Why I Flew 3,500 Miles to Ask for Help: How to Put Yourself in an Environment for Success
Last week, I flew 3,500 miles to ask for help.
Well, technically, I was already in the USA doing some other stuff, but one of the main reasons I was there was to attend the quarterly mastermind I'm a member of in Annapolis.
And this was not a special occasion. I've been flying overseas once a quarter to attend this mastermind for the last four years.
Before that, for the best part of a year, I regularly travelled over to Ireland to attend another mastermind with my previous coach.
And before that, I had other coaches, mentors and groups I invested in.
In fact, I've had some kind of coach pretty much continuously since 2015.
Which might seem a little strange when you consider I AM a business coach.
And I'm not just any old pet business coach. In fact, to paraphrase Brian Clough, "I wouldn't say I was the best pet business coach in the world, but I'm in the top one..."
Hundreds of people pay me to help them solve problems, make more money, come up with marketing ideas, improve their pricing, build better systems so they can enjoy more freedom, and generally figure out what the hell they should do next.
But four times a year, I get on a plane, travel thousands of miles, sit in a room with a bunch of other business owners and say:
"OK, here's what I'm struggling with. What am I missing?"
Why Even Business Coaches Need Coaching
Last week, it was my turn to do a hot seat.
I shared where my business is right now, what's working, what I'm trying to build, some of the opportunities I can see in front of me, and some of the decisions and actions I need to take over the next few months.
Then I shut up and listened.
And I got some GREAT advice.
Now, because I have a pretty solid plan of action for the rest of 2026, this particular hot seat was a relatively easy experience.
But several people in the room came up with money-making angles and opportunities I genuinely hadn't considered.
That's the whole point.
I don't travel 3,500 miles because my business is screwed and needs a liferaft.
I don't have a coach because I don't know anything about business.
And I certainly don't sit in a mastermind because I need another notebook filled with 57 new things I could be doing.
I do it because I want help.
I NEED help.
I enjoy getting help from people I respect who are smarter than me.
That's why I deliberately put myself in an environment where asking for help, receiving help, giving help, being challenged and trying to get better are completely normal.
Why the Right Business Environment Matters
Now, could I get some of that from a local networking group?
Could I post my latest business problem in a Facebook group filled with people who happen to run similar businesses?
Could I ask ChatGPT?
Could I talk to my mate over a curry and a few beers?
Sure.
And I do some of those things.
But would I rely on any of them to provide the kind of help I need to build the business I want?
No.
Or not in my experience, anyway.
Because one of the biggest things I've learned from investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in coaching, masterminds, events and personal development over the years is:
The environment matters. A LOT.
And when you're choosing a coach or a mastermind, I think there are three things that matter enormously.
First...
Who's Leading the Room?
The coach matters.
Do they bring innovative ideas into the room?
Are they still learning themselves?
Are they looking outside your industry and bringing back ideas you wouldn't otherwise be exposed to?
Have they actually helped people solve the kind of problems you're facing?
Will they challenge you?
Will they tell you when they think you're wrong?
Will they give you a deadline?
Will they remember the thing you promised to do three months ago, then call you out and ask you why the fuck you haven't done it yet?
A good coach sets the temperature of the room.
If the coach tolerates excuses, eventually the room tolerates excuses.
If the coach values implementation, then taking action becomes normal.
If the coach expects people to make progress, then progress becomes expected.
But there's something else that's just as important.
Who Does the Coach Attract Into Their World?
Because when you choose a coach and a coaching group or mastermind, you're also choosing your peers.
I don't think people consider this nearly enough.
Jim Rohn famously said that you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
I don't know if the maths checks out, but after spending years in mastermind rooms, I absolutely believe the principle does.
Standards are contagious.
Ambition is contagious.
Action is contagious.
And unfortunately, excuses are pretty fucking contagious too.
Spend enough time around people who believe customers won't pay more, staff can't be trusted, the economy is screwed, their town is different and everything would be fine if it wasn't for that new competitor down the road...
...and some of that shit is eventually going to rub off on you.
On the other hand, spend time around people who are increasing their prices, opening new locations, launching memberships, building leadership teams, stepping out of operations, adding new revenue streams and making more money...
...and something interesting happens.
What previously seemed ambitious starts to seem achievable.
Then, eventually...
It starts to seem normal.
Success and momentum and goals and results become the norm.
And that, my friend, is pretty goddamn powerful.
In fact, it's the missing piece in the pet business puzzle for most ambitious owners.
Why the Right Mastermind Room Matters for Pet Business Owners
I've watched this happen over and over again inside the Dog Daycare Success Academy.
Someone shares that they've increased their prices by 20%, 30% or even 50% without losing all their clients.
Suddenly, the person who has been shitting themselves about putting their prices up by five bucks starts thinking...
Maybe I can do this.
Someone launches a membership.
Someone else adds grooming.
Another owner finally hires the manager they've been talking about hiring for the last two years.
Someone starts removing themselves from day-to-day operations.
Someone opens another location.
Someone has their biggest month ever.
And again, and again, and again...
Someone goes on holiday without spending the entire week staring at their phone, waiting for the building to burn down.
And every time one person makes progress, everyone else gets to see what's possible.
One of the things I learned quite quickly from being in a mastermind, and it's something I tell my members before they join, is 'you are going to LOVE inspiring people and pulling others along just as much as you enjoy being inspired and pulled along by someone else who provides a breakthrough for you.'
Why Information Alone Won't Grow Your Dog Daycare Business
This is why I think it's a mistake to look at coaching purely in terms of the information you receive from the coach.
Because information is everywhere.
You can buy books.
Listen to podcasts.
Watch YouTube.
Attend webinars.
Ask AI.
There's more information available to you right now than at any point in human history.
Most dog daycare and pet resort owners don't need more information.
They need more action.
And information is NOT the same as environment.
And you can't download an environment.
The third thing I think matters is...
What Does the Room Believe?
Not everyone in a great mastermind should agree with each other.
That would be a bit sad.
I want people to disagree with me.
I want someone to look at one of my ideas and say, Dom, I think that's bollocks.
That's useful.
But while we don't need to agree about everything, we do need to agree about the rules of the game.
Inside DDSA, we believe in taking action before everything is perfect.
We believe bigger profits fund better pet care.
We believe in building assets, not just income.
We believe you need to Own Your Shit instead of blaming Facebook, the economy, your staff or your competition.
We have 'Big Dog' Beliefs.
We believe in raising the standard.
And we believe in No BS.
Those aren't values Beth and I came up with because somebody told us businesses are supposed to have a nice set of values written on the wall.
These are my values, and they describe the kind of people I want in the room.
People who want to get better.
People who are prepared to be challenged.
People who will celebrate someone else's success instead of feeling threatened by it.
People who share what's working.
People who ask for help when things aren't.
And people who aren't content to spend another year doing exactly what they did last year and hoping somehow everything magically improves.
(It won't, BTW...)
Why DDSA Members Describe the Group as Family
That's why one of the words DDSA members use surprisingly often to describe the group is...
Family.
And I like that.
A good family celebrates when things are going well.
They pick you up when things aren't.
They notice when something is wrong.
They tell you when you're being an idiot.
They want you to succeed.
And occasionally, they give you the kick up the arse you need.
That's much closer to how I think about DDSA.
One of my members, Mikayla Unger from Fetching Pet Company, described being in a room full of like-minded people as priceless.
Importantly, she said it wasn't just me she was learning from.
She was surrounded by people who understood her struggles and understood the business.
Sound familiar?
That's pretty much why I was sitting in a hot seat in Annapolis last week.
I believe successful people don't graduate from needing help.
As your business grows, your problems just change, opportunities get bigger, and decisions become more expensive.
Which means, if anything, the room you choose to put yourself in becomes MORE important.
What Makes the Dog Daycare Success Academy Different?
This is something I've thought about a lot while building the Dog Daycare Success Academy.
I don't want DDSA to be another online programme where you're left alone with a login and a good luck message.
I don't want people joining, watching six videos, downloading seventeen PDFs and disappearing into the wilderness.
I want it to be an environment where execution is normal.
Where people expect progress.
That's why we have weekly 'Mission Control' coaching calls.
That's why we have weekly 'Asset Training' where every month we plug one new thing into your business that creates more cash and freedom, and makes your business more valuable.
That's why we have quarterly Immersion events, so you maintain momentum throughout the whole year.
That's why we have turbo hot seats, so you can get help fixing your most critical business problems.
That's why we bring in outside experts.
And it's why I'm incredibly protective about who joins.
Is the Dog Daycare Success Academy Right for You?
The Dog Daycare Success Academy is not for everyone...
Seriously, DDSA really isn't for every dog daycare or pet resort owner.
I want DDSA filled with people who raise the temperature of the room.
People who are ambitious to build premium, profitable pet businesses that create better lives for themselves, better careers for their teams, better experiences for their clients and, ultimately, better care for the dogs they serve.
So, does that sound like you?
Does that sound like an environment where you could thrive?
If so, the doors to DDSA are open right now.
But doors close this Sunday, August 30th.
So, if you've been considering joining, don't just look at the training.
Don't just look at the coaching.
Don't just look at me.
Look at the room.
Look at the kind of people who are already inside.
Look at what they're building.
Look at what they believe.
Look at the standards they hold themselves and each other to.
Then ask yourself a question...
Are these the kind of people you want influencing the business owner you become over the next twelve months?
Join the Top Dog Top Dollar Dispatch: My Weekly Sunday Briefing to Help You Command Premium Rates and Dominate Your Local Pet Market.
Every Sunday, I deliver the unfiltered marketing and operational blueprints I've used to help 2,500+ frustrated dog daycare owners, to stop running a low-margin facility and start building the most expensive (and most wanted) pet destination in town.
Author: Dom Hodgson
Dom Hodgson is known as 'The Pet Biz Wiz', and is widely regarded as the world's leading pet business coach and marketing strategist.
Author of 9 books, Dom is a much in demand speaker at pet business events all over the world. His mission is to help struggling pet business owners to unleash their potential, so they can create a super profitable, impactful, and industry enhancing business.
