Your Pet Business Launchpad
Posts tagged pet business
Paying Yourself 101
Jun 22nd
Are you one of those pet business owners that is doing everything yourself and wondering when your business will start to give back to you a little? Let me tell you I Am One of Those Business Owners.
Since 2007 I’ve been wearing every possible hat available to keep my small business chuggin’ along. I do all of my social networking ( which doesn’t really seem like work most times 
I do all of my web, print and design stuff, I design my products I source manufacturers here and abroad, I pick out fabric, I sketch the drawings, I take of shipping, customer service and all of my blogging. Phew…I think I should be getting a mondo fat paycheck. Well…nope not here my friend. But….I got an eye opener today.
I got a chance to speak with another fellow business owner who gave me some awesome advice this was his quick but very insightful tip! Here goes:
**No matter how much ‘profit’ you’re making, Pay.Yourself.First! Now what exactly does that mean? Well it doesn’t mean you go and blow every dime of your sales on a Coach bag or new uber expensive plush spa bed for Dino. Here’s how my friend broke it down for me.
1) Even if you’re brining in $125/month. Set a pay structure in place, right from the beginning. Divide your ‘income’ into 3 divisions.
–>Pay yourself
–>Pay the business
–>Pay for growth, and expanding or sustaining ( depending on your personal or business goals)
If you can get in the habit of dividing up every single bit of income that your pet business brings in you’ll see that slowly or quickly it starts to build and you begin to gain more confidence in your business and before you know it you’ve got a budge for yourself, your pet business and budget for the growth or sustainability of it.
You may know already what happens when you’re not paying yourself at all. You may doubt your endeavor at times, you may feel overworked and obviously underpaid. You may wonder why or why did you jump in and do this…But I can tell you that once your business has foundation and starts to ‘love’ you back it’s a great and wonderful feeling.
**So get those pay systems in place and start appreciating all your hard work**
Hey You Made It!
Apr 17th
Welcome to the spot I like to call Bark Business! I’ve just made the big switch to WordPress and am improving the features, and resources you’ll find and utilize here! Commenting & Sharing is encouraged and I’m always open for blog features, or if I can help you plug your pet business just email me!
*Glad you’re here!
Are you the bargain or the splurge?
Mar 26th
In today’s hot market of pets and animals it seems like many new petpreneurs are coming along for the furry ride. So if you’re just starting out or you’ve just launched have you asked yourself this question yet? Let’s break down both with reasons and responses.
Are you the Bargain? If you’re looking to sell more quantity of yourself or your products than this might be the route for you. If what you’re selling is something that can be consumed quickly and will need to be bought over and over again, you might be the Bargain. If your products or services do not have a high initial cost, you might be the Bargain.
The Bargain could launch fairly quickly as well. If you’re pet parents need what you offer and the price is a ‘Bargain’ than you could be reaping profits within weeks. Another positive to being the Bargain. The downside of the Bargain, you don’t want to come off as looking cheap. Still push the benies, and what your product brings to them, and then point out your Bargain price.
Not to mention you could give away your Bargain to gain exposure as well, and everyone always loves 
something that is free. This way you’re not out much by giving your goodies away. Word of caution with giveaways: Always have a means for your petparents to ‘take you up on your offer’. Be it a business card attached, or simply your website address on a string. Give them easy access to you.
–>Are you the Splurge? If you’re considering being a splurge or you already are, you had better have a great list of features to back up the pricey
cost. Be sure to emphasize what your service or products will do for them. Will it save time, money in the long run, or give a better overall standard of life for their pets? Make sure you point out every possible feature. Anyone purchasing anything that needs thought to decide wants to know that what they’re buying will be worth it say 2 months from now. Will yours be? Think of how the features will keep on givin’ so to speak.
Be sure what you have to offer is truly worth the price. Are you eco conscious, are your fabrics luxurious or at least feel that way. Is everything handmade, do you personally provide the service or do equally qualified consultants. Is there a status that comes with your products or services? Believe it or not this matters with Splurge buys.
A way to get your Splurge products and services out there is to carefully select pet parents to give away to. But in doing this you have to go a little bit further in the return. While you don’t have to ask them to buy anything, you should ask for some type of return. Blog post, high-profile mentions, sharing with a group, or some type of network share from them. You can’t go willy nilly with a Splurge product because it’s just too costly. Be smart and make sure you get something in return for your gifting.
So with these quick points you should be able to define where you are, make the most of it, and finally get the customers, clients you deserve. And if you’re somewhere in between a Bargain and a Splurge there’s room for you too. Just define and go for it.
Got questions or need some feedback? Ask it’s what I do!
Generating Traffic…a Series*
Mar 13th
Welcome to the first installment of The Bark Business Tips Series. In a world of information overload, I’ve received lots of emails asking for just quick tips. So I thought it might be a bit refreshing too, to just give quick little action-based tips that you can try right away or test out.
Each little tip and trick will be real quick, and really helpful. While you may already be trying or using some of them my hope is that you’ll also find some that you haven’t heard of or thought to try.
Remember in the world of your pet niche business the idea is to captivate your pet parents any way you can and gain their trust, and entice them to get to know you and your products and/or services, but they need to find you in the sea of the ‘WWW’!
Here’s what I’ll ask from you my readers and visitors. That if you find a tip or trick you think is pretty darn cool, stupid, or neat-o Tweet It, or leave a nice little comment below. Yes I said stupid, because you know what they say, even bad banter can garner attention*
Soo let the Series begin!
——>Traffic Generator #1<---------
Become a Featured Expert Columnist
** Article marketing. An effective way of generating traffic to your website over time. However, a much more direct way of getting your website in front of your target market is by doing something a bit more targeted than traditional article marketing. Because you're in the animal and pet industry you need to specifically target this audience.
Two of the Big ones to put articles at are:
www.Ezinearticles.com
www.Isnare.com
But a more targeted approach is seeking out other pet bloggers, industry websites and blogs. Ask to be a guest blogger, or if you can submit articles and attach your website information at the end. A good place to start is by doing a search for pet bloggers, or animal bloggers, take a look at their content and see if what you've got to share is a good match.
Don't forget tip #2 will be available next week!
Success & Wags,
Hey there and welcome to Bark Business, I'm Rickina and I'll be your blogger for your visit today. My mission for Bark Business is to share wonderful pet businesses with you. The ones you may not have heard of, but that should be on your pet-radar. I wanna feature you, got a fabulous pet-inspired product, shoot me an email to be considered. 