This week I've been in Boston with my wife, Beth. We've done a bunch of sightseeing, eaten some great seafood, and met some awesome people. While here, I've also been running the first two-day immersion event of my new Dog Daycare Success Academy.

 

Every time I get a room full of dog daycare owners together like this, something becomes clear very quickly: to dramatically change your business fortunes, there are usually only a few key levers you need to pull. Interestingly, it's almost never the thing you think you should be working on.

 

Businessman, author, and philanthropist W. Clement Stone once said, "Big doors swing on small hinges". In business terms, that means little tweaks and changes can have a massive impact on your future profits.

 

For dog daycares and pet resort owners, one of the most powerful "hinges" we can move is intentionally targeting affluent dog owners—the ones who want to spend money on anything that enhances their dogs' lives.

 

Key words there being "intentionally target". Right now, you probably have a small percentage of clients who happily buy all your upsells, they invest in every seasonal promotion, they refer all their affluent dog-owning friends, and they never, ever moan about price. Above all, they are a total joy to work with.

 

So, my first question is, would you like more of those clients? Of course you would!

 

So, let me ask you: Would you like a facility full of them?

 

Of course you would!

 

But these clients don't just show up by accident... you have to build a business that acts like a magnet for them. Cracking the code on how to attract these people is exactly what we covered at our two-day immersion event with my Dog Daycare Success Academy members.

If you're tired of the volume game and want to start playing at this level, you need to be in the room for the next one. Our next Mastermind is in Annapolis this August. These spots are like gold dust, so if you want a chance to grab a seat and transform your business fortunes, you can add your name to the waitlist here.

On the flight over to Boston I read an interesting article about Disney that really backs up what I talked about in last week's post. It should give you some confidence if you are thinking about transitioning to a more "premium" model of pet care.

 

The article was titled Is Disney too Expensive for the average American? The basic premise was that over the past few years, Disney has strategically and deliberately raised prices A LOT.

 

They've done this a number of different ways:

 

Disney has shifted from wanting maximum footfall (packed parks) to wanting a higher spend per guest. They are prioritizing "higher-value guests" who stay longer, spend more, and value premium experiences.

Back when Disneyland opened in 1955, admission was just $1. It was designed to be accessible to the average middle-class family. But since then, prices have outpaced inflation by a long shot.

Disney has moved away from "everyone is welcome" toward a model that targets the top 20%. Why? Because the top 20% spend more on travel than the bottom 80% combined.

 

If you offer dog boarding, that stat should interest you greatly.

This strategy is viewed by some as being controversial. Critics say they are pricing people out who are losing the opportunity to do what their parents or grandparents could do.

 

For those of you who read last week's newsletter, that criticism will sound familiar. It's exactly the same as the comments on my Affluent Attraction articles where people said you shouldn't encourage dog daycares to be premium because:

 

 

 

 

Look, I get it. On the surface, people are being priced out at Disney, but only because the evolution of Disney's business model requires that to happen.

 

Disney has designed the entire experience around a different kind of customer. So now they have fewer people who spend more, which leads to shorter queues and a better experience for the people who are there.

 

I believe this is exactly the shift that is happening in dog daycares and pet resorts.

When you try to keep your prices low enough for everyone, you end up with:

 

- More dogs than you can comfortably handle.
- More pressure on your team.
- Less time to deliver the great experience you actually want to provide.

 

You might be busy... but you're stretched, stressed, and there's way more pressure on your team.

 

Why choose to run that kind of business?

 

Why not gradually transition from a warehouse-style model to something more premium, more experiential, and ultimately, WAY more profitable?

Here's the other big lesson from that Disney article:

 

Attendance is flat... but revenue is up. WAY up.

 

The parks are still the biggest profit driver in the entire company, because they're making more from the people who are already there.

 

This is something my most successful dog daycare owning clients have experienced too. Over the last 12 months, overall attendance was down (a lot of them welcomed fewer dogs into their facilities), but they made way more money and profits were substantially up.

 

They've essentially made more money with fewer dogs.

 

Next week, I'll share some real examples of exactly how they've done it. But I'll leave you with this... The real opportunity in this industry (and in your business) isn't more volume. It's building a more premium service that better... and yes, more affluent... dog owners are actively looking for.

The Dog Daycare Success Academy is opening its doors this May. This is where we take the exact strategies we just dissected in Boston + all the asset building and advanced strategy stuff you need to scale and help you actually install them into your facility.

 

If you want to be the first to know when we open and grab a spot before they're gone, click here to join the waitlist.