December 16th, 2024. Candace received an email: Pet Supplies Plus in her town was closing in less than 30 days.

She rushed to the store, bought what she needed, and saw the sadness on everyone's faces. And she thought: "Should I do this again?"

Crazy? Maybe. But on that day, she posted a question on Facebook: "If you had extensive experience in the pet industry, owned a building already, and the PSP is closing - would you open a pet business?"

Now, 85 weeks and 3 days later, Dante and Dory's Pet Emporium is approaching its one-year anniversary of being open to the public.

And Candace has 10 lessons to share - not about the pets or the products or how to merchandise a shelf, but about who she is as an owner. Which means they're about who you are as an owner too.

This is Part 1 of a two-part episode, featuring lessons one through five.

She covers:

🎓 The unexpected challenges that hit the hardest in year one

🎓 The role of technology in running a business (and the complications that come with it)

🎓 The hidden burden that most business owners don't talk about

🎓 Why pricing is more complicated than you think (and what actually drives sales)

🎓 A hard truth about what separates businesses that win from businesses that don't

This episode is personal. It's honest. And if you're thinking about opening a business, expanding, or wondering why something in your business just isn't working - this is for you!
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It started as "Candace's Favorite Things" at the Global Pet Expo.

A friend said "You need to make this official.” So we did! 

Today, Candace officially launches the Pet Boss Trade Show Awards! 

This isn't just a fun list. It's a recognition system built by people who actually run pet businesses, for the brands, booths, and reps who deserve to be seen - not because they have the biggest budget, but because they genuinely stood out! 

Tune in to hear: 

🏆 Why this award matters and why we want your votes

🏆 The 8 crowd vote categories you can vote on and where you go to vote

🏆 Why brands matter, even the ones with smaller budgets and bigger hearts

🏆 How these awards help YOU shop smarter if you're not at the show

🏆  Timeline: Voting through August 14th, winners announced August 23rd

Plus the complete voting instructions, where to find the Facebook group threads, and why your voice as a pet business owner is exactly what this award needs! 

🗳️VOTE IN PERSON AT OUR PET BOSS HAPPY HOUR

Thursday, August 13, 3:30 PM PT (yumHub Lounge)

Whether it's your first SUPERZOO or your twentieth, come reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy an hour with fellow pet retailers, groomers, manufacturers, and industry leaders. Candace D'Agnolo and the Pet Boss Nation team can't wait to welcome you!

- Complimentary drinks

- Fun giveaways & prizes

- Cast your vote in the Pet Boss Trade Show Awards

Come by for five minutes or stay the whole hour—we'd love to see you.

No speeches. No presentations.

Just a lounge full of pet people who believe in community over competition!

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We're headed to Vegas, baby! 💃

In just two weeks, Candace and Morgan from Dante and Dory's are flying to Las Vegas for SUPERZOO 2026 - one of the pet industry's largest trade shows. And whether you're going, thinking about going, or already panicking about your trip, this episode has you covered.

Candace walks through everything from her speaking schedule, to events you won't want to miss, to the exact app features that will save you hours on the show floor. Plus, Morgan shares packing tips, tech essentials, and logistics that nobody thinks about until it's too late.

And there's a big announcement about something brand new: the Pet Boss Trade Show Awards! 

Tune in to hear about: 

🎲 The SUPERZOO app features: download it, favorite exhibitors, use the interactive map, mark sessions

🎲 Events not to miss and Candace’s two speaking sessions

🎲 The huge announcement at 2 PM Thursday on the show floor from WPA/BSM

🎲 Tech tips and what you MUST have to capture content: interviews with vendors, product demos, booth showcases and more

🎲 Tips on getting the most out of those awesome show specials 

Plus Morgan shares first-time trade show tips (this is her second show ever), and both talk about why the interactive map feature is a total game-changer.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Pet Boss Trade Show Awards

This year, Pet Boss is formally launching the Pet Boss Trade Show Awards - think Oprah's Favorite Things, but for SUPERZOO. Categories are still being finalized, but possibilities include: Best New Product, Best Booth Design, Best Packaging, Best Sales Rep, Best Interactive Booth, and more.

Listeners are invited to suggest categories on social media or in the Pet Boss community. Winners will be announced on August 23rd episode (Sunday after the show, once everything is edited and recorded).

ABOUT CANDACE'S SUPERZOO SESSIONS

Tuesday, 10:00 AM (Islander H)"Modern Pet Retail: Blending Services & Retail for Success"Topics: Adapting to current trends, blending retail and services, multiple revenue streams, modern customer experience, competing with big box and online giants.

Tuesday, 1:00 PM (Islander H)"Unwrap Profits: Holiday Merchandising Made Simple"Topics: Discover secrets to captivate customers, boost sales, create eye-catching displays, holiday bundles, product promotions, maximize the busiest shopping season.

ABOUT MORGAN SEABLOOM

Morgan is a team member at Dante and Dory's Pet Emporium and the marketing team member on this episode. This is her second pet industry trade show (first was Global Pet Expo in early 2026, where she was only two weeks into her job). She brings fresh perspectives as a newcomer to the pet industry but is an avid pet owner herself.

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The way your customers search has changed. Not gradually. Dramatically.

And most indie pet businesses haven't noticed yet.

A year ago, if someone's dog had itchy skin, they'd Google "best dog food for itchy skin" and scroll through 20 links. Now? They're asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity the same question in a conversation: "My seven-year-old Labrador has itchy skin and keeps licking his paws. I think it's food-related. I want a locally owned pet store near me that actually understands nutrition."

That's not a keyword search. That's a conversation. And that's AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).

Candace explains why this shift actually favors indie pet businesses and exactly what you need to do to win.

She discusses:

⭐️ The difference between SEO and AEO (and why it matters more than you think)

⭐️ How customers are using AI tools instead of Google to find answers

⭐️ Why this isn't about panicking or hiring an expensive agency

⭐️ How AI scans your website differently than Google does

⭐️ Brand pages optimized for both humans and AI bots

⭐️ The one thing Candace would do first if she took over your business tomorrow

Plus why the next 20 years are about helping people find trusted experts and not just products! 

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July has always been known as one of the slower retail months so Candace made a strategic decision: go big or go home.

Dante and Dory's threw a patriotic pet sale from Friday, July 3rd through Monday, July 6th. The result? $3,000 more in sales than Memorial Day weekend (about a month earlier), driven by 100 additional transactions.

This episode is a complete behind-the-scenes walkthrough of how she planned it, executed it, and what she learned - plus strategies you can apply to your own holiday sale.

Listen now to hear:

💰 Why slow months are actually your biggest opportunity (not your problem)

💰 Why you should be treating inventory like an ATM 

💰 When (and why) to discount aggressively to move old inventory

💰 How to using paid social advertising strategically  

💰 How it took a full team effort for big events and how to involve your team in planning

Plus hear the importance of not letting merchandise "get dusty," and why Candace has always said you shouldn't be a museum!

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It's July. America just turned 250.

And Candace is pulling a powerful thread through this month's focus in Pet Boss Nation: Work Smarter, Earn More, Adapt Faster.

In 250 years, this country has survived wars, depressions, booms, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the automobile, the telephone, the internet. Entire industries disappeared. Entire industries that didn't exist a generation ago became the backbone of the economy.

The pattern? The businesses that lasted weren't the ones who had it all figured out. They were the ones who kept adjusting. Who paid attention. Who weren't afraid to pivot.

Candace discusses:

🇺🇸 The Wrigley story (why a soap company built a gum empire by paying attention to what people actually wanted)

🇺🇸  How adaptation is what separates businesses that last from ones that disappear

🇺🇸  How to "work smarter" using the data already inside your point-of-sale system

🇺🇸  Simple strategies to "earn more" 

🇺🇸  AI as a tool, not a replacement (just like the telephone or internet was!)

Plus hacks on using AI for admin work that frees you up to do the parts of your business that only you can do!

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Matt Aldrich, founder of Pet Engine Marketing, has a front row seat to pet businesses and their patterns - the ones growing and the ones stuck. 

Between Pet Boss Nation and Pet Engine Marketing, they've seen 1,000+ pet businesses over the years. In this candid conversation, he and Candace talk about what growth actually looks like when the economy is tough, competition is everywhere, and business owners are burned out.

They discuss: 

✅ The pattern most pet businesses get wrong (and why you're probably doing it)

✅ Why activity ≠ progress (and how to tell the difference)

✅ The $6,000 email campaign that worked (and why you should steal it!) 

✅ How to build "boring" systems that compound over time

Plus Matt shares the one thing all successful businesses have in common and how you could do it too!  

ABOUT MATT ALDRICH

Founder, Pet Engine Marketing & Co-Founder, Pet Industry Network

Matt Aldrich is the founder of Pet Engine Marketing and a pet industry marketing expert with 12+ years of experience helping independent pet businesses grow. He's also a Co-Founder of the Pet Industry Network, a PETS+ Magazine contributor, an active member of American Pet Professionals, and a frequent speaker at events including Global Pet Expo, SUPERZOO, and The Pet Summit.

Matt's journey started at 16 working at a local pet store in Ann Arbor, Michigan - a job he took because his dog loved that place, and soon so did he. He fell in love with helping customers, meeting their pets, and working alongside people who "got it." But when he moved into management, the job got buried under vendor calls, staff schedules, and the daily grind. That experience—realizing pet business owners started in this industry because they loved helping people and pets, not working on spreadsheets and social media - became his mission. In 2018, he launched Pet Engine Marketing to help pet business owners get back to doing what they love, while the agency handles the marketing.
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We have an exciting new episode for you this week and this is one you are going to want to pull out a notepad and pen for! 

Candace is sharing the full training she delivered at Launch Your Box's Subscription Summit and turns it into an actionable playbook specifically for pet businesses. Whether you sell products, services, or both, there is already a subscription opportunity inside your business right now.

She covers:

🙌 The 3 types of subscriptions and how to identify which already exists in your business

🙌 The auto-replenishment model and why you should know what it is 

🙌 How to move slow inventory, take pre-orders, and create something customers look forward to every month

🙌 The VIP membership model your customers will be begging to join 

🙌 A word-for-word script for offering auto-replenishment to a customer at the register - without being pushy! 

If even 10–20% of your revenue became predictable before you opened your doors each month, how differently would your business run? 

Well this episode shows you exactly how to get there! 

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Can indie pet stores really out-compete Amazon, Chewy, and Petco?

Pearce Tibbles, CEO of Wholesale Pet, says yes - but it takes strategy, technology, and intentionality.

In this interview, Pearce walks through how Wholesale Pet spent over a year gathering feedback from retailers and vendors before completely redesigning their platform. The result? AI-powered search, curated collections, new vendor tools, and a focus on helping independent stores compete on their actual advantages—not by trying to be Chewy.

You will hear: 

✅ Why Pearce is optimistic about indie pet stores 

✅ The structural advantages indie stores have over big box 

✅ The new AI-powered search that solves the "finding a needle in a haystack" problem

✅ Collections: how to curate products by season, pet type, or customer (and share them with other retailers)

✅ How retailers can find trending products across US indie stores in real time

Plus how to avoid the financing trap, why changing your store layout bi-weekly drives foot traffic, and why inventory is your ATM.

ABOUT Pearce TIBBLES CEO, Wholesale Pet

Pearce Tibbles loves brick & mortar small business and believes it plays an indispensable role in local communities. He's passionate about finding new ways technology can help independents compete against ecommerce and big box stores. Pearce has spent most of his career with a foot in each world: he was a partner in a company that built an app for training restaurant and small retail store employees, owned and operated his own brick & mortar service business for many years, and has worked in software and technology for the past 8 years. When he started at Wholesale Pet in 2024, he brought with him a mindset focused on staying really close to customers, learning their businesses intimately—how they operate, what they spend money on, what their competitive challenges are—and figuring out ways to help them not just survive but succeed and outcompete ecommerce and big box stores. The new Wholesale Pet site is the first really big step in this direction, with more exciting developments coming in the months ahead.

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A squishy palm-sized toy with no celebrity endorsements and no big marketing budget just sold an entire year's worth of inventory in 9 weeks - and Candace watched it happen right outside her front door.

In this solo episode, Candace breaks down the NeeDoh craze: how it started, why it exploded, and - most importantly - what the mechanics behind it mean for your pet business right now.

She covers:

⭐️ How the NeeDoh Advent Calendar sparked a TikTok wildfire that turned an 8-year-old product into this generation's Beanie Baby

⭐️  The 5-part Pet Boss Nation framework for engineering your own viral moment

⭐️  Real action steps: auditing your shelves, setting up new arrival drops, building influencer relationships, and filming before you have a following

Whether you're a retailer, groomer, trainer, or service provider - if you have products or services worth showing, you have the ingredients for a viral moment. 

Candace tells you exactly how to start building toward it!

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