Episode 322 - Educating The Pet Industry with Mary Oquendo
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Release Date: 10/27/2023
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Ever wondered why the top business owners in any industry attend a mastermind every quarter? How can stepping into a hot seat in front of fellow owners change your business perspective? And what surprising lessons do you learn when you stop working in the business and start working on it? In this episode, I’m bringing you along for a unique peek behind the scenes of not one, but two mastermind meetings. In the beautiful city of Annapolis, I hosted my first ever USA Elite mastermind meeting where you’ll get to hear from members like Kim from Fetch Dog Resort, Kim and...
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Are you hiring with confidence or just simply hoping for the best? Do you ever worry what would happen if your whole morning crew called in sick? Can you use automation to attract better staff and save your sanity? In this episode, I’m sharing highlights from the first ever Pet Care Staffing Summit - a game-changing event for dog daycare, boarding, grooming, and pet retail businesses that need to build better teams. We hear first from Eve Molzhon who opens up about the chaos that led her to finally bring on a virtual assistant. Next up is Allison Jacobs, who delivers a hard truth about...
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Something different in this weeks special episode, where I’m the guest - not the host! Amazing dog trainer Jamie Gerald invited me to join her international dog trainer book club to talk about my very first book, How to Be Your Dog’s Superhero. What followed was a fantastic discussion about why real connection beats control, and how playing with your dog (yes, on your hands and knees!) can radically transform behaviour and bond. I share the story behind writing the book, the early mistakes I made as a dog walker, and why building a superhero-level relationship with your dog...
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Could your staffing costs be draining your profits? How do you scale pet care services without multiplying mistakes? What’s the easiest way to increase profitability without adding more clients? In this episode, I sit down with Sean Felty from Greenlin Pet Resorts - owner of six busy facilities and founder of Next Tree Strategies - to talk about how he’s helping pet care businesses plug their biggest profit leak: labour inefficiency. Sean shares how one payroll misstep at his own company sparked the creation of a labour benchmarking system that’s now saving operators thousands per pay...
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Do you want a pet business that makes money without running you into the ground? What’s the difference between a business that grows efficiently—and one that just gets busier? And how can better systems set you free while boosting your bottom line? In this episode, I’m joined by Josh Hightower, who shares how pet business owners can create a scalable, automated hiring funnel that attracts, qualifies, and converts great staff. Josh explains how to treat hiring like a sales process—complete with lead magnets, automation, and pre-qualification steps that save you hours and help you...
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Are your staff stuck at a dead end with no room to grow? Could a simple enrichment tweak transform your team’s motivation and retention? What if the key to attracting A+ hires was hiding in plain sight on your website? In this special Pet Care Staffing Summit preview episode, I’m joined by two fantastic guests -Tim Jackson and Joe Latona - who share the strategies they’re using to fix common hiring headaches in the pet industry. First up is Joe Latona from WalkerScout, who outlines the five crucial pieces every pet business owner needs in place to build a high-performing team. From...
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Are you tired of posting job ads only to hear crickets… or worse, getting flooded with unqualified applicants who disappear after two shifts? Why does it seem like every other business is poaching the best employees while you’re stuck with a revolving door of unreliable hires? And most importantly—what can you do to fix it? The hiring crisis in pet care is real. Business owners are stretched thin, juggling marketing, operations, and an endless cycle of recruiting and retraining. But what if hiring didn’t have to be this hard? That’s why I’m hosting the first-ever Pet Care Staffing...
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Are you relying too much on social media to attract clients? What’s the secret to getting the best customers to refer you to their friends? And how can you ensure your business evolves in a way that keeps YOU profitable and happy? In this episode, I share the next five pet biz rules that will help you build a more profitable, stress-free, and future-proofed business. I recently attended a mastermind, where I mapped out the next steps for my own business - focusing on what I enjoy, what actually works, and what needs to change. I also dive into why in this digital age we live in, offline...
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How do successful entrepreneurs make BIG breakthroughs in their pet business? More to the point, are you getting the help you need to elevate your thinking (and your vision, for where your business will go next?) See, for Dom this week has been all about helping others to move forward, AND I've been getting some help with my business challenges too. Many pet business owners are too stubborn or stupid to invest in the help they need. I regularly invest in coaching, consulting and masterminds, and this week after hosting my own mastermind I spent the day in Southampton with a...
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Are you struggling to keep up as your pet business grows? Worried that hiring more staff will lead to more headaches, not more profit? Curious about the strategies top pet business owners use to scale with confidence? In this episode, I sit down with Eve Molzhon from Dog Handler Academy to break down the game-changing strategies pet business owners can use to scale their operations while keeping control, profitability, and sanity intact. We uncover what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to growing a sustainable, high-profit pet business such as expanding to multiple locations,...
info_outlineThis weeks guest is the marvellous Mary Oquendo, who is helping to raise standards in the pet industry through her Pawsitive Educational Training platform.
Mary was born and grew up in Yonkers with her three brothers. She went to high school, dropped out of college got pregnant and married at a very young age.
She was a stay at home mom for a long time, until she started working as a bather at a local Petco. 2 days into the role, she had the opportunity to train to be a groomer, which she grabbed with both hands.
18 months later Mary was ready to branch out on her own and started her Pawsitively Pretty Mobile Grooming business.
Mary set herself up for success by investing in business coaches from day one. This led to fast growth of her business, and she had a full diary within 6 months. One year in she was firing bad clients and building a business she loved, and Mary shares some awesome advice about how she trained her clients to fit in with HER work schedule.
This business ran until around 4 years ago, and since then she's been running Pawsitive Educational Training, an online training platform that provides online resources that help groomers and other pet services providors.
Tune in to discover;
- Why you need to ignore the naysayers (even friends and family) who will try and put the brakes on your dreams of starting a pet business.
- How working out your hourly rate will help you decide what tasks needs to be outsourced OR deleted from your schedule.
- Why charging premium prices for your grooming services means you need LESS clients who pay you MORE money
- Why Pawsitive Ed is the perfect option for neurodiverse pet professionals who make up a large percentage of the industry, especially with groomers.
- Why you need to be planning NOW for the next phase of your buiness journey <-- Crucial Advice here
And much, much more...
Mary and I very much sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to premium pricing and positioning, and you'll get a TON of awesome business lessons from this amazing interview.
To find out more about Mary's Pawsitive Educational Training platform and the many online events they run by clicking here
Sign up to my brand new 'Five Day Pet Biz Funnel Challenge' by clicking here now
If you want more help and advice from me then you should grab a copy of my brand new book, How to Disnify Your Pet Business, click here to get your copy now
If you want more personal help and guidance from me then you should join the Pet Business Inner Circle, where you can get access to hundreds of trainings and ask Dom anything inside the members only private forum, then click here now
To apply to join Dom's Diamond private coaching program click here now