Your pet business, Your way

Fancy a look behind the scenes at some of the things I’ve learned since taking over a dog-friendly holiday cottage? I’ve been working with pet business owners for five years but have always felt a little lacking because I didn’t have a pet business of my own. That changed in April 2023 when I started a new holiday cottage business and took over Sunnyside Cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay. My plan was to...

Kerry Jordan is an award-winning dog photographer and founder of National Dog Photography Day, an event that goes viral every year. She works with small pet brands helping them showcase their work beautifully through her photography. Kerry says the key thing she has done to grow her business is build relationships with people in her community on social media and championing the work they do. In th...

Welcome to the first episode of the Your Pet Business Content Your Way podcast. This show is for you if you want to do things that feel right for you, that feel comfortable, that feel like you're being true to yourself. It's for you if you can't be bothered with the things you must do, if you're sick of hearing what you should be doing, and if you've had enough of people saying you have to do thin...

After three and a half years, I’ve made the decision to stop the Publicity for Pet Businesses podcast and give it a makeover. I have loved every moment of chatting to over 100 guests and putting out nearly 200 episodes, through the pandemic and the cost of living crisis that followed. The advice I’ve shared here, along with the brilliant insights from guests, has helped get pet businesses in the p...

This is a bonus episode of the podcast where I'm talking about why I'm taking a break for a couple of weeks due to family commitments. These are the key topics and timings in this episode: 0.04 - Introduction of this episode. 0.20 - What to normally expect from the podcast. 1.02 - Why I'm explaining myself in this episode. 1.47 - What's happening in my personal life that's impacted on my business....

Can you imagine what it would be like to be able to dip into a bucket of ready to go social media posts about your pet business every time you’re stuck for what to say. Material that you’ve created, so it’s not something you’ll see other businesses sharing, that’s unique to you, personalised for your clients? Having a bank of content can take away the ‘aghhhh’ and the demands we feel are put on us...

Can Imposter Syndrome be something that is helpful for your pet business?  According to Nicola Kinnard-Comedie, my guest on the podcast this week, it can. Nicola is a business and mindset coach for equine and canine practitioners.  She helps clients change their mental programming and develop business strategies to grow their horse or dog focused business. Self doubt, feeling as if you’r...

Trust is so important when a pet owner is considering a business to take care of their pet or provide a product for their pet. So how do you go about building it? There’s a formula you can follow called The Trust Equation and I’m exploring it on this week’s podcast. Created by management consultant David Maister in the 1990s, it’s made up of four components. The first three are credibility, reliab...

Colette Adwin is a graphic designer, Instagram expert and founder of content branding system Postagrid. She works with businesses showing them how to ensure their brands stand out on social media, with a seamless and memorable feed. We chat about what it was like when Instagram made significant changes, doubling down on video and how this impacted her work. Plus, falling in love with the challenge...

Have you been reading about ChatGPT and other ai tools and wondering if they might be helpful in your pet business? When I first tried ChatGPT in January, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure, and my mind was totally blown by it. Chat GPT is OpenAI’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer. It describes itself as an ‘AI-based chatbot that uses natural language processing to interact with humans and provide re...

Are you considering setting up a Facebook group for your pet business? They’re a brilliant way to raise your profile, build a community, learn what your customers and clients need and make friends. It’s a place where you can share your knowledge and expertise, find people to collaborate with and build your network and connections. Nearly five years ago I started a Facebook group, Publicity Tips fo...

Zoe Willingham is the founder of Best Behaviour Dog Training in Suffolk and started her business after leaving behind a corporate career. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to grow a large dog training academy, build a team to support you and live with nearly 100 animals, this podcast is for you. Zoe decided to learn more about dog training after getting her first dog Millie, a Cavalier King Ch...

When you’re looking for a pet business coach or mentor, is it important that they are certified? That they’ve followed a training programme, are affiliated with a professional body, and follow a code of ethics? The coaching industry is unregulated, similar to the dog training industry, and anyone can say they are a coach. I know this causes frustration in the pet professional world, as it’s import...

Note this is a recording of a workshop I did for Product Guru in March 2023. If you’d like to chat about working together, click here to head to my Calendly page here: https://calendly.com/rachelspenceruk/discovery-calls In this podcast, I’m talking about the two types of publicity you can use for your pet product business and you can listen in on the player link or read the key points covered as...

Of all the platforms, LinkedIn is the least popular for pet businesses but Nicki Cameron has embraced it with gusto. In just over 18 months, she’s styled herself as the dog lady of LinkedIn and it’s bringing in leads and inquiries for her photography business. Nicki also did a 31 day ‘Brighten up your January’ challenge, lighting up LinkedIn AND all the other social platforms. And it helped to tak...

Would you love to see your pet business in the press but you're not sure how to go about it? In this podcast I'm sharing three ways I can help you get your pet business featured in newspapers, magazines, radio and even on the telly. Whether you have NO budget at all or you'd like to invest in spending a day together learning everything you need to know to pitch stories to journalists, there's an o...

Sarah Mills started designing cute bow ties for her Cockapoo Albie so he looked sweet when he accompanied her to her art studio. And when other people remarked on how gorgeous they were it inspired her to start a pet accessory business. Since starting as a bit of fun back in 2017, Albie's Boutique has grown and Sarah has created more than 13,000 products for dog lovers. Now, Sarah has her dream pe...

Are you fed up of seeing the same old dog trainers spouting advice in the media and want a slice of the action? It can be frustrating seeing the same names crop up over and over, particularly if you feel they use methods which are out of date. Or aversive, or that leave pet owners feeling stressed and upset as it’s not the way they want to train their dog. There IS something you can do about it -...

Are you thinking of taking part in the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator programme which supports businesses looking to grow? If so, this podcast interview with Sophie Gowling, Enterprise Acceleration Manager for NatWest will give you all the information you need. You’ll learn what the programme is, the four pillars of support, who it’s for, what coaching is, how it can support your pet business an...

Do you shy away from sharing you and your world in your marketing? If so, this chat with Alex McCann is for you. Alex is a former journalist turned marketer and has been working in social media for 13 years at Altrincham HQ. From MySpace to TikTok, he’s had to get his head round every platform for his own business and that of his clients. He’s figured out what works and what doesn’t, and what he s...

She’s never done a Facebook live, her referrals come from her hairdresser and she’s gone from struggling to fill classes to causing so much FOMO she has a waitlist. Meet Sandra Emmons from Happipup, my guest on the podcast this week who is throwing the rules out of the window and doing things her way. Sandra runs an award winning dog and puppy training business in Berkshire and is talking about us...

Do you have a review of your year? What you did? What worked? What didn’t? What brought you joy? What made you want to howl with rage? This week on the podcast I’m talking through what happened in my business in 2022. You’ll find the episode interesting if you’re nosey like me and if you’re looking for a framework to do a review of your own. I’m sharing a warts and all account including the launch...

Goals - does it make you want to weep when you hear the word? Or are you a goal getter? This week’s podcast is about setting goals and sticking to them. In it I talk about how to decide on a goal that’s achievable and also something that you actually want. Plus considering WHY you want to achieve it and what it will mean to you. And why I DON’T want to have a six figure business. Plus four example...

Are you kicking yourself for missing out on Christmas advent calendar or 12 days of Christmas countdown? If so this podcast episode is for you. It’s all about forward planning for 2023 so you can get ahead of yourself and make sure you’re maximising every opportunity. So you can link the product or service you offer to seasonal content and bring more sales to your business. It’s a really simple me...

Are you ready for a rest this Christmas? I know I am! AS we wind down to the holidays it’s a time to reflect on the year and this week’s podcast is looking at 12 C’s which will help your pet business thrive. Each word beginning with C is something to consider when you’re marketing your pet business, in your interactions with your customers and also, when taking care of YOU. Every word has been cho...