What A Dog Walking Franchise Can Learn From Kim Kardashian
First off, I really couldn't care any less about Kim Kardashian. But, if you shop for groceries, you pretty much can't avoid seeing her face and the headlines on all those magazines as you're waiting to check out. So, I have a brief understanding that a lot of people believe her marriage of 72 days was a total sham.
Let's say that it was. What can we, as dog walkers, learn from this?
- #1: Don't fake it. People can see right through it.
People are smart at figuring out when they're being lied to. So, if your dog walking website and social media efforts are about nothing but over-hyped promotion and faking an image of something you're not, you may want to reconsider your strategy. 
People buy from those they know, like, and trust. So, in all aspects of your business, be yourself. Be sincere. Be real. Be a human being.
Talk in your "own" voice. Don't say what you think people want to hear. Say what you truly feel instead. You'll connect with some people and not with others, but that's fine. You can't be everything to everyone all the time.
- #2: If you fake it and get caught, you've turned neutral opinions into negative ones.
If you think people won't like you (or buy from you) when you're just being yourself, wait until you try to fake being something else and then get caught doing it. It's always way worse! At worst, people have a neutral opinion of you and your dog company because they just don't know much about you. But if you get some negative publicity because of some shady tactics, you've turned those neutral opinions into negative ones. Plus, you've probably also created some new negative opinions in the process.
OK, so let's play devil's advocate and say that Kim's wedding was, indeed, full of the best intentions. 'Till death do us part and all that. What can we learn from this same situation?
If you get divorced after just 72 days, you haven't done enough research. When you're making a huge decision that will affect you for a long time to come (such as buying a scheduling software system for your pet company), you want to make sure it fits your business. You don't want to go from one to another to another because there's a ton of time and money wasted in doing that.
- #2: Make sure you like the situation you're getting yourself into.
Just like marriage is a partnership, so is the relationship you have with your dog walking staff. You don't want to hire someone just to have to fire them in a very short amount of time (like, let's say, 72 days). With each person you hire, you're creating a new situation. It can either be a good one where your new staff member is responsible and does a great job. Or, it can be a bad situation where you're dealing with problems all time. Either way, you get to make the decision. So, make it a good one.
I hope these tips have been helpful. And I also hope I don't have to see any more magazine headlines with the name "Kardashian" in them.
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