1/12th of a year at a time - a progress thread

[REV5028]

6/12

I think June went comparatively well!

I've chatted and brainstormed a bit with a friend about combining our ideas to make them mutually beneficial. Seems like it could be a good partnership.

I've worked on gathering content and a process for producing a product, and actually produced something. Big thanks to a forum legendary contributor for being a test case and providing valuable feedback. I still have a lot of work to do, but it feels good to take a step from the idea side of things into the action side of things.

Another big thanks to another legendary contributor for some wonderful life advice and book recommendations.

I also made a new lovely connection on the forum.

I still need to get my diet and exercise under control. I had relapsed with caffeine intake, but for the last month or so I've cut out energy drinks and for the most part, I'm now only drinking tea. Overall, I'm sleeping better and feeling a little more energetic. Compared to a few months ago, I'll take it. For now.

Let's take this momentum into July!

 

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[REV5028]

7/12

A bit late on this one too.

I've taken some advice from those further along on their entrepreneurial journeys and have decided once again to change my idea to something totally different. I'm going to pursue something in the pet industry, specifically the dog industry. At first I thought I would be limited to walking dogs all day every day and make a third of what I do now in my 9-to-5. But over the last month I've been expanding my horizons to so many more possibilities. I've been learning a lot and starting to put things together, but I'd rather wait and say more about it when I have more to say/show.

 

[Sega Saph]

7/12

A bit late on this one too.

I've taken some advice from those further along on their entrepreneurial journeys and have decided once again to change my idea to something totally different. I'm going to pursue something in the pet industry, specifically the dog industry. At first I thought I would be limited to walking dogs all day every day and make a third of what I do now in my 9-to-5. But over the last month I've been expanding my horizons to so many more possibilities. I've been learning a lot and starting to put things together, but I'd rather wait and say more about it when I have more to say/show.

Hello. Nice to see you here, lady. I want to ask: What is the reason your reports become such short? I think I am not the only one who want to know more details about your habits, your choices, your path. Please, if it is not a problem: share more.

Thank you so much, appreciate your post so much. Have an amazing month.

 

[heavy_industry]

the dog industry

Dog industry = Best industry (according to @heavy_industry)

Good luck @REV5028 ! Keep us updated!

 

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[REV5028]

Hello. Nice to see you here, lady. I want to ask: What is the reason your reports become such short? I think I am not the only one who want to know more details about your habits, your choices, your path. Please, if it is not a problem: share more.

Thank you so much, appreciate your post so much. Have an amazing month.

Thanks for reaching out!

I tend to try to keep things short for a few reasons. Shyness, lack of confidence, not feeling like I have anything of enough importance to really share. At least one other person has encouraged me to open up more, so I'll try to share a bit more.

Over the last ~month I've realized that the dog industry is a huge umbrella with many sub categories. Various products, books, online courses, online training, in person training, dog walking, boarding, grooming, nutrition, food & treats, etc. etc. I've started considering products and online/in-person training/walking, with a future goal of creating an online course once I've helped enough people and have learned more.

On a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no experience and 10 being an expert, when it comes to dog training/behavior and nutrition, I would put myself at a level 3. I don't have any formal training, but I've put in hours upon hours of independent research trying to give my dogs the best life possible. I've realized that I know more than the average person and that I've been able to put my knowledge into practice and see real, positive results with my own three dogs (two current, one passed away a year and a half ago).

Recently I've been thinking that my dogs are living well, but they could be living better. I also had the epiphany that I've really only learned from a couple of sources. So, I've been watching videos/shows and reading books by other experts in the field. I also employed the help of a somewhat local (hour away) dog trainer - we had an hour-long video consultation and yesterday we had our first in-person session with another scheduled for next weekend.

So, I'm trying to balance "knowing enough" and wanting to become a level 5-6 on the expert scale. I'm trying to remind myself that there are plenty of people at the 0 level who would love to be where I am now at a level 3. My dogs and I get so many compliments just walking around this small town and I haven't heard of any in-town training services. I've put together a short 7-slide presentation outlining who I am and the results I've seen with my 3 dogs and one neighbor's dog (chronicled in previous posts on this thread) and a 3-question Google Forms survey about common dog issues and if people are interested in getting help that I intend to post to my town's two Facebook groups and share with family and friends across the country to gauge interest and try to get potential future clients. I am then planning to offer a free webinar to share 3 of the most common mistakes dog owners tend to make and outline how to avoid those mistakes. I haven't quite worked out where I'll go from there. Perhaps offer in-person one-on-one sessions for people in town and/or online individual/group sessions.

I've also been thinking of platforms for marketing. YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram seem like good places to start. That's where a lot of pros in the field seem to be most active. Oh, and email lists. I'll also be revisiting @BizyDad 's various threads on marketing to leave no stone unturned.

Life has been a little overwhelming and I was getting quite stressed out about doing so much research - about all things dogs, for my 9-to-5 (I'm a research scientist), and for business both in general and specific to the dog industry. Maybe I've been overthinking things. But anyway, I purchased a few online courses that will seemingly answer many of my questions and bridge many of my knowledge gaps. The first course I purchased is more focused on e-commerce. However, the instructor of this course has created several multi-million dollar companies and was spoken highly of by a successful entrepreneur on this forum. The instructor of this course does not independently host the course, and after going through a bit of it and finding it valuable, I decided to upgrade my membership for a year to get access to all the other courses, including how to run Facebook ads, selling things on Amazon, etc. I've also taken advantage of several free webinars from various people who have "made it." Some of them I don't trust and others I did. Another course I bought focuses on online course creation and goes into great detail about most components of creating an online course and how to market it. Then I purchased two very low cost courses about dogs. One is focused on training, and one is focused on building a successful dog-training business. I know there's a lot to digest in these courses, and I know I need to take everything with a grain of salt and I need to actually act on what I'm going to learn. I also figured I've spent way more on college degrees that will have a far less ROI. But anyway, no more buying courses, only putting what I learn into practice.

I also have a call with a cousin of mine this afternoon. In my eyes, she's a business tax expert. I think she has her CPA and she works with business taxes on a daily basis for a living. I'm trying to utilize my existing network more.

There you have it. I think that's everything I can think to share for what I've been up to over the last month/month and a half..

 

[REV5028]

early 8/12 post - figured I'd share something exciting in the moment rather than waiting until it was old news and not very exciting to me anymore.

I made a Facebook post to two local groups last night. I basically said I was interested in helping people with their dogs and I wanted to have free 30 minute calls with people to see what their issues were and see if I might be able to help.

Posts on these groups rarely get more than 10 likes. Folks, I

1. received a phone call from one of the group's administrators to make sure I wasn't a scammer because it had happened twice already this week and the offer was great and greatly needed in our community.
2. as of this morning, have over 120 likes, a handful of DMs, and 3 scheduled calls.

I knew people needed help with their dogs, but I had no idea this many people needed this much help. One person also told me they had worked with a dog trainer in the city and I can't believe how horribly wrong the advice they got was.

I have lots of hope that I'll be able to help these people, but I am also kind of freaked out by the thought of this all working out.

 

[BizyDad]

kind of freaked out by the thought of this all working out.

Take a deep breath. You're going to face some more challenges and you're going to figure out how to solve them.

Before you know it you'll blink and say to yourself "I can't believe this is my life".

 

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[Andy Black]

I read your second last post first and was about to respond when I read your last post.

I was about to say you seemed to be stuck in learning mode because you didn't think you were good enough to help people. I was going to suggest you read a few threads that seemed to help people in a similar mindset/position, and was going to suggest you post in local Facebook groups. But you beat me to it and have a load of market feedback now. I'm delighted for you.


Anyway, in case you regress to your research scientist ways, here's the three threads I was going to link to:


1) Watch the 8 minute video in this one:

NOTABLE! - MEETUPS - [TFLF Call Replay] - For teens & students getting started

Hi all. @Lawtiti (who changed his forum name to @Chet Shen) created a Meetup Thread a few days ago and had a Zoom call with @ZCP who gave advice on getting started etc. I offered to do a Zoom where I'll go through some of the main things I think holds people back when getting started, and how...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

2) Focus on helping people not building stuff or, in your case, getting "good enough".

GOLD! - HOT! - Who have you helped?

I had a chat with Tony who describes how: One simple question got him unstuck. He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people. He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter. His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

3) Just start already. You've done that now and got market feedback. Well done. Keep going.

MARKETING - Just start already

It was just after midnight on 10-Nov-20 and I was annoyed with myself for not starting a particular project I'd been thinking about for a few weeks. I decided to quickly post a short note to my Facebook profile before hitting the hay. At the time I had 880 friends on Facebook and had been a...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

4) A bonus one since you seem to love learning and researching so much:

NOTABLE! - What if you already know enough?

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer. A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free”...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[FastNAwesome]

lack of confidence

My experience is that folks will often equate this with lack of competence.

On a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no experience and 10 being an expert, when it comes to dog training/behavior and nutrition, I would put myself at a level 3

Because you're a smart, highly educated person holding yourself up to a high standard as you should.
And just for that, I'd say raise your own estimate by one point.

1. as of this morning, have over 120 likes, a handful of DMs, and 3 scheduled calls.

Congratulations!

 

[REV5028]

I'm delighted for you.

Thank you, Andy! And thank you for linking those threads; I definitely need to revisit them.

in case you regress to your research scientist ways

Chances are likely, as I do love learning and researching. But I also enjoy putting what I learn into action. Sometimes I do find myself sitting on information though, waiting to "know enough." I think now that I've made the FB posts and seem to have some interest it'll be easier for me to learn and apply knowledge on the go.

My experience is that folks will often equate this with lack of competence.

Thank you for that reminder. I definitely get wary of service providers when they don't seem confident. I'd like to think I'm willing to be much more open about my insecurities here than I would be with potential clients though. But, I will be sure to pay more attention to how I present myself to potential clients.

Because you're a smart, highly educated person holding yourself up to a high standard as you should.
And just for that, I'd say raise your own estimate by one point.

Congratulations!

You're so kind! Thank you.

 

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[REV5028]

Quick update.

I've gotten so many likes on one of my FB posts that it made me a "top contributor" in the group.
I find this hilarious

I've had 7 consultation calls so far and I now have 6 one-on-one sessions scheduled from tomorrow through Saturday. Thinking realistically, two of these will probably cancel and another will probably reschedule.
Anyway, I just need one to start and I think the chances are good that at least one will work out!

 

[REV5028]

8/12

Wow, where did August go?

Since 8/18:

I've had 9 short, free consultation calls. This has led to 5 in-person training sessions with 3 different dogs and their people. I have 2 new clients scheduled for this week and 3 more that are in the process of scheduling/rescheduling.

As I was walking my own dogs the other day a guy stopped me to ask if I was "the dog lady on Facebook."

I'm charging way below the average for dog trainers, and way lower than I feel my skills are worth, but I feel like I need to around here in order to be able to provide value to the most people possible and the ones who need it most. So, I'm scheming additional ways to help people and also get paid. Some ideas are selling dog treats (and do more advertising) at the local farmer's market, hold people-only educational seminars, and make YouTube videos (I have a bit of shyness to overcome there).

Any thoughts, constructive criticism welcome!

 

[Andy Black]

8/12

Wow, where did August go?

Since 8/18:

I've had 9 short, free consultation calls. This has led to 5 in-person training sessions with 3 different dogs and their people. I have 2 new clients scheduled for this week and 3 more that are in the process of scheduling/rescheduling.

As I was walking my own dogs the other day a guy stopped me to ask if I was "the dog lady on Facebook."

I'm charging way below the average for dog trainers, and way lower than I feel my skills are worth, but I feel like I need to around here in order to be able to provide value to the most people possible and the ones who need it most. So, I'm scheming additional ways to help people and also get paid. Some ideas are selling dog treats (and do more advertising) at the local farmer's market, hold people-only educational seminars, and make YouTube videos (I have a bit of shyness to overcome there).

Any thoughts, constructive criticism welcome!

Start the videos. Think of how it may help one person or dog, and think how not publishing them is doing them a disservice.

Try doing the training seminars, and maybe even online where you can record it. You may really enjoy it, and you'll end up creating content you can point people to in future (paid, or free).

Maybe you can start by recording the free training sessions? Folks understand free in exchange for it being recorded.

Try increasing prices a bit and see how it goes?

Well done on your progress.

Oh, and that's funny that someone recognised you. @Timmy C reported that happening in his own progress thread.

 

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[REV5028]

Start the videos. Think of how it may help one person or dog, and think how not publishing them is doing them a disservice.

Andy, your reminders to think beyond myself always come at the perfect time to give me the little push I need to get past my confidence issues. Thank you!

Try doing the training seminars, and maybe even online where you can record it. You may really enjoy it, and you'll end up creating content you can point people to in future (paid, or free).

I think I will really enjoy it. I did one-on-one and group tutoring during my undergraduate years (many years ago) and I found it really enjoyable and rewarding.

Maybe you can start by recording the free training sessions? Folks understand free in exchange for it being recorded.

So far I've only done free consultation calls, but a free one-on-one session in return for it being recorded sounds like something I could easily propose. I have a handful of video ideas I can do with my dogs to start. But I realize that they're already pretty well behaved and would mostly give an example of how things should be, not how to get there.

Try increasing prices a bit and see how it goes?

There's one client who set their price at $20/hour from the get-go. I've been asking others for (and getting) $30/hour. I think I will at least start by asking this client if they're able to do the $30.

Well done on your progress.

Thank you!

 

[Antifragile]

Andy already nailed key points.

Think bigger, if you get a big audience - that can be monetized later. Even if you are underpaid today, if that gives you fame (like people on the street asking you if you are thr FB Dog lady!), that’s power that later can be monetized. Example: if you had 100,000 dog loving followers on Twitter, a product promoting tweet could net $10k … it’s just advertising. In other words, benefits are all cumulative and compounded as you provide value to others.

Great work. Keep it up.

 

[REV5028]

Think bigger, if you get a big audience - that can be monetized later. Even if you are underpaid today, if that gives you fame (like people on the street asking you if you are thr FB Dog lady!), that’s power that later can be monetized. Example: if you had 100,000 dog loving followers on Twitter, a product promoting tweet could net $10k … it’s just advertising. In other words, benefits are all cumulative and compounded as you provide value to others.

Thank you for giving me another lightbulb moment!

Great work. Keep it up.

Thank you!

 

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[REV5028]

9/12

My mind is too disorganized to put things into nice little paragraphs, so bullet points it is for this one:

• My business is registered - federal, state, and city. And I have a grip on GR tax and most of my other tax questions have been answered by talking to a business owner friend.
  
  
• The city's planning and zoning commission has approved my business.
  
  
• The city council is likely to also approve, but I'll be going to the city council meeting next week to find out for sure.
  
  
• I posted a survey to gauge community interest in seminars - I got 26 responses, which for my town, is pretty good, I think.
  
  
• I'm working on the details for hosting the seminars, mainly the venue at this point. I spoke to the city regarding venue rentals (the cheapest indoor option is $125, which I'm not going to pay); the lady I spoke with said she forwarded my message to three others to see if they could help me out, but I haven't heard anything back yet. So, I'm exploring other options. I contacted a school with a multipurpose room - they don't allow outside use of the room. I could use the public library, but I wouldn't be allowed to exchange money or even ask for donations for the local animal shelter. There are a few local bars in town that host events all the time - I'm going to be helping one of the owner's friends get her dog to the vet next week, so I'll ask if instead of paying me for my time if she'd be willing to let me use her bar for the seminars (at least the first one).
  
  
• I reached out to our local Animal Protective Association - left a voicemail, no call-back. That's fine, they have a meeting coming up on October 9th that I'll attend.
  
  
• I've had a lot of cancelations and reschedules over the last couple of weeks due to weather and life just happening for people. It's to be expected. I've been trying my best to still use the hour for business matters.
  
  
• I made a Facebook page, Instagram account, and YouTube channel. I haven't posted any content yet, but I've announced their existence and got ~30 people following my Facebook and Instagram pages.
• I have some raw footage that I've been working on turning into a ~4 minute YT video and a couple of shorter videos - it's going slower than I'd like, but I think it'll go faster once I'm through the learning curve of the editing software I'm using. It's pretty fun to work on!
  UPDATE: I sold myself short thinking I wouldn't accomplish much in a couple of days, but I managed to create four short videos from the long-form idea for FB & Instagram and got them posted before September officially ends.
  
  
• With every Facebook post to the community page (3 at this point) I've gotten new people reaching out, but I still feel like a lot of people aren't too sure of me yet. So, I'm going to try attending the Farmer's Market with some dog treats and sign ups and also try to get some current client testimonials.
  UPDATE: A couple of clients told me they've told a few others about me. I'm really happy to hear I'm helping these people enough that they're spreading the word.
  
  
• I have a logo and tag line.
  
  
• Otherwise, I've been eating a bit better and getting to bed earlier and waking up earlier (with assistance from a sunrise alarm clock) - it's been helping with motivation, mood, and energy.
  
  
• My motivation for my 9-to-5 has disintegrated. It's becoming quite painful and nearly impossible most days to focus on it.
  

Goals for October: keep moving forward; keep improving.

 

[REV5028]

10/12

Progress has almost come to a screeching halt.

A couple of weeks ago we saw my dog have a seizure. A follow up MRI showed a large brain tumor. I'm in the Phoenix, AZ area this week getting him radiation treatment.

 

[REV5028]

10/12

Progress has almost come to a screeching halt.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

I've been researching and implementing a lot. I'm starting to think that my dog's fresh healthy food isn't really species-appropriate. I've found one dog food brand that seems to be a lot more species-appropriate and it has some miracle testimonies of dogs outliving cancer/tumor prognoses and at least a few that seem to have gone entirely into remission. I purchased some to try, but it doesn't seem to sit as well in my dog's stomach as my homemade food.

In addition to the diet I've developed, I've also been exploring a bunch of different medicinal herbs that might help fight cancer/tumors and coming up with a blend for my guy. He has been on this new diet & herbal blend for two weeks.

While I don't know what the tumor is doing in his head right now after radiation, I do know that the oncologist put it at a 7 or 8 out of 10 for the largest brain tumors he's seen. It's taking up ~1/3 of his brain. I might be projecting or thinking too wishfully, but I feel like the doctors and technicians were a little surprised at how well he did through his treatment. He had zero complications, zero adverse reactions. They told me that I shouldn't expect to see any changes in his energy or mentation for a minimum of two weeks. The day after his third treatment he was 90% back to normal energy and behavior. I was so surprised that I called two of my vets to make sure it wasn't a bad thing.

I've noticed other positive changes since implementing the new diet. His fur is the softest and shiniest I have ever seen it. He used to have issues going potty in new places but it was totally not an issue while in Arizona. His poops are small and firm and they don't smell bad; I mean, it's still poop but it doesn't make me grimace or gag. He is a lot more tolerant of being handled (like help getting in the car, vet procedures, etc.).

As fate would have it, my Airbnb host in AZ also has a dog with cancer. I shared some of my findings with her and she's extremely interested. So, I'm going to send her a vitamin mix and recipe for her to try.

So, I don't really know what this new diet and herbal blend is actually doing for him or what it could do for other dogs, but I'm an optimistic scientist so I'm going to keep doing the work and see how it goes.

 

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[REV5028]

11/12

I've gotten a few more clients and have just passed $1k in revenue since I started getting myself out there as a dog trainer/sitter in August. I'll count it as a small win.

I'm working on a simple website. With a few testimonials I think it will be good enough for now. I'm mostly using it to look more professional and to showcase the testimonials. I can upgrade later.

I have other related ideas I want to explore, but they're a bit bigger than what I'm doing now, so a lot of my time has been spent reading, thinking, and being stuck.

 

[REV5028]

12/12 for 2023

Not much new to say for December. Well, not really in terms of business.

My partner and I were a bit impulsive and reckless ... I decided to adopt my grandma a Chihuahua and then we saw allllll the other dogs at the shelter needing homes, so we ended up brining home a German Shepherd for ourselves. We live in New Mexico, my grandma lives in South Carolina.. so the next morning I packed up the Chihuahua, new dog, and my Rottie for a roadtrip. Then I drove with the two big dawgs up to Pennsylvania to visit my dad. Talk about a production. It took about two weeks, so that was half of my month. Despite it all, it was nice to see family I haven't seen in a while (a year or two, I actually can't remember).

This new German Shepherd though... the shelter called and said they made a mistake, that she never should have left the shelter because she was "unadoptable" - her and another German Shepherd viciously attacked a third German Shepherd (it survived, but needed surgery). I later learned she (and the other German Shepherds) were all neglected by the same owner. She hasn't been an absolute nightmare, but she definitely needs a lot of training. While it has been stressful trying to train and safely assimilate her into our home with our two boy dogs, I'm trying my best to see it as a business blessing. I've been pretty bad about filming things, but I'm going to try to document her progress.

The website still isn't up. Bad weather and holiday travel pretty much wiped my calendar clean of training sessions. I still need to do my GR taxes for Q4. And I just got a business personal property form from the county assessor? I have to pay property taxes on items I already paid sales tax on and don't use solely for business? I have so much to learn. My diet is like Jekyll and Hyde - Mediterranean-inspired kale salad for one meal, Junior Mints for the next. But, not all is squalor; I've been running a bit after a ~two year hiatus. And recently I've felt a layer of stress and depression lift off my shoulders. Not really sure how that happened. Maybe just the passing of time? Anyway, I'm sure it's helping that my Rottie is doing really well. I'm not sure what his tumor is doing, but he's been almost two months seizure-free and his stamina/mental state is up. He had a really good report at the neurologist about 3 weeks ago.

Anyway... Gonna go finish writing out my January 2024 goals. Happy New Year, All!

 

[REV5028]

1/12 2024

I finally got my website up. I am forever grateful for some great feedback from some awesome friends on this forum; you guys really helped make it so much better! I still have so much to learn about websites and SEO and everything. I know we all use cell phones a lot, but for some reason I'm still shocked to see that 70% of the visitors to my site are via cell phone.

I announced my site to a community Facebook page which led to ~70 visitors to my site that day. A few people signed up for email updates and I got one new scheduled client - I'll take it. The FB post also led to an interview with the local paper - the article was in today's issue and already led to a new scheduled client.

I'm attempting a 4-week program for dogs that pull on leash, since that was a common theme in a community survey I posted a few months ago. It seemed to get a bit of attention, but so far I only have one person signed up and another interested when the weather gets warmer. Maybe others are also waiting for better weather?

I will also be hosting a free seminar in March. I just need to finish some paperwork with the city so I can use their convention center for free, and I need to put together a flyer that the city will send out for free with the utility bills.

I'm starting to really see the effects of colder weather and living in a small town - things have been slow. So, I'm starting to think more about how to get more virtual clients and putting together some sort of digital product (maybe a couple of courses on specific issues like leash pulling or crate training).

So, going into February I'm going to be studying @Andy Black 's Google Ads courses and this thread.

 

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[REV5028]

2/12 2024

I was invited to give a lunchtime seminar on dogs/dog training at my local university and doctoral alma mater. It was a lot of fun!

Takeaways:

• I'm not terrible at giving presentations on little sleep, excessive amounts of caffeine, and with zero practice runs. Could definitely have been better, but could have been way way worse. A mentor has helped me realize this is a skill that I should lean into more.
• Being invited to speak at a university is possibly a bigger deal to the general public than I think. I've spent so much time in academia that anything dealing with universities is no big deal, ordinary. I should also probably use my title of "Dr." more even though it feels weird.
• The Q&A part was enlightening and gave me ideas for what would be helpful to people - a few people were really interested in all the nutrition research I've done and how I'm feeding my dogs, which gets me so excited because this is something I've spent many hours researching and implementing and seeing so many wonderful outcomes in my own dogs.

Then I started thinking (again) about how most of my clients tend to be middle-aged to older women and where I could get myself in front of an audience of them; I've decided to try getting a few 55+ gated communities in larger nearby towns to let me give a free seminar. They've actually been difficult for me to get good contact info for, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm still planning to give a free seminar to my local community, but it got pushed back to early April by the city.

I now have a business bank account and credit card.

Still have to research and work more on what I said I was going to do for February but didn't do.

Onwards!

 

[Andy Black]

2/12 2024

I was invited to give a lunchtime seminar on dogs/dog training at my local university and doctoral alma mater. It was a lot of fun!

Takeaways:

• I'm not terrible at giving presentations on little sleep, excessive amounts of caffeine, and with zero practice runs. Could definitely have been better, but could have been way way worse. A mentor has helped me realize this is a skill that I should lean into more.
• Being invited to speak at a university is possibly a bigger deal to the general public than I think. I've spent so much time in academia that anything dealing with universities is no big deal, ordinary. I should also probably use my title of "Dr." more even though it feels weird.
• The Q&A part was enlightening and gave me ideas for what would be helpful to people - a few people were really interested in all the nutrition research I've done and how I'm feeding my dogs, which gets me so excited because this is something I've spent many hours researching and implementing and seeing so many wonderful outcomes in my own dogs.

Then I started thinking (again) about how most of my clients tend to be middle-aged to older women and where I could get myself in front of an audience of them; I've decided to try getting a few 55+ gated communities in larger nearby towns to let me give a free seminar. They've actually been difficult for me to get good contact info for, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm still planning to give a free seminar to my local community, but it got pushed back to early April by the city.

I now have a business bank account and credit card.

Still have to research and work more on what I said I was going to do for February but didn't do.

Onwards!

Well done. I love giving in-person or online presentations. I get a buzz out of it.

See if you can do some online for groups and record them. Then you can post to YouTube etc.

We're thinking of adopting a dog and I was watching videos from this channel last night:

https://youtube.com/@DogsTrustIreland

Some of their videos get lots of views, and their Facebook posts gets good engagement.

Lots of people online discussing, engaging, and supporting pet related content.

Are there Facebook groups you could be helping in and get to do presentations for?

Oh, and I even offered to help that charity with their Google Ads since they're eligible for a Google Grant ($10k/mth in free ads). I thought it would be a good way to get my kids involved. Turns out they're already running them and and are happy with what they're doing so I'll look for another dog charity.

Yes, make use of your Dr title, especially if it's related to the subject matter.

 

[REV5028]

Well done. I love giving in-person or online presentations. I get a buzz out of it.

See if you can do some online for groups and record them. Then you can post to YouTube etc.

Thanks, Andy! I haven't quite jumped into online presentations yet - something about in-person just feels better, but perhaps I'll try out an online audience sooner rather than later. My grandma used to live in a gated community if Florida and still has a few contacts there, so maybe I'll try for a virtual presentation with them.

The one at the university was actually recorded. Though not my best work and not the highest quality video, I have made it available on my website and YouTube. Gotta start somewhere. The recording has been great to learn from for future talks.

We're thinking of adopting a dog and I was watching videos from this channel last night:
https://youtube.com/@DogsTrustIreland

That's an awesome resource for you out there, and I have to give you a huge THANK YOU for doing a bit of research and thinking before brining a dog into your home. I see all too often people bringing home the dog they think is most adorable rather than the one that best fits them and their lifestyle.

Are there Facebook groups you could be helping in and get to do presentations for?

I'm in a few Facebook groups, but I'm not heavily involved; I'll ask a question or respond to someone else's post on occasion. I also feel that one of the groups has a large number of trainers that constantly advocate their services, so I'm not sure how I'd stick out there. The other more nutrition-focused group is very loyal to the founder and I don't think I'd get very far with my somewhat different views. I've also been struggling with doom scrolling lately, so I've been trying to stay away from social media for a bit. But maybe I can find a different angle or different/underserved Facebook group.

Oh, and I even offered to help that charity with their Google Ads since they're eligible for a Google Grant ($10k/mth in free ads). I thought it would be a good way to get my kids involved. Turns out they're already running them and and are happy with what they're doing so I'll look for another dog charity.

I admire all the charity/free work you do on top of being a successful entrepreneur! I'm still trying to find my balance between wanting to help as many people as possible, but also earning enough to get me out of my 9-to-5 before I'm 70.

Yes, make use of your Dr title, especially if it's related to the subject matter.

My doctorate has absolutely nothing to do with dogs, and that's why it feels weird to use my title. However, even when I tell people I have a PhD in geophysics, they refer to me as Dr. on their own and many seem to see that my research skills have transferred over to dog training just fine. I suppose there's nothing wrong with using my title as long as I'm always perfectly clear that my degree has nothing to do with dogs.

 

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[heavy_industry]

I have a PhD in geophysics

I suppose there's nothing wrong with using my title as long as I'm always perfectly clear that my degree has nothing to do with dogs.

Of course it does!

1. Dogs walk on the ground.
2. The ground is made out of rocks.
3. You need science to study rocks.

Applied geophysics -> Better dog training

End of story.

 

[Andy Black]

I haven't quite jumped into online presentations yet

Here's an online one I did. Do you think you could do something similar?

MARKETING - Google Ads Workshop Replay

I did a 90 minute online workshop for some business owners in Ireland last week. This is probably the most comprehensive video I've done to explain Google Ads ... for business owners. What's your takeaways? What will you do different going forward? View: https://youtu.be/T0swT3kEOQs

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[REV5028]

Here's an online one I did. Do you think you could do something similar?

MARKETING - Google Ads Workshop Replay

I did a 90 minute online workshop for some business owners in Ireland last week. This is probably the most comprehensive video I've done to explain Google Ads ... for business owners. What's your takeaways? What will you do different going forward? View: https://youtu.be/T0swT3kEOQs

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I've watched that one a handful of times I would probably feel better about doing something in that format where everyone is online rather than trying to talk to a bunch of people sitting in a room together.

 

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[Andy Black]

I've watched that one a handful of times I would probably feel better about doing something in that format where everyone is online rather than trying to talk to a bunch of people sitting in a room together.

Oh wow. You watched it a handful of times?

There's something about having a clipboard and getting in your face (camera wise) that I like.

Also, you can do it. From what you've written already you're more than capable and have the passion and (ahem) giddiness to pull it off.

 

[REV5028]

You watched it a handful of times?

Yeah! I was starting to dig deeper into Google Ads and I found there was a lot that goes into it. So I watched your video a few times to start getting familiar with the terms and figure out where to start. I explored the keywords planner a bit and was just about to sign up for your monthly membership when I got distracted by other tasks but I'll circle back for sure.

There's something about having a clipboard and getting in your face (camera wise) that I like.

I think this would help me too. There's something about online only presentations that just feels two dimensional to me. Maybe adding a layer of interactivity would make it feel more three dimensional.

Also, you can do it. From what you've written already you're more than capable and have the passion and (ahem) giddiness to pull it off.

Thank you, Andy, that really means a lot!