What Can You Buy With 40 Cents?

by Susan Briggs in Blogs

September 15, 2015

I’m on a mission to get you to attend one of the fall pet services seminars.

This is a new soapbox issue for me as co-founder of the Professional Animal Care Certification Council or PACCC. The volunteers creating our testing and certification program believe pet care is an important profession and our mission will save pet lives. But how much are these lives worth to the members of our industry?

The number of pet care service businesses in the United States alone is estimated to exceed 25,000. Yet  Membership in our trade association and private groups like The Dog Gurus is at an all time low of less than 500.

If we want to be viewed as a serious profession by the clients we serve we need to do better. We need to gather as a group of professionals and raise the standard of care. Are you going to visit a doctor, dentist or accountant that does not invest in ongoing education and professional development?

The 2014 survey results revealed that the median investment in seminars and travel is $1,500 per year. A quick review of the costs for the International Boarding and Pet Services Association (IBPSA) convention and Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo confirm that you can pay your registration fee, spend three nights in the main hotel, budget to spend $450 for your travel and meals for a $1,500 total investment.

This is an investment in both your business and yourself. Yet why are attendance numbers so low based on how many members we have in our industry?

Following are four reasons that are frequently offered by owners on why they don’t attend seminars. Please consider the responses that serve as a call to action to reconsider your view if we truly want to be viewed as pet care professionals.

1. There’s nothing in the content that I don’t already know or that applies to my business.

Professionals believe there is always something new to learn. They attend multiple sessions and workshops on the same topic knowing that each speaker brings different experiences and perspectives on the subject. Technology and marketing are changing fast in the digital age and the leading pet care businesses are utilizing these developments in their businesses.

2. I can get everything I need to know online from discussion groups or Google searches.

Professionals recognize the value in networking with people. They understand that much of the value gained attending industry conferences is from the one-to-one conversations over lunch or happy hour at the end of the day. Internet information is only as good as the source and the seminar organizers target respected subject matter experts.

3. I don’t have the time to attend a three-day seminar.

With few exceptions this is an excuse and the real reason is you don’t prioritize the seminar as a way to use your time. If you truly do not have time in your schedule then take online productivity classes and work on your delegation skills so you have time to attend next year.

4. I can’t afford to attend a three-day seminar.

Raise your rate by 40 cents per day. Not only will you earn the $1,500 to pay for the seminar, you will also be paid for taking 10 days off during the year. Yes, you could close your business for 2 weeks just by increasing your rate by forty cents!

The value that new business owners gain from attending these seminars may be obvious, but it’s also important for experienced owners. The industry needs you to share your lessons learned and the tools that are proven to work in your business.

Veteran business owners may also find intangible benefits from attending:

• Set an example to staff that there is always something new to learn and the value of investing in your career
• Showcase to clients that pet care is a profession and your commitment as one of the industry leaders
• Expand your own network of support or mentor a new business owner
• Re-energize your own mental and emotional well-being from the change in environment and spending time with like-minded people

The bottom line is one new tip implemented in your business can pay for your cost to attend the seminar. Raising your rates by forty cents per day can pay for the trip and two weeks away from your business. Attendance at our industry events is not really about the time or money.

It’s time for pet care service business owners to decide if they really want to be a part of a profession. To me it’s no longer acceptable to say the lives of the pets we care for are not worth forty cents a day. Attendance at industry seminars provides the opportunity to grow, network and improve the standards of care for the industry as a whole.

This leaves me to wonder is the industry really ready to be viewed as pet care professionals? Are we ready to take the next step and commit to professional certification? What do you think?

Use the links below to learn more about the fall pet care service conferences:

IBPSA Convention in Texas, October 20 – 22

Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo in Pennsylvania, November 9 – 12

Number Geeks see my forty cent calculations that follow…

A very small center providing dog daycare to 15 dogs per day, 5 days per week will service 3,750 dogs in 50 weeks. At a rate of $25 per day they would make $93,750 in revenue. Adding $1,500 to needed revenue and servicing the same number of dogs calculates to a service rate of $25.40 per dog per day.