Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in pet care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports, located in Peyton, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Dog owners come to me when they want help succeeding in dog sports like agility or teaching tricks and canine conditioning. My specialty is teaching distance work for dog agility.
Tell us about yourself
My mission is to make dog sports accessible and FUN for both halves of the team, regardless of their physical abilities or prior knowledge. I love helping dog owners learn to train their dogs either for fun or to compete at the national level. I started down this path because I rescued a stray dog, and he had more energy and intelligence than any dog I'd ever owned. He desperately needed a "job" and thanks to him, and I found agility. It not only solidified our bond and gave him mental and physical stimulation, but it also brought me a new community of like-minded people, some of whom are now life-long friends.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The two things I'm most proud of in 2022 are writing and publishing a book and completely learning how to build a website from the ground up so I could redo mine to more closely match my mission.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing is dealing with all of the "behind-the-scenes" work that you don't think of when you are first starting out. Creating courses and articles is easy when it is something that you love. Interacting with students is fun. Getting things together for taxes, maintaining tools, and dealing with payment processors is less so.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Build a list, even if you just start with your friends and family, and keep in touch with them. People won't normally buy from someone they don't have some kind of relationship with. If you routinely send out articles, small freebies, and news, that is the foundation for a more meaningful relationship.
- Always assume that whatever you are doing will take at least 50% longer than you thought. I was frequently disappointed with myself because I felt like I never got everything accomplished on my "to-do" list. I learned to plan for the unexpected.
- Set goals based on customer outcomes vs. money. If you are making people's lives better, the money will come.
- And an extra one - while you don't have to be "the" expert to teach something to others, you do have to establish credibility. Don't try to teach something if you're only one step ahead of your students, as some people will advise.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.maximumfundogs.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maximumfundogsports
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maximum_fun_dog_sports/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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