Episode 468: Liz Foley of Your Favourite Dog Trainer
In this episode you'll learn:
How Liz discovered the importance of location strategy by basing her business near major employers to attract her target market—young professionals with disposable income—rather than opting for convenience.
How she transformed an in-person service like dog training into a thriving online model, proving that almost any business can adapt to digital delivery with the right systems and approach.
The value of building multiple income streams within a single area of expertise, from in-person training and online courses to professional development for trainers and podcast content creation.
How content marketing, particularly podcasting, helped Liz establish authority and reach an international audience without spending on advertising, showing how sharing expertise can drive business growth.
Why focusing on empowering clients rather than fostering dependency leads to stronger results, glowing testimonials, and organic business growth through referrals.
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Liz Foley: Really, any good dog trainer needs to be able to teach the owner how to do the exact same things that the dog trainer can do because you need to be able to replicate it exactly. You're the one living with your dog. I think we still think about dog training in terms of obedience and that's really kind of archaic. Obedience is great - your dog does need to know simple commands, but that's not going to serve you well in terms of actually having a well-behaved dog.
Fiona Killackey: Do you love your life as a small business owner? Let's be real - sometimes we just don't. It's my hope that this My Daily Business podcast helps you regain a little of that lost love through practical, actionable tips, tools and tactics, interviews with creative and curious small business owners, and in-depth coaching episodes with me, your host, Fiona Killackey Killackey.
With more than 20 years experience in marketing, brand content and systems, and having now helped thousands of small business owners, I know what it takes to build a business that you can be proud of and that actually aligns with your values, your beliefs and your hopes for the future. So much of our daily life is spent working on and in the businesses and brands that we are creating, so it makes sense to actually love what you do.
Fiona Killackey: Hello and welcome to episode 468 of the My Daily Business Podcast. Today it's an interview episode and honestly, this was a really fun interview to do with somebody who works in an industry that you wouldn't usually hear from. And that's part of the reason that we said yes to her coming onto the podcast.
Before we get started, I want to let you know that if you're worried you somehow missed out on our AI monthly chat, you can sign up at any time and just join the next monthly session. This chat is for small business owners about AI, which tools you should be using, how you can get the best out of AI, what's coming up next, and all sorts of things. If you're feeling like you need to figure out AI - and I'm talking about so many other things outside of ChatGPT - and you're feeling worried about trying to figure it out all by yourself, you don't have to. You can join our AI chat at mydailybusiness.com/aichat.
Fiona Killackey: We get amazing pitches to come onto this podcast from all over the world, which is really lovely. Today's interview happened because somebody wonderful who you'll meet shortly pitched us from Canada. The pitch was really well done, interesting, engaging, but also the business itself was so intriguing - particularly how she had built it and taken it online.
So you'll meet very shortly Liz Foley, who is the founder of Your Favourite Dog Trainer. Now, Your Favourite Dog Trainer is about dog training, but in a very different way, which you'll hear about shortly. She works with people in Australia, where I am, which is a long way from Canada, and I love that she's taken something that I guess a lot of dog trainers would think has to be done locally, in person, because they need to see the dog. What Liz has done is yes, done that as one part of her business, but also taken it online so that anyone can tap into her wisdom when it comes to dogs, energy, and the owner-dog relationship.
She's now branched out as well, helping dog professionals build their own businesses, whether that's in person or online. I find it fascinating. I have two dogs, and my husband would have like 10 if it was up to him. I grew up with dogs and my parents were always adamant that if we get a dog, you have to go and do training. It's good for the dog and it's good for the owner.
Fiona Killackey: Welcome to the podcast, Liz. How are you feeling about life right now?
Liz: Pretty excited. Thank you so much for having me.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I'm so excited. And everyone's going to hear immediately that you are not Australian. So where are you coming from tonight?
Liz: I'm in Waterloo in Canada.
Fiona Killackey: Oh my goodness, thank you for making the time because I know we're in completely different time zones. Tell us a bit about your background and the business that you've built. We get inundated - I talk about it a lot - we get probably about 15 podcast requests every day and to cut through is a big thing. But you had such an interesting story and such an interesting business, so yeah, how did you get into the world of dogs?
Liz: It's kind of funny because I actually didn't grow up with dogs. I think that surprises people. My mom was terrified of dogs. So every birthday, every Christmas, I asked for a dog and never got one. So I became the dog walker on the street. I would walk my neighbor's dogs for free, I would pet sit. Obviously that blossomed into like a side career growing up, through school.
I was always told by my mom, "It's a great hobby, but you need a real job." So I pursued real jobs but never really lost that drive, that passion to work with dogs. Being so unfulfilled with regular office jobs, going back to school to try different things and still not being happy, I finally decided at 25, "That's it. I'm going to open my own doggy daycare, mom." She didn't say anything, which was almost the most terrifying thing. I was like, "Okay, she's not mad, she's disappointed." But it was actually the best decision I ever made. It was terrifying but extremely liberating. It wasn't an overnight success, I will say that. It was a lot of hard work, but I learned so much and it made me want to go fully into dog training.
Fiona Killackey: Can I ask, when you were 25 - in Australia, and especially now with the cost of living, a lot of people at 25 still live with their parents - did you create the doggy daycare while living with your mom?
Liz: No, I was already living on my own. I was pretty much told after high school, "You go to university and you're on your own." I decided to move to Waterloo from Toronto, where I'm originally from. Toronto already had doggie daycares - it would have been really expensive to do it there with a lot of competition and expensive rent for minimal space.
I thought I'd have a better shot just outside the city. Waterloo is a university town, growing, very entrepreneur-friendly, very small business friendly. That's where my boyfriend, now husband, was living. Are you familiar with BlackBerry?
Fiona Killackey: Like the BlackBerry phones? Oh yeah, I never had one. I wanted to have one. They were super cool.
Liz: BlackBerry - that's where they're from. RIM, the company was in Waterloo. That's who he was working for. It was this up-and-coming city surrounding BlackBerry and other businesses. I thought, "Maybe this is where I'm going to do it." What existed in the city was really old-school boarding facilities and more like day boarding, where your dog was in a kennel during the day and maybe put in small play groups.
I wanted to come onto the scene and really shake it up. I planned to have all the dogs together in one pack - 25 dogs together in a structured school for dogs. It was a pretty novel idea, and I really wanted to focus on being predominantly outside and really catering to dogs. At the time, places were getting bougie with TV screens, catering more to the dog owner than the dog. We were going to have rubber floors, tires, and jumps for them. This is for your dogs. They're going to go home tired and fulfilled, having learned new things, better trained and better behaved.
Fiona Killackey: I love that you talk about location because I think a lot of people don't think about this, particularly when it's a business where you need a physical location. Do you know Professor Scott Galloway?
Liz: Yeah, my husband loves him.
Fiona Killackey: He was on a podcast recently talking about how people's success can be tied to location. He was saying if you live in London or New York - and we lived in London for five years - you're surrounded by more people, so there's more competition. You have to work harder and be more cutthroat. And if you want to be in the tech space, going to Silicon Valley or parts of China or Hong Kong can make your business better because of the surrounding ecosystem. I love that you looked at location differently - seeing where something didn't exist instead of competing with what's already established.
Liz: Adding to that, the first place we looked at for the daycare perfectly mapped itself to where we needed to be. It was ten minutes from major employment places like BlackBerry, ManuLife, and SunLife. We asked ourselves, "Who's going to be our target audience?" It's going to be DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) - young working couples who don't have children yet, their dogs are their babies. They have money to spend on their dogs and they're at work all day. We were literally right off the highway backing onto a green space and ten minutes from these major business spots. We thought, "Did we just strike gold?"
Fiona Killackey: You founded what has become the first energy-based daycare and training facility in Canada. Can you explain what energy-based training is and how it benefits dogs and their owners?
Liz: That's a great question. I look at more than just the dog's behavior - it's about how the dog feels and understanding why they behave a certain way. And how does it correlate to the human and their daily life? It's all about the relationship we have with our dogs. When we look at dog training typically, we look at it in isolation - the dog does X, you need to address X and teach a new behavior. But actually, no behaviors are purely isolated. It's all correlated.
When it comes to understanding dogs as a whole, we should be learning their language, how they interpret the world, how they relate to other dogs - their entire dog psychology - versus looking through our lens and projecting. Humans live predominantly in emotional and intellectual worlds, so we're always speculating and projecting onto our dogs. "He's mad at me because I left him at home, so he chewed my shoes." Really? Is that what happened? Or was he bored and unfulfilled? Was he feeling anxious and wasn't in a safe space?
Dogs aren't vengeful beings. I don't believe there are bad dogs - just dogs who make mistakes and haven't been taught other ways of being. When we take the time to understand them and teach them, we can have much deeper connections. I'm a dog trainer, but so many times I feel like I'm the therapist or communicator. Through training, we unpack so much more than just what's going on with the dog.
Fiona Killackey: We have two dogs, and friends of ours have dogs. Some people we know just rehomed their dog. Here in Melbourne, we had the world's longest lockdown - two years of basically not being allowed to go more than five kilometers. A lot of people got dogs during that time, and now many are returning them or realizing it wasn't the right breed for their apartment or lifestyle.
Fiona Killackey: I was raised with dogs and my parents never gave them away. It was always like, "This is like a child. You don't give it back. It's yours for life now." Even when they really irritate me or I'm super stressed, I'm just so glad for dogs in my life.
Liz: That's one thing I appreciate about my mom not getting my sister and I a dog growing up. She really emphasized that it's a responsibility you need to take seriously. When I was in university, living in an apartment with two roommates, I thought, "This is it, I'm going to get my dog." I found a beautiful dog at a shelter, but when filling out the paperwork, they asked tough questions like "Where are you going to be five years from now?"
I sat there with that question and realized - I was still partying, taking philosophy, I didn't even know what I was having for dinner that night, let alone where I'd be in five years. I stood up, handed in the unfinished application, and said, "I can't do this." I wasn't ready. I wish more people could sit with that and be mature enough to realize it's a huge responsibility. Dogs aren't a flavor of the week - they require commitment beyond just breed, look, or gender. There's temperament, energy levels, and all these things to consider.
Fiona Killackey: They're just like people - they change. We have a Hungarian Vizsla we got as a puppy when we were living in London. When you mentioned that five-year question, it hit home because we thought we'd live in London forever. Then we decided to leave after having a baby. Bringing her to Australia was a huge decision - she cost more than all three of us to relocate, needed six months of injections and tests in London, plus 40 days in quarantine here. I can see how many people would say "Too hard" and not think that far ahead.
Fiona Killackey: One of the things you do is remote training. Our dogs have always been trained, but it's always been in person. How does remote training work?
Liz: It always surprises people. I actually have clients in Australia. I'm a dog trainer, but I train humans how to train their dogs. Any good dog trainer needs to be able to teach the owner how to do exactly what the dog trainer can do, because you need to be able to replicate it. You're the one living with your dog.
I think we still think about dog training in terms of obedience, and that's really kind of archaic. Obedience is great - your dog needs to know simple commands, but that's not going to serve you well in terms of actually having a well-behaved dog. The example I use is: do you want a well-behaved child or an obedient child? There's a difference. A well-behaved child knows how to behave whether they're at grandma's house or at school, versus obedience implies someone needs to be there telling them what to do.
Behavior is taught through lifestyle. I need to teach that to my clients - it's a way of being. I can do that through coaching virtually. I actually think it's made me a better trainer. I would never have dreamed of doing it if it wasn't for Covid. When lockdown hit in 2020, I had clients sign up for a new course and my facility had to close. Because of how I teach anyway - I have ADHD and a learning disability - I use many teaching aids, including PowerPoint presentations and visual aids.
I presented this via Zoom, and people still took it because it was their only option. I don't get people who just want to teach their dog to sit pretty - I get people saying, "Liz, I can't walk my dog down the street without him trying to attack me or my neighbor's dogs" or "My dog wants to eat my hand every time I feed him." These are serious behaviors where people need help yesterday
Liz: What makes me a better trainer virtually is that I can't take over. In person, I would often demonstrate with the dog, and while that works, what can happen is the dog learns from the professional in that moment. It's called imprinting - when something is done with a dog for the first time, it becomes a memory. The dog learns to respect the trainer but might not transfer that respect to the owner. When I coach virtually, I have to talk the owner through it, and they get that opportunity to win points as pack leader and build trust and confidence themselves.
I just posted a reel today from my Zoom group class last night - it was a breakthrough moment with a client and her German Shepherd puppy, about 12 weeks old, who was chomping at the leash constantly. She was convinced he would turn aggressive, but he was just being playful, though inappropriate. I told her how to address it, and he sat back and looked at her and hasn't gone for the leash again. She was amazed, saying "I did that!"
Fiona Killackey: That's powerful because then you know you can do it again and again. I grew up with a German Shepherd and loved it. But there's a woman I see on my morning walks who gets so tense when anyone approaches with their dog. Every time I see her coming, I see her physically tense up and get stressed. I always want to say, "Let's everyone take a breath" because she's so stressed out on what should be an enjoyable morning walk.
Liz: So much of my job - I love working with dogs and I'll never get tired of it - but what sets my soul on fire is empowering dog owners. When they can see it, it often translates to more than just their relationship with their dog. Suddenly they're saying, "Wow, now I can assert myself in my job" or "I'm going to go for this now." And it's not me - it's because of their dog. Their dog helps them realize their full potential. It's just the coolest thing.
Fiona Killackey: That's so cool. Part of that empowerment is your podcast, which has a super cool name. Tell us about that. How did you decide to start it? We have a course called "How to Start a Podcast" and this podcast has done more for our business than any other marketing channel - we're almost at a million downloads. We've never spent a dollar on advertising. But people often say, "Well, what would I do a podcast on?" Someone could think, "Dog training podcast? What's she going to talk about?" So how did you decide to start it?
Liz: It's called "Honest to Dog." It literally came up because my staff and I were always talking at the doghouse about things we wished more people knew about dogs. I was doing a blog, but blogs were kind of fizzling out and podcasts were starting up. I was on my friend's podcast talking about business, and it ended up being a two-part series because we just kept talking. I got home and told Jeff (my husband), "This is actually enjoyable."
I realized that so many of my conversations with Jeff would be him asking questions that the average dog owner would ask because he's not a dog trainer. That makes more sense than just me and my staff talking, because when it's people that work with dogs, you don't have to explain as much. Some dog training podcasts out there sound like they're trying to impress other dog trainers. I wanted something for dog owners that keeps it really simple and honest to the dog - no fluff.
We tell them stuff they might not want to hear but need to hear. It's not just "give them a little scratch under the chin and a treat and it'll all get better." One of our most controversial but most listened-to episodes is about affection or dogs sleeping in your bed.
Fiona Killackey: What are your thoughts on that?
Liz: About sleeping in your bed? [laughs] Spoiler alert - it's whether or not your dog can handle that, and it'll speak to their behaviors. If you have a toxic relationship where your dog has behavioral issues, your dog shouldn't have that privilege. I was just telling one of my coaching clients about one of the most awkward behavioral assessments I went to. It was a couple where the dog was handler aggressive, more so towards the wife. I asked the husband if the dog had ever bitten him. His response was "Not really." When I asked him to unpack that, he said, "Well, it was just this one time he kind of bit me in the face. It was just in bed."
I had to stop and say, "Before we continue any further, I need to know if we can all agree that he's no longer sleeping in the bed if we're going to work together. If he's biting you in the face, that's an absolute no." I was ready to refund their money and leave if we couldn't agree on this because it's something I'm not willing to negotiate. This is serious - you'll find another trainer, but they'll waste your time and money because everything else will be a band-aid solution. This is a relationship issue, and that's the difference between this style of training versus obedience.
Fiona Killackey: Our dogs don't sleep in the beds at all. They sleep together in a little room at night. But when we had this puppy in London, she was obsessed with my husband. She used to get into the bed after I left for work, which I thought was disgusting. She would literally watch me and be like, "When are you leaving, lady? This is my time with your husband." Then the minute I got pregnant - I didn't even know I was pregnant - she would just follow me everywhere. She wouldn't go in the bed, she would stand outside the toilet, she would just watch me. I'm like, "What is wrong with you?" And then I found out I was pregnant, and she must have picked up on it.
Fiona Killackey: Outside of the podcast, how do you get the word out? I can imagine people have such great success with you that they want to tell everyone. But what other marketing strategies have really helped you get the brand out there, especially remotely? I mean, you're in Canada with Australian clients. That's fantastic.
Liz: Social media has been huge. I've had some posts go viral - like a video where I was reacting to someone else's video of their puppy doing something naughty and how they were ineffectively interrupting it. I cut in and said, "Don't do that, do this instead." Of course, it got equal amounts of love and hate, which is social media, right? I even got comments like, "Well, I wouldn't listen to her because she's a woman," and ridiculous things like that. It definitely got me a ton of followers, which also scared me, and then I stopped posting for a while. But I think social media, word of mouth, the podcast, and the networks I've created through trainers I've worked with have been really helpful.
Fiona Killackey: Have you ever considered doing a TV show, given how you're already doing this on Zoom? You're already doing this with the podcast. Like Cesar Milan - is that his name? I remember watching that TV show quite a bit with our dogs.
Liz: Absolutely. My husband and I actually filmed a pilot episode for "Honest to Dog." We really want to make a TV show out of it because of the message behind the training and how dogs make us better humans. The training goes so much deeper than just helping dogs - it's about humans finding their true potential, healing not just their relationship with their dog but often within their family and beyond. Even when I had the doghouse, people were always asking, "When is the TV show going to come out?"
I think people are very fascinated by what I do because it's kind of crazy. Dogs. Yes. But there's always the drama of that aspect. But I think it's way more fascinating, the human side of it underneath. And the approach to it is so different than what people expect. It's not these gimmicks and tricks and treats. It's the holistic approach of changing how the dog feels. And I think it kind of also blows people's mind that it's easier than they think it's going to be. That sometimes it looks almost magical. I've been told that's exactly what I’m going to say.
Fiona Killackey Killackey: It feels like you're a magician. It feels like somebody who can tame a dog. You're like a lion tamer. It's like, whoa, you've got magical vibes.
Liz Foley: And I've had family and friends come to like the dog house, where we'd have like 25 to 30 dogs in the yard and like, they'd hang out and they'd leave and they'd be like, I feel like I just did like hot yoga, but yet I tell people what I would do and they'd be like, you don't have dog fights all the time. I'm like, that's the first thing you think of. But when we think of dog parks, we think of chaos. But then I would show them videos of the dog house and it's like 35 dogs sleeping on beds and I'm like, like, why can't we have like this idea of job socialisation? And so it's like, if we can actually, like change what we think socialisation is and dog training is, dogs could be accepted so many more places, like, we could actually have.
But it's because we have these siloed areas like, this is a dog friendly area. This is where no dogs are allowed. That's why it's chaotic. And so it's like, oh, my gosh, if we could take honesty to dogs to such a bigger scale, I have so many hopes that so many dogs wouldn't be rehomed, so many dogs would be out of shelters. Right. We wouldn't have to be doing behavioural euthanasias because we'd actually be like, stop blaming the dog.
Let's take some accountability and let's actually use tools properly and use our energy and be mindful and so much more aware of how we're interacting with dogs. Because there's so many things that we're taught that are so wrong, like, hi, hi.
Liz Foley: We shouldn't be doing that to meet dogs and let them sniff us. That's like, no, don't do that.
Fiona Killackey Killackey: For anyone who's not able to see us put their hand up, like the little paw, but, you know, get your pair out to say hello. Oh, my goodness. as you were talking, I was thinking, where I live, it's one of the few places where you can, up until very recently, you could have your dog off a lead for a long path along the river, which is like the main river in Melbourne and the amount of fights in the Facebook group.
So there's only 5,000 people that live in this town, but it's. I think we've got 13,000 in the Facebook group. The arguments that go out between dog walkers and people who want the dog on leaders and people who were like, no, this was traditionally always a place without them. Like, oh. I was like, I should light a bomb by putting in your podcast. Be like, hey, guys, please don't go at me. Maybe I'll put it as an anonymous post. But, yeah, I completely hear you. There's just so much. The whole world could be a better place. I know we're running out of time and I feel awful because you've given up your evening for this, but so many business owners have a dog. It's part of their business.
I have a client who unfortunately lost her dog earlier this year and the dog is a huge part of her business. She draws the dog, the dog's part of the artwork. Everyone knows the dog. And now she has a new dog. And so for a lot of people, that's who keeps them company when they're working in the studio, whatever else. I have two that sit in the office a lot. What are some hints that dogs are bored or that dogs need attention or that, you know, when you're busy packing orders or doing something else, like, what should you look out for? I mean, obviously it's dependent on the dog itself.
Liz Foley: Mm It's so funny. I feel like people are really worried about dogs being bored. Where I'm like, is the dog just calm and relaxed? I think where during COVID and lockdown there was so much hype around, like stimulation and like, keep your dog engaged and mentally active and like food puzzles and things like that.
My thing is be more concerned if your dog is showing destructive behaviours and like pacing and kind of nagging you for attention and things like that. Does your dog follow you around? Does your dog kind of pace or pull at your tail or lick and chew at their skin? Things like that, where it's like, maybe there's some anxiety there where they're unsettled. But if your dog sleeps and it's relaxed, I, don't think you have a bored dog. I think you have a calm dog who's fulfilled. And I think so many times people are like, oh, that's a sad dog. I'm like, that's a really relaxed dog who's happy and content.
We have this frame of mind where we're like, Excitement is happiness and I'm gonna give your dogs chronically, obsessively excited. That's actually stress on the body. So that's an unstable dog, that's a hyperactive dog. So excitement is fine, but it should be controlled and it should only be at certain times.
Fiona Killackey: Yeah. So that is really good advice. Thank you. If you could go back and give your 25 year old self some advice and you know, when she's literally about to start this thing and go on this venture, what would it be? What would you say?
Liz Foley: So many things, but maybe one of them would be to be patient and to trust your instincts that things will work out. But yeah, that you do know deep down what you're doing, what you're supposed to be doing and to really trust that.
Fiona Killackey: So true, so true. And what are you most proud of from your time in business to date?
Liz Foley: You know, it might be the podcast.
Liz Foley: It might be the podcast. Because that was really putting myself out there to the next level. That was one that was overcoming my fear of public speaking. Because I had a lot of doubts with that. And that's really opening myself up to so many more people. Because I think in the beginning I thought, well, this will be for like my clients in Kitchener Waterloo when like they need reminders of like, hey, don't create too much excitement or like you get what you pet and like, here's what to reward and here's, you know, don't forget these things. And I can be like, you should listen to this episode.
Sounds like you need a refresher. but it's gone so much bigger than that. And so I kind of have this little goal. I worked with a business coach at one point and her motto is to help one person a day. And so mine is helping one dog a day is like how I, I reframed it. And so I struggle at times with mental health and there are days where I feel like I don't do enough. And what helps me is knowing that even if I didn't touch a dog that day, if I didn't go and do a training client session, even virtually, I'm like, you know what though? Somebody somewhere listened to the podcast and I'm sure it helped them in some way, shape or form. And so I really need to acknowledge the fact that that alone is doing probably more than I even realise. And for that I'm very, very proud.
Fiona Killackey: Oh, I love that answer so much. I think that might be one of my favourite answers out of like 400 episodes that we've done on this. I didn't love that so much because so many business owners are doing things all the time and never, never stopping and thinking what impact it has.
And I also love that you shared about mental health and because so many people struggle and it's like, you know, you can berate yourself of what am I doing, what am I even doing? And it's like all of the tentacles of all of the things that you've put into practice are helping people all over the world. So I love that answer so much. Thanks Liz.
Liz Foley: Thank you.
Fiona Killackey: Oh. So what are your goals for like the dog house and the training programmes and, and where do you want the business to go?
Liz Foley: I have dreams of training trainers.
Liz Foley: So going beyond just coaching them on how to do their businesses and grow their businesses. I do. I love that I work one on one with trainers and helping them solve their kind of entrepreneurial struggles.
Liz Foley: I love that. But I really want to share how I train and give them kind of like the systems in place and so doing like a certification. And then I'm really excited about doing workshops and Training retreats in 2025 for both trainers and dog owners where it's immersive, where we actually spend way more time together and like hands on. So I'm planning a retreat at a dog friendly resort where you bring your dog and stay in a cabin and we work together and we get to work on the lifestyle type of training and you get to be somewhere cool and remote and like really connect with your dog and go back home feeling refreshed and more deeply bonded.
Fiona Killackey: Love this and so thank you so much for making the time and I know we had to reschedule this one and just make the time in the evening and being so open and real and sharing so much. How can people connect with you if they want to listen to the podcast or book in for training or anything else or maybe they are a trainer here or anywhere around the world. We have a global audience for this which is lovely. So where's the best place to connect?
Liz Foley: Instagram is awesome for connecting with me. So my handle is at your favourite dog trainer and that's spelled the Canadian way. How's your favourite spe you are. And then the podcast, honest podcast, we're also on Instagram. You can also listen to that anywhere you listen to your podcast. So that's Spotify, Apple, even on our website, onestod, poodcast.com do amazing.
Fiona Killackey Killackey: Thank you so much for coming on and enjoy the rest of your evening and yeah, I'm super excited to get stuck into your things and I'll probably figure out a way of talking to the woman that I passed with her. But the dog doesn't actually look that nervous. She looks incredibly nervous. But yes, thank you so much, Liz.
Liz Foley: Thank you. This has been so, so nice. Thank you.
Fiona Killackey Killackey: Bye.
Liz Foley: Bye.
Fiona Killackey: How fun was that chat? Honestly, I just had such a good time chatting to Liz and I find what she said about so many parts of her business, I just deeply relate to so many elements of it and I just love that she's so passionate about something and from, you know, right at the start when she was like, okay, I'll go and follow this other career path, but actually this is my passion and I'm gonna go for it. I just love that ambition and determination and obviously drive for what it is that she enjoys.
I'm going to highlight two things as always, but first, if you are interested in checking out more from Liz, checking out whether that's a podcast or a course or maybe you happen to live near her and you're going to do something in person. But there are so many options. As she talked about, she works with people all over the world. You can check out everything over at your favouritedogtrainer.com and that favourite is spelled F A V O U R I T E. So yourfavoritedogtrainer.com. So you can check out workshops, training. You may be a dog trainer yourself or a dog professional and you want to get some coaching, you can do that. You can also check out her incredible honesttodog podcast, over @honestodogpodcast.com and we'll link to both of those in the show notes. You can also connect with Liz herself on Instagram, yourfavouritedogtrainer. And we'll link to that in the show notes as well, which for this particular episode you'll find mydailybusiness.com podcast468.
Alright, what are the two things that really, really stood out to me amongst so many? I guess the first is, and of course this comes as no surprise, but the power of podcasting. Because I just love, like I said in the intro, that she took something and created a podcast around it and created a podcast that was different to other podcasts and really honed in on who is my audience, but also really understood my audience.
They're out for walks or they're trying to get out for walks with their dog. They're possibly listening to podcasts. They're possibly in the car, driving to a park with the dog or doing XYZ with the dog. And so this medium makes sense, but also this may be somebody's absolute last resort, like, okay, I'm just gonna listen to an episode and see if it helps at all. And I see people struggling with their dogs and I feel for them. And you just want to be like, okay, here's some tips. But I'm not a professional. So the fact is, even when I was talking to Liz, like, I know there's some people that I'm happy to recommend this podcast to.
And just this podcast right now, the one with me interviewing her and then, you know, her podcast as well. But it just is a huge reminder that podcasts can be such an incredible way to help your audience when you can't help everyone. You know, there's only so many hours in the day, there's only so many people people can see in this kind of coaching space. But a podcast can help so many more people access that, and help that expertise. And there may just be a lesson in it that they're like this. This is it.
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. So I love that she talked about the Honest to Dog podcast and what it's done. And also I absolutely love when she talks about her own mental health challenges and the fact that on, you know, the days where she feels like she's not necessarily getting out there and helping, the podcast is still there. It is still helping. And what I love about podcasts as well is that they're not chronological people.
You know, definitely we've got lots of wonderful subscribers who will say, oh, my God, I listened to it this morning. And they're always up to date with it. But there are plenty of other people who dip in and out or who are like, oh, somebody recommended your podcast. So I've started back at episode one, and we're up to 460 episodes. So I just love that she talked about it. And I love, which is really part of the reason that we said yes to having her on, that she has a business that you wouldn't traditionally associate with a podcast, and yet she's taken that marketing medium and done really, really well out of it. So I just love that so much. And it is. Podcasts are incredibly helpful for people. I know it. I listen to podcasts. I hear from people who listen to ours. And I just think that if you are sitting on the fence or you're thinking about starting a podcast, go out and do it. Because honestly, people need to hear what it is that you have to say. People need to hear that help, that expertise, that experience, that skill set that is going to help them in their lives as well. So go and start your podcast people. And if you won a course, we do have “How to start a podcast” which you can find at mydailybusiness.com/courses.
The other thing that I absolutely loved is that Liz talked about, you know, her dreams with this business but also the diversification of different revenue streams that it's not just okay, most dog trainers go to a park on Saturday mornings and they have 10 people and the 10 people have paid and that's how it works. She didn't do that. She did everything from doggy daycare and done in a different way and really understanding the location. I think that's a fantastic tip that she talked about. You know, really understand where your audience is and where am I going to meet them so that it's easy and like a no brainer option for them. So she has the doggie daycare, she has the coaching component for dog owners, but also the coaching component for dog trainers.
She has workshops, she has, you know, retreats. I mean I think that concept of a retreat in 2025 is just awesome. Like so awesome. And you can hear the smile in my voice and I just love that she took it out of this is what everyone's always done so I'm gonna do something different. I'm gonna walk my own path and keep in mind the absolute vision and focus of how do I help dogs and their owners? Like how do I help them? And I can help them through, yes, the whole park on a Saturday morning, but I can also help them through this and this and this and this and that.
People will need different types of help at different situations and different dogs will need different help. I just, there was so much in today's podcast. Honestly I could have gone on and on about other things. Content marketing, differentiating your offer through your philosophy, not just what you're actually the specific like thing that you're offering. Teaching and not just doing just so much. There was so much. You know, I just want to say a massive, massive thank you again to Liz from your favourite dog trainer for coming on for rescheduling.
My goodness, I'm so sorry. I had to reschedule this a couple of times because of the time difference but she kept up and yeah, it was just absolute joy to talk to her. So thank you again and if you check out Liz and all her great work again. Your favouritedogtrainer.com, honesttodogpodcast.com and you can find her on socials under your favourite dog trainer. We will link to that plus our podcast course in the Show Notes which you can find at mysdailybusiness.com/podcast/468.
Thanks so much for listening. I'll see you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to the My Daily Business Podcast for a range of tools to help you grow and start your business, including coaching programmes, courses and templates. Check out our shop at mydailybusiness.com/shop and if you wanna get in touch you can do that by email, hello@mydailybusiness.com or you can hit us up on Instagram @mydailybusiness. You can find us on TikTok My Daily Business or find me Fiona Killackey on LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting.
