Winners of the One Page Business Plan Announced At The Pet Business Forum

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When I launched The Pet Business Forum a couple of weeks ago I gave all my readers an incentive to get involved and start networking. I promised all members that made 5 posts at the forum that they would receive a free copy of my new toolkit “The One Page Pet Business Plan”.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Suz from Love Your Pet Expo

Carol from Bloomingtails Dog Boutique

Diana from Ark Animals

Marie from Lucky Paws Pet Sitting

Jan from The Fine Art Cafe

Diana Cobb and

Stacy from The Business Forms Store


Thank you to everyone who has registered for the forum. We have done some great networking and shared some great business tips. If you haven’t joined us yet please come take a look at www.petbusinessforum.com

The One Page Pet Business Plan is available to purchase for only $10. The toolkit leads you through the 5 essential components of an effective business plan, gives explanations of what should be contained in each section, and offers examples from my own personal pet sitting business plan. It also includes a simple template that you can fill in while reading the book and have your own plan ready to go! A business plan will keep you focused and on track in your business in 2008. It is an essential tool to ensure the success of your pet business.

Click here to purchase your copy for just $10

How To Effectively Use Photographs To Boost Sales For Your Pet Industry Business

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Today’s post is brought to you by guest writer Nicoline Lentze. Nicoline is a copywriter/marketer specializing in the pet industry.  

Are you using photographs effectively in advertisements for your pet product or service?

You may think that it’s just a matter of finding a few cute pictures of a dog or cat and strategically placing them throughout the ad, right?   While that’s one way to use pet photographs in your marketing material, it’s not the best or only use of such a powerful tool. You can make pictures of pets work to your benefit in several different ways. Pet owners enjoy looking at photographs of other animals. A cute, well- taken shot of a pet warms the heart. Besides that, whether in color or back-and-white, photos draw people’s attention quite naturally. If your competition isn’t using images, you definitely want to decide to include some in your advertising, since that alone will give you a visual edge. 

Photos to Draw Attention… 

If there are 2 brochures on display advertising a similar product and one has on its cover a line drawing of a cat while the other has a professional pet photograph on the front, which one will draw the most attention? The picture of a real animal in all its cute glory inevitable wins out and that company ends up with more business. Another use of attention-grabbing photos is to place them along with a vital point or feature you want your customer to read about: the eye will naturally travel to the image and then to the text that’s  right there. If there’s a feature about your product or service that you’re certain will make the sale include it in close proximity to a photo! 

Photographs to Break up the Text… 

In the case of a brochure or a webpage, you have the opportunity to write about your pet product or service in quite some detail. However, given the average person’s attention span, when faced with paragraph after paragraph of printed words, the mind loses focus.  There are a number of ways to break up the sheer volume of text. One method is to use subheadings which I’ve done in this article. You can insert testimonials. Let’s not, however, forego an opportunity to add an adorable picture of a pet, representative of similar animals that your product has helped.  Rather than risk losing your reader’s attention, plan a controlled “mini-break” for their mind through the use of a photo before you segue to your next point or section. 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…. 

We’ve all heard that saying before. While the word count may be somewhat exaggerated, there is certainly some truth to the adage. Suppose you need to work with a relatively small space, such as a quarter page magazine ad: suddenly every word becomes precious. Your font size must be easy to read and yet there’s so much detail to include. Perhaps you want to note that your boarding facility accepts cats as well as dogs … or that your supplement can be used for both types of animals. Rather than use up another line of text, let a photograph speak for you: include one of a cat and dog together. Readers will pick up on the implication and you now have room to mention another fact about your business or product that a photo cannot convey. 

Now About Those Photos…

Try to think like your customers when selecting your photographs. If you’re marketing an herbal pain-relief supplement for dogs to the general populace, is it really wise to use a photo of a canine in the show ring? Would it not be better to include a photograph of an average middle-aged dog who still likes to go out for a romp in the park? It’s very tempting to use the cutest photograph or a shot of the most popular breed of the day: but does this really tell your audience what they want to hear?

Even more important, is that particular photo suitable? This brings us to the next point…

Amateur or Professional?  Another choice you have to make is what type of photo you want to use. Proud pet owners, like parents with kids, love to share pictures of their animals with you. As a result, you may well have a wonderful selection of dog and/or cat photos that you could use in your advertisements. The real question is: are they usable?  Most of your customers are not professional photographers and have never taken a course in photography. So take a look at those pictures very carefully. Is Snowball nothing more than a small, white, non-descript kitten-like shape against the huge background of the yard? Can you actually see T.J.’s face? Do you want to publish the photo of Misty even though her snout is partially blocked by the tree trunk?  While more costly, it may be a wise one-time investment in your business to solicit the aid of a professional photographer and have him or her take some pet photographs. The Internet may also be a valuable source to find non-copyrighted photo images for your use. 

One Final Point…

Is it better to use a photograph rather than a line drawing or cartoon-type image? Let’s look at it this way: you’re a serious business-owner and you’ve worked hard to develop your product or service. You’re a professional in your field and you want your customers to take you seriously.

While a cute cartoon-like image may be appropriate for some pet toys, on the inner pages of a brochure, or selectively placed within your website, start by using a “real” photograph to set the tone for your ad. Liven up your advertising with photographs by all means, but be particular about the quality and type of images you use and be clear on what purpose each selection serves. 

Thanks Nicoline for this article. For more information on her services, visit http://www.petindustrymarketing.com. As both a consumer of and marketer for the pet industry, Nicoline has the ability to focus on what consumers are looking for in a pet product or service.  

Use The Law of Attraction to Grow Your Pet Business

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Law of Attraction EbookHave you heard about the Law of Attraction? I first ran into it online a couple of years ago and have since been a fan of The Secret video and books which describe how you can use it’s principles to attract into your life exactly what you desire.

The Law of Attraction principle is simple - but can be difficult to apply. The principle is that you will attract into your life what you think about. Let me give you an example. If you believe and say to yourself every day - this month I will sign up 20 new clients - then you will attract to your business 20 new clients. Sounds easy right, but really it’s not. The saying may be easy but you must actually believe that the result is going to happen. Any hint of doubt or skepticism will destroy the attractive process and you will undermine your intention from coming true.

Also - you can’t just sit around meditating and believing in your dream. It does require action on your part to strive to achieve what you desire to set the wheels of the Law of Attraction in motion.

There are 3 basic steps to follow to apply the Law of Attraction to your business:

Clarity - you need to be very clear on what you want to manifest in your pet business. This can be difficult. Sometimes reversing this process can be easier. By knowing what you definately don’t want in your life and business you can begin to see a clearer picture of what it is that you do want. As you determine what you want your business to look like - write it down to help you keep focused on this goal.

Visualization - the Law of Attraction uses energy or vibrational pull that each person has inside them. Visualize yourself having already obtained the business and life of your dreams that you wrote about in the first step.

Allowing - the most difficult step yet! You must be open to all opportunities and not let fear and anxiety into your thoughts. Fear and anxiety will unconciously push away the good things coming into our lives.

Wonderful Web Women have just released a new ebook - The Law of Attraction in Action that is free and will help you move forward toward achieving these 3 steps and put the Law of Attraction to work in your life and business.  The ebook contains articles from 37 successful women with over 100 action steps you can use today to attract success.

I read through the stories this week and was very inspired to increase my efforts to live the 3 steps. I highly recommend the ebook and the best part is you can also share it with your friends and family.

Click here to learn more about the FREE ebook and download your copy.

Pet Business Interview with Lorna from Happy Tails Canine Spa

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Lorna PaxtonIt’s been way too long since I brought you my last interview. This week I interviewed Lorna who is the Co-founder and president of Happytails Canine Spa.

Happytails donates a portion of proceeds from the sale of it’s products to Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

Los Angeles based Happytails sells and markets happytails spa products for the dog about town. Happytails Canine Spa Line uses the finest (better than human quality) ingredients available to pamper, sooth and beautify today’s harried hound. The products can be ordered through the company website at www.HappytailsSpa.com or by calling 1-866-HAPPY-20.

On with the interview:

1. What type of business do you run?

Happytails is a line of all natural spa grooming and wellness products for dogs.

2. How long have you been in the pet business?

Almost 4 years.

3. Why did you choose to start a pet business?

I used to work in the cosmetics/skin care industry, in product development. I started Happytails because I wanted to raise the bar in what was available for dogs. There are so many ingredients and technologies that weren’t being used in pet care products, probably due to cost, or because those ingredients just weren’t being marketed in the pet industry. We incorporate “better than human quality” ingredients in all of our products.

4. What advice would you give someone about to launch a new pet care business?

The pet care industry has expanded very rapidly in the last few years, both in the number of manufacturers and stores. Do your homework. Some sectors are saturated. Just make sure there is a market for your product or service, and if there is check out your competition. If all looks good, then go for it. Make sure you have the capital and then invest in marketing to get the word out.

5. What has been the greatest challenge in growing your business?

Cash flow!

6. What are the pros and cons of your profession?

Being a small business owner is great because there is a lot of flexibility. You get to try out lots of new ideas, and they don’t have to pass through committee before you can start. On the negative side, it’s your business and you get to deal with the not so pleasant parts as well as cash-flow, paying bills, inventory management and many other things you may or may not like.

7. What form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet owners?

We market mostly to pet boutiques, who them market to the consumer. But in a business to business context our most successful marketing activity has definately been going to trade shows. We attend 8-10 a year.

8. Do you offer clients incentives for giving referrals?

Yes, we offer those to clients.

9. At what stage of your business did you choose to take on help?

I have a business partner, so there have been 2 of us since the beginning. We decided to get a 3rd person about 1 1/2 years into it to help us with sales.

10. Did you choose to use employees or independent contractors? Why?

We use independent contractors. For just one employee, setting up employee payments through a bank or other avenue isn’t cost effective. Most people who work with us are part time, so for them it’s better if they handle their own taxes and it’s better for us so we don’t have to make the various tax payments out to the different government agencies.

11. What have you found is the best way to find new staff members?

We have found our independent contractors through Craigslist. It’s only $25 to post, whereas Monster.com is about $300.

12. What have you done to differentiate your business from your local competitors?

Our product line and marketing is what makes us different. First of all we take a holistic approach to the care of your dog. We create product to take care of problems both internally and externally. For example, tearstains. We have a two part solution to combat this. The first part is a topical all natural pad used to remove residue from around the dogs eyes. The 2nd part is an all natural supplement you put in your dogs food.

Also our products are very unique and “ownable”. For example - Dog Smog Remedy is a breath spray and digestive solution .. in other words, it gets rid of both bad breath and gas! While Fur Butter (or Fur Worse) is an ultra rich deep conditioning treatment for dry, damaged and long coats.

Our line is very whimsical yet our products really help dog owners solve problems that dogs face like bad breath, gas, tearstains, mattes & tangles, odors and more.

Thanks to Lorna for sharing the secrets of her success with us here at Working with Pets. If you would like a free sample of the Happytails products - look down on the left sidebar for their ad.

Remember - if you would like to share your business with us please email me at daniellechonody@gmail.com or leave a comment right here at the end of this post.

Don’t Miss Puppy Bowl IV on Animal Planet

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Puppy Bowl Animal PlanetIf you’re a football fan you already know that this is Super Bowl weekend. But have you heard about the Puppy Bowl?

The Puppy Bowl is some comedy relief puppy style as a pre-game Super Bowl alternative just for pet lovers.

During the show puppies of all breeds run around a minature football field playing with toys, wrestling, and drinking from Bowl Cam (yes - they show shots from a camera placed at the bottom of a water bowl).

If you are a cat lover don’t worry that you will miss out - the half time show features the Bissell Kitty Half Time Show. A bunch of curious kittens throwing around a toy mouse.

All puppies and kittens are from area shelters and I believe that they are available for adoption.

At the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl site you can see pictures of all the pups appearing on the starting line-up and read a profile on each breed. They also have puppy games - like pair the puppy where you turn over cards and match the puppies, and puppy jigsaw puzzles. They also have a Tail-Gate party guide for getting your pooches together for the game that includes treat recipes, decoration ideas, and party favors.

If you are ready to start the action you can see video clips of last years event at Animal Planet’s website.

The show starts at 3pm ET/PT on Sunday February 3rd. Don’t miss a minute of the puppy action!

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