Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview

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Tod McVickerI’m back with a new interview with successful business owner Tod McVicker who provides training and behavior modification training for dogs. Tod works with dogs in the client’s home and also offers a 2 week board and train program.   He specializes in working with puppies, dogs with phobias or obsessions, and works with owners to solve more serious issues such as grown dogs with aggression problems.   Tod’s self expressed mission is to help owners and dogs break down the walls and truly communicate.  

1. What kind of business do you run? I address dog behavior issues and training, through in home consultations and board and trains.  

2. How long have you been in business? My company, Redeeming Dogs, has been in business a bit over a year, but I have shown dogs in AKC conformation on and off since 1988.  

3. Why did you choose to start a pet care business? I have a passion for teaching dog owners true leadership, and for improving dog/owner relationships.      

4. What advice would you give someone about to launch a new pet care business? Know who you are and what specifically what you can offer - if you try to emulate what’s already out there locally, someone else’s style and approach, you won’t stand out. Also be sure you study with the best professionals you can locate, invest money in traveling to meet and training with the best 5% out there nationwide in your field of interest.     

5. What has been the greatest challenge in growing your business? Growing my business while working a regular 40 hour day job takes a lot of sacrifice of evenings, weekends, and family time.  

6. What are the pros and cons of your profession? The best feeling is making a difference in a family’s relationship with their dog (or dogs), and seeing dogs keep their homes that might have lost them without help. The worst feeling is sometimes knowing the client is not committed to making the changes they must make to help their dogs.  

7. What daily tasks do you enjoy most? I love teaching a dog to walk on a leash correctly that has never known how. It usually takes just a few minutes and makes the owners very happy.   

8. If you could have done anything differently what would it have been? I feel the Lord brought me to this at the right time in my life, I’ve made some mistakes but learned valuable lessons through them. So I would not change anything.   

9. Did you have a mentor or business coach? If so how did they help you? I joined the International Association of Canine Professionals, the IACP ( www.dogpro.org), soon after starting my business. I have been mentored by several of their most experienced trainers, among them Martin Deeley, past president of the IACP. My contacts in the IACP, and the professional relationships formed there, have made all the difference in the success of my business.  The IACP is for trainers, behaviorists, groomers, pet sitters, any type of dog professional.      

10. What form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet owners? Most of my business comes from dog owners that go to Cesar Millan’s website after they have watched the “Dog Whisperer” program on the National Geographic Channel. His site links folks to the IACP website, and then by doing a local search for help on that site they find local professionals like myself. I also get a fair amount of business from referrals, and some from the advertising on my vehicle. I get customers also by simply taking one of my dogs to Starbucks and hanging around outside, people love my dogs and end up calling me for help with their dogs.        

11. Do you offer clients incentives for giving referrals? I will refund a client’s consultation fee fully if they send me 5 clients.  

12. At what stage of your business growth did you choose to take on help? My wife does the website construction and maintenance, and the business side - I do the training and advertising. That’s it, no other employees.     

13. What have you done to differentiate your business from your local competitors?  I put a great deal of thought into why I want to do this, what my company was formed to do, and then I pursued excellence in those areas. I don’t sell clients dog training, I create a relationship with them, help them, and the work flows from there. I don’t try to isolate my personal life, my faith, or my interests from the business, who I am comes through on my website and during my appointments with clients. People come to me because they want to deal with a person, not a chain or a franchise .  

If you would like more information about Tod’s business and training methods please visit his site at www.RedeemingDogs.com.

Please leave your comments on this interview and let me know if you have any questions that you would have like to see Tod answer. If you have suggetsions for future interviews please email me at daniellechonody@gmail.com  banner



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Comments

8 Comments so far

  1. Pet » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 19, 2007 6:50 pm

    [...] Danielle Chonody wrote an interesting post today on Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business InterviewHere’s a quick excerptThe IACP is for trainers, behaviorists, groomers, pet sitters, any type of dog professional. 10. What form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet owners? Most of my business comes from dog owners that go to … [...]

  2. Pet Dog » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 19, 2007 8:52 pm

    [...] Danielle Chonody wrote an interesting post today on Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business InterviewHere’s a quick excerptWhat form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet owners? Most of my business comes from dog owners that go to Cesar Millan’s website after they have watched the “Dog Whisperer” program on the National … [...]

  3. Pet Care » Blog Archive » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 19, 2007 8:59 pm

    [...] Danielle Chonody wrote an interesting post today on Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business InterviewHere’s a quick excerptWhat advice would you give someone about to launch a new pet care business? Know who you are and what specifically what you can offer - if you try to emulate what’s already out there locally, someone else’s style and approach, … [...]

  4. Business Marketing » Blog Archive » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 19, 2007 9:22 pm

    [...] Danielle Chonody wrote an interesting post today on Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business InterviewHere’s a quick excerptI also get a fair amount of business from referrals, and some from the advertising on my vehicle. I get customers also by simply taking one of my dogs to Starbucks and hanging around outside, people love my dogs and end up calling me … [...]

  5. Email Marketing » Blog Archive » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 19, 2007 9:37 pm

    [...] Working with Pets - Start and Grow a Pet Business wrote an interesting post today on Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business InterviewHere’s a quick excerpt [ Tod McVicker]I’m back with a new interview with successful business owner Tod McVicker who provides training and behavior modification training for dogs. Tod works with dogs in the client’s home and also offers a 2 week board and train program.   He specializes in working with puppies, dogs with phobias or obsessions, [...]

  6. business » Redeeming Dogs - Dog Training Pet Business Interview on October 21, 2007 5:39 am

    [...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]

  7. Gimp on November 29, 2007 6:17 am

    Leadership training programs help in developing efficient skills for anyone at every level of the organization.But, for puppies, they are great dogs. They just need a lot of leadership.Theleadership for dogsskill training focuses also on strategic thinking

  8. Palmer on December 10, 2007 5:52 am

    Protection is an instinctual behavior of dogs.Now a days dog training business has good demand.Every one wants their pet to be aggressive.With dog behavior training
    programs you can now save time, energy, and maybe even your dog’s life.The best time to start dog behavior modification is when the dog is a young puppy just out of the nursery box.

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