probably won’t work out,” is the biggest roadblock that stops people from doing and getting what they truly want in life. They often think that they aren’t good enough, or why should they be the one to do it, someone else is already doing it, or it just won’t work because of what people are like in their area.

I think when it comes down to it, all of this comes from a place of fear of failure and fear of what others will think of us if we do fail. It’s something I have experienced and still do with certain things. It’s a very normal human trait that draws the line between those who are successful and those who aren’t.

Successful people still feel fear, but they push through it and do it anyway. Unsuccessful people let fear stop them from taking the leap. Either the leap to start in the first place, or the leap to take things to greater heights.

If you’ve read any of my other posts or attended my online workshop, you know that I too believed that people wouldn’t pay much for dog training in my area. There’s a strong belief in people throughout my town that locals are stingy, always looking for the cheapest deal and don’t like to spend money on anything. The biggest mistake I initially made was believing it too.

Sure, people don’t like to spend more money than they have to. People in general look for cheaper deals when shopping for a product or service. And there’ll always be those who simply aren’t willing to fork out any significant amount of money on their dogs. This isn’t an area issue. This is just what humans are like everywhere. Everywhere you go you will find people that don’t believe there is any value in spending money on dog training.

And in every location there is also the opposite: people that would do anything to make sure their dogs are happy, healthy and safe. People that recognise the value to hiring a dog trainer and see how much better it can make their life.

It’s not about finding who has more money that they can afford to spend and who has less. It’s not about finding the wealthier areas. In fact, you may find, like I have, that rich people hesitate the most before spending money. That’s likely one reason why they’re rich, they don’t spend willy-nilly!

No, it’s not about how much money people have or if they live in a wealthy area. It’s all about the value they perceive in the service.

If someone truly realises how much value there is in having their dog trained by you, the price is near irrelevant.

It’s all about the changes you can make to their lives through training their dogs and solving their dog problems. If you focus on that transformation in your marketing messages, prospects will be sold on your services before the price is ever revealed.

The problem is, negativity is contagious. Instead of focusing on the great things they can achieve with their business, dog trainers are looking at what other dog trainers are doing and thinking they have to do it the same way. And when they do it the same way they get the same result – low rates, competing on price, struggling to get enough clients and ultimately burnout.

The side effects are clients that don’t listen or do their homework, and a constant struggle to get results. Just like those other dog trainers have. 

This is how it becomes the norm and dog trainers truly believe throughout the industry that they just can’t be in it for money. Dog training is just a low paying job working with difficult people that just don’t listen, right?

All these flow on effects that ultimately come from the trainer not truly valuing what they can provide and not having enough self belief! Like many things in business, it all comes down to MINDSET.

Do you think the other dog trainers in your area are all better trainers than you? I doubt it. I certainly hope not!

Surely you have the confidence to know you’ve got a lot of really good stuff to offer. You can be the best trainer in your area. And if you’re the best? Why wouldn’t you be the most expensive?

For customers to appreciate that the service you offer is high quality (because it IS), it should come with a high quality price tag. And as you know, “you get what you pay for,” is a mantra ingrained into many people’s beliefs. Why would they value your services if you’re charging peanuts?

But What About Tiny Towns?

Really, really tiny towns might have less customers to go around, sure. But all you need to do is think outside the box and be willing to put in the work. Start with your town – forget the notion that people there are any different to anywhere else in the world as to what they will or won’t pay for, or how much. Establish yourself as the go to dog expert and build that stellar reputation.

Unless you live on another planet with an alien race, the psychology of what makes people buy or not buy is the same everywhere.

So your main issue could be literally running out of people with dogs. Even then, how long will that take?

The next thing I would do is either/or

1. Do visits to the next nearest town
2. Add a secondary service
3. Train over the phone or internet to the next closest town

Whatever you do, don’t give up before you try.

“But Tenille, the competition is so cheap!”

Well, sucks to be them! You’re not a Kmart, don’t compete on price. Compete on quality.

Do you know what my main competition was for the first few years I ran my business? A FREE dog trainer. She was completely free, even for one on one lessons. At first, I admit, I was worried. My stomach actually sank when I found out she existed. It held me back from charging what I really wanted to charge. I stalled every time and thought of her every time I was going to raise my rates. On top of that, the paid group dog training classes in the area were half the cost or less compared to mine.

But you know what? They all actually helped me gain business. Even when I raised my rates. Why? Because I didn’t worry about competing on price. I only worried about the quality of the service I provided. The free trainer saw many of my clients before they came to me instead. She unknowingly sent me work. People were getting what they paid for whether they paid $0 to her or $200 to me. Put it this way, the quality was comparative to the price.

Another example – Mel is one of the members in my Dog Matters Pro Masterclass where I teach everything about how I run my training business. She had run her business in her small town area for 7 years and the entire time, she had found it a struggle. And the trainers she was competing against? They were charging peanuts. She felt she couldn’t compete with that but she also couldn’t afford to drop her rates any further, she had to make a living!

I remember her emailing me full of doubt before she took the course – she really didn’t think it was going to work for her, because of the area she lived in and the fact she had already struggled for 7 years. She told me she’d rather close up shop than drop her rates any lower to a point she couldn’t survive. Joining the course was her last attempt to make her business work.

Within 11 days Mel had made the changes to her business and made thousands of dollars. Within a couple of months I got an email from her telling her she couldn’t believe she almost didn’t join and make these changes, and that in the past month, she’d made $8000 from private training clients! All this in an area with several cheap dog trainers and a belief that people won’t pay more, “in this area.”

So my friend, if you are willing to have some more belief in yourself, I can help you do the rest. I suggest you start by attending this free training so I can explain in more detail how I grew my dog training business into a lucrative career (and how we can work together even further if you want to take the next step into the Dog Matters Pro Masterclass, like Mel did), even in a small area where people apparently, “won’t pay.”