The Business Animal

Here we are already in the early days of 2022 and everyone is talking about their goals! Do you feel left out of the conversation? Or maybe you’re in the conversation but not sure of the value you’re getting by setting goals. This week Kim and Cara will help light a little spark of goal setting excitement and get you moving productively forward on setting goals for your animal, equine or pet based...

You spend a lot of time creating content — making social posts, writing blogs, recording videos, making brochures, publishing podcasts. But how do you turn that content into clients? Content marketing is a marathon marketing strategy, but we have to set our sights on getting consumers across the finish line and into our businesses or it’s a lot of energy expended for no return. In this episode, Ki...

Trolls are that nasty little voice in your head that keeps you awake at 3:00 am reminding you of all the things you struggle with. Telling you that you just aren’t good enough. You aren’t capable. You won’t be successful. That your business will fail. Trolls prevent you from taking action, taking new opportunities or taking the next step towards your goals. This week, Cara and Kim, are pleased to...

Rebranding is something many entrepreneurs ponder regularly. As you grow your business, you learn and shift, and you begin to wonder if you should shift your branding. Rebranding is a big decision fraught with complications and encompasses way more than your logo and company slogan. “Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room,” says today’s guest, Maredith Davis of Maredit...

Paid social media advertising Is it time to start paying for social media advertising for your animal, pet or equine-based business? Today, social media ads are among the top 5 ways that consumers are learning about new brands. On last week’s episode, covering organic social media, we learned that reach is never guaranteed, BUT paid social media increases the chances that your content gets discove...

Remember the good ol’ days of social media when you didn’t have to think about things like key performance indicators (KPIs)? When you could post something on your social media platform of choice and know that a large percentage of your audience would see what you posted. Today we are lucky if even a tiny percentage of our “follower” count actually see the content we are posting and working so har...

It is crucial to the success and longevity of animal, pet and equine-based businesses (and it’s just the right thing to do) that you don’t just showcase diversity, but that you increase the inclusivity of voices that are different from your own in all aspects of your business. On this week's episode of The Business Animal, Kim and Cara chat with self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, Shelly Watts of...

How do you overcome unexpected obstacles in your animal, equine or pet-based business? Obstacles will happen, and if there is one thing we have all learned from living through a pandemic… and running our businesses through a pandemic, is that we can’t plan for everything. However, we CAN work to navigate through those obstacles in a way that keeps our businesses moving forward. On this week's epis...

What do you do when the holiday business blues come knocking at the door of your animal, pet or equine-based business? When your existing clients are “waiting until after the holidays” to make their purchases and potential new consumers haven’t hit their “new year, new me” excitement yet. When it seems like everyone around you is celebrating the holiday festivities but you’re feeling a little blah...

Giving Tuesday is here and we want to encourage you to support your favorite non-profit organization. In today's episode, Kim and Cara sit down with Suzanne Hagmaier of Hope Held by a Horse to discuss their amazing mission. Hope Held by a Horse provides a safe, positive environment, in the company of horses, to support women with breast cancer to learn, grow, and heal. Woven in with the story of H...

Working through the holiday season as animal, equine and pet-based business owners is an exhilarating and EXHAUSTING time. While riding the roller coaster of entrepreneurial ups and downs, it can be easy to forget all the things we have to be grateful for as entrepreneurs when we are just trying to get through the day to day AND keep our sanity intact. It’s the season of giving thanks, so join Kim...

The first contact a customer has with your animal, equine or pet-based business often sets the tone for their entire experience. Today, Kim and Cara have some great ideas about how to create a wow factor right from day one AND how you can feel more confident handling the initial inquiry from potential clients.   Follow The Business Animal online at Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thebus...

Blogs are dead, right? Who reads blogs anymore? They are a lot of work and maybe you have allowed yours to grow cobwebs and get all dusty! Well get out the broom because blogging is not only still a thing — it’s an important part of your animal, equine or agri-based business marketing plan. In this episode Kim and Cara take a look at blogging — why it’s STILL important and the things you need...

If you are a business owner, and a woman, it’s pretty much a sure thing that you’ve heard the term imposter syndrome. At some point you may have even felt like a bit of an imposter in your quest to become the best animal, equine or agricultural based business owner you can. What is happening when you feel like you don’t belong in your industry? That you are “faking it until you make it" or are fee...

Let’s start thinking about ways to make money while you sleep! Like most small businesses, there’s one of you and you’ve got a lot of responsibilities in your animal, equine or agricultural based business. The day to day running of your business can be all consuming and it feels like there is little time to scale your business and create more income opportunities. What if you could generate passiv...

Is it time to hire a copywriter? On this episode Cara and Kim chat with Jennifer Dugas Bitting of The Equine Copywriter to discuss how hiring a copywriter can help animal, equine, and agri-based business owners create the best copy for websites, blog posts, social media and so much more. Jennifer talks through the three big steps necessary to create a successful relationship with a professional co...

Are you an animal, pet or equine-based business out there supporting other local businesses? Showing support to businesses in your local community is great for so many reasons. For starters, it keeps the local business economy booming which is also really good for YOUR animal business. On this feel good episode, Kim and Cara cover different ways that you can, and should, support other small busine...

Mental health in equine, pet and/or agri-business matters. On this episode of The Business Animal, Kim and Cara chat with Jason Medows of the popular podcast, Ag State of Mind, about breaking the stigma of mental health in agriculture. Jason shares some of his favorite resources and strategies to better manage mental health in rural America. Learn more about Jason and Ag State of Mind: website - h...

Quick note: Before listening to this episode, please consider your own personal safety. If you are experiencing an unsafe relationship, please choose a time and location that is safe for you to listen and consider marking the episode as "unplayed" and deleting your browser history when you finish. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and animal, equine and pet-based business owners have an...

Do you have an idea that you believe will transform your animal, equine or pet-based industry? On this week’s episode, Cara and Kim speak with Artemis Horse Match founder, Nick Bourdon, about his experience bringing a new product to the equine and equestrian marketplace. Nick shares his experience in getting to better know his ideal customer AND creating a product that, not only fits their unique...

You want to know the number one way to be more efficient in your animal, pet or equine-based business? Batching. Sounds incredibly boring right? BUT, you’re already doing it successfully in so many other areas of your life… Why not your business too? In this episode, Kim and Cara provide an easy to follow recipe for boredom-free batching that saves you time, keeps you consistent, and gets the work...

Successful marketing is not about you, it’s about your customers. So that begs the question: how much do you know about your ideal customer? It’s time to take a deep dive into their life and lifestyle — and identify how you can relate to them in a way that feels natural and comfortable (but makes you a lot of money!)  Follow The Business Animal online at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t...

Your WHY is your ‘go juice.’ It’s your mantra, it’s the reason you get up in the morning, it’s the engine that powers your ambition and courage. It’s the thing that makes you go forward when life gets ‘hella hard’ and weighs you down. When you connect your WHY with your mission and your life, you make things happen. When you have a clear connection to your WHY, fear and doubt won’t steal your time...

Hashtags are absolutely necessary on Instagram. But they are so confusing! Which ones do you use? How many? Do you repeat them? Where should you use them? Animal, equine and pet-based businesses SHOULD have a hashtag strategy that includes different types of hashtags. On this episode Kim and Cara talk about the nine different types of hashtags that business owners can start using right now to incr...

Testimonials are a huge marketing boon for your business. For many new customers, they are the deciding factor in choosing you over your competition. They are so valuable, we believe it’s time for you to take your customer Testimonials to the next level! In this episode, we give you detailed tips on how to get better testimonials from your customers. Follow The Business Animal online at Instagram:...