Setting Achievable Goals For Your Dog Training Business

It’s the new year, and inevitably, everyone is talking about goals and resolutions. I always say that you can set and reset goals at any time of the year, but I have to admit, the new year does have a certain collective vibe about it that makes it a great time to dream, set goals, and plan.

I use my Goal Planner layout and trello board which you can find inside the Goal Planner For Dog Trainers here. It’s also available to all my premium members inside the Masterclass.

Goals for your dog training business can change a lot over time. When I first started my business, my goals were so small, yet still so significant.

I felt really stuck in my day job and while I desperately wanted to quit my job and start a dog training business, I had bills to pay, and it was scary to take that leap.

I calculated how much I would need to make to *just* cover my financial commitments and I set that as my goal. I was dreaming really small, because I didn’t yet believe that a dog training business could be lucrative. I didn’t allow for any profit, any fun money, any kind of lifestyle improvement when I set that figure. I only allowed for, “getting by.”

Most dog training businesses are born out of a passion for working with animals. And in my mindset, things you do out of passion, don’t make good money. This was reinforced by beliefs I heard repeatedly growing up, and beliefs I still heard repeated all around me.

Things like:

Do any of these beliefs sound familiar to you?

What I’m trying to say is that before setting your goals, check in with yourself and ask - what do I really want thay I don’t believe I can have?

If you don’t believe that your deepest desires and business dreams are actually possible, you’ll never set them as your goals. They’ll stay just dreams.

Dreaming is the first part of coming up with goals, but then you need to take those dreams, break them down into actions, and make a plan to take those action steps.

This is how we create realistic and achievable goals.

Every dog trainer is different, just like every dog we train is different.

No matter what it is for you, the first step is to get ultra clear on what you want, and while doing so, don’t be afraid to dream big. You can probably achieve more than what you might think.

What’s next?

So you have your dream vision, that’s great. But now what? How do you actually take that and turn it into action steps so that you can map out exactly how you will achieve it?

You’ve probably already heard of SMART goals many times before:

S - Specific

M - measurable

A - attainable

R - Relevant

T - Time bound

Cool, but how does that really translate to every day life and action taking?

Personally, I used to look at the SMART goal acronym and think, “ok great, that makes sense. I have no idea what to actually do next.”

What if you feel your goal is specific but not attainable? Or that you don’t know what time frame to allow?

If you set a goal that has too long of a timeframe, it’s very easy to lose track of it and feel discouraged. That’s why it’s so important to break your goals down into smaller, actionable steps that shorter time periods can be assigned to.

For example, take your dream vision, determine the major steps you would need to take to get there, then choose one of those steps. Ask - can this be achieved within a year? If not, break it down further.

When you have a goal that could take a year to achieve, break it down into four quarters. Break your quarterly goals into monthly goals. Then list out the weekly steps you would take to achieve those. From here, you can grab small tasks and assign them to the exact days that you will action them.

When you can take even tiny daily actions towards your goals and have something that you can tick off as achieved, your motivation will grow and you can reward yourself along the way. Sound familiar?

Visually, I love to use a Trello board for goal planning. Trello is a great free task management tool. Here’s what my template looks like (available in the Dog Trainer’s Goal Planner, grab it here):

It is so satisfying to drag a task from the list and drag it to the COMPLETE board! I also love to look through all the completed actions I’ve taken at the end of the year to see how far I’ve come.

When it comes to goal setting, some people are more motivated by the feeling they will achieve, some people are motivated by striving for a financial target, others prefer to work on how many programs they sold or dogs they trained.

Whatever it is for you, it is important to track your progress and review it regularly. At the end of each month I do a monthly review where I take 10 minutes to look at what happened in the previous month, what the results were, what went well and what needs improvement.

I also use Trello cards for this but you could just as easily use a spreadsheet or diary - whatever works for you, but track your progress!

Some numbers you might want to track depending on your goals:

By learning about how to set goals this way and which numbers are important to track, I was able to achieve a lot more than I first thought possible. As my beliefs about business expanded, life and business changed dramatically for me and I have been able to achieve results I never thought possible just a few years prior.

As we wrap up, remember that the journey to realizing your dreams starts with a single, well-planned step. Dreaming big and setting goals is just the beginning. To help you transform these dreams into reality, I've created the 'Ultimate Goal Planner for Dog Trainers.'

This planner is designed specifically with dog trainers in mind while taking into account every trainer’s unique and varied situations..

It's not just about setting goals; it's about breaking them down into achievable steps, tracking your progress, and celebrating each milestone.

Grab your copy today and start turning your dreams into actionable plans.

Above all, take action. One step at a time.

Wishing you all of the best success and training dreams come true.

Tenille