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Business Management MasterClasses
These include managing the marketing, administration, and financial side of dog breeding.
MasterClass #3 – Make-Your-Own-Chili Social Media Planner
This MasterClass provides a recipe for posting to social media so you can schedule a variety of interesting content for each day of the month.
It’s unique to your breeding program, but designed to bring buyers to you, grow your waitlist, stand out from competitors, and have an easy time selling your pups to a good home.
8 Lessons | 59 minutes
- Make-Your-Own Chili Social Media Planner | 2:18
- Social Media Categories | 22:23
- Social Media Visual Types | 7:45
- Social Media Visual Subjects | 8:12
- Captivating Social Media Captions | 7:41
- How to Plan Your Social Media | 5:31
- The 2 Approaches to the Make-Your-Own-Chili Worksheets | 2:46
- Social Media Scheduler Apps | 2:46
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MasterClass #6 – Designing Your Brand
This MasterClass is all about building your brand. Once you know who your Ideal Puppy Buyer is, you can build your brand around them. Not only will this feel authentic and comfortable to your Ideal Puppy Buyer, but it will attract them to your breeding program.
In this MasterClass we discuss logos, fonts, colors, slogans and taglines, and much more. When you’re done you’ll be able to build a brand that speaks directly to your Ideal Puppy Buyers, making it difficult for them to buy a dog from anyone else but you!
10 Lessons | 1 hour 16 minutes
- What is a Brand and Why Do We Need One? | 7:50
- Where to Start With Creating Your Brand | 9:20
- Designing Your Business Name | 10:20
- Picking Your Brand Colors | 10:40
- Selecting Your Typefaces & Fonts | 10:02
- Designing Your Logo | 11:18
- Designing Your Slogan | 6:49
- Your Website Copy (wording) | 4:59
- Graphics & Social Media | 5:03
- Mock Kennel Branding
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MasterClass #15 – Know Your Numbers – How to Manage Cash Flow & Expenses
In this MasterClass I offer insight into what to do with money in your breeding business and how to evaluate it. And we cover some of the practical things: how you can manage receipts as they come, what to do with them once you have them, how to organize them into categories and how to put it all together to have it make sense later.
As dog breeders, so many of us are already stretched thin. We’re trying to do the best we can with what we have. We are worried about doing things right with our puppies and buyers … the numbers can come along later. I get it. It’s frustrating.
What I realized is that we often push aside the numbers because they feel overwhelming, we aren’t sure what to do, or we know what to do, but we aren’t doing it. Other times, it just doesn’t feel like the priority because it doesn’t seem to actively make anything better.
However, once we have our numbers, we can evaluate everything, we’ll know where our puppy money is going. We’ll be able to see trends in spending, maybe where we are spending too much money or where we have room to spend more money. We can understand how our deposits are working for or against us. The whole thing helps us step out of the trenches and get the view from the top of the mountain with our business and breeding program. Then we can make informed decisions and pivots.
6 Lessons | 1 hour 12 minutes
- Intro – Why Do You Need to Know Your Numbers? | 2:46
- Understanding Profit & Cash Flow for Dog Breeders | 11:45
- Expense Tracking | 14:05
- Using a Credit Card for Business Expenses & Other Alternatives | 8:22
- Finding a Great Credit Card | 20:49
- How Much Emergency Fund Do You Need? | 14:51
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MasterClass #13 – HoneyBook Customer Management Software
Part of selling yourself as a breeder, beyond the quality of your dogs, is selling your knowledge and support. When buyers feel supported, they are better able to provide for, and take care of their dog. When that happens, the relationship between the dog and the buyer improves and a beautiful bond is formed. The buyer will think the dog is just amazing—and while the dog is amazing—a big part of that success story is that you, the breeder, set the situation up for success.
How can we give our buyers that advantage on a consistent level without exhausting ourselves? The answer is customer relationship management software which allows you set up a system that delivers consistent attention to all your buyers. And our favorite option is HoneyBook!
This MasterClass will help you make the most of HoneyBook to manage and organize several different aspects of your dog breeding business. It will help you pull all of your buyer communication into one place. From initial inquiry to bringing a puppy home, and everything in between, you can organize it in HoneyBook.
Plus, HoneyBook makes it easy to present everything in a polished and cohesive manner allowing you to provide your buyers with a professional experience from start to finish. And best of all – it will save you a ton of time!
19 Lessons | 3 hours 6 minutes
Overview & Account Setup
- Introduction & Workbook | 2:25
- What is CRM Software | 13:52
- The 4 Areas of Genius of HoneyBook | 8:54
- Account Setup | 15:20
- The HoneyBook Calendar | 12:18
- Your Library | 2:09
- Branding Setup | 8:53
- Project Setup | 8:00
- Adding Your Contacts | 7:28
Templates
- Template Gallery | 3:09
- Packages | 5:59
- Creating a Smart File – Customizing the Theme & Design | 23:02
- Contact Forms | 8:42
- Lead Forms | 2:58
- Contracts & Invoices | 17:30
- Emails | 7:05
Dashboard
- The Dashboard | 19:54
Pipeline
- The Pipeline | 15:23
Creating a Workflow System
- Creating a Workflow System | 3:48
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MasterClass #16 – Leveling Up HoneyBook Buyer Management
*We recommend you complete HoneyBook MasterClass #13 prior to this Leveling Up MasterClass
HoneyBook is a powerful tool to help you not only save time and energy, but also provide excellent customer service to your buyers.
To make the most HoneyBook, you’ll want to use automations, the HoneyBook app, and create a workflow that makes sense for you and your breeding program.
HoneyBook can send emails on a schedule or when a specific milestone has been met. It can generate and send payment reminders based on the terms of an individual contract. Automations can also provide you with a notification or reminder of an upcoming task. And automations can be used to provide information to someone when they make an inquiry. And based on the contact form they fill out, you can target them with the right information for their request!
The best part of automations is once you set them up, they run for you. You may need to periodically update content, but automations are in many ways like hiring a secretary or personal assistant to take care of basic business communication for you.
In this MasterClass, we’ll go over each of these features to help you discover the best way to set up HoneyBook to work for you!
11 Lessons | 1 hour 27 minutes
- Introduction | 1:09
Automations
- Automations | 2:02
- Payment Reminders | 12:28
- Auto Reply to New Inquiries | 8:13
- Initiating Automations | 5:46
- Automating Your Puppy Pickup Email Series | 10:13
- Additional Automations | 5:17
- Tasks | 10:55
The HoneyBook App
- Using the HoneyBook App | 15:18
Bookkeeping
- Financial Information & Basic Bookkeeping in HoneyBook | 5:24
Workflow
- Creating Your HoneyBook Workflow | 11:12
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MasterClass #19 – Your Google Local Business Listing
This MasterClass focuses on creating, optimizing, and maintaining your Google Local Business Listing. This is a powerful – and free – tool that can help you get more leads, growing your waitlist and sell more dogs.
Your Google Local Business Listing can help more of your Ideal Puppy Buyers discover you. It can help you build social proof with reviews anyone can see from happy past buyers. It allows you to control your online business information, and creates a platform where you can easily provide information and answers to frequently asked questions.
8 Lessons | 1 hour 18 minutes
- Introduction | 4:58
- What is Your Google Local Business Listing & Why is it Important? | 4:55
- How to Setup Your Google Local Business Listing | 8:22
- How to Optimize Your Google Local Business Listing | 30:17
- How to Maintain & Update Your Google Local Business Listing | 11:51
- What are Analytics | 2:30
- What Analytics are Available on Your Google Business Profile? | 8:22
- Other Places to Look at Analytics | 7:25
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Buyer Management MasterClasses
These include all forms of working with and managing buyers, from how to find your ideal puppy buyer to how to educate and prepare them.
MasterClass #2 – Finding Your Ideal Puppy Buyer
Understanding your ideal puppy buyer is by far the most important thing in giving your breeding program direction.
This MasterClass discusses ideal puppy buyers, how to find them if you aren’t sure who they are, and some things you’ll need to be careful of with them.
Who your ideal puppy buyer is will give you the answer to nearly all of your breeding questions, everything from which dogs to breed, which dogs to remove from your program, the branding design for your business, and how to do your marketing on social media, your website, and even how to talk to your buyers and the stories you use.
The end of this MasterClass will teach you how to cultivate the 20 different stories you will use to sell your puppies to your ideal puppy buyer and avoid buyers who will struggle with your dogs.
9 lessons | 1 hour 17 minutes
- The Ideal Puppy Buyer Sweet Spot
- Finding Your Ideal Puppy Buyer – Introduction | 8:52
- The Void | 3:53
- 3 Approaches to Finding Your Ideal Puppy Buyer | 21:54
- Niching Down and Attracting/Repelling Buyers | 7:22
- Healthy & Unhealthy Compensation | 6:15
- What Can Your Ideal Puppy Buyers Manage? | 3:53
- Quick Thoughts on Sales & Marketing | 4:14
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MasterClass #5 – Designing Your Puppy Guide
You know what’s annoying? Buyers who keep calling you, asking you to solve all their problems. I’ve found one of the simplest ways to mitigate this is through a puppy guide.
A puppy guide not only gives you something to reference to help your buyers, but many will read through it on their own and not need to call you. Further, besides looking professional, a puppy guide can help shift the perspective of the owners to a perspective more accommodating of dog ownership. This effectively removes tension between the owner and puppy, shifting responsibility to the owner in a healthy way, and away from you.
This MasterClass is all about designing your puppy guide using the 5 Pillars of Successful Dog Ownership. I hope you enjoy and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
8 lessons | 1 hour 42 minutes
- Why You Need a Puppy Guide | 5:58
- Pillar #1: Leadership | 7:36
- Pillar #2: Health | 8:58
- Pillar #3: Enrichment | 9:38
- Pillar #4: Socialization | 7:14
- Pillar #5: Training | 7:35
- Different Formats to Build a Puppy Guide | 7:35
- Example: Julie Swan’s GSP Puppy Guide | 48:02
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MasterClass #9 – Email Series for Puppy Pick Up
Does your phone blow up like crazy before and after puppy pick up? Buyers have SO MANY QUESTIONS, you feel like a broken record saying the same thing over and over…there has to be a better way…
There is a better way! Use planned and scheduled emails! Not only does it save your breath, but it’s easier for your buyers to learn and reference later.
When you create an email series that offers answers to all of the questions your buyers have before they ask them, it reduces your workload and helps your buyers build trust in you and excitement in bringing home their new puppy.
This masterclass goes over the 16 emails you should send to buyers to prepare them for their new puppy. I give you templates and examples, as well as options to implement it as an automated system to make it feel like you hired someone!
17 lessons | 58 minutes
- Introduction | 5:57
The Emails
- 1 – Dog Food | 4:05
- 2 – Crate Size & Selection | 3:56
- 3 – Vaccines | 3:37
- 4 – Where Can I Take My Puppy? | 3:15
- 5 – How & When to Make Final Payment | 1:56
- 6 – Puppy Pick Up – How & Scheduling | 4:12
- 7 – Recommended Must-Haves & Where to Buy Them | 3:58
- 8 – A Few Tips on Housetraining | 5:59
- 9 – At-Home Puppy Pens & Litterbox | 2:49
- 10 – Deworming & MOOM | 3:04
- 11 – Our Puppy Guide | 1:26
- 12 – Thank You! | 2:10
- 13 – Bonus: Local Trainers & Veterinarians | 1:19
- 14 – Our Promise | 3:38
- 15 – Spay/Neuter Reminder & Suggestions | 3:47
- 16 – Surveys & Testimonials | 3:11
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MasterClass #12 – Using ConvertKit Email Management Software (the Free Version!)
Email marketing is a direct line to your customers – past, present, and future. ConvertKit is a powerful tool which will allow you to target specific subsets of your list with the content that is most pertinent to them, and send those emails with ease.
In this MasterClass, you’ll be guided through the process of using ConvertKit from signing up to sending your first email and everything in between. PLUS, it’s designed just for dog breeders. This isn’t a general overview of how to use ConvertKit, we’re diving into specifics about how you can use the program for your breeding business.
14 lessons | 1 hour 28 minutes
- Introduction & MasterClass Workbook
- The Benefits of ConvertKit & an Email List | 14:15
- Setting Up a ConvertKit Account | 6:39
- Customizing Your ConvertKit Account | 4:43
- Tagging Subscribers | 3:54
- Adding Existing Subscribers | 8:28
- Creating a PDF Brochure to Send When Somene Joins Your Mailing List | 3:41
- What Are Opt-In Forms? | 4:06
- Building an Opt-In Form | 15:56
- Building an Opt-In Landing Page | 5:03
- Updating Subscribers | 3:04
- Creating Your Email Template | 5:04
- Sending an Email & Creating Snippets | 12:03
- Bonus – Setting Your Homepage | 1:48
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MasterClass #18 – Returned Dogs & How to Handle It
Getting a returned dog is bound to happen at some point. In this MasterClass we’ll go through all the elements of getting a returned dog: everything from what it means about you and your program, what to do when you get the dog back, and how to manage finding the dog a new home. We’ll also discuss what to learn from the experience and how to make adjustments in your program if you need to.
Some of this MasterClass will still apply if you found out after-the-fact that a buyer rehomed your dog and didn’t tell you; especially the parts about how to tweak your program going forward.
And this MasterClass includes a Surrendered Dog Contract Template, so you can cover your bases in case the owner changes their mind down the road.
7 lessons | 1 hour
- Introduction & What It Means | 2:47
- What Leads to a Returned Dog? | 5:34
- How to Encourage Buyers to Bring Their Dog Back to You | 16:42
- The Handoff & Post-Handoff Evaluation | 10:32
- Pricing & Advertising the Returned Dog | 16:31
- Making Changes in Your Breeding Program | 6:09
- Surrender Contract | 1:58
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MasterClass #20 – Kids & Puppies – Considerations for Breeders Selling to Buyers with Kids
Michelle Stern of Pooch Parenting, a certified professional dog trainer who specializes in supporting families who are raising kids and dogs of all ages at the same time, joins Julie to offer insight, advice, and important considerations for breeders. This MasterClass focuses on ways breeders can set both their buyers and their dogs up for success when placing a dog in a home with children. Diving into everything from common struggles your buyers might experience, how to set reasonable expectations, and how to pick the right puppies for homes with kids. Plus Michelle has a free handout which will help you have these conversations with buyers!
6 lessons | 1 hour 43 minutes
- Kids & Puppies – Breeder Considerations | 48:51
- Common Struggles with Kids & Dogs | 11:36
- Living with Kids is Hard for Dogs | 11:28
- Asking Questions & Setting Expectations | 11:29
- Placing Puppies | 14:15
- Affiliate Program for Breeders | 5:22
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Dog & Puppy Management MasterClasses
These include everything from health and management of breeding dogs and puppies, including when to retire and how to maintain and care for health.
MasterClass #4 – Retiring a Bitch
In this MasterClass we cover all the factors that go into determining if it’s time to retire a breeding dog as well as how to rehome that dog once you’ve made the decision to retire her.
3 lessons | 40 minutes
- The Science | 12:53
- The Stuff Beyond the Science | 17:18
- How to Rehome a Retired Bitch | 10:32
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MasterClass #10 – Genetic Mutation Case Study – Handling a Defective Litter
This MasterClass is a case study on a happening in my kennel. I had planned a litter, one I was super excited about and had been waiting on for over a year and a half. When the litter happened, it was hardly what was expected. I had some defective puppies, more buyers than puppies, and a lot of figuring out to do, including what to do about the breeding dogs and defective puppies. This case study explains the thinking behind the entire event, how I went about it, and how it worked out. I guide you through the way I approached each step in this situation so you’re prepared with all the tools you need if a similar situation arises in your breeding program.
6 lessons | 1 hour 7 minutes
- Introduction & Meet the Parents | 12:59
- Should this Breeding Pair Be Bred Again? | 7:39
- How to Handle What Happened with Buyers & Social Media? | 13:23
- Sorting Out the Waitlist & Who Gets a Puppy | 13:34
- Sorting Out Who Get Which Puppy? | 14:16
- What to Do with a Puppy That’s Malformed or Struggling? | 6:08
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MasterClass #11 – Cooking For Dogs
Did you know you can address many common health problems in dogs through diet?
The recipes in this MasterClass were created because all the chemicals and complex “solutions” didn’t work, were difficult to do (e.g. always required a vet visit), or were too expensive. It is such a relief to have these tools at your disposal and know you can keep it simple.
12 lessons | 50 minutes
- Introduction
- Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot | 7:01
- Bone Broth | 6:00
- Chicken Bones to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth
- Kibble Mix for Weight Gain | 7:53
- Kibble Mix for Weaning Puppies & Deworming Adult Dogs | 3:37
- Herbal Dewormer Tincture | 2:54
- Peanut Butter Ball Dewormer | 2:08
- MOOM – Magic Oregano Oil Mix | 2:33
- Food to Feed Recovering Puppies | 5:32
- Why Feed a Raw Diet
- Preparing a Raw Diet | 13:14
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MasterClass #17 – Anxiety in Dogs & Your Breeding Program
In this MasterClass, Alex Peacock, a Dog Anxiety Specialist, joins Julie to do a deep dive into anxiety in dogs. They cover what anxiety in dogs looks like, what causes it, what we can do as breeders to address the problem, and how we can help buyers who are dealing with a dog who is experiencing anxiety.
Understanding anxiety in dogs can help you set your breeding program apart – not only in the selections you make in breeding pairs to help reduce puppies prone to anxiety, but also in the support you can provide buyers in helping them avoid and address anxiety in their dogs.
4 lessons | 3 hours 56 minutes
- What is Anxiety in Dogs? | 1:34:24
- Impact of Anxiety | 1:06:17
- How Can Breeders be Part of the Solution? | 50:45
- Finding a Good Trainer | 24:37
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Facility Management MasterClasses
These include different aspects of your facilities both design and management, as well as designing the size of your overall program.
MasterClass #1 – Designing Your Program Size
How many dogs do you need to run a full-time breeding program? How many studs? How many litters per year? There are so many questions to answer, but I have a great equation you get to play with, it has slider bars so you can run multiple scenarios. Once we know how big our program needs to be, we can make breeding decisions, figure out what facilities we need, how to transition to those facilities, and get an idea of when it can be a full-time thing.
Inside this MasterClass we will discuss the size of your program, based on how many dogs you need to be full time (or earn a certain amount of money, which can also be your break-even point).
Once we determine the size of our program we can figure out how we want to plan our generations, how to design our facilities, and how many breeding dogs we need to purchase.
11 lessons | 41 minutes
- Designing Your Program Size – Introduction | 7:13
- The Formula
- What’s Your Monthly Budget | 4:09
- How Many Females? | 6:47
- How Many Studs? | 5:59
- Breeding Back-to-Back | 2:47
- Calculating Puppies Per Litter | 3:36
- Health Testing Costs | 1:27
- Cost Per Puppy (COGS) | 4:47
- Adult Maintenance Costs | 1:37
- Puppy Price | 2:44
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MasterClass #7 – Whelping & Puppy Rearing & Adult Kennel Facilities
In this MasterClass we’ll focus on whelping and puppy rearing facilities and adult kennels. To grow your program beyond just one or two dogs, you’ll want to have facilities in place to house and care for your dog. You probably have some idea of facilities, but how much they impact us often goes undervalued. In this MasterClass learn how to think about them, when to know where to fix things, and how it can change things.
Your puppy rearing setup is where you’re puppies will spend most of their time. There is often some overlap between puppy whelping and rearing pens, but there are some differences. Getting this pen right will make the difference in most of your stress level from rearing pups.
6 lessons | 1 hour 6 minutes
Kennel Design
- Why Facilities are Important | 10:15
- 2-Car Garage Kennel Setup | 9:56
- Adult Dog Individual Pens | 14:56
- Facility Wall & Curb Design
Whelping & Puppy Pens
- Puppy Rearing Area Design | 19:08
- Whelping Area Design | 12:31
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