Show Notes
DESCRIPTION
Running a dog business is hard—balancing clients, new trends, and that constant search for success can be exhausting. In this episode, we are joined by Andre Yeu, founder of When Hounds Fly Dog Training. Today, we’re talking about starting scrappy, building a thriving business, and the power of choosing your clients wisely.
Andre shares how to move beyond “doing it all,” adapt to a changing industry, and stay authentic, doing so even as client expectations evolve.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Winging it is a valid way to start and maybe doing training part time. Taking action before you have it all figured out is a great way to unlock real growth.
You don’t have to take on every client that comes to you. Being selective builds a stronger business and can also be good for your reputation.
Real change comes with mentorship. Learning from people who are further along than you fast-tracks growth and greatly improves your confidence, but vet your mentor carefully.
Forget what your peers think about the way you do things. It´s your clients you need to please. But still stay open to feedback.
Adopting shiny new tech or employing the latest methods doesn´t guarantee results. You need to use what serves your business.
Your business needs to evolve as your clients’ needs change e.g. AI is making expert info more easily accessible, so dog owners need their trainers for the human support, empathy, and guidance technology can’t offer.
Trust is built long before a sale—multiple touch points across different channels let clients feel like they know you before you’ve even met.
Your story is your superpower. Sharing your face and journey builds trust in a way no logo or certificate can.
The human touch is irreplaceable. As AI begins to take over, building real relationships and tailoring your service will increasingly set you apart.
BEST MOMENTS
"I've always set criteria for the types of clients we work with, even if we are like starving and it's famine time."
"Find a circle, your tribe of entrepreneurs, that will teach you the shortcuts so that you don't have to spend as much time experimenting."
"People don't mind that they connect with me on social media, and they go to my classes and it's one of my team members teaching."
"I wish I had looked harder back in the day for that mentor, that coach."
"Our role has to change."
GUEST AND EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.whenhoundsfly.com/origin-story-andre-yeu
socials: @whenhoundsfly
SOCIALS AND IMPORTANT LINKS
https://www.tiktok.com/@letstalkdogbusiness
https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkDogBusiness
Website www.caninebusinessacademy.com
Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/caninebusinessacademycommunity/
Let´s Talk Dog Business Strategy Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Talk-Dog-Business-Strategy/dp/1068791705
Email [email protected]
ABOUT THE HOSTS
We’re Jo Moorcroft and Vicky Davies. Force-free dog trainers, business strategists and co-founders of Canine Business Academy. Collectively, we’ve been dog training for nearly three decades, built a six-figure dog training business, and grown CBA into a multi–six-figure global brand, all while raising kids, a university degree and life life'ing. Featured on BBC, FOX and NBC, and authors of Let’s Talk Dog Business Strategy. Giving a shit is the strategy. Getting shit done is the method.
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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In this episode we get honest about one of the biggest struggles facing dog trainers and behaviourists: knowing what to charge for your services and feeling confident enough to believe you deserve to earn a decent living. We look at why trainers can end up undercharging, separating training from behaviour work, and believing they need more qualifications or a more impressive title before they can charge more.We discuss why the value of your work isn’t determined by how “simple” a dog’s problem looks, and why the real thing you are being paid for is the impact you can have on someone’s life. Then, we explore how to stop comparing yourself to other people, recognise what you are actually good at, and build a business around the work you genuinely want to do.KEY TAKEAWAYSYou Are Solving Much Bigger Problems Than You Think: Clients aren’t simply paying you to show them how to train their dog. They are paying you to help them solve a problem that is negatively affecting their life, one that is maybe even making them think about giving up their dog. Understanding that changes how you see your value, your service and what you can reasonably charge.Stop Thinking of Yourself As Just a Dog Trainer: Most of the time dog trainers do far more than simply show a client a technique. They use their experience to identify the root cause of an issue and actively coach and support owners until their problem is solved.You Don’t Need a Bigger Title to Be Worth More: The pressure to become a behaviourist or collect more qualifications can come from a belief that you need external validation before you are good enough to charge properly. In reality, all dog owners are really interested in is whether you can solve their problem.Stop Trying to Be Someone Else: Just because you can work with certain types of dogs or behaviour cases doesn’t mean you should. Understanding what you genuinely enjoy, what you are good at and where your strengths lie will help you to build a business that actually suits you.BEST MOMENTS“I was making like £15, £20 grand a month in some months.”“You can be the reason they keep the dog, and you can be the reason they love their dog again, and you can just make that difference.”“That's what you're being paid for. That's why you should be earning a decent wage. That's why you do deserve it.”“To warrant that fee, I need to become a behaviourist. I need to have level five, level six, all the stuff masters. No, you f**king don't. No, you don't.”“Someone is not reaching out to you for you to show them what to do. They're reaching out to you for you to help them work through it.”IMPORTANT LINKS https://www.caninebusinessacademy.com/gsd-buisness-accelerator https://www.tiktok.com/@letstalkdogbusiness https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkDogBusiness