We all love to get acknowledgement for our hard work, and winning the #SBS award was just that for me!
Small Business Sunday is run by the dragon, Theo Paphitis. An avid supporter of small businesses, he set up this special network for all the sole traders and entrepreneurs in the UK.
Not limited to pets, but any service and product providers, he personally chooses who can join.
Only 0.8% of those vying for his attention get in – and I was one!!
My winning was announced in January, and in February he hosts an annual (free) event with great guests, break out information sessions, networking opportunities, food and a winners photo with him. My win was in time for 2023 event, so I didn’t have long to wait for my pic.
Why is this important to me?
I promote reward training – we coach, motivate and reward our dogs so that what they did was reinforcing enough repeat – whether that is keeping their paws on the floor near visitors, waiting for the food bowl to be down before eating, or coming back to you away from what is exciting for them. With my separation anxiety clients, we talk a lot about achievable goals, and rewards for the humans for putting in the hard work. This is often the first trip to the shop or a takeaway coffee when knowing their dog is calm home alone. Such a milestone!
Sometimes us trainers need the reward and reinforcement – working by yourself and running a business is hard work. Feedback, testimonials and kind words from clients are amazing, but winning awards like #SBS is the cherry on the cake! It means professionals recognise my efforts, not just my clients.
You can see my huge smile in this photo, and that is because I’m insanely proud of what I have achieved.
And this dragon was not fire-breathing at all – quite the opposite, he was super supportive and he enjoys being able to help small businesses whatever their sector.
And, at his annual event, I also met (not just on Zoom), many other pet related business colleagues. We all support each other as we know how hard each of us work. I network with many such professionals so it was even nicer to meet them in the flesh!
My question to you – how to you reward YOURSELF after reaching your dog training goals?