How walking your dog can improve your business

Owning a fitness business is no walk in the park but just maybe your dog can teach you something about how you can improve your business. If you’re a dog owner you’re probably curious about how taking your dog for a walk can improve your business. If you don’t own a dog you might want to consider taking a friends dog for a walk and see what I mean.

My dog Bailey and I walk almost every day and each walk is a little different. There are days when Bailey decides he needs to smell everything and stops and starts the whole way. Other times he power walks with me and is focused and determined to keep up. Sometimes Bailey enjoys doing agility training where on command he jumps logs, hops up onto stumps or walks along fallen trees. He does this with a sense of adventure and exploration. He’ll jump onto tree stumps that are really high and does it effortlessly. Other times he struggles but makes it after a few attempts.

It was on such a walk that I began to think about how walking Bailey was similar to running a small business. There are certainly times when you have a project or task to complete but you procrastinate. Starting and stopping without really ever achieving anything. This can be extremely frustrating and even paralyzing when you are trying to get something done. These are your stop and sniff walks.

In order to create business momentum you must achieve clarity and focus in your business. This is when you can effectively work on your goals and start to make things happen. You move at a quickened pace, put in a lot of effort, time and sweat and start to see results. This is the power walk.

There are times when ideas flow naturally and even quickly to you. You feel energized and invigorated which allows your creativity to surge. You come up with new ways to do business or see things from a different prospective which allows you to be innovative and cutting-edge in your business. This is your adventure and exploration walk.

In reality we need all these elements in our business. Some in larger quantities then others but it’s good to recognize that running a small business means being very flexible, diversified and adaptable to the ebbs and flows of business, especially when owning a fitness business as it sometimes can feel like feast or famine.

What I’ve learned from my walks with Bailey is that you just have to go with the flow and take on life challenges as they come. Sometimes we need to stop and sniff and other times we need to power through and be adventurous. But there is one thing that is certain, you must take the lead and guide the walk otherwise your business may not be as successful as you hope.