DogCo Secrets

With roughly eight working weeks left in the year, there's still time to make meaningful improvements to your pet care business's profitability. But rather than trying to overhaul everything at once, Michelle Kline shares three practical areas to focus on before the end of 2026: holiday pricing, reengaging former clients, and improving operational efficiency. In this episode, Michelle explains how to evaluate your profit margins against industry benchmarks, why retaining existing clients can be more profitable than acquiring new ones, and how seemingly insignificant amounts of wasted employee time can add up to substantial costs. Whether you're running a small dog walking company or scaling a larger pet sitting operation, these strategies can help you make better use of the time, team, and client relationships you already have. 🧠 Key Takeaways - Understand your profit benchmarks: Michelle recommends a 20% to 30% profit range for team-based pet care companies where the owner is out of the field, with higher margins potentially achievable depending on the business model. - Review your holiday fee structure: Consider applying smaller surcharges to services surrounding major holidays and higher fees on the holidays themselves. - Protect your existing bookings: Honor fees already agreed upon with clients while evaluating pricing for new Thanksgiving and Christmas bookings. - Reengage former clients: Reach out personally to clients you haven't served this year. Some may simply need a friendly reminder that you're available. - Prioritize retention over acquisition: Reconnecting with existing clients can reduce the marketing and onboarding costs associated with bringing in new customers. - Keep outreach personal and low-pressure: Focus first on restarting the relationship rather than immediately pushing clients toward recurring services. - Manage employee time carefully: If you pay your team hourly, monitor routing, visit durations, and the time spent on activities that aren't directly billable. - Recognize the cost of small inefficiencies: A few extra minutes per visit may seem insignificant, but across a large team, those minutes can add up to dozens of hours each week. - Think about long-term profitability: Improving operational efficiency can help your team serve more clients without proportionally increasing your labor costs. 🚀 Ready to Grow Your Pet Care Business? DogCo Launch helps pet care business owners build more profitable, sustainable companies through practical strategies, systems, and coaching. Explore the program and learn more about growing your dog walking or pet sitting business at dogcolaunch.com. -M

If you're trying to grow your pet care business but keep hitting a wall, your first instinct might be to focus on getting more leads and attracting new clients. But what if lead flow isn't actually the problem? In this episode, Michelle Kline explains why many dog walking and pet sitting businesses struggle with hidden operational bottlenecks that prevent them from growing, increasing profit, or creating the freedom their owners want. Michelle breaks down why there is no universal formula for scaling a pet care business and how to start identifying the real constraints holding yours back. From administrative processes and standard operating procedures to staffing and day-to-day logistics, she shares two practical ways to recognize when your business may have a deeper operational issue rather than a lead-generation problem. 🧠 Key Takeaways - Business growth isn't always about increasing revenue. It can also mean greater profit, more control over your schedule, or more freedom from day-to-day operations. - There is no single formula for scaling every pet care business. The right strategy depends on your goals and your business's specific constraints. - Operational bottlenecks are often hidden beneath the surface, making them easy to overlook. - Many pet care businesses assume they need more leads when their actual constraints involve administration, team structure, standard operating procedures, or execution. - Pet care is logistically complex, requiring the right person to be in the right place at the right time while managing unpredictable variables. - If you're afraid to market because you don't know whether you can handle additional business, lead flow may not be your primary bottleneck. - If you've had to turn away work because you couldn't staff it, it's worth investigating the operational constraints behind that limitation. - Identifying the real bottleneck is the first step toward dismantling it and moving your business in the direction you want. 📣 Free Webinar: Identify the 12 Core Bottlenecks in Your Pet Care Business What is actually constraining your business right now? Michelle has identified 12 core bottlenecks that commonly affect pet care business models, and she's hosting a free webinar to explore them in greater depth. 📅 Date: October 22, 2026 🕕 Time: 6:00 PM Eastern 🔗 Registration: https://www.dogcolaunch.com/breaking-through-bottlenecks You can also find registration information through Michelle's social media or the Grow Your Daily Dog Walking Business with DogCo Launch Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/917885736018212/ -M

We're coming off the DogCo Business Summit, opening enrollment for 2027, and heading into the final stretch of the year. In this episode, Michelle Kline shares a different approach to finishing the year well: instead of chasing another big goal or launching something new, what if you focused on the small, consistent actions that actually move you forward? Michelle breaks down her approach to building momentum through the end of the year, from identifying the daily inputs that support your biggest goals to tracking your consistency and protecting time for reflection and rest. She shares examples from her own health and business goals, including how to turn a long-term vision into specific daily commitments. Whether you're feeling energized by everything you want to accomplish or overwhelmed by how quickly the year has gone, this episode is a reminder that you don't necessarily need a new strategy. You might just need to execute the one you already have. 🧠 Key Takeaways - Why the final quarter of the year doesn't need to be about launching something new - How to identify the daily actions that will move you closer to your biggest goals - The difference between measuring outcomes and tracking the inputs that create them - Why consistent execution can be more powerful than constantly setting new goals - How to build accountability by tracking your daily commitments - Why entrepreneurs need to resist the temptation to abandon consistency when it starts feeling boring - How to plan meaningful end-of-year reflection and rest before setting goals for the year ahead - Why your next year's goals should reflect a genuine commitment to the work required to achieve them 🚀 Ready to Scale Your Pet Care Business in 2027? DogCo Launch is now open for 2027 enrollment! If you're looking to grow your pet care business alongside a community of ambitious owners, learn more about the program and explore whether it's the right fit for you. The enrollment process includes a complimentary scaling audit conversation with an experienced DogCo client, giving you an opportunity to discuss your business, explore potential solutions, and learn more about the program. Learn more at dogcolaunch.com/mastermind -M

Running a pet care business can be so independent that we get used to working without much connection to other owners. As the DogCo Business Summit begins, I’m sharing why bringing people together matters to me beyond the visibility or business opportunities a conference creates. In this short episode, I talk about the community gap I see among pet care business owners, how meeting in person can deepen relationships we’ve built online, and why those connections have become such a meaningful part of my own experience with DogCo. My encouragement is simple: get out of your comfort zone and spend time with people who understand your day-to-day life, share your goals, or are further ahead on the path you want to take. 🧠 Key Takeaways - Independent work can make it easy to overlook the need for community - The value of an industry event goes beyond its immediate business return - Digital community and in-person connection can support each other - Spending time together can deepen relationships with fellow owners and teammates - Those relationships are worth nurturing throughout the year, not just during a conference - Seek out people who understand the day-to-day realities of your business - Make time for owners who are further ahead or working toward similar goals - Getting out of your comfort zone is part of making meaningful connection a priority 🚀 Join Me at the DogCo Business Summit As this episode goes live, we’re kicking off the 2026 DogCo Business Summit. If you’re not joining us this year, I hope to see you in 2027. Keep an eye out for next year’s event and make room for time with people who understand what you’re building. Learn more about the Summit 👉 dogcosummit.com -M

Should you pay your dog walkers and pet sitters per visit or by the hour? I’ve used both models, and while I prefer hourly pay for most team-based pet care businesses, there are situations where I would leave a working per-piece model alone. In this episode, I explain how pay structure affects labor costs, the applicants you attract, and compensation for training and additional responsibilities as your company grows. I share what changed when I moved my own team to hourly pay, plus what to consider before changing yours. These are general business principles, not legal or state-specific HR advice. Please verify the requirements for employee pay, time tracking, and mileage reimbursement in your state before making changes. #PetCareBusiness #EmployeeCompensation #DogWalkingBusiness ⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 - Hourly vs. per-piece pay and important considerations 2:12 - A hiring resource for owners starting to build a team 3:20 - My experience moving from per-piece to hourly pay 4:52 - When I would leave a working per-piece model alone 5:58 - Comparing per-visit payouts with hourly labor costs 8:27 - How pay structure can influence the applicants you attract 9:44 - Anchoring compensation to time instead of individual tasks 10:55 - Paying trainers for assessments and follow-up work 11:55 - Building a pay structure that supports employee progression 12:46 - Digital Summit tickets close September 30th 🧠 Key Takeaways • Evaluate your pay model through labor costs, compliance, hiring quality, and employee retention • Switching to hourly pay reduced labor costs by about 12% in my own business • A compliant per-piece model that supports healthy labor costs and a stable team may not need changing • Compare per-visit pay with its hourly equivalent, accounting for drive time and service volume • Consider how your compensation structure communicates the type of job you are offering • Clear expectations around availability help you understand staffing capacity and plan for new clients • Hourly pay anchors compensation to working time rather than a separate payout for every task • Additional responsibilities should come with additional pay, including when employees become trainers • Training assessments and follow-up work need a clear place in your compensation model • Think ahead about how field, trainer, admin, and management pay fit together as your team grows 🚀 Join Me Digitally at the DogCo Business Summit In-person ticket sales are closed, but digital tickets are available until September 30th for the DogCo Business Summit, October 2nd-4th, 2026, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’d love for you to take advantage of the education and bring new ideas back to your pet care company. Explore your digital ticket options 👉 dogcosummit.com -M