Clay Clark | Dog Training Franchise | Want to Own Your Own Small Business & Dog Training Franchise? Schedule a FREE Consultation Today At: MakeYourDogEpic.com

Audio Transcription

I think we should do it. I think we should open our own Make Your Dog Epic franchise. It just makes sense. Yeah, makes a lot of sense to me. Okay, let me run it by my guy. Okay, my top guy. He’s elite. Who’s your top guy? Hey bro, I looked up the Make Your Dog Epic franchise. I think it might be a great business opportunity. Yes, but do you realize that in the United States nearly 60% of all households own at least one dog? You can’t even train me! How are you gonna train other dogs? That’s the beauty, bro. They said they’ll train me on everything. No past dog training experience necessary. In fact, the man who co-founded the business is the guy who co-founded Snap Fitness, which has over 2,500 locations. I’m telling you, the guys that make your dog epic have thought of everything. They have a system for everything. Yeah, what about startup cost? And what about financing? Look, Broda, their franchise fees and startup costs are some of the lowest in the franchise world and they’ll spread out my startup costs to make it affordable. But what about ongoing support? Brodini, they’ve made it so I can focus nearly 100% of my time on training dogs and training my employees to train dogs. Their franchise support team manages the marketing, scheduling center, search engine optimization, customer relationship management software, and most aspects of the money collection side of the business. Bro, that’s amazing. Yeah bro, that’s what I’m saying. They thought of everything, Broby1Kenobi. Bro beans, what are you waiting for? Get over there, schedule that free consultation. Right? I love you. I love you too, brosterdomus. I’m ready for my belly rubs. I heard about Clay Clark and Make Your Dog Epic through a business conference. So I was working for one of Clay’s clients, Score Basketball, and I went to one of Clay’s business conferences and it completely changed my life. I asked him there how to get mentors in my life that were business owners, not just employees. And he completely changed my life and now he’s actually one of my mentors and I view him as a brother. What appealed to me most was that it’s one of the few things that you can make a lot of money and enjoy it. So it’s one of the few things you can do as a hobby and make a lot of money. So your hobby and what makes money doesn’t always coincide. So it’s really awesome that I get to change the lives of dogs and make money while doing it. So it’s really that’s really what appealed to me. Since our grand opening once we started training dogs it took about 10 weeks for us to gross $20,000 in sales. The weekly coaching call helps a lot. So when you buy a franchise, it already has the systems and processes in place. So that’s why franchises succeed. So it’s kind of like bowling with bumper rails. So even if you try, you can’t mess up because the guidelines are already in place. But then when you add on the weekly coaching calls, it is awesome. Because now it’s like I have a ramp and I just have to push the ball down and the franchise gets it in place. So really all you have to do is the work and then if you do it, they tell you on the coaching calls and you stay within the franchise, you have really no choice but to succeed. Yeah, so having a team that handles all the customer scheduling has freed up so much time time because now I’m not training dogs while trying to answer the phone and schedule people. If I didn’t have a team to handle all the customer scheduling, my schedule would be chaotic. I mean I’d actually probably have to hire somebody to do it for me. So I would be answering calls, trying to get a hold of people, trying to reschedule, trying to take inbound calls, trying to do outbound calls, trying to get new leads, trying to answer old leads. It would just be super chaotic. So I’m super happy we have a team that takes care of all of that for us. So having a team that takes care of all the marketing for you, that takes care of all the SEO for you, that takes care of all the lead generation for you is awesome. Because now it’s just another stressor off your plate. So they’re answering the phone calls for you and they’re doing all of this for you. I mean it is awesome. So you don’t have to guess, does this head work, does this head work, I’m not designing new print pieces to send out to people. They know what they do works. So they already have their marketing tool that works. So you’re not guessing and trying to reinvent the wheel. They already know what works. So it’s awesome having them behind you. So if I didn’t have a team helping me with turnkey marketing, search engine optimization, and lead generation, I would have to learn a lot. So I’d have to learn how to make a website canonically compliant, how to write the articles, how many articles, how to make a website rank, how to do Google My Business listing, how to make print pieces, how to design print pieces, what colors work, what am I allowed to do, what am I not allowed to do, where should I print those print pieces, where should I run ads, where should I do that, should I do the Dream 100, what is the Dream 100, how do I create a list for the Dream 100, what events should I do, what events should I not do. I mean there’s a lot there, I could just go on all day because there’s books about each of these subjects written and we don’t have to understand any of that because they’re taking care of it all for us. So my life would be crazy if I had to learn all of that stuff. What does a day in the life look like for a Make Your Dog Epic franchisee owner? Basically you’re waking up to do the hobby that you love. So you’re seeing your schedule, if you have an event you’re going to an event and you’re interacting with people, you’re telling them about dog training, you’re showing off your own personal dog, or you’re going to lessons and you’re teaching Fluffy how to sit, come, down, place, heal, you’re doing all of it and you’re helping these people through their issues and it can literally be life-changing for these people. So it’s a super rewarding job and business to own because you’re actually making a difference in somebody’s life and while being paid well to do something that you love. So a day in the life is basically the checking your schedule and you’re going through all of it whether it’s lessons, whether it’s managing people, whether it’s doing events, but that’s basically a day in the life. What I like most about owning this business is how much fun you can have while making good money. Because a lot of people don’t know this, but more people are not having kids and they’re getting dogs and they’re spending more money on their dogs than they are on their kids and everyone loves dogs. So 50% of households own a dog and all of them if they could were to get their dog trained. So it’s really rewarding thing to do. So it’s one of the few things where you can have a job that you love while getting paid well. Because your hobby and what pays well doesn’t always coincide. So it’s really cool that you get to do that and that’s probably one of the best things. You get the time freedom and financial freedom of being able to do something you love. You never really feel like you’re working because you love to do it. All right, so the most challenging aspect of owning a Make Your Dog Epic franchise is at first it’s learning the dog training. But Make Your Dog Epic does a great job of making sure that you feel very competent and that you know everything you need to know about dog training so that you can go out there and make a difference. And they have ongoing learning. So if you ever struggle with anything, you can always call the head trainer. You can learn however much you want. You can always come back and shadow as much as you want. So there’s no limit to how much you can learn or help you can get. After that though, it turns into half dog training, half human training, because you’re training humans as well. I’ll let you guys guess which one’s harder. So it’s just managing the people side of it once you already know the dog side of it. And that would be what I would say is the hardest, most challenging part of Make Your Dog Epic. Who do I believe would be a good fit for the Make Your Dog Epic franchise? I mean, there’s a lot of people. I mean, if you have work ethic and you love dogs, you’re a great fit. So as long as you’re coachable, you’ve got work ethic, and you like to be around dogs, you’d be a great fit. If you hate dogs, probably not a good fit. If you have no work ethic and you’re just trying to not work and just throw money at something and throw money back at you, then this probably isn’t the thing for you. But if you want something that’s very rewarding and also pays you well, then this is it. As long as you have that work ethic and you’re coachable, then you’re going to be a great fit for Make Your Dog Epic franchise help me achieve my financial goals? I mean, the goals that I used to have, they’re not even goals anymore because I’ve surpassed them. So, now it’s like, I have goals now that I didn’t even know were possible to have those goals, that were like realistic. I thought you had to make it to the NBA or be a lottery winner or something like that to be able to have the goals that I have now, but I mean it’s completely changed my life so I can’t speak highly enough about it. I’m Teresa and this is my dog Rex. You wouldn’t know it, but a few weeks ago he would never have been sitting here like this. I found Make Your Dog Epic because my friend had sent her dog to them and it was amazing the difference that that training made with her dog. Hi, my name is Christian. I’m from Austin, Texas. I moved to Utah earlier this year. I found Make Your Dog Epic on Google and their training has been fantastic. My dog is finally able to listen to me. I’m able to have a better relationship with my dog and I would recommend Make Your Dog Epic for anyone who is trying to have a tighter, more close-knit connection with their animal and their loved one. Hi, my name is Chloe and this is Louis. I’m from Syracuse and we are just so grateful for Make Your Dog Epic. They were so amazing with us. I would describe the training as very personalized. From the time that we had our first assessment they were able to figure out what we needed and all of the lessons were very personalized to his personal needs. He’s doing so much better and now everyone else can enjoy the happy dog that I have. So so grateful for them and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Nathan and Kendra Manwaring in Morgan, Utah and this is Skye and we had an amazing training experience. I think they did a great job with her. We would definitely recommend Make Your Dog Epic to anybody. Every time that people come over and they ask, they say, wow, we probably should have done that. And I go, you still can! Tyler and his crew there are great. And if one we ever get another dog will be using you guys again. We are Wayne and Sue Hayes from Tulsa, Oklahoma. We went to the Home and Garden Show and we met TJ there and Akili and we’re impressed and left our name for a phone call. It’s been night and day. Wonderful. He does the loose leash walking. He stopped being aggressive toward other dogs and other people so far. So it’s just a pleasure to go walking with him now. And he’s learning commands. He knows what off means. And we still use that. And he knows what come means. Like say, he walks well. And he’s just a different dog. I would say get off the fence. It’s just been a pleasure. We tried two other dog trainers who just gave up and accomplished nothing. But we started seeing results in the first week. Walking Tiberius was the number one problem for me. He would pull me, if you could picture a cartoon character flying behind their dog, that would be me. And he pulled my shoulder out of the socket last time I took him to the vet. So I really struggled with that. I dreaded ever taking him to the vet because of that. So now he’s able to walk with me on the leash and not pull me, and that is wonderful. He wouldn’t drop stuff if he got it in his mouth. He would be very resistant to putting it down. Now I can walk him and make him listen to me when I tell him not to pull. I say Make Your Dog Epic is amazing. I love the way our experience went with JT, you. I feel like you’re very energetic and you just make it happy. You make it feel good, what we’re doing. And Tiberius has come home just himself, only a better version. Country singer Tim McGraw and his wife Faith Hill are going to play the Xcel Energy Center this weekend. But before they go ahead and do that, they’re going to be at a benefit on Lake Minnetonka to raise money for families of military members. It is a home, in fact a home rather, of the owner of the Minnesota-based Snap Fitness. WCCO’s Jennifer Merrilee found out why he decided to open up the private show to boaters. The stage is nearly set for Grammy award-winning singer Tim McGraw. The country crooner will play for 400 on Sunday in what’s being called Liberty on the Lake. This is a Snap Fitness event, but the benefactor is Folds of Honor. And Folds of Honor, when you boil it down, it’s about paying for education of the children of families of fallen soldiers. Snap Fitness owner Peter Tauten serves on the board of the non-profit. He brought together his passion for philanthropy with a new partner in business and fellow supporter of veteran causes, Tim McGraw. The concert venue is set on Tauten’s lakefront estate on Palmer Point. We wanted to make sure that this event felt exclusive for all of our guests. The show will raise nearly $200,000 for scholarships. The need is huge. All of that stays in Minnesota for Minnesota families. These people have made sacrifices and in some cases the ultimate sacrifice and it recognizes their loved one for what they did for our country. In the spirit of raising awareness, Towton decided to open the event up to whoever can make it on the water. So we promoted it saying, look, come by boat. We spent a lot of money putting speakers along the shoreline so acoustically they’re going to experience the concert as well. We designed the stage as you see where Tim can very easily turn around face the lake crowd. Jennifer Merrilee, WCCO 4 News. And we’ve heard of people who plan to park their boats tomorrow to get a good spot on the water. Now the event is not until Sunday. It goes from 1130 until 3 o’clock with Tim Graw on stage around 130. Palmer Point’s near the southwest corner of Lake Minnetonka and that’ll be the place to be. We have a lot more information on Folds of Honor and the good work they do at WCCO.com slash links. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was studying business statistics, right? Which was hard for me anyway, and I remember closing my book and I looked at my twin brother and I’m glad I didn’t because you meet a friend and they’re like, oh, so where did you go to school? You know, they’re kind of asking where you went. I’m like, I went to the school of hard knocks. I would rather be street smart than book smart any day and I learned a lot the same way you did. My dad with his small grocery store, when I was eight years old, he gave me the opportunity to sell popcorn in front of his grocery store. Twenty-five cents a bag, so every Saturday you’d see me there. And then at the end of the day, we’d pay off the popcorn and oil, and then my dad would take half and we would take half. I could never repay him for the education my dad gave me. It’s so valuable. He taught me how to work. I picked up a racket when I was 13 and it was that racquetball was a sport to me that I that that came easy to me right so by the time I was 17 18 years old I was a I was a professional so I spent a lot of time inside the court and at that same club was the same club that offered me a job when at the time I was living in Orlando Florida the club was losing money and they said, hey Peter, if you come back and run this club for us, we’ll pay you $16,000 a year, but we’ll give you an opportunity to buy us out with the profits that the business generates. So for me, that was the opportunity that I needed. I had to get creative. I started bartering. So I went to the carpet store in town and I said, tell you what, I don’t have any money, but I have memberships. How about if you give me carpet and I’ll give you memberships for all your employees?” And to my surprise, many of them said, okay. Slowly the membership base began to grow. And over a matter of four years, the business went from losing 200 grand a year to making $200,000 a year. I went right back to the bank, got another loan, built another club. Now I had two clubs paying one loan. So you know what? When you start with nothing, you’re fearless. Crazy. A lot of your buddies are probably still up in St. Cloud. St. Cloud. Hey Peter, let’s go party. Let’s this, that. I mean it’s the typical life of a 22 year old. You know, I remember when I came into the club, I remember I had an all-staff meeting and I said, hey tomorrow we’re going to clean. The next day I come to work and before I’m getting ready to start cleaning, there’s probably 40, 50 people there. About three or four of them step forward, speaking on behalf of the group, and they say, hey Peter, we just want you to know, we don’t clean. Okay, that’s not what we do. In other words, that’s not in our job description. I look at them, you talk about a character building moment, I take a step back, I don’t know half of their names, right? I’d been there all of two days. And I said, and you also don’t have a job. I had to do it, right? And those were, those were character building moments and I filled in the voids where I had to. But I tell you what, that’s how we were able to grow that membership base so fast because I said, you know, when people come in, we’re going to call them by name. This club is going to be clean and we’re going to deliver on our promise, helping people get fit. I took the one club and I built it into six clubs. These are clubs with indoor pools, racquetball, aerobic studios, they were big clubs. I sold them and what it got me to do, it got me to think about what if. So I said, asked myself, what if I eliminate racquetball courts? What if I eliminate aerobic studios? What if I eliminate the swimming pool and child care? All of it. So this club that was normally 40,000 square feet was suddenly 3,000-4,000 feet. Instead of having 50 employees, I had two. The unit level economics came in place. So I built one club and in 90 days, I sold enough memberships in 90 days to cash flow the business for the year. And that was the starting point of what today is known as Snap Fitness with a couple thousand locations around the world and then multiple other brands that we’ve developed since then. Did I know at that time I was going to build one of the largest franchises in the world? Of course not. Your vision of success, now that you’re here, you have it, you got your cars and you got your beautiful home, is it what you think or is there something, you know, with the success you’ve had, things maybe you’d do differently or? I’ve never been lonelier in my life than I am right now. Which, as crazy as that sounds, I’ve never been lonelier. And when people say money can’t buy you happiness, it’s the truth. There is so much truth in that. I pinch myself every day. I walk outside this beautiful home, my beautiful home in Florida, or when I’m boating or playing, whatever I’m doing. I say, how did I get here? And why me, God? What is your plan for me? But you need to have someone to share it with. That’s one part of it. And then living life with purpose. What’s the rest of my life look like? It looks like diversity. I love my lodge in Africa, in the Serengeti, and trying to do good there, trying to make a dent in anti-poaching. I could show you some of the most inhumane videos of poaching that you can imagine, that literally you’ll be in disbelief of what it is. It is a lot of work yet to do for sure. Well, I mean you have that presence to you people, you know, you’re good leaders and people want to follow you. The more people see you doing things, the more people will follow on and then they’ll do it and people will follow them. Yeah, I hope you’re right. You know what? I’m a I’m a really passionate guy. Hopefully when people are hearing what I’m saying, I’m just hoping that they can grab little life lessons along the way. Being an entrepreneur is getting in there every day, spitting in your palms and going after it, chasing it down every day. And win or lose doesn’t matter. You know, I always say, if you haven’t failed in business, you’re not trying hard enough. Failing is part of growing. Pain is part of growing. And that’s not only in business, that’s in your personal life as well. And I can’t stress it enough, that it’s, don’t be afraid to fail. Liberty on the Lake is always going to be an event to raise money for causes, worthy causes. I’m going to have it right here. There’s not a better place, there’s not a more beautiful piece of property. Just the way, being out on this peninsula. I mean, imagine today they expect over a thousand boats on the lake. Most of these boats have between 8 and 10 people on them. So you’re going to have 10 to 15,000 people just on the lake alone watching this concert, let alone the 600 people here. And if we can bring awareness to causes, boy, what a great way to do it. First and foremost, it’s great talent, raising money for a great cause, and then always making it available to the lake. I want the people on the lake to have as much of a concert experience as all of our special guests do. It’s my pleasure here to bring up my friend Mr. Tim McGraw. Tim, come on up, my brother. Tim is going to play at our Twin Cities Summer Jam next year. It’s the third week in July every year for the next 20 years. And he believes in giving back. He believes in, you know what, I’m gonna live my life with purpose because he’s been given a gift and he takes that gift to help other people. How do you want to live? How do you want to live this life? What’s your legacy look like? Is it singing or is it the differences you make in people’s lives? And how did you give people a leg up? How humble and kind were you? And that is what it’s about and it doesn’t matter if you’re worth $10 billion or worth $2. So Liberty on the Lake, it’s about that. It’s about great talent, great concert, So Liberty on the Lake, it’s about that. It’s about great talent, great concert, great musicians, raising money for unbelievable causes.