Episode 233 - How to Remotely Run and Scale a Successful Pet Business with Isabel Alvarez Arata
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Release Date: 08/12/2022
Episode 435: The Fast Pass: How to Leapfrog Your Dog Daycare Competition and Build A Premium, Destination Brand.
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Do you feel like you’re doing everything “right” — yet still progress in your pet business is slow and frustrating? What if business growth didn’t have to be a long, slow climb, but a sprint to the top of the pile? And what would change if you could skip the line and position your pet business at the front of the pack? In this episode, I’m back at my desk after a busy few weeks of travel, meetings, and event planning to share a simple but powerful idea: the Fast Pass. Borrowed from theme parks like Disney and Universal, a Fast Pass lets you bypass the queue and get where you want...
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Episode 434 - Takeaways from the Dog Daycare Elite Mastermind in Austin, Texas
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually happens when ambitious pet business owners step away from their facilities and into a room built for growth? How do these businesses move faster in three months than others do in three years? And what changes when you stop trying to solve problems alone and start tapping into collective experience? In this episode, I’m back home at Town Farm after a whirlwind trip to the U.S., sharing behind-the-scenes audio and reflections from our first Elite Mastermind of 2026 in Austin, Texas. You’ll hear directly from members as they walk out of the room admittedly tired, fired up,...
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433: Pet Business Perspective - How Looking Back Can Help Power Your Future Success
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
When was the last time you actually stopped to look at how far you’ve come in your business? What would change if you judged progress over three or five years — not the last three months? And how different would your goals be if you truly believed the next chapter could be bigger than anything you’ve built so far? In this episode, I check in from the middle of the Caribbean, recording from a cruise ship en route between speaking engagements in the U.S. Sharing travel chaos stories, football fandom, and my own evolution as a business owner, we explore why most entrepreneurs underestimate...
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Episode 432: Inside a Real Consultation Day with Dom Hodgson: How One Day of Strategy Can Save Years of Wrong Decisions
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually happens during a full, in-person pet business consultation day with Dom Hodgson? How does Dom spot hidden opportunities, fix leaks, and uncover an entirely new growth path in a single day? And how can one focused conversation save you years of trial, error, and frustration? In this first episode of 2026, I give you rare, behind-the-scenes access to a real consultation day I did with Adam Delderfield (PBIC Marketer of the Year) and Stella Seminerio. Rather than theory or tidy case studies, you’ll hear raw audio recorded at the end of an intensive strategy day — capturing...
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Episode 431: Dom's Big Pet Biz Lessons of 2025: Are You Growing a Pet Business or Building a Life You LOVE!
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What happens when you build a successful pet business… but forget to build a life around it? Why do so many hardworking pet professionals stay busy, stressed, and tired — even when the business is technically “doing well”? And how can you stop reacting to the year ahead… and start designing it on purpose? In this end-of-year episode, I hit pause between Christmas festivities to reflect on what 2025 really taught me about business growth, and also about my energy, downtime, leverage, and clarity. For me this was a year filled with travel-heavy months and packed event schedules...
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What Dog Daycare Owners Can Learn from a World-Class Copywriter, with Mike Samuels
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually separates businesses that blend in with the crowd… from the ones that stand out? Why do some owners seem to escape the race to the bottom on price, while others feel permanently squeezed? And what does behavioural psychology, copywriting, and niching properly have to do with running a predictable and more profitable dog daycare? In this episode, I share a special conversation recorded at the Elite UK Mastermind with Mike Samuels — one of the most renowned copywriters and behavioural psychology specialists in the world. While Mike doesn’t work in pet care, the lessons he...
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Episode 429: How to Build Your Daycare to Sell (Even if you Never do) with IMPACT 26 Keynote speaker,Tieja Heikkila
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What happens to your business when the economy shifts, jobs disappear, and your clients start feeling the pressure before you do? How resilient is your pricing, your positioning, and your client base if AI starts replacing roles your customers rely on? And what really changes when you experience Dom’s coaching in person — not through a screen, not in theory, but live and unfiltered? In this episode, Dom pulls back the curtain on why Teija Heikkilä was the only choice for keynote speaker at IMPACT 2026 — and why her message lands harder now than ever before. Teija isn’t talking...
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Episode 428: It’s Time to Disnify Your Dog Daycare: Get Your FAST-PASS Ticket to Success!
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What if you could transform your daycare into the Disney of your town, the place affluent owners brag about, pay more for, and refuse to leave? What would happen to your business if you mastered experience, enrichment, pricing, systems, and upsells in just two days? And what could next year look like if you finally stopped running a wacky warehouse… and started running a wonderland for dogs? In this week’s episode, I come in hot with the announcement I’ve been dying to make: The Disnify Your Dog Daycare LIVE Impact Success Summit is coming to ORLANDO in 2026. And it’s going to be the...
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Episode 427: Dom Hodgson's Thanksgiving Reflections: The Game-Changing Pet Biz Lessons I’m Grateful For (That Will Grow Your Business Too)
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What would happen if you stopped for a moment and actually looked at how far you’ve come in your business? How much easier would things feel if you recognised the wins, the lessons, the mistakes, and the mentors who helped you get here? And what breakthroughs might you unlock if you took stock of everything you should be thankful for as a pet business owner? In this Thanksgiving-themed episode, I take a breather from the post-Hershey whirlwind to reflect on the major moments, decisions, and people that have shaped my business journey. From leaving Imperial Tobacco, to finding the right...
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Episode 426 – Mission Enrich Launch Week: A Sneak-Peak at the Book and the Movement It’s Sparking…
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Ever wondered what actually goes into launching a book that could reshape the way dog daycares think about enrichment? What happens when you return from a whirlwind U.S. expo, jump straight into coaching calls, and then dive headfirst into recording your next audiobook? And what is it about enrichment that has daycare owners buzzing, levelling up, and leaving rave reviews within days? In this episode, I check in from a frosty, Christmas-tinged Town Farm to share the story behind the launch of Mission Enrich, my newest (and most unusual) pet business book. Fresh off the plane from Hershey,...
info_outlineThis weeks guest Isabel Alvarez Arata was born in Equador, moved to Florida as a child, and was surrounded by animals including rescue cats and even a monkey! She adopted her first dog aged 17 - a rescue called Baci, which means kisses.
She studied French and Business, and ended up being an English teacher in France aged 23. On her return to the USA she worked in a bank, in sales and in the hospitality industry.
She adopted another dog aged 27 but struggled to find a pet carer, so started her own pet care business in Northern Virginia in March 2008, and had taken on staff member by August of that year!
Isabel truly found her calling as a business owner and she thrived as a creative, energetic pet-entreprenuer.
She took the lessons from her previous roles and successfully systemised, staffed, and scaled up her business to the point where she had a team of 20, with hundreds of clients across the DC area.
Then she got married, moved to El Paso and ran the business remotley from 1700 miles away.
For five years Isabel hired remotely, interviewed remotely, trained remotely and managed the business remotely, WAY before Zoom became popular.
Then the pandemic hit and Isabel has to take the difficult decision to close the business, but then she found a new calling as the host of Covered in Pet Hair Podcast, a boozy pet and dog podcast on Pet Life Radio.
In this show you'll learn;
* How Isabel scaled her business by aquiring clients and then taking on staff in her new areas
* Why your pet business systems and procedures are a Living Document that need to be updated regularly
* How Isabels award winning business did over 100,000 visits to happy clients
* Why the systems and procedures are crucial to reassure the clients, the dogs, the staff members and to give YOU the busines owner the freedom you want.
Isabel is one of the most wise and giving guests I've had on the show, and you'll be truly inspired by her 'can-do' attitude!
Check out Isabels Covered in Pet Hair Show here
To attend Dom's Grow Your Pet Business FAST! Seminar in Florida click here
To do Dom's FREE 7 Day Pet Business Cost-of-Living Crisis Challenge click here