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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
Valuing your values: life updates + aligning yourself as a dog trainer and owner
Hey folks and welcome back. This week we're talking all about values and how to align yourself with the life you want to live, whether that's in how you live with your dog, the business you run, or the trainers you choose to work with.
When you get clear on your values, you'll be able to bring that with you to help you make the best decisions- leading to less frustration and burnout and drive you towards the life you dream of.
I'm sharing life updates and what's going on here at the dog house and the future of the everyday trainer. I'll chat about the awesome events we have going on soon and how you can join my little community of compassionate and supportive dog owners + trainers.
Grab a tasty drink and enjoy!
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Hello friends and welcome back to the Everyday Trainer podcast. My name is Meg and I am a dog trainer. Today's episode I'm talking about values the values that we bring into our training. Whether you're just an owner or you're running a training business or you're helping other people with their dogs, it's really important for us to get clear on our values, because that's going to point us in the direction that's going to be most aligned with the best version of ourselves. So we're going to talk about values. I'm going to give you lots of crazy life updates and, yeah, just check in. So you know the drill grab yourself a tasty drink and meet me back here. Hey y'all, welcome back.
Speaker 1:It's been a little bit. I have been completely procrastinating doing this episode. It is kind of a big, a big deal for me. We've got a lot of check-ins and life updates and changes going on around here and I have, you know, been procrastinating, sharing with everybody, because that means that it's real right. So, as a lot of you know, I have been running a you know in-person training business from my house in Orlando for the past six years. So I started off as a dog walker, started walking dogs and transitioned into a training company. Over the years I've had, you know, over 20 employees. I've trained thousands and thousands of dogs. There's been a lot going on and I've reached the point where I'm making some big changes.
Speaker 1:If you keep up with me on social media, you might have seen that I'm kind of making this shift into helping people with their businesses online. And the reason why I'm doing that well, there's a couple of reasons, obviously more than just one. But the reason why I'm doing that is because, as you all know, like running a training business is exhausting and I've talked about being burnt out in this business for so, so long and I just feel like it's time to really make a shift from being the person that is hands on training all the dogs you know, being the one that's running the business, versus helping people do that for themselves. So I talk about often how I've made every possible mistake that you can make in running a business, and I mean that, like I have truly been through the ringer in my business and I think I've had a lot more drama than a lot of other people have, simply because I grew my business very quickly.
Speaker 1:Like I'm very much like an all in type of person, I went, you know, balls to the walls when I first started my business and I essentially haven't taken a day off since then. So like, even when I go on vacations, even when you know you see me traveling across the country with all of my dogs, like I'm still on the phones with my people doing calls, like doing all of the business side of things. I never really take time off and you know that's just kind of part of it. But I've reached a point where I really was kind of like sitting back and looking at the life that I set up and I realized that I wasn't running my business and living my life in a way that aligns with my values. And one of the things that I coach other trainers on is, you know, I have them sit down and write out their values, because that's a great way to make decisions. Make decisions in whether you know you're just training your own dog or in your training business, like how are you going to structure it? It has to align with those values. And it's very easy to get lost in the sauce whenever you're running a training business, like it's very easy to just be like, okay, we're running a training business, like it's very easy to just be like, okay, we're going to do this, we're going to do this, and you know people like board and train. So we're going to do board and trains, we're going to like, push these things because it's you know seemingly what's working, but you know, deep down, it wasn't really aligning with my values and what I like. So we're going to get into values.
Speaker 1:Today I'm going to share with you my crazy life updates and then, yeah, just have a nice little chat. It's good to be back. I love, you know, recording this podcast. I love sharing everything with all of you. This is my time to kind of dump and get into like the nitty-gritty of you know what's going on in the world of dog training or my life or my business. So this is going to be a little bit more personal, but it's also going to be really valuable to you if you're in the process of training your dog and you might feel like you know, maybe you're working with a trainer that doesn't really align with your values, but you're just kind of going with it because you know, maybe you're working with a trainer that doesn't really align with your values, but you're just kind of going with it because you you know this is what the trainer says. Or maybe you're at the start of launching your training business and you're just kind of doing what everybody else does. I want you to get really clear on those values, because it's going to help point you in the right direction.
Speaker 1:So my tasty drink of choice today is some iced coffee to further fuel my anxiety, if you know. You know, sometimes you just need some caffeine. Yesterday I did not drink caffeine and I realized that I'm a thousand percent addicted to it and for a while I wasn't doing that Like I didn't drink a whole lot of caffeine. And then, welcome to dog training. You're like, holy shit, I am exhausted and drained and I have to like, keep drinking coffee or I'm just going to, you know, pass out on the couch somewhere. So life updates for me pretty exciting things going on around here. I touched on, you know, helping people with their businesses.
Speaker 1:But the reason why I'm making such a shift away from the in-person business to online is because I am actually moving to the West Coast. So I know you guys have probably seen me in my van before traveling with all of my dogs. Well, I'm going to actually make that a full time thing. So my partner and I, toma, he also has a Sprinter van, it's just meant to be right. So he also has a Sprinter van. He actually used to build out vans, so he has a like built out van and he's going to kind of, you know, redo it before our trip. But we're sitting at the beginning of July here, and August 15th I'm actually going to Costa Rica for three weeks with my stepsister. Costa Rica for three weeks with my stepsister.
Speaker 1:I haven't had a vacation where the business wasn't running, where I got to like take a step back in over six years, which is just so wild to me. Previously, when I went on vacations, I think the last place I went to was Puerto Rico and I went, you know, on a surf trip with my friends. I ended up coming back to my business just being a complete shit show, like to say it lightly. It was truly just a shit show, and the reason being is like I didn't have I didn't have like the best clients at the time and it was very much like they would be upset if I would leave, very much like they would be upset if I would leave. They weren't like supportive of me taking breaks and like didn't like, you know my trainers or my walkers, you know being there and doing things instead of me. I was kind of in a weird position in the beginning of my business where the business was successful because of me, and that's something that I've learned has to has to change if you're looking to actually like grow a business.
Speaker 1:There's one thing when you know you personally are just like a dog trainer or a dog walker or whatever and like that's it. You don't have other people. But when you make that transition to you being the sole person, to having other people, like it can really rub people the wrong way. Like in my case, I felt like these clients felt like they had ownership over me and I'm not like If, if you're one of my clients and you're listening to this, like it's not you, I promise. Like I have two very specific people in mind when I'm talking about this and they don't like me anymore. So like don't take this personally, I promise it's not you.
Speaker 1:But at the time I had like some clients who kind of felt like they had ownership over me and I remember one day I was like sick and I was like, hey, just so you, I'm sending in this other trainer. Today I'm sick and they got mad and literally like fired me because I took a sick day. Or like I went on vacation and they like fired my employee, like and didn't tell me when I was on vacation, like just things like that so I would come back from vacation and basically have to like clean up a bunch of messes. And it just wasn't worth it for me. I was like, all right, well, I'm just not going to take off like this truly is not worth it for me. When I have to come back and like deal with all of this stress, like I wasn't able to go on vacation and actually relax, I wasn't able to, you know, take a step back and look at my business from a larger perspective. It was really just like, okay, I have to come back and like jump right into cleaning up messes and making sure that like everything is running smoothly again. It kind of felt like I was having to start from square one. So I was like, all right, I'm not going to do this anymore. Like I just I'm never going to leave, right, so that's kind of what I did.
Speaker 1:And then it got to the point where I, you know, decided I had a house full of people here. I decided to take off on my road trip. I felt like I really didn't have any other choice. I was so burnt out. There was actually a podcast review. I made the mistake of going and reading these reviews one day and somebody wrote something that was like yeah, so basically, this podcast is about this dog trainer who started a business, and then she got burnt out and like lost her mind and like it was just so. I was like, damn, you're not wrong, though. So, yeah, it kind of got to the point where I was like so burnt out and I was like I just have to like take off. So I ended up taking off. It was like the best road trip ever. I got to meet so many amazing trainers Shane Murray, oscar Mora, mike Jones, like all the people over on the West Coast, emily so many amazing trainers that you guys have probably already listened to the podcast about, and it was just a great time. It was very much like worth it.
Speaker 1:But it was also another situation where I came back and I had to just go like full blown back into everything. We didn't have a lot of dogs booked, you know, and the reality of running a business is you have to get dogs booked because you have to pay people, like it's not just me anymore. At that point it was, you know, I had a house full of people, I had Tori my assistant, like I had a lot of other trainers that we had to, you know, get clients booked for. And when I was gone, we just kind of ran across the same situation again where it's essentially like the same situation again, where it's essentially like, okay, things are not running as smoothly as they should when I, you know, take a step back or step away from the business, and in my mind, that's not a successful business, like a successful business is one that you can take a step back from and it continues to run and even improves.
Speaker 1:And that was just, you know, a lack of having systems in place, having the right people in place, like I just didn't have things set up correctly for me to be able to take that time off. And it was really, um, it was hard, like it was very, very hard and like it took a lot out of me, because it's like, damn, I really thought I had everything set up to where I could take a step back, and another problem with that is I kind of left everything up to Tori. So Tori is like my right-hand woman. She's helped me grow my business over the past three years. If you've ever sent us an email, you know who Tori is and I'm just I'm sharing everything with you guys. You know I'm always trying to be really transparent, especially if you're out there trying to run your own dog training business. I feel like these are all things that I wish I would have known when I was, you know, doing all of this stuff. So that's kind of why I overshare all of this.
Speaker 1:But it was really really hard for me and I like just didn't have any juice yet left to run and that's why I made the transition of kind of you know, going back solo, going back with just me. Tori took some time off for a couple months. Tori is back now. So essentially over the past four months it's been Tori and I running the training side of things and really I just wanted to get an opportunity to clean up my business a little bit, make sure our clients are getting taken care of, make sure the dogs are getting taken care of, and set everybody up before I make the transition to move.
Speaker 1:So this has kind of been on my mind honestly for the past three years and it's been one of those things where it's like, oh well, you know not, yet I still have bills to pay, like I still have, you know, this to do, I still have that to do, like I have responsibilities here, and I just kept pushing it off and off and off, and I was actually planning on moving out to California in 2020. So my partner at that time got a job in California and I again did another little road trip. I was testing it out. I was like, oh my gosh, like this is what I want. This is what I want so bad, I just want to live out of my van with my dogs because that's what I value.
Speaker 1:So one thing that's really important to me and one of my like core values is freedom, and this is kind of why I'm sharing all of this with you, because you know the burnout didn't come from, you know, my business per se. The burnout comes when you're acting in a way that doesn't align with your values, and I see it all the time, especially when I'm working with trainers or I'm working with owners. If I talk to owners about you know other trainers that they've worked with and they're like I, just I didn't have a good feeling about what we were doing with the dog, but I just kept going with it because, you know, I trusted this person. But at the end of the day, the training or the business that you've set up for yourself doesn't align with your values. So for me, that burnout was coming from my lack of following through on my values and I've talked about this a million and two times about how board and trains just you know they're not my favorite. I think there are a lot of dog trainers out there that do amazing board and train programs Keely, with rough rules. Like if I was going to send my dog to somebody, I would send it to Keely. She runs a phenomenal board and train program. There are a ton of amazing people out there who are running great programs. I also think you know I run a great board and train program too.
Speaker 1:I take very good care of my dogs. Like I'm not saying that I don't, but it doesn't align with my values and the way of life that I want to live. So one of my core values is freedom. Freedom is so important to me, it's important for my dogs to have freedom, it's important for me to have freedom, and I feel like the business that I've had up until this point has not aligned with that, because I started off as a dog walker and if you're a dog walker or if you're running a dog walking business, you know that you have to be at somebody's house at a specific time in that time window because they're relying on you to let their dog out right. Like you don't have sick days, you don't get to have your car break down, like it doesn't matter. You have to be there at that time because that dog and that person is relying on you. So I wasn't able to have any freedom in the beginning of my business and and then I made the transition over to daily training, which allowed for a little more freedom for me because I didn't have a lot of dogs at my house. But COVID happened People didn't want people in their houses as much, and so that's when I really started pushing the board and train model. The board and train model is great for so many people. I personally like training dogs that way because I get to work them around my dogs in my environment. I have control over essentially everything around that dog, so it's really a great way to immerse the dog in training.
Speaker 1:However, the problem with board and trains is it didn't allow me to have any bit of freedom, right, essentially you're on lockdown. I would joke with people like sorry, I'm on house arrest, like I literally can't leave and for me I do three week programs, so for three weeks you can't go anywhere, you can't leave town, you can't leave your house for too long, like you have to be there with the dogs 24 seven. In the past I've done some like traveling stuff with dogs where people have allowed me to, you know, take their dogs to like you know we had some seminars in North Carolina, or I have a friend in Miami and people you know, with their approval, would allow me to like take their dog with me, just load them up in the van and go. But you know, essentially you can't do a whole lot. Like we were kind of joking the other day, toma and I went to go get ice cream. Like we literally just drove like 15 minutes to leave the house to go get ice cream and while I was out I had like three owners text me that were like hey, can I get updates?
Speaker 1:Like hope everything is going well, like right, when I left the house and we're like it's like they sense it, like it's like they feel when we're not with their dogs and they send updates. And you know, not bashing on my owners at all Like it. It's like they feel when we're not with their dogs and they send updates. And you know, not bashing on my owners at all, like it's not their fault. They literally don't know. But on my end it's. You know that's an everyday thing.
Speaker 1:Like you constantly have to be sending updates and being in touch with the owners and showing up on social media and it can get really with the owners and showing up on social media and it can get really, really exhausting. And for me, like I like to be able to take my dogs to the beach, like I like to go on hikes with them, I want to be able to go visit my dad or visit my mom, like I don't get to do those things, I don't get to spend holidays with people, like there's a lot that I've sacrificed for my business and I'm very grateful for I guess you know like everything that I've had up until this point and you know the business that I've built, but it has taken a lot out of me. So while I was doing this last round of the virtual shadow program, like it really hit me how much I've sacrificed and how my current structure of my business just has not allowed me to live the life that I want to live. And I've always, you know, talked to people who are wanting to start dog training, but they have a full time job and they're scared to make that leap. And I'm like you just have to do it, like you're never going to be ready. You have to make that jump. If it's what you want, you're going to make it happen. You have 100 percent control over it. And I'm sitting there and I'm like damn there. And I'm like damn, I really need to take my own advice because I haven't been doing that.
Speaker 1:So I'm kind of in the position where I feel, like I did when I dropped out of grad school and made the leap into, you know, starting my own business, like I didn't know what the future looked like. I had no plans, I had no savings, I had no backup, like all I knew was that I had a hundred percent control over the life that I was about to create. So if you're in that position where you want to take the leap and start a business, whether it's dog training or walking or, you know, not even pet related. You really just have to take that leap and trust in yourself that it's going to work out. And the nice thing is you do have a hundred percent control over the outcome. Like it is your life, you control it. But before you make that leap, I really want you to sit down and ask yourself like what are your values?
Speaker 1:So for me, freedom is obviously a huge value. I want to be able to, you know, travel when I want. I want to go visit my family. I want to go to the beach. Take my dogs like I want freedom for myself and my dogs. I want to go to the beach. Take my dogs Like I want freedom for myself and my dogs. I miss the times when we could just load up the van and go to the beach and, you know, let the dogs swim. I think that's so important for their mental health, for my mental health. I think a lot of dogs struggle because they don't have freedom, because they're not trained right Like. Trained dogs have more freedom, they get to be off leash, they get to live like they're the natural way that our dogs should be living, and I think it's the same for us, especially like me. I value that so much, like I love being out in nature and I kind of feel like I'm losing my mind, being locked up in the house all the time.
Speaker 1:Another big value of mine is empathy. I think in this industry, especially when you get it to people who have been in it for a long time or running big businesses, they lack a little bit of empathy. They lack empathy for their trainers, they lack empathy for their trainers, they lack empathy for the dogs. Like there's just a lack of empathy. They're not putting themselves in the position of the dogs or the people that you know work with them. And I'm not going to lie like at my biggest points of burnout I have lacked some empathy, just simply because I didn't have the emotional capacity to be there to show up for other people. And when you get burned so much in business, it's hard to not just be cold. So I think that there is a balance. I think you can be too empathetic and too compassionate and you sacrifice yourself in the process, and I also think that you can get kind of cold. Most of the people that I meet and work with are not there. Right, I'm talking about the people who are running like big dog training businesses. I just, you know, spoke with somebody yesterday who worked with a franchise and she was, like you know, the owner of this franchise doesn't even like dogs. Like he just doesn't even like dogs. All he cares about is business.
Speaker 1:And, to be quite honest and transparent with you guys, like I could see myself very much getting to that point if I stayed in the position that I've been, if I wasn't, if I, if I continued to not, you know, live my life within my values, values. So when you're, you know, starting training with your dog, or when you're starting your business, I think it's really important to grab a notebook, sit down with yourself and really ask yourself, like, what do I value, what is the lifestyle that I want to live and how can I shape my training and my business around those values, because those values you're going to carry with you throughout the life of your training, like they are going to come with you everywhere, and you should make all of your decisions with those values in mind. When I don't consider my values, that's when I make decisions that end up burning me out, that end up, you know, causing problems that end up stressing me out, whereas if I was very mindful and intentional in, ok, this new decision or this person that I'm going to hire, is this person going to help me? You know, align with my values, help my business, align with my values A lot of times like it wasn't the case, right, but it's like, oh well, you know they could be good, like I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and it always goes back and just, you know, burns me in the end. So another value of mine is that I stay positive and I want the people around me to stay positive.
Speaker 1:I do not like drama. I do not like speaking poorly about other people. I honestly don't even like speaking about people. I've, you know, hired people in the past that do those things and you know I've just kind of overlooked it, like I don't really want to control anybody. But looking back, I wish that I would have, you know, saw those signs early on and really sat and been like, okay, this is one of your values. Like you don't like negatively, you know, negative talk about other people. You don't like gossip. You don't like you know these things like make sure that the people that work with you also align with those values. And you know I'm a very firm believer that who you surround yourself with is who you become. So be very mindful about surrounding yourself with people that align with your values and even when it comes to picking a dog trainer, pick a dog trainer that aligns with your values.
Speaker 1:There are so many of us out there and if you're a trainer, like your specialty is you, like you are the reason somebody is going to come to you for training. It's not necessarily your skill or your experience. Like I would pick a dog trainer because I like that person and that person's values align with the values of my own, and I find that with my clients as well. You know I'm very fortunate to have so many amazing clients that align with me right. Like they like that I let the dogs run around and get dirty and wrestle and be dogs, and they, like you, know the structure that I provide the dogs and how I'm, you know, calm and neutral with the dogs. Like I never get, you know, emotional or worked up and I'm not like this big, loud person. Like people come to me because they like my values and who I am.
Speaker 1:So when you're picking a dog trainer, or you are a dog trainer, like, pick somebody that aligns with your values on more than just a dog training level. I had a client come up to me the other day and he was telling me about a past trainer that he had and how you know it's like this big ex-military dude and he just trains like German shepherds and you know it's very like military, like super strict, and he's like, yeah, that's just like, not my vibes, that's not. You know, that didn't really align with what we wanted to do and so I didn't stick with the training right, because that training didn't align with my values. That's not to say that somebody else wouldn't be super happy with that. You know some people love that, some people love the structure and the regimen, but that's just not who I am. And so you're going to find the trainers and, you know, attract the clients that align with you. But if you don't even know your own personal values, it's going to be a lot more difficult for people to find you based on that.
Speaker 1:So if you're an owner, sit down and write. You know what, are you not willing to bend on with a trainer? If you really don't want to use an e-collar? You're not, you know you don't want to do that, then you know, stick with that. That's a value of yours.
Speaker 1:If you, you know and I'm just throwing things out there If you, let's say, want to be able to hike with your dog off leash, like, find somebody who also values those things and is going to align your training with that. And those are really the important questions to ask whenever you're working with a trainer, or if you are a trainer working with owners. Like you need to ask what's an ideal day with your dog? Look like, like, show me what that looks like, talk me through what that looks like. I ask that people on every single phone call that we have what's an ideal? You know, life with your dog, like what does that look like for you? Well, you know, I want to be able to take my dog to coffee shops and travel with us and perfect. You know that's what I want. That's what I want to do for my dogs. Somebody that aligns with the same values as you is really important and somebody that is willing to listen to you. And you know you just want to surround yourself with people that are like-minded and that have the same values, and that kind of gets into the virtual shadow program that I've been doing. If you don't know what that is, I am doing a three-week online program for dog owners and trainers looking to you know, develop their training skills, start a business, you know, scale their business, streamline their business but, most importantly, want to surround themselves with like-minded people.
Speaker 1:I started this because it felt so isolating when I was first starting my business. I was very fortunate in that, you know, I had a trainer in my area who, like, opened her doors to me and showed me all of the things that she does. But you know, as I kind of progressed as a trainer, I felt like I didn't align with the people that I initially was working with in the start of my career and it felt very isolating. Like I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what I didn't want to do, but I didn't have anybody in my corner. I didn't have anybody that I could ask questions to. I remember I was looking for jobs, looking for other trainers to work under, and when I started researching them, like I didn't really felt like anybody aligned with me and I was like, yes, I can go and like, learn dog training from this person and, you know, take some things away from it. But at the end of the day, like I know that I don't want to work for them long term. I know that that's not really the style of training that I want to do. I know that that's not really the style of training that I want to do.
Speaker 1:I remember I was looking at online, you know, courses and certificates of like you know dog training stuff and I'm like, ok, pretty much the only thing that I can do is like force free training and I don't really agree with that. Like I can take bits and pieces from it. And you know I do mostly like positive reinforcement in the training. Of course I use tools, but you know we shape everything with food and so I was like, all right, well, you know I can still go get like a certification for dog training and just still kind of like do my own thing. Or you know I can go and do like this balance training seminar, but it was super expensive and I didn't really like the people that were leading it.
Speaker 1:Like I just felt so lost. Like I wanted to learn so badly. I wanted to ping ideas off of people. I wanted a community of people that were like minded, but I genuinely could not find it. So I just kind of like pushed through, continued doing my own thing, like forging my own path. And, you know, eventually I got the opportunity to work with more trainers and, you know, have friends that are jog trainers and realize like, oh we're, you know, doing the same things. But I still felt like you know they're doing a great program.
Speaker 1:Like Keely, for example. I cannot hype this woman up enough. Like Keely is literally the best dog trainer I've met, not only in how she handles dogs but how she runs her team, how she communicates with her clients, how she educates her clients, like everything that she does. I'm like, wow, if I had a board and train program, like I would want it to be, just like Keely's. But the thing is like me and Keely live very different lifestyles. Like she lives next door to her family she doesn't, you know, like my family's in St Louis. My family, my dad, is in Georgia. Like I don't have family around here. So for her, like she's close to family. She lives where she grew up, she lives in an area where she can, you know, walk down the street and go on outings with dogs. Like she has such a great setup for what she does, but it's still not necessarily what I want. Not because, you know, I don't like what she does. It's just like we have very different lifestyles, you know.
Speaker 1:So like, let's say, I did live someplace similar or like the Orlando equivalent of what Kiwi has, it would be, it would be still different for me because I wouldn't be able to take off on holidays and go see my family. You know like I still wouldn't have that freedom to be able to travel and go see the people near me. So I kind of felt like I was in that position where I was like, okay, you know, like I found these people who are running programs and I like it, and you know, like it's great, but they're not living the life that I want to live and that aligns with me and my style of training and what I have going on, in the hopes that I can help you feel a little less alone and provide a nice community for you to learn in judgment-free. That's another big thing is judgment-free. Dog training can be brutal sometimes and I wanted to create a space that was really safe for people to ask dumb questions and be a true beginner at something and not feel like they're being judged or feel like they're left behind. And I have to hype my people up.
Speaker 1:That did the program. They are the kindest, most supportive, wonderful human beings out there. Like genuinely I am. I'm like, okay, I did it, I did a good job because I brought these amazing people together. I'm telling you, so part of the program is like I have homework assignments where I'll show you, you know, a training video and then you basically go and replicate it and you post it to the group. And the cool thing is is it's not just like videos, right, like it's a community. So it's in my Mighty Networks community it's just like a private community, so you have to pay for access to it. But once you're in it, like you have access to all of the other members and you can message the members privately, you can post in the group. Like you can ask questions, like it's so much more than just coming to me for training. You're learning from the other people as well and everybody is so supportive, like it. I have like happy tears whenever I'm in my community, like reading the comments from people, because it's not just like, oh, this is so great. It's like, hey, you know, you did a great job of this Try doing this next time or, you know, they share their wins.
Speaker 1:I had one person in there, mark, shout out, mark, we love you. Mark, he, you know, got his first client right Because he started, you know, getting out walking his dogs. His neighbor was like, hey, can you train my dogs? He got his first client and he posted, you know videos and training sessions of this dog and he was like, hey, can you help? You know, this dog struggles with crate training or am I doing the right things? And other members in the group were like, hey, you're doing great. Like they went and commented and gave him like phenomenal advice, better advice than I could ever give to help him like navigate his first client dog. And I was like, wow, this is literally why I created this program is because I I wish I had that Like. I wish I had a supportive community in the beginning of my training. I wish I had that Like. I wish I had a supportive community in the beginning of my training. I wish I had somebody who was super open and shared their templates with me and shared all the things that they did. Like I wish so badly that I had that and now I get to provide that for people.
Speaker 1:So I'm making the shift from you know, my in-person business to doing things a little bit more online. I'm still going to be hosting seminars. I'm still going to be, you know, doing private virtual sessions. I'll also be doing private lessons in whatever city I'm in. But I'm very excited to actually like take the leap and live a life that aligns with my values.
Speaker 1:And I have to tell you, I'm genuinely terrified, like I feel like I'm quitting my job again, because I am like I'm kind of quitting what I've been doing up until this point and completely shifting Right. Like it's a completely different game running an in-person training business versus, you know, helping people online or helping people in their training businesses. But I'm trying to reframe my anxiety as excitement and I'm excited to live in a new place and to actually like travel with my dogs in the van, like that. I love living out of a van. I'm a crazy person in that way, like I'm not a homebody. I love having freedom, and my road trip gave me a little taste of that and I have been jonesing, jonesing for it ever since. Like I genuinely cannot wait.
Speaker 1:And the other really exciting thing for me is now I have a person that I get to do that with. So Toma is actually from Canada. He came down here at the beginning of the year at kind of perfect time. It's just so crazy how life works out. I've been single since 2020 or 2021.
Speaker 1:And, you know, I've had amazing trainers who have been there for me and it's not like I've been like alone, you know. But it's just completely different having somebody that is like emotionally there for you, because I've always kind of been the person that is like taking care of everybody else and has to have, you know, a straight face in times of conflict. And it's just, it's so nice like having a person to, yeah, be there as emotional support and he's my biggest fan, he's my biggest supporter, he's been helping me with all of the dogs and I'm so excited for us to like take this next step together, because I've always, you know, pictured myself traveling alone and I've kind of told people like I haven't had the best relationships, but I've always kind of said, you know, I think I think my life's like sacrifices. You know, I don't really have the best relationship, like romantic relationships, but I have the best dogs and I have the best life really, you know. So it's like, okay, you have. You know I have the best relationship with my dogs. Like I don't really talk about my dogs enough, but it's one of those things that I I feel like I haven't shared that much about them because that's my little piece to myself. And you know, as I'm kind of like traveling in the van and taking these next steps, I will definitely like share more about my inside life with my dogs. But I'm not kidding, like I have the best dogs in the whole world. I love them so much.
Speaker 1:Like Zoe is sitting on my bed in front of me right now. She's like my little Pokemon front of me right now. She's like my little Pokemon. She follows me around. And Lucy, like she's the one who got me into this business in the first place. She's my crazy wild child and you know, reminds me that I got a little bit of her in me. I got that wild child who wants to just run away sometimes. And I got that wild child who wants to just run away sometimes.
Speaker 1:And you know, I have Minka. Minka is my little deer. Like she's just the most cuddly, cutest little Malinois I could have ever asked. And she's the one who, you know, got me into bite sports and introduced me to a whole other side of dog training. I have Gretchen, who is, you know, she's my behavioral dog. She taught me so much patience. She taught me what it's like to live with a behavioral dog. To, you know, have to think about things like you know, dogs getting into fights and how, to, you know, structure management around having a dog. That's a little more severe.
Speaker 1:And I've also got Millie, who is my co-own with a golden breeder, and Millie was a really, really, really difficult puppy. Like she was so difficult like sometimes she has half a brain cell but she is genuinely like the sweetest, most cuddly thing and her and Minka are best friends, like they will sit in the crate together and just cuddle, like they love each other more than I've seen any two dogs love each other, like it's the cutest thing in the whole world. So I've always kind of said, like you know, I'm okay with not having a person. I'm okay with not having a person. I genuinely have all of these amazing little creatures around me that I couldn't ask for more and it kind of seems like, when I really let the idea go of having a person, a person came into my life and how, you know, life works out like that and the universe works out like that. And he's got a van. He's lived in his van for a long time, he wants to live in the van. He's got two dogs, like he's also into training and, yeah, we're super excited to like take this next step and be crazy people and live out of our vans with seven dogs, which is so wild.
Speaker 1:But I'm so excited like it's gonna be so much fun and I don't really know if this is gonna be like a super permanent thing. But I think right now we don't really know, like where we want to be long term. Or, you know I'm I still want to open up a space. I want to have like a dog training facility, not necessarily to do board and trains, but more so like lessons and, you know, just have a space to host seminars and events and bring people together. So that also might happen. But I think you know, the exciting thing is we don't really know what that's going to look like. And I say that drinking my iced coffee and, you know, low key hyperventilating is really scary for me. But I just think every time I've taken that leap of faith into the next chapter of my life. It's always led to really amazing things. But I will say, you know taking this leap and with the experience that I've gained from you, know running my business and everything that I've done up until this point, I'm going to be very intentional in making decisions that continue to align with my values, because that's going to shape a life that's sustainable for me.
Speaker 1:So we've got a lot of really exciting, fun things here planned. We've got the virtual shadow program, which this round launches on July 22nd. I would love for you to join. I'll include the link in the show notes for you to schedule a phone call with me. Call with me. Uh, we, what else have we got?
Speaker 1:We've got our August seminar here in Orlando. So that's going to be a two day seminar. Uh, this is really going to be my first seminar in Orlando. I've done some like smaller ones, some like group meetups, stuff like that, but I haven't had a full two days. So we're going to make it fun. Um, you're not going to be locked in a building with me all day Like. We're going to give plenty of breaks. We'll have snacks and food and tasty drinks. You know I always got to have a tasty drink. We'll have coffee there as well. It's just going to be a great, you know like hang out and opportunity to talk about dog training, work through problem behaviors. So we have working spots and audit spots available for that. That's August 10th and 11th. If you're in Orlando or around, like, come see me. It's going to be so much fun. I'm super excited for that. And then of course, we've got our retreat in September. So that is our leadership retreat. This I'm most excited for.
Speaker 1:So this is kind of playing off the in-person shadow program that we've previously done. So in January we had our in-person shadow program, which again was an amazing opportunity. I love the girls that came out and, you know, shadowed and trained dogs. I feel like I got to watch them grow so much over those two weeks. But essentially I'm condensing that program and we're doing a little less dog training focused more so confidence building, leadership skills and interpersonal skills. So it's really again bringing like-minded people together to talk about how we can show up as our best selves, how we can show up for our dogs or for the clients that we want to work with, so that one is open to dog owners or trainers no dogs at that event. But we have a nice little agenda of hikes. We've got Pilates. So my Pilates instructor here is actually moving out to the West Coast as well at the same time as me, which is so crazy and so exciting and fun, so I'm going to have her out to teach a Pilates class.
Speaker 1:We're going to talk about mindfulness and confidence building. I think that is the biggest takeaway from all of the programs that I run with people, whether it's the you know, in-person shadow program or the virtual shadow program. A lot of people really like confidence, so I'm going to teach you how to show up confidently, you know, whether that be through social media or in person, or even just with the people around you. Or in person, or even just with the people around you. How can we talk into our phone confidently about a topic that we believe in? How can we walk into a room and be confident? How can we work with our dogs in a confident way? Like, my goal is for you guys to walk out of that with confidence, confidence in yourselves and your ability to you know, tackle your goals or talk about values and goals in that retreat as well. And, of course, we're going to do fun things. Like I said, the meditation. We've got a pool there, we're going to go for hikes, pilates, we've got so much awesome things planned and if you're interested in that, I will also include the link for you to schedule a call with me. So we've got lots of things going.
Speaker 1:I'm very excited. I'm nervous, but I'm trying to, you know, reframe that nervous anxiousness as excitement. So maybe that's something that you can take away from this as well. If you're an anxious person, try to reframe it in your mind as excitement, because you never know what can happen. You never know what is possible or what the universe is going to throw your way. Why not believe that it's for your benefit and is going to be a positive impact, impact.
Speaker 1:But I do have to say thank you so much for all of you for being here and you know, continuing to support me, listening to the podcast, showing up on social media, sending me nice messages, showing up to these events, like I wouldn't be able to live the life that I do if it weren't for you.
Speaker 1:So there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how grateful I am for everything that I have, and it's truly because of you and you know, showing up together. So, with all of that being said, go out there. Take, you know, 20 minutes to yourself yourself. Grab a notebook, write out your values. Take that with you in all of the decisions that you make. I promise you it's going to lead you to the right places, especially if you're in a place where maybe you don't know your next steps or you know you're looking at taking that leap of faith into something new. Check in with yourself, make sure that all of the decisions that you're making are aligning with those values, and I promise great things will happen. So again, thank you all so much for being here. I hope to see some of you at these events that we've got going on over the next couple months and we've got more planned on the way. But thank you so much for being here and for supporting me and listening, and we'll see you next time.