Get to know Candace Meade, the creator of dog accessory brand Duke & Fox. Candance told me how she went from a hobby sewist to selling baby blankets and burp cloths to an Etsy shop to selling over 70,000 dog items in just the last 5 years.

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of changes on Etsy, so I was really interested in asking Candace about her experiences with the platform. It’s a love/hate relationship, but the love parts definitely win. She said the customer base just can’t be beat. That being said, she is working on building up her own website and mentioned some of the SEO efforts she’s doing over there.

Of course, I couldn’t end the interview without asking about her own dogs. From mutts to german shepherds to scotties and a mini poodle… Candance has had quite the fur family!

In this episode I’m talking to Dana Ben David of Montreal-based dog wellness brand Healthybud. Her team’s passion for nutrition lead them to create dog treats, toppers and meals that are all about superfoods. They worked with researchers to ensure their formulas were making the most of each ingredient. They are so dedicated to getting the recipes just right that when they launched they only had 2 products. That goes to show that you don’t need to wait to have a shelf full of options before launching. As a new brand trying to get their name out there, Dana does a lot of outreach on social media. She’s a big fan of sending voice note DMs to followers. For her, building community is all about being a real person and treating all of your followers like real people, too.

Speaking of getting real, I asked about the Healthybud ambassador program because I’m always getting questions from the Wear Wag Repeat community about how to run one. I loved that Dana told me she doesn’t have it all figured out, but what’s important is knowing your goals and brand values and thinking in a creative way that goes beyond the promocode.

In this episode, I’m talking to Leslie Yellin, the founder and CEO of Animal Science Labs. Leslie’s company is in the business of selling happiness! They’re using molecular science to help dogs cope with separation anxiety. There was a study done at Emory University that showed how a dog’s pleasure receptors in the brain light up when they smell their owner. And that is why Leslie is pioneering a method to use your very own scent to help comfort your dog using the most powerful tool they have — their noses!

In addition to talking about the K9 Comfort Spray, I asked Leslie what the most rewarding part of being CEO of her own company is. She shared that after working for other brands for decades, now it’s really wonderful to have control of the leash at her own brand.

I’m so intrigued by the K9 Comfort Spray that I will be testing it out with Burt in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for the results!

This solo episode is part 2 of a series about starting a new dog service business (or not!). I’ve been looking for a way to find excitement and motivation in my business after getting burned out over the last couple of years. I’ve taken steps to become certified as a Canine Enrichment Technician because I believe that knowledge would improve pets’ lives.

Since talking about this in Part 1 on Episode 204, I’ve spent time brainstorming with a pet industry friend, evaluating my goals and performing a SWOT analysis on this dog service business idea.

In this episode I share my latest thoughts on how I feel I can best impact the lives of pets through canine enrichment education.

In this episode I’m sharing a conversation with Ali Smith of Rebarkable. Ali is a dog trainer who has relocated to Maryland from the UK. She’s been able to use blogging and a smart search engine optimization strategy to maintain her business no matter where in the world she is.

Ali explains that content marketing through blogging and social media is your way to get in front of your ideal audience. Many petpreneurs think Instagram is the only way to do that. But did you know that according to consumers, information found through search engines is believed to be more trustworthy than info found on social media. That makes blogging and SEO essential for pet industry pros.

In addition to a content marketing strategy, Ali also talked to me about working with reactive dogs and how to draw the line between giving free advice on her blog and charging for dog training.

This is my favorite kind of conversation because it’s equal parts business and dogs. If you’d like to connect with more women who love to talk shop with their pets by their sides… Wear Wag Repeat Society will be opening back up to new members in April. Get on the waitlist now at wearwagrepeat.com/society.

B-School is closing soon! Read my review to see how B-School works for pet businesses: https://wearwagrepeat.com/marie-forleo-b-school-right-for-pet-business/ and enroll before March 3rd!”  In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the amazingly animated and highly informed Lorien Clemens, the co-founder of PetHub. She is passionate about getting lost pets back home. That involves a lot of consumer education about proper pet identification. She told me that pet loss prevention is a “3 legged stool” consisting of microchips as a safety net, a collar ID tag that has current information and then a local pet license that serves as proof that your dog belongs to you. 

Lorien also shares advice for launching a pet industry start up - first off, do your research! You may not be the first person with that brilliant idea. Although that’s not a dealbreaker, you need to know the landscape. Second, you need to know your audience well to make sure your product or service is something they want and need. 

She says that if you are ready to dive in, start reaching out now to people in your niche to get feedback and build relationships. 

In this episode you’ll also hear about Marie Forleo’s B-School. If you’re serious about building a meaningful, profitable pet business online, this program is the essential guide. Don’t wait another year. Enroll through my affiliate link and start working on your dream pet business!

“B-School is now open! Read my review to see how B-School works for pet businesses: https://wearwagrepeat.com/marie-forleo-b-school-right-for-pet-business/ and enroll before March 3rd!”  On this episode, I’m talking to to Rosie Robinson of WUF Design. She’s sharing SEO tips for dog walkers and other local pet businesses to get your website discovered by potential customers. This includes using free tools from Google and optimizing your keywords. Rosie explains why it’s essential to list out descriptive keywords so customers can find you through search engines. 

What about online-only pet businesses? I had to ask Rosie for some advice for you, too! She explained some SEO strategies you can use beyond your own website such as mentions in other people’s blogs, podcasts, the press, etc. 

Inspired to take action right now?! Rosie says that SEO improvements are best when they’re implemented slowly over time. So while you hear us talk about all the things you can be doing to improve your website, please don’t feel like you have to sit down for the whole weekend and do every single thing. It’s actually more strategic and better for your mental health to do one thing per week. 

In this episode you’ll also hear about Marie Forleo’s B-School. If you’re serious about building a meaningful, profitable pet business online, this program is the essential guide. Don’t wait another year. Enroll through my affiliate link and start working on your dream pet business!

Find the full shownotes at wearwagrepeat.com/podcast

What will you do on your pet’s final day? It’s something nobody wants to think about. But it’s something we will all face.

And that’s why I’m excited to share this interview with you. I had a lovely conversation with Natalie Venosi about a product she’s created to change saying the final goodbye to our pets from a sad time to a beautiful celebration of life. Natalie told me how family friends in Bali lead her to discover the items that would go on to inspire this product and her brand Sweet Goodbye.

This story this may cause tears, it did for me! But I’m so grateful to have had this conversation and spark a mindset shift for myself - and hopefully for you, too.

Natalie and I had so many questions and business topics to discuss that we didn’t have time for in this interview. However, I still think there’s a big strategy takeaway lesson here. And that is how powerful and impactful your personal story can be. Even if it’s about a topic that you feel like nobody wants to hear about - like our pets dying.

Talking to Natalie opened my mind and my heart to discussing this topic more freely. Are you ready? Enjoy the interview!

Find the full shownotes at wearwagrepeat.com/podcast

On this solo episode, I’m going to be sharing with you some thoughts and brainstorms I’ve been working on for the past 6 months or so in my own pet business. I've been thinking about starting a new dog walking business. But there are a lot of moving parts to that, so I'm letting you in on my thought process around this potential new venture.

I’ve been a dog blogger for almost 9 years and I like to try new things to keep my business fresh. I’ve done over $100,000 in brand sponsored campaigns, I have my online shop, this podcast, online courses and my membership Wear Wag Repeat Society. Not to mention working with Lucy as a Therapy Dog volunteer team and training Burt in Barn Hunt. Oh yeah, and having a life.

A lot of people ask me how I do it all. I think it has a lot to do with always being excited about my work.

So, in this episode I’m going to be really honest and share with you where I haven’t been feeling excited lately and what I’m doing to change that. Could it be starting a new dog walking business? I’m not 100% sure yet, but I want to let you in on my thought process and how I go about deciding to add on a new element of Wear Wag Repeat.

The rest of the shownotes can be found at wearwagrepeat.com/podcast

In this episode I’m talking to Zoe Lee, the creator of an Instagram account just for the dog moms of Tampa Bay, Florida. She started the account as a place to share local dog friendly places she was visiting with her dog Kali. When she inquired with local businesses to ask if they allowed dogs, a few started to offer her prizes to give away to her audience and some asked about hosting a meet up. That sparked the idea for monthly dog mom meetups at local businesses, dog parks and beaches. Now the account is run by 6 dog moms spread out around the Tampa Bay area. And this past holiday season they took on their biggest project yet, a calendar of the Dogs of Tampa Bay featuring over 150 local dogs. At the time of our conversation, this calendar was expected to raise about $4,000 for local animal rescues.

The biggest takeaway for me from this interview is the power of connecting with other pet-obsessed people! If you want to connect with more like minded women, join me in the Wear Wag Repeat Labs Facebook group. It’s the best place to learn, connect and experiment with ideas to grow your own pet industry business.

The rest of the shownotes can be found at wearwagrepeat.com/podcast