When you run a business, it can feel like you never stop and there’s so much you need to do. This week’s podcast is about the importance of taking a pause every now and then to take stock, see what’s working, and give yourself a chance to take a breath! I’m talking about how pause works in coaching, both as a coach and a coachee or client, and remember if you’re educating your clients in any kind of way, this is a form of coaching. Plus, taking a pause with your content, particularly if you produce long-form content on a regular basis, like a blog, vlog or podcast.  This is a lot of work ..read more

When you make a decision in your pet business, do you consider the impact on your physical and mental health, or do you tend to think about the money? I’m chatting about this with my podcast guest Jane Ardern, and whether you really do need to grow a huge pet business. Or if it’s ok to have one that brings in enough to pay the bills, gives you a comfortable lifestyle and time to enjoy with your own animals. As solopreneurs, we have to think about money and bring in enough to survive. But, our decisions also impact our health and well-being. Jane is a dog trainer and behaviourist. She’s sp ..read more

Can you grow a pet service business via in-person networking? Hayley Hilton, a canine massage practitioner and pet sitter says ‘yes you can.’ Hayley has been in the pet industry since 2014 after she started her own Hotel for Dogs. Later, she studied to become a massage therapist and wanted to get the word out there in her local community about Hands on Heart canine massage. While online is often seen as the ideal way to reach people, Hayley went old school. She joined groups like 4Networking and BNI, and soon built a steady client base and became known as the ‘Canine Massage Lady of the North ..read more

Are you wondering whether you should use tools like ChatGPT and other AI platforms in your pet business content marketing?  Perhaps you’ve read the headlines and are feeling uncertain about whether they’re right for you, or you’re curious as to how they could help?  In this podcast episode, I’m talking about how AI is in our everyday lives, whether we like it or not. Plus how these tools can only help us if we begin the creative process ourselves, by feeding AI what we want to work with.  It’s about striking the balance so you can maintain your unique voice and brand identity wh ..read more

Are you thinking of starting a blog, a podcast or a YouTube channel and regularly publishing content around your pet business? If so this podcast episode is for you, as it will help you decide which style of content is right for you. And if you choose the one that’s most suited to your skills and taps into what you actually enjoy doing, then it’s more likely that you’ll find creating it enjoyable and remain consistent. In this episode, I’m going to talk about why you should invest time and resources into creating this type of content and the advantages it brings.  I’m sharing the various ..read more

When Sarah Jones started My Anxious Dog, her business selling yellow space awareness products, people told her they were pointless. At that time, eight years ago, very few people knew that a dog wearing yellow meant they were anxious and needed space. Sarah understood how important it was for anxious dogs and their owners because she has an anxious dog herself, Cocker Spaniel Bella, who inspired her to start her business. Instead of giving up, this only fueled Sarah’s determination to push forward. She made it her mission to educate every dog owner about Dogs In Yellow. Fast forward to today ..read more

When you start a business or even if you’ve been running it for some time, talking about what you do can be challenging. There are all kinds of reasons why, as an entrepreneur, you might feel lacking in confidence when it comes to self-promotion. In this podcast episode, I’m talking about the importance of becoming comfortable and confident when it comes to sharing how you support your customers and clients. And exploring what confidence is, and providing some simple strategies to help build it, because if you’re not visible, your potential clients are going to go elsewhere. If you’d like to l ..read more

What if the path to growing your pet business wasn’t following the latest trends on social media but involved listening to people instead? That’s what Hayley Bonwick discovered worked for her when she set up her handmade pet accessory business Handmade by Hayley B. Hayley found trying to keep up with the ever changing demands of platforms completely overwhelming. Yet when she went to events with her flyball team and local shows, she LOVED chatting to people about what they needed for their dogs. So instead of following the crowd, she tuned in to her community and made products for them – thing ..read more

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 make it a paradise for pups, and to implement what I’ve learned working as a journalist, coach, and blogger supporting other small businesses. In this podcast episode, I’m sharing how the first few m ..read more

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. 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 things their way. You want to do things your way. In this introductory episode I’m sharing what to expect from the podcast and you can listen on the player link below: Here’s an overview of this episode: Why I’ve chan ..read more