It's So Easy. . . .

Ah, It’s so Easy to Procrastinate Once You Start!

Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference

In October we told you about a series of free webinars for dog business people (more business than dog or dog business) and wrote about three of them. The deal was that you sign up and receive an email invitation each day about a new conversation being released – some of which are from really excellent skilled and educated trainers and other helpful people.

This year’s series ran every day for more than two weeks, beginning October 18. It was the fourth annual event put on by Kristin Morrison, a former dog walker.

I was able to tune in to the first two webinars this year but since the coordinator lived in a different time zone and because so many people still get Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time mixed up (not me, of course!) and since I have so many email addresses and get way too many junk emails – I have to look several places each day to find out if the day’s webinar has been released yet.

And the third day I looked and looked and looked and never found the invitation – and the next day. I did manage to catch one later but not the two I really wanted to hear: Dr. Ian Dunbar (see DogStarDaily.com), veterinarian and PhD; and Victoria Stillwell, who needs no introduction.

The ‘conference’ deal is that each webinar was free only for 24 hours. You can, however, purchase the entire two week series: previous years are also available.

DogEvals’ previous three posts review three of this year’s webinars: Day Three – Kristin Morrison herself, Day Two – Paula Hansen and a conversation on goal setting, Day One – Wayne Pacelle (head of the US Humane Society) on The Humane Economy.

Keep tuned for a list of the previous years’ conversations. Some are well worth it!

Whew! That’s done. Now we can get back to reviewing mostly dog books and evaluating mostly dog stuff. Next: a new family Christmas dog DVD!

Resources for Pet Professionals are Applicable for Life!

Here is one: day three of a free conference.

How to Thrive in Your Pet Business (and in Your Life)

An entertaining interview of Kristin Morrison who organizes this free online series of videos called a ‘conference.’ Morrison is interviewed by a friend (both forty-somethings), so pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of wine and prepare to giggle at the antics of these two long-time friends, even with the sound turned off.

Ah, they finally say the word, dog! (I was afraid they would get to the end without doing so.)

Series of Videos

The fourth annual free Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference began Wednesday, 18 October, and runs for more than two weeks. First you register, so those putting on the conference can send you advertising emails for the next year! In addition, you can access the one or two new half-hour video interviews each day on various pet or general topics. (However, after 24 hours, each video becomes un-free but still available for purchase.)

Day Three

I believe this video is Day Three, though it may have been distributed early – I found it on Day Two and I can’t find the Day Four email in my email or my junk mail or even my ‘halfway email.’ Regardless, it is available free now – until 10 am PDT Saturday, or maybe Sunday, is very minimally pet centric and more general life oriented.

We found it highly entertaining and inspirational yet low on information.

Content

According to the website, in this segment you will learn:

·       -- How to put the pieces together to make the business work in a congruent way

·       -- Why selling your service or taking actions to uplevel your business probably won’t work if you aren’t doing this one action

·       -- How to take in positive and negative feedback from clients (it’s probably not what you might think)

·       -- Some of the hardest issues facing pet business owners today and what to do about those issues

·       And much more! 

Sounds too good to be true! And though I am good at listening and taking notes, I didn’t take notes: afterwards, I had trouble remembering the bullet points that were mentioned.

How Morrison Started

Morrison started walking dogs 22 years ago and, three months after working for someone else, she started her own dog walking business: five years later she was ‘coaching’ others on how to start a pet business (probably had a business or psychology background). Today, her business is called Prosperous Pet Business and she has authored Six-Figure Pet Business in which she interviews some stars of the pet world.

Previous years’ conferences are also available. They are worth a look and appeal to very different kinds of people.

Most Resources for Pet Professionals are Applicable for Others: Here is Day Two

The fourth annual free Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference began Wednesday, 18 October, and runs for more than two weeks. First you register, so those putting on the conference can send you advertising emails for the next year! In addition, you can access the one or two new half-hour video interviews each day on various pet or general topics. (However, after 24 hours, each video becomes un-free but still available for purchase.)

Day Two

Day Two, available free now - today, is very minimally pet centric and more general business oriented since this reviewer hadn’t heard of the speaker, a graphic artist, before today.

Paula Hansen (www.Chart-Magic.com) was interviewed on the topic, Visual Goal Setting for Pet Business Success, but the information is valuable for any business and for any non-business person as well. Her business is helping you create your unique vision chart in a fun, simple graphic.

The take-home lesson from this goal-setting presentation is “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Hansen also speaks about requirements for good goal setting such as a clear vision, motivation, focus, engaging creativity and accountability.

She quickly reviews for us that it is the right brain that is creative, artsy and visual while the left side is more linear and logical: consequently, it is more fun and probably more memorable if we can use graphics and simple drawings to set and remember our goals. She shows us how.

Don’t forget – SMART goals are:

S – specific

M – measurable

A – achievable

R – relevant

T – timely

To see Ms. Hansen’s drawings of the goal setting process, go to her site and click on Vision Charts.

Previous conferences are also available for purchase.

Free Pet Conference Online!

Most Resources for Pet Professionals are also Great for Families! Here is one.

The fourth annual free Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference began Wednesday, 18 October and runs for more than two weeks. After you register, you are notified of the schedule and can access the one or two half-hour video interviews a day on various pet topics. However, after 24 hours, each video becomes un-free but still available for purchase.

Although this ‘conference’ is slated for pet professionals such as groomers, dog trainers, pet sitters, dog walkers and people in ‘doggy day care,’ many topics will be fascinating and easy to digest for the average human – such as the marvelous Dr. Ian Dunbar (Tuesday, October 24) and ever-popular Victoria Stillwell (Friday, October 27). This year’s line-up also features dog trainer and author Andrea Arden from New York (the others may be less pet centric and more business oriented since DogEvals hasn’t heard of them).

The first interview of 2017 featured Wayne Pacelle, CEO (for 13 years) of the Humane Society of the United States,and was titled The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers are Transforming the Lives of Animals which just happens to be the title of his second book. (Pacelle’s first book, The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them, 

was published in 2011.) Pacelle, a highly-paid executive has many successes in the world of animal welfare and also his share of critics.

Memorable quotes from Pacelle’s interview include: “We are supposed to be good to animals” and “We feel better when we do the right thing.”

Pacelle is an inspirational speaker (this reviewer heard him in person a few years ago) and has had a long career with the HSUS. This time he spoke of busy lives including that of ethologist Jane Goodall who, at 83, still travels 300 days a years for the chimpanzees, speaking on topics from the environment to “Roots and Shoots.”

Pacelle also revealed that he is a vegan and the average person eats 220 pounds of meat a year.

I plan to listen to at least three days of the conference this year, if not every day. Previous conferences are also available.