I received an email last week from a woman helping to organize a fundraiser for the Beverly dog park in May. She asked if I would be willing to offer a 1/2 hour presentaiton at the fund raiser to be held in Lynch Park. "Yes indeed" I said and also offered to do some massages at the Park and any donations would be given to the dog park. "How did you hear of me" I asked. She said I was all over the internet. So my marketing and networking approach is just beginning to take root. Each place I work with has face book and other internet connections and the name goes out.
This weekend I am working with the Ipswich Humane group at Petco and UnLeasehed, doing massages for dopgs that come in. Both organizations are sending out notices to their many clients. I had really wished to do the marketing in a modern fasahion and that is what ios happening. More to come.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Making Connections in the community
I have spent the last two months making connections. Here's what I accompished
1) presented 4 free one hour intro to massage seminars - one at a shelter, two at doggie daycare places and one at a community center.
2) This has led to starting 2 (for pay) mini-courses (4 sessions each) teaching the dog owner how to massage their own dog.
3) This has led to a few private clients that I massage because they need extra care.
4) I am planning to continue this approach of free intro and 4 session follow-up course over the next few months.
5) I have just made by first Veterinary contact and my own Vet thinks massage for her clients would be a great idea. Also she would like to offer my intro free demo to her patients. This will open up an entirely new dimension for me working with Vets. Lots of learning and hopefully I will be able to help.
6) Have agreed to help a breast cancer group for a fund raiser by making my doggie demo class the "entertainment / educaiton part of the fund raiser. That should happen in June.
7) With help from a dear friend, I now have a beautiful color flyer and within short order, a color tri-fold brochure.
8) I have accepted the invitaiton to advertise in the BorthEast Animal Shelter's pamphlet they give out to the adotpers. perhaps 2500 a year. Lots of opportunities may arise from this.
9) I have teamed up with the Ipswich Animal Shelter to give free massages at Petco and help them raise a little money. I did this once already and several more are planned.
10) So lots going on and more planned. I will attempt to make a Blog entry at least once a week going forward.
1) presented 4 free one hour intro to massage seminars - one at a shelter, two at doggie daycare places and one at a community center.
2) This has led to starting 2 (for pay) mini-courses (4 sessions each) teaching the dog owner how to massage their own dog.
3) This has led to a few private clients that I massage because they need extra care.
4) I am planning to continue this approach of free intro and 4 session follow-up course over the next few months.
5) I have just made by first Veterinary contact and my own Vet thinks massage for her clients would be a great idea. Also she would like to offer my intro free demo to her patients. This will open up an entirely new dimension for me working with Vets. Lots of learning and hopefully I will be able to help.
6) Have agreed to help a breast cancer group for a fund raiser by making my doggie demo class the "entertainment / educaiton part of the fund raiser. That should happen in June.
7) With help from a dear friend, I now have a beautiful color flyer and within short order, a color tri-fold brochure.
8) I have accepted the invitaiton to advertise in the BorthEast Animal Shelter's pamphlet they give out to the adotpers. perhaps 2500 a year. Lots of opportunities may arise from this.
9) I have teamed up with the Ipswich Animal Shelter to give free massages at Petco and help them raise a little money. I did this once already and several more are planned.
10) So lots going on and more planned. I will attempt to make a Blog entry at least once a week going forward.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Strating the dog massage business
I have discovered that there is no already existing built-in market or demand for dog massage. As one friend put it, looks like you don't have much competition, on the other hand there is no market. So I have set myself the task to help create a market for this service. Intuitively, dog owners know that massage would probably benefit their dog the way massage benefits humans. However, it is simply a bit before its time perhaps like doggie daycare places were 10 years ago. Now we have 3 doggie daycare places in my little town of Ipswich.
After having received my certificaiton from the Bancroft massage school, I defined 2 specific areas that dog massage will be useful. They overlap and support each other. The first is to actually PERFORM the massage on the dog in the same spirit as going to a massage practitioner or massage therapist. This could be done at a person's home or at an already existing place like a doggie daycare. The second is to TEACH dog owners how to perform massage on their own dogs. To facilitate both of these I have set up 4 different mini-events to get the word out. The first is at a local community center where they will invite their members to a one-hour intro to dog massage. They can bring stuffed animals with them or VERY social and easy dogs. I will use the dogs they bring for demos. The second is at a large animal shelter where I volunteer. They have invited their staff, volunteers and adoptive parents for the one hour intro seminar and I will use the shelter dogs for demos. The third is at a doggy dacare and I will use the owner's dogs for demos. The fourth is at petco where I will do a little fund raiser for a small shelter and offer free massages.
I am expecting to learn alot from these experiences and adapt my approach as I go. One more thing, I have this fun idea of "puppyware" parties like tupperware parties" where one person invites a few frineds and their dogs to her house. I would come and teach them a multi-week massage course and then we would have tea and cookes or something like that. It combines the social, spiritual, educaitonal and fun components of the whole venture. We'll see how that goes.
After having received my certificaiton from the Bancroft massage school, I defined 2 specific areas that dog massage will be useful. They overlap and support each other. The first is to actually PERFORM the massage on the dog in the same spirit as going to a massage practitioner or massage therapist. This could be done at a person's home or at an already existing place like a doggie daycare. The second is to TEACH dog owners how to perform massage on their own dogs. To facilitate both of these I have set up 4 different mini-events to get the word out. The first is at a local community center where they will invite their members to a one-hour intro to dog massage. They can bring stuffed animals with them or VERY social and easy dogs. I will use the dogs they bring for demos. The second is at a large animal shelter where I volunteer. They have invited their staff, volunteers and adoptive parents for the one hour intro seminar and I will use the shelter dogs for demos. The third is at a doggy dacare and I will use the owner's dogs for demos. The fourth is at petco where I will do a little fund raiser for a small shelter and offer free massages.
I am expecting to learn alot from these experiences and adapt my approach as I go. One more thing, I have this fun idea of "puppyware" parties like tupperware parties" where one person invites a few frineds and their dogs to her house. I would come and teach them a multi-week massage course and then we would have tea and cookes or something like that. It combines the social, spiritual, educaitonal and fun components of the whole venture. We'll see how that goes.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Launching the Blog
This is my first post in my first blog. Very exciting for a 64 year old who has recently finished a 30 year career in real estate apprasial and management and has now launched an entrely new venture in dog massage. Why dog massage you might ask. Well, I love dogs, live on a small "farm" of sorts surrounded by a number of species including horses, cats, chickens, ducks and of course, dogs. Dogs have changed my life since my wife convinced me 25 years ago that we should get a dog. Our daughter was 10 at the time and that single act has probably had more impact on myself and our family than any other. It led to so many wonderful and surprising adventures and it opened my heart and my understanding in a way I could not have imagined at that time. So for this next phase of my life and perhaps the rest of my life, I would like to make dogs even more of a focal point in my life and also provide a hopefully useful and healing service to both the dogs and their owners.
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