by Nancy E. Hassel, President of American Pet Professionals
After recently speaking with a new pet professional and aspiring pet professional, their excitement about their industry and finding what they are ‘supposed to be doing in this world,’ in nothing short of inspiring. Or for this seasoned pet pro, seriously re-inspiring. I absolutely love helping, giving advice, ideas, and direction to new and aspiring pet professionals, and to those who may hit a plateau or just need to hear another perspective.  
 
Hearing their exuberance, energy and passion for their newfound careers, to the point of, “I didn’t even know this world, or my new career in the pet industry was a possibility!” It is beautiful music to my ears.
 
Over the last decade plus, the pet industry, for myself, and many of our members has been a place to find camaraderie among our pet peers, ways to help each other, education, compassion and learning work together. Not to mention the comfort in knowing you are not the only one who is absolutely crazy about your own pets and all pets.
 
While so much of what we do in the pet industry is the actual running of a ‘business’ – and even though we love our chosen field, it is still a lot of work.  The task of running a business no matter how much help you have, of the human kind or automated kind, is an enormous task.  To run a successful business, you need to learn how to stay focused, organized as well as active and engaged with your customers or clientele every single day.  It is not for everyone.  It can also be daunting and a lonely place to be if you are a solo pet entrepreneur.   (And one of the reasons I created American Pet Professionals so new, aspiring and seasoned pet pros would have a place for them to learn, meet other like-minded individuals, and so forth).
 
I love to hear about new pet business ideas, see thoughts of a business come to fruition and be inspired by seeing it happen right in front of my eyes.  We have a passionate group of pet professionals from all across the country and from every pocket of the industry.
 
One of our Lifetime Members who I met almost 9 years ago, (at a pet industry event of course), stepped out of the pet world to pursue a different career.  Last summer, she had a few ideas for a pet business one that I thought was a tremendous idea and that no one is doing yet.  (Sorry can’t say what yet). After being her business coach since last September, I am so excited to already see her plans coming to fruition – and know her business model will do really great. She took action to land herself a speaking gig on the very topic of her business, before it even launched! (We knew you couldn’t stay away from the industry for too long!)
 
Sometimes you can get stuck in the every day of running your business or your rescue group and not be inspired about your work as much as you were when you first started. It’s normal in any industry.
 
Here are few tips that could help you get excited again just like the new pet pros I have been speaking with are:

• Find a core group of pet peers, (join American Pet Professionals – shameless plug), that will inspire you or motivate you to make you remember why you got started here in the first place.
• Become a mentor or business coach to someone just starting out or creating his or her own new pet business.
• Offer to speak about your expertise or give advice to local pet parents.
• Create an accountability group of 3-5 other pet pros to help keep each other focused, stay on track and help you meet your goals.
• Surround yourself with people that are more successful than you currently are in the industry.
• Pitch yourself to speak at a conference – nothing like the pressure of having to do a presentation to re-ignite your excitement for what you do. And it can be a conference that is outside of pet but in a related topic or area of your expertise.
• Have a new idea for your pet business, don’t let fear do anything but fuel your fire for bringing that new idea to life.
• Make sure to reconnect daily with what brought you to this industry in the first place, it could be as simple as looking at your pet who is likely sitting right by your side.
• Make 3 top weekly goals to accomplish that will propel your business forward, monthly goals, quarterly goals, and write down what you want to accomplish over the next year. (It’s a lot of fun to go back a year later and see you accomplished those goals and then some!)
• Don’t get lost in the clutter or distraction of social media, or the comparison downer that social media can bring (stop looking at other pet businesses social media feeds!).

Remember to be true to who you are and what led you to get started in the industry, your business and what incredible unique gifts you bring to the table. That enthusiasm you had when you first started, it’s still there, you just have to remind yourself of it and keep that excitement alive daily. Would love to know what you do to bring back that spark of enjoyment to your business or rescue? Post your comments below!
 
If you are new to the industry, need help, ideas or advice, click here to request a 15 minute call, we would love to speak with you!]]>