Pierre Presents: The Shift - A Pet Services Podcast

Hey Listers, We’re back and I’m Anthony Flores. Since recording this interview the world has completely changed and Covid 19 has severely threatened the existence of small businesses all over the country. It is almost as if we fast forwarded 10 years into the future overnight.   Our guest on todays episode Rachel Long with the fast growing pet supply store – Pet Project LA makes the decision to stay open and revamp her store to take market share in Downtown LA. Today we’re going to learn how Rachel went from an employee at Pet Project LA – to the owner. We will also learn how she completely redesigned the shopping experience to cater to the changing landscape,  and how she is using local delivery to compete with the Amazon’s and Chewy’s of the world. You’re going to lover her story – Enjoy the show!

Hey Listeners, we're back and I’m Anthony Flores and in today's episode we sit down with an extraordinary human being - Grace Chon. Grace is the best selling author of one of my personal favorite dog photography books - Puppy Styled, as well as the adorably humorous dog smiling photography book called, Waggish. She is also the host of her very own podcast called Creativity School.   Graces photographs have been featured in countless magazines and editorials including: New York Times HGTV Family Circle We will learn Graces thought process on life, book publishing, podcasting, social media and tapping into your own creativity. If you are an aspiring photographer, author, or looking to up your photography game, or maybe even publish a book of your own, Grace shares with us her framework so you too can tap into your zone of creativity.  You’re not going to want to miss this one! Enjoy the show!

Hey Listeners, we're back for Season 2 of "The Shift" and I’m Anthony Flores and today we are going to do Episode 4 of The Pet Influencer Economy series, where we discuss the world of dog influencers with Adriana and Kenny the proud parents of New York's finest - Bubalah, aka @bubalahpoochie! Bubalah has over 36k followers on instagram with a ridiculously high engagement rate. His fans love him for the stylish clothes he wears and his wild hair blow-outs! Learn how they started their social media for fun as a school marketing project, and how its grown in a short period of time.  Some of the topics discussed:  Learn how they plan photo shoots How to create a unique brand for your dog How to handle sponsors  How they creatively hacked their way onto Starbucks instagram feed And tips on maneuvering the pet influencer agency world You’re not going to want to miss this one, we hope you enjoy the show!

We are really excited to introduce you to the ultra-talented Veterinarian Dr. Jessica Wilson, DVM of Just Food For Dogs. JFFD is the leader in the human grade whole food pet industry! Learn the story behind JFFD and how they are improving the length and quality of life one pet at a time. If you are a Veterinarian, in the pet industry, or a customer of JFFD, you are going to love the insight that you will get from this interview.  In this interview Dr. Jessica Wilson, DMV will discuss some of the following topics: The future of the sustainable pet food industry How JFFD has become one the top human grade whole food category leaders How JFFD has built an amazing culture of in-house experts Why it's never too late to shift your pets diet to a whole food diet Customer success stories FDA rulings and why some dog food companies get themselves in hot water Transparency and how JFFD has built trust with their customers with their open kitchen experience Steps on reversing your pets ailments by eating the right diet As a bonus, Dr. Wilson is an incredible inspiration and she shares her story growing up in a rough part of New York to a single mother, and how she has overcome the odds to become a Veterinarian, and a professional body builder.  Don't miss this one and we love comments, so comment below.     

Hey Listeners, we're back for Season 2 of "The Shift" and I’m Anthony Flores and today we are going to do Episode 3 of The Pet Influencer Economy series, where we discuss the world of dog influencers with Sam Carell and none other than the most famous dog in the world - Tinkerbelle the Dog! Tink has hundreds of thousands of followers and a team of six people referred to as "Team Think" that has helped Tinkerbelle the Dog become one of the most famous dogs in the world. Tinkerbelle has worked with huge brands such as: Sprint, Febreeze, Target, and most recently was featured on the Today Show with Lizzo!  Topics Discussed:  Learn what it takes to run a pet influencer business at the highest level How to identify your dogs key characteristics that make them unique and marketable How to monetize your social media How Sam uses high profile events to take viral photos The ins-and-outs of running a her own dance studio while expanding Tinkerbelle's career. This requires tremendous amount of discipline and organization Learn pointers on getting work and traveling abroad with your pet If you want to learn the pet influencer business, and grow your pets following while making a legitimate living at the same time, you can't miss this one!  

Hey Listeners, we're back and I’m Anthony Flores and today we are going to do Episode 2 of The Pet Influencer Economy series - Where we discuss the world of dog influencers with Teresa Nguyen and her ultra popular dog Sushi ,who currently has over 500k TikTok followers, and over 20k highly engaged Instagram followers.   Teresa is an incredibly creative social media marketer and she is going to teach us how to create viral videos with little to no editing, as well as secrets that she uses to monetize her Instagram following. Topics Discussed:  Learn why you should consider using TikTok to grow your brand How Teresa created one video that got her over 100k followers How to monetize your Instagram The compelling “why” and becoming a dog influencer How personal awareness, while being present is the key to great content Enjoy the show!  

On today's episode, we talk to Andreanna Pena of Blooming Culture - a pet friendly Cannabis (CBD) company helping pets owners all over the world manage AND OVERCOME conditions such as seizures, and anxiety WITH PHENOMENAL RESULTS!  Topics discussed:  The future of the CBD Industry for pets FDA rulings and why are things moving so darn slow Proper dosage recommendations for your pets Why all CBD companies are not created equal Distrupting the 20 Billion Dollar CBD industry How to choose the right brand and much more... Whether you're looking to start a CBD company for dogs of your own, or looking to learn if CBD is right for your pets, Andreanna schools us on the ins-and-outs of the CBD industry. Enjoy the show!

Hey Listeners, we're back and I’m Anthony Flores and today we are going to do Episode 1 of what I like to call “the pet influencer economy” - Where we discuss the world of dog influencers starting with David Ha and his dog Bowser who currently have close to 20k loyal followers and growing on Instagram.   David is going to teach us how to plan the perfect photo shoot, as well as secrets that David uses to drive super high engagement and how to teach your dog to do fun tricks like standing up while taking photos.  Topics Discussed:  Are you struggling to get more followers, and simply don’t have a social media strategy? David Ha and his dog Bowser will teach you the insights on how to up your Instagram game and use the resources you already have to go viral.  Enjoy the show!

On today's episode, we talk to Sara du Bouchet, one of the co-founders of the highly rated dog training in California called Tully's, and how they took their passion for animals and grew it into one of the top dog training companies in California.  Topics discussed:  The future of dog training Why all dog trainers are not created equal  Tips and Tricks to train your own pets and become a better leader at the same time.  The psychology between owners and pets Approach to online training and expanding knowledge and connections  and much more... Whether you're looking to start a dog training company of your own or currently run a dog training business, Sara helps us understand what it takes to thrive in the fast-growing dog training industry. 

Today we discuss a new and fast growing dog snack company called Chippin. Chippin dog snacks are a sustainable complete protein using crickets and started by University of Pensylvania graduates, and uber ambitious entrepreners - Laura Colagrande & Haley Russell. Topics discussed:   Design Thinking: Ways to communicate the value of your product that embodies all aspects of design How to A/B spit-test packaging and colors to build a brand on How to use dog parks for in-person customer development How to use "cold-calling" to get in front of local pet stores How to handle R&D: testing for consistesy, how the treats break, and how to test for consistency How to overcome trust issues when launching in the pet food space and much more…   If you are looking to start your own pet snack, or pet food company business, or want to learn what it takes to build a sustainable food brand in the pet space, you will absolutely love this interview!  

I’m really excited to introduce you to our guest today Janene Zakrajsek, of the hugely successful Los Angeles based pet lifestyle boutiques called: Pussy & Pooch. Topics discussed: How to survive over a decade in the pet services and retail environment How Janene used her design and marketing background to create an innovative store experience called the "Paw Bar" and differentiated her stores from competitors How self awareness is key to pivoting in a changing retail landscape The challenges and answers to motivating the younger generation of employees How to interact with customers and different store locations, and why affluence does not equate to 'educated' For those of you in the pet services and retail industry that are established, or for someone looking to start their own store, there will be tons of takeaways and you are going to absolutely love the honesty and vision that Janene brings to the pet industry.  Enjoy the show!    

Shaina Denny and Greer Catherine discuss their contrarian approach to creating a new type of dog daycare called dogdrop. dogdrop is an on-demand dog daycare company (think - "Wework for dog daycare") that is launching in Los Angeles, Ca. Topics include:   How design, and convenience led to dogdrop re-designing the dog daycare category Modern pet parenting and how dogdrop will lead the way Zoning, permits, and the process of starting a dog daycare business How they used local events to hack their company growth and build their brand How to bootstrap a dog daycare business The convergence of online social media and how to crossover to physical retail How they’ve built a large social media following before they’ve even open their doors   If you are looking to start your own dog daycare business, or you are an established dog daycare, you want to hear their story. dogdrop is a forward thinking company and they have huge aspirations to lead the way in disrupting the current state of the industry. Exciting stuff:)   We hope you enjoy the show!

Janriel and Alexandra own a rapidly growing dog walking company called Fitpals. Fitpals is a local dog walking company that started in Downtown LA 12 months ago. This is a hell of a story and they went from zero clients to walking over 50 dogs, and 3 new team members in all of 12 months!   Topics include:   The good, the bad, and the ugly of the dog walking business Actionable Facebook marketing tactics they used to grow their business  Why discipline and your own personal health is key to growing  How to build a brand in IRL  How to become the mayor of your own city GPS and tracking walks equals happy customers  Work/life balance and how to make it work How to recruit a team to help you grow and much more…   If you are looking to start your own dog walking business or if you currently have a dog walking company,  you definitely want to hear their story.

Antonio Ballatore is the host of the hit show - Animal Cribs that airs on the Animal Channel. You're going to love this one. We discuss Antonio's backstory growing up in New York in the 80's, the emerging punk, and heavy metal scene at the time, and how he stumbled on to getting his own show. Antonio has created an amazing life as a TV host, musician, and lover of animals. Don't miss this one guys!

This is a quick 5 minute introduction episode that discusses the idea behind our new pet services podcast - Pierre Presents: The Shift - A Pet Services Podcast.  A show where pet service pros learn the latest trends in design, marketing, technology, and the stories from other pet industry entrepreneurs and the businesses they built.