Congratulations, you did it!

You did what most people do not do. You took action.

You said “I’m not 100% sure what this Amazing New Life Challenge thing is, but I’m going to try it.” And you took a chance.

I am humbled and grateful that you took that chance on me even though you probably have no clue who I am.

We’re going to get into me and our first Challenge lesson in a little bit, but first let me clarify exactly what we’re doing here in the Amazing New Life Challenge and what you’re going to get out of the action you took.

What This Is

The Amazing New Life Challenge is a 30-day program designed specifically for pet business owners, like you. It’s designed to help you create an amazing life for yourself both personally and professionally.

Each day will have a lesson of some sort delivered by email, posted on the Pet Business Masters! website, as well as posted in our private facebook group. Some lessons will have an assignment to complete. You can do these assignments or not, but obviously you’ll get more out of the Challenge if you take the time to complete them.

At the end of each week, we’ll also have a live webinar to discuss that week’s set of lessons.

The first half of the Challenge will be focused on goal setting, productivity, and time management topics. For some of you, this may seem boring or unimportant. Some of it will might also seem a little “woo woo” because we’re going to dive into some personal stuff. Trust me though, we can’t get into building your business unless you’ve got these things in place first. They’re extremely important!

Once that’s taken care of, we’ll start getting into business-building topics in the second half of the challenge. We’ll be talking about systems, hiring, and everyone’s favorite topic…how to get more customers!

You can interact with the other Challenge members in our private facebook group. If you haven’t joined it yet, go here and request to join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1157864234331671/

Also, make sure to like the Pet Business Masters! Facebook page to get lots of tips and strategies on operating a pet business: https://business.facebook.com/petbusinessmasters

That’s what you can expect for how the Challenge operates. Let me know if you have any questions. Email me at john(at)petbusinessmasters.com or post something in the private facebook group.

Who Is This Guy?

You may be wondering who I am, so I’ll give you an overview of that and then we’ll get into the first Challenge lesson.

I’m John Reh. I own the Dogs Love Running! pet care service. We’re located in the Chicago suburbs and we focus on dog running, dog walking, and pet sitting.

I can remember my first client. Her name is Kim and her dog was Mocha.

My first client, Mocha

I had no clue what I was doing when I started my business but I knew I couldn’t do what I had been doing so I had to try something else.

You see, I had a very “good” corporate job by all accounts. I had a fine cubicle and nice people around me and made way more money than most people my age. But I hated it. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t like having a boss.

I had grand plans for starting my own business and that was my escape plan out of cubicle hell. So, when I graduated with my MBA from a very reputable school, I thought I had it made. I figured I would use what I had learned to start my own business in that same industry that I had been working in where I hated my life. I thought I hated it just because I had a boss. But, what I learned very quickly though was that I just hated the work that I was doing. That’s what was getting me down. It was unsatisfactory work! I was not contributing in any meaningful way. I was not fulfilled in any way, shape or form.

So, after a year of that, I closed my business and thought about what I truly enjoyed.

I recognized that I loved animals (especially dogs), enjoyed athletics, liked being outdoors, and definitely still wanted my own business.  I happened to see a Runner’s World magazine article that profiled someone who was running with dogs as a side business.  And that’s when it hit me…I could do that, too!

So, I did what all my friends and family thought was ridiculously crazy. I started a dog running and walking business. With my business school training, I set my fledgling pet care company up in a way that I thought might work and told myself I’d give it 6 months and then reevaluate if I could keep it going or not.

This is where Kim and Mocha come into play. My first day in my new business, I made some flyers and put them on all the mailboxes of homes in a subdivision near me. The next day I received a call. It was Kim. It turned out that Kim was a runner and her energetic sporting dog needed a running partner because Kim just got a new job and was not going to be able to run with her best buddy, Mocha, as regularly as she wanted any more.

So, the next day I met with Kim and Mocha. And, even though I had no clue what I was doing, she hired me. It was a 5-day per week job, too. I couldn’t believe it. She was going to pay me $100 a week to run with her dog?!? Wow, this is a dream job I thought! To boot, she loved my concept. A person that will come and run with her dog? How awesome! She couldn’t believe anyone even did that. It was perfect for both of us.

And so it began.

That first client led to many more. At a certain point, I had so many that I needed help so I started hiring people. My previous job – that one I hated – ended up coming in very handy because what I did all day in that role was hire people. Those previous skills allowed me to effectively find, evaluate, and hire great dog runners, walkers, and pet sitters to help me in my business.

After a number of years of doing that, I changed direction and wanted to focus on helping people duplicate what I had done. I ended up being lucky enough to have two amazing women take over the daily operations of my business. Heidi and Amy now each run their own offices and do a fabulous job implementing and executing the systems that I originally put in place. All three of us continue to work together to build the business, try new ideas, and get better and better.  They are the reason why we’ve been able to do well over 2 million in sales so far in our business.  I can’t give them enough credit and I appreciate them more than words can say.

What I hope for you is that I can contribute something to your business that can help you get to millions in sales, too (or whatever level of growth you’re looking for).

Lesson #1

So, here’s my first contribution to you towards that goal of improving your life and your business – and your first lesson of the Challenge: Start With Why.

This simple phrase is a more complex concept than it may look at first glance. And it’s critically important, so it’s worth thinking about.

There’s an entire book written on this topic, but here’s the bottom line.

Your WHY gives you purpose and a sense of direction. Knowing WHY you’re doing something also helps you define the WHAT and the HOW.

For example, from a business perspective, ask yourself WHY are you in business?

My WHY for Pet Business Masters! is “To help 500 businesses double their size by 2020.”

Why is this important to me though? Well, I can drill down further and say that by helping others build their businesses, it gives me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. It makes me feel good to help people.

Now that I know the WHY, I can build the HOW and the WHAT.

For example, the WHAT revolves around training and interaction with pet business owners. It’s the tangible information that I can teach to people that is my WHAT that affects them in a positive way.

My website, petbusinessmasters.com, the Pet Business Masters! Academy, and this Amazing New Life Challenge are examples of HOW I can communicate that information to people to help them.

Keep in mind that the WHY isn’t just confined to business. It can also be applied to your personal life, too.

Your personal WHY may be related to your family, such as “I want to give my spouse and kids a great role model.”

Or a WHY related to your health, such as “I want to live as long as possible.”

Or a WHY related to yourself, such as “I want to know that I made the most of what I was given.”

Identify Your WHY

Download your WHY worksheet and make sure to fill it out.

This may seem like a simple and/or an unnecessary assignment. However, it really is the most basic piece of your foundation to build everything else on top of. So, make sure to do it, OK?

Until tomorrow…