I hate to admit it, but I was at a low point in my dog training career. The truth is I love dogs, actually animals in general. What I hate is office management. I hate taking time off between sessions to answer phones, check the calendar or try to contact people that haven’t paid their bill. I also hate waiting on a client who never shows up. Ok, a lot of hate right?
Then it happened. That rotten little poodle that refuses to be trained and always wets on my shoe came in. The owner had forgotten her appointment time and had left me hanging all day. Just when I was ready to go home, she shows up, tosses the poodle into my hands and assumes I have plenty of time to train her little monster. In that moment, for the first time ever, I thought about quitting my business for good.
That was a year ago today and oh how my dog training business has changed. A few days after my near “breakdown” a few friends suggested I take a look at a software appointment management program called, Booksteam. Ok, actually they didn’t suggest they demanded, pulling booksteam.com up on their tablet and forcing me to take a look. In just a few moments I started to get the concept. Booksteam was designed to take the chaos out of small business by allowing customers to make/modify appointments, coordinate their tutoring or sign up for a training class online all without ever bothering the business owner.
I jumped on it! I literally commandeered my friend’s iPad and signed up on the spot. Since then my dog training business has gotten better and better. My clients manage their appointments online through Booksteam and due to the automated reminder system via email and/or SMS, customers almost never miss an appointment.
Booksteam has been my salvation. There are tons of easy to use features and it is totally affordable for even the smallest dog business. My “quit attitude” has dissolved and I even had a breakthrough with the poodle. Now I’m happy, my clients are happy and most importantly dogs won’t miss their needed appointments! Life is good.
Author Bio: The article is contributed by Elizabeth Westly – A Professional Dog Trainer