Struggles for my new business

[lisameowrie]

I have never been good with people though, that's where my boyfriend helps. I have terrible anxiety and trip over my words, ugh. I can feel the anxiety just thinking about walking into these places....

 

[tirediron]

Then use him; work out a sales pitch between the two of you where he does most of the talking, but dealing with people is a huge part of the business, 'cause at the end of the day, Rover probably doesn't have a Visa card, so his humans are going to paying the bills (and calling the shots), and the more casual, relaxed and fun you make the session, the better your sales will be!

 

[Vtec44]

I have never been good with people though, that's where my boyfriend helps. I have terrible anxiety and trip over my words, ugh. I can feel the anxiety just thinking about walking into these places....

Unfortunately this is something that you will have to overcome as a business owner. You are the face of your business and there is no way around that. Photos look similar but the interaction between you and the clients will make a lasting impression, which will bring in future referrals. What I said the post earlier regarding pretty photos are not enough, it's the whole experience. Your interaction with vendors, other professionals, and clients is part of the experience that will make a lasting impression to bring in more businesses. People need to know and remember you and your business, and you want to make that memory a good one.

 

[Designer]

Get the f.... on with it.

Yeah, but she's a girl, so...

 

[tirediron]

Get the f.... on with it.

Yeah, but she's a girl, so...

So, she puts on her big-girl britches and gets the f.... on with it! What else?

 

[astroNikon]

write up a sales pitch for yourself (& bf), including all the materials.
Then practice it in front of the mirror; with friends (human ones too), etc until it's ingrained in your thinking. Then when you are talking in front of people it won't be so hard to come up with certain conversations.

yeah what John - Tirediron said above lol

 

[waday]

I appreciate the feedback, but I would rather die that go work at a vet clinic again. I left for many good reasons. It was emotionally and physically draining and I did not agree with some doctors decisions that seemed rather willy nilly. Have you been a vet tech or gone to vet tech school? I worked a year in two different clinics, so until you have lived a certain lifestyle, don't give the advice to someone to go back to doing THAT which they know is not right for them.

<rant>

Yes, I have experience. Honestly, you should have known what you signed up for when trying to be a vet tech. It's a lot harder than people realize. You're essentially a nurse for animals. You have to hold the pets while they get worked/operated on. Give them medicine/shots/etc. You have to work through getting bitten and scratched. You also better have a change of clothes for when they 'discharge' on you (whether that be urine, feces, or worse). Seeing animals come in that get hit by cars, or are clearly beaten by their owners. "She broke her leg." Oh, you mean for the fifth time? Sure.

It's also holding animals while they are euthanized. HOLDING THEM WHILE THEY ARE EUTHANIZED. That's hard, especially when someone wants them euthanized because they pee on the carpet, or they just had a kid and can't deal with the dog anymore and refuse to put it up for adoption.

I've personally held animals while they got operated on... held them while they were euthanized. I've had to bag their body and put it in a freezer.

Yes, it's tough. Really tough. Emotionally draining. Definitely not for everyone.

Sorry, but, to get to my point: to characterize the doctors' actions as being "willy nilly" is disrespectful when you only have a year of experience. When I first started, I thought the same thing, but after watching what they do, and asking them why they do what they do, you get answers that make sense. Now, I clearly don't know the doctors you dealt with, but they're not all the same. Some are good, some are bad. Instead of quitting the field and claiming it as "willy nilly", go work for someone you respect and gain respect for the field.

It's funny, because many people do that to photographers, not realizing exactly how hard it is to take a proper photo and that it's more than just pointing the camera and pressing a button.

</rant>

 

[astroNikon]

A friend of mine is a Vet Doctor. After years of being pushed around and bouncing around multiple Vet hospitals she struck out on her own and created a great business Vet Hospital. Doing business the way she wanted to do it, versus how she was told to do it and never agreed.

So sometimes, there's business reasons why Vet Doctors do what they do.

 

[Braineack]

did he do the logo? i like it.

 

[lisameowrie]

I too have held animals while they've been operated on, have placed their catheters for + held them while being euthanized, have had to bag them and put them in freezer, have been pissed and **** on countless times. I am not saying I didn't know what I signed up for, I am saying it wasn't for me, I am never going back to again and it doesn't make me a bad person either. Don't twist my words and say I generalized the whole field as willy nilly either, I said SOME DOCTOR'S DECISIONS seemed rather willy nilly. When they want to take a dog that has only vomited a few times that seems fine otherwise and quote do "exploratory surgery", laughs about it, and they find nothing, that to me is careless and senseless. When the same doctor euthanizes a lost seizing puppy without even checking to see if it belonged to anyone first via rabies tag or microchip, that to me is careless and senseless.

Now, getting back on topic...

 

[lisameowrie]

did he do the logo? i like it.

Yes, my brother did - thank you.

 

[tecboy]

I'm in the process of developing my dog portraiture portfolio. If you do make money, don't forget to hire me.

 

[pgriz]

In many ways, business is about salesmanship. It's convincing someone (a prospective customer) that what you do is worth the money that you're asking. The process of convincing is something that really requires the salesperson to tap into the prospect's motivations. You say you're not "good with people". Well, many people think that, but if you're the primary salesperson for your business, you'll have to overcome that. There's theory, and then there's practice. Joining a public speaking club (like Toastmasters) can go a long way to giving you the confidence you need to speak to people. There are networking groups such as BNI which really depend on allowing each participant to talk about their business in a way that focuses the person's attention on the key points.

I am a very strong introvert. But learning to meet with people, to carry on a conversation, and to probably most importantly, to actively listen, was without a doubt the most important part of my evolution into a self-employed entrepreneur. It ain't easy. But it is the difference between eating regularly, or not.

 

[deeky]

In my experience, the people most passionate about their pets tend to be those who rescue. Work with a rescue or shelter and give them free head shots of animals up for adoption in exchange for watermarking them and maybe inclusion of a business card in the adoption packet or something. It's more an investment of time than money.

 

[Austin Greene]

I personally never compete on price because it's a race to the bottom that nobody will win at the end. It's unsustainable for a business in the long run.

THIS. Charge what you need to charge, and what you feel you deserve. Just make sure you've got the skills to back it up.