Just two years ago Kate Hart was making scentwork kits as a treat for her dog training clients and now she's sending them out to dogs all over the world.
Kate's gadgets and goodies went down so well that she decided to make them as a 'side hustle,' with her engineer husband Marcus and created a workshop at their home in Bristol.
In this episode, Kate talks about how she became a dog trainer after a terrifying accident where she broke both her legs, and then specialising in scentwork.
She talked about what it's like to follow a bit of a hunch when you might be onto something which is exactly what happened with her scentwork kits.
We talk about lots of the tough stuff that happens as you try to build something new, and how Kate has coped with rapid growth and success.
Plus awards, visibility, the kind of support that has helped her, and why it is ok to get excited about what you do, because people will pick up on that and get excited for you, and when that happens, good things come.
I LOVED this conversation so much and I hope you do too.
All the links to learn more about Kate are at the bottom of this post.
Key topics and timings in this episode:
0.20 - Episode overview.
1.23 - How Kate found herself working as a dog trainer.
3.50 - How a life changing industry led her to have a career change from her old life as a nurse and researcher in the NHS.
6.46 - What it was like to start again with a new career as a dog trainer.
7.45 - Using her experience in the NHS to build relationships and using her transferable skills.
9.23 - What helped Kate when it came to growing her dog training business.
13.36 - Kate’s lightbulb moment and why she decided to niche into scent work and making her own products which she tested on her own clients.
18.20 - Behind the scenes in Kate and Marcus’ Sniffer Shop warehouse.
23.19 - Testing out her products with her six Labradors and how the Sniffer Shop has grown.
25.04 - What it was like going from making products as a side hustle to having an actual brand and bringing ‘Nose Joy for Dogs’ to life.
27.07 - Exhibiting at Edition Dog Live and meeting her customers.
32.18 - What Kate has learned from growing very quickly and the importance of goal setting and forward planning.
35.50 - The importance of trusting your gut.
37.20 - What’s helped during the challenging times.
38.35 - Pets Get Visible review from Heather Stevens.
39.55 - Kate’s highlights from the last two years.
42.24 - The volume of products Kate is now sending out!
43.55 - The joys of getting videos of dogs enjoying her products.
45.12 - Why sharing your passion is important.
48.41 - How Kate feels about being visible now.
51.50 - What’s next for Kate.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Find out more about The Sniffer Shop: https://thesniffershop.co.uk/
Follow Kate on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesniffershop
Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesniffershop
Visit her dog training website: https://www.myhartdog.co.uk/
Kate trained with UK Sniffer Dogs - learn more here: https://www.uksnifferdogs.com/
Kate used Finbo Studio for her branding - check them out here: https://finbostudio.co.uk/
Further listening/reading
Building resilience as a pet professional with Andrew Hale
The importance of looking back to see how far you’ve come
Navigating the rollercoaster of running a business
Why community matters when you run your own business
Karen Rhodes on her lightbulb moment to launch Luxury Dog Hampers
