Show Notes
DESCRIPTION
Are you collecting courses, certificates, and dog training books like a CPD junkie? Taking course after course without any real purpose behind what you are learning?
In this episode, Jo & Vicky unpack the vital role CPD (Continuous Professional Development) plays in the dog training world. They explore how easy it is to slide into learning for learning’s sake, fuel imposter syndrome, and drift away from your original purpose – and how to flip CPD into something intentional and aligned with your niche, your clients and the business you actually want to run.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
CPD should support your strategy, not constantly rewrite it – choose learning that moves you toward the business you actually want to run.
Ask yourself why am I studying this, what am I going to do with this knowledge. Don´t do a course, then shoehorn that service into your business to justify the course.
Purposeful, well-chosen CPD deepens your impact; endless courses without a plan just fuel overwhelm and self-doubt.
Both formal education and firsthand experience matter – it’s how you blend and apply them that grows your confidence and your business.
Your niche and offers are allowed to evolve; testing, pivoting, and dropping what doesn’t fit is part of building a sustainable dog business.
Loving learning for its own sake is valid, as long as you’re honest with yourself and don’t force every new idea you pick up into your services.
BEST MOMENTS
“Knowledge is definitely power, but knowledge can be a curse as well .”
“I am a massive CPD junkie. I f**ing love doing all of the dog knowledge courses.”
“The skill is having the ability to do both - be aware of what you want your education skill level to be and knowing how you want to utilise that in your business.”
“Don't overwhelm yourself by doing too much for the sake of doing it and getting FOMO around, not going to these events.”
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]
Quiz: https://quiz.caninebusinessacademy.com/health-check
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