THE DOGCO SCALING MASTERMIND · 2027 ENROLLMENT IS OPEN
Helping pet care business owners build the business, and life, they want.
A year-long implementation program for team-based pet care companies ready to improve profit, leadership, and operational freedom as they scale.
Enrollment opens October 2026 for the January 2027 cohort.
Do you feel you are working harder for less?
You built a team for your pet care business because you wanted more out of your business.
But often times, the opposite ends up happening.
You hired people to get work off your plate, and found a whole new kind of work waiting for you.
And so: even though the company grew, too much of it still runs through you.
Often times, owners then try even harder to grow. Adding more clients. Better or more expensive marketing. Another hire. A manager. Higher prices. A new system.
Sometimes these solutions are exactly right.
But sometimes it just adds to the noise.
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DogCo Launch’s Scaling Mastermind is the room that helps you identify the biggest problem and ways to tackle it.
This is for you if:
you have a team, but the business still depends heavily on you
revenue exists, but profit and owner freedom are inconsistent
you want structured implementation with accountability, not a passive online course
The DogCo Scaling Loop
We start with your numbers and fix what's actually in the way
We don't hand every company the same fix. We find what's actually holding yours back, and work on things in the right order.
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Measure
What's actually happening?
Real numbers, not gut feelings. What you bring in, what you keep, what your team costs, who's staying, and how much of it lands on you.
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Diagnose
What's holding us back right now?
The loudest problem usually isn't the real one.
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Fix
What needs to change?
Fix the one thing that's in the way. Not everything at once.
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Stabilize
Did it work, and will it stick?
A change only counts once it keeps working without you pushing it along.
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Grow
What can the business handle now?
You made room. Now use it: more clients, more staff, more time off.
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Repeat
What's in the way now?
What worked at $300k may not work at $600k. So we start over and look again.
Growing isn't a checklist you finish once. It's something you learn to do over and over, as your company changes.
What is the DogCo Scaling Mastermind?
The DogCo Scaling Mastermind is an intensive scaling program for pet care business owners to learn the skills needed to grow their companies and thrive as leaders.
Companies join in January and spend the year working on the business instead of buried in it - tightening operations, getting honest with their numbers, building lead flow that shows up whether or not you are posting that week, and hiring in a way that actually repeats.
You are not doing it alone and you are not doing it from a course library. All calls are live (with recordings available after) and you get a room full of owners running the same kind of company you are.
This is real business education for people who own a pet care company, built by someone who owned one.
The program is designed for pet care businesses that have already put a team in place.
Who’s in the room?
DogCo Launch works exclusively with team-based pet care companies - primarily pet sitting and dog walking - with a desire to grow and scale sustainably.
We have tested this content with businesses that staff 3 staff members up 60+, with revenue figures up to $2 million a year and are confident that our content is applicable to in-home pet care businesses of all sizes.
Even with the variety of the room, you will also be grouped with other businesses similar to size and stage as you so participants can overcome challenges together that you all resonate with.
Together, we are elevating the industry.
DogCo By The Numbers
of clients said they'd recommend DogCo to others in the industry
pet care companies DogCo has worked with since it's inception
of client companies reported revenue up in the first 8 months of the program
of clients reported higher profit
in the first 8 months of the Mastermind. Nearly half of those are up more than 10%.Revenue figures from our member survey, September 2026. Results vary by company and by what each owner implements.
Growth does not fix an inefficient business. It amplifies it.
Most owners think the fix to their problems is more clients. Usually, the real problem is something else.
More leads can't fix a business that isn't ready for growth.
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What it looks like
"We need more clients."
What it often turns out to be
You're losing the clients you already have
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What it looks like
"We need to raise prices."
What it often turns out to be
Your team costs are eating the profit
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What it looks like
"I need a manager."
What it often turns out to be
Nobody's written down how the work gets done yet
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What it looks like
"Marketing isn't working."
What it often turns out to be
People are calling, they're just not booking
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What it looks like
"I don't have enough time."
What it often turns out to be
Too much still runs through you
We help you identify your problems and build the systems to fix it before you pour the fuel for growth.
Four things we're working toward
Year 1 of the DogCo Scaling Mastermind helps you build a company that makes more money, runs smoother, needs you less, and has room to grow.
More Money
Money you keep, not just money you bring in.
We look at your numbers together and find where money is slipping out, like what each visit really costs you once you pay your team. Bringing in more is only good if more of it stays.
A Business That Runs Better
Growing shouldn't mean more chaos.
How new clients get set up. How visits get covered. How your team knows what to do. When these work, problems stop landing on you at 9pm.
Less of It On You
Hiring people doesn't always mean less work for you.
We find the stuff that still runs through you when it doesn't have to, and get it off your plate. The goal isn't for you to disappear. It's that the company can keep going when you step away.
More Room to Grow
A stronger business gives you more choices.
More clients. Better hires. A new town. More time off. Once the business underneath is solid, you get to pick what comes next instead of just hanging on.
MEET DOGCO LAUNCH FOUNDER
Michelle Kline
Michelle scaled her pet care company to 25 team members from 2017–2023 before profitably selling it at a 2.8x multiple. Now, she’s on a mission to help other pet care business owners grow and scale, and to pull the best of the industry together to build it together.
With the DogCo Scaling Mastermind, Michelle brings together top players in the pet care industry to help companies grow their top-line revenue and increase net profits, all while protecting the owner’s work-life balance.
In the DogCo Scaling Mastermind, we pull together the core components of what we believe companies need to create effective change in their companies.
These components include:
Strategy. Weekly teaching, implementation and quarterly goal setting.
Accountability. Success Leaders, matched groups, accountability partners and the owner community.
Expertise. Specialists in profit, hiring, retention, marketing, sales, data, AI and productivity.
Systems. SOPs, ProcessBuilder AI, challenges, CRM, snapshots and templates.
Company Development. Support that reaches your managers and your team, not just you.
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With DogCo, you aren't just joining a coaching program. You're plugging your company into an ecosystem built to help you thrive, not just survive.
How DogCo Works
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Each week, Founder Michelle Kline leads live content on scaling your pet care company. These frameworks alternate between marketing and operations skills that have been tested across 300 companies to drive results and impact in pet care businesses.
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Every teaching session is followed by dedicated time to start applying it inside your company. These a working 60 minute session with Michelle Kline to test strategies in your specific company and get individualized feedback.
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Mastermind participants get access to the operational model that Michelle Kline used in her pet care business, which she ran absentee owner. Our SOP library includes over 400 pages of pet care business specific documents: written by hand, not by AI.
The expansive document library includes everything from training manuals for team members and managers to position descriptions to onboarding documents.
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Participating companies are paired with a DogCo Success Leader upon entry into the program. Success Leaders are former graduates that are now on the DogCo Team to support new clients and help guide their growth throughout the year. Accountability Groups are a small group of DogCo enrollees who are matched on company size, stage, goals and complexity. In these groups, you will not have any competitors so you’ll be able to be open & honest about what you’re working on.
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Want more accountability? We'll match you with another business owner who fits where you are and where you're headed.
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Meet with your Success Leader every quarter to review progress, clarify priorities and set your next 90 day goals and strategies.
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Mastermind participants have access to a private online community with other participating pet care companies to learn and grow with each other on a daily basis.
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Office Hours are one-hour Zoom calls offered throughout the week, hosted in turn by DogCo Coaches Robert Strickland (AI & Automation), Doug Keeling (Hiring & Retention), and Corinne Moore (Financial Literacy & Profit), Lauren Dunkle (Data Integration & Strategy), Dave Peterson (Sales), Maris Miller-Sonnabend (Marketing & Brand) and Collin Funkhouser (Workflow & Productivity), plus the occasional surprise guest in specialty topic areas.
All Mastermind participants are welcome to join these calls to ask questions, listen to others, and learn from industry experts.
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Every DogCo coach has one additional resource to help members implement in their area of expertise. This resource is distributed at the start of the year and is here to help your company implement their topic area more deeply.
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Access to CRM software (Go High Level) is included with Mastermind enrollment at no additional cost. Go High Level is a powerful, all-in-one marketing solution to manage lead flow and nurture clients.
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DogCo Launch has partnered with Pawsome Metrics to provide access to 30 spreadsheet templates designed to help track data and metrics, create more visibility, and go deeper with reporting.
The creator of the templates, Corinne Moore, is a DogCo Partner and is available during Office Hours each week to answer questions and provide support.
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Mastermind participants get access to a staff training on Dog Body Language & Handling to support team safety in the field.
Mastermind participants are able to access this training for unlimited team members through the year.
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If you’re ready to sell your pet care business or to acquire another business, you’ll have access to a Buy-Sell Network where you can list your company or see others for purchase.
Please note: there are additional fees associated with listing your company and for engaging in the purchasing process.
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A development space for your admin and management team, built for skills, leadership and retention.
The DogCo Manager Community is a no-cost private community for managers, admin, and leadership in your company to help provide them with more specific training through DogCo and to help them build peer community.
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Early access, member pricing & a ticket to the VIP night!
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Go High Level onboarding videos and Snapshots by Robert Strickland
30-day Marketing Challenges with Michelle Kline
Additional webinars, content, and courses by Michelle Kline through the year
Guest content and speakers
Tech Tutorials
Early access and special ticket pricing for the 2026 DogCo Business Summit conference
Everything included in your enrollment
DogCo is excited to announce industry partnerships with other industry softwares and vendors for 2027.
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Current DogCo clients receive a 15% discount off of their insurance if they are an active client at the time of renewal.
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Members will have access to pre-built PPC tools and shortcuts that allow you to operate more quickly and seamlessly within DogCo methodologies. These shortcuts will allow ease of access to the information already existing inside of the platform with DogCo recommended reports and strategies at your fingertips.
PPC is removing the manual side of the data set up in PPC reporting through DogCo presets. Giving you easier access to visibility alongside the DogCo coaching strategies and implementations.
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Current DogCo Clients receive special pricing with TinyPaws Bookkeeping services.
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Maventri is a fractional HR service that works within the pet care industry. For our 2027 programming, Maventri will be offering:
Group Question & Answer Sessions
Two 1-hour meetings per month - This call will focus on pre-submitted questions from members who have signed up to join the session.
Topical Newsletter
Monthly newsletter - Each month an email newsletter is distributed that discusses a pertinent topic with resource information
Special Pricing on Additional Support
Discounted Hourly Consulting pricing - Hourly rate discounted from $175 to $125 per hour
This support line will be an additional cost of $75 a month, but clients are not required to utilize the service and are not locked into a specific length of time. It is just a resource available, if helpful.
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For our 2027 programming, DogCo is partnering with Arden Moore, creator of “Pet First Aid 4 U.” Companies in DogCo will receive special rates on online staff trainings for Pet First Aid & CPR, with flexible options for purchasing individual trainings for a small discount or exploring a bulk purchase for a larger discount.
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Critter, a marketing platform in the pet care industry, is offering DogCo Members special pricing, in the form of:
Grow Tier: usually $149, offered to DogCo clients for $129Pro Tier: usually $349, offered to DogCo clients for $299.
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Discovered Hiring Platform is offering special rates and pricing to DogCo members for 2026. Additionally, they have created a free job board for DogCo companies to promote open positions across the DogCo client base.
Schedule Your Scaling Audit
DogCo Coaches
DogCo Launch is proud to partner with pet care industry experts to enhance the DogCo Scaling Mastermind experience. Mastermind participants can connect with DogCo Coaches at weekly Office Hours and have access to exclusive content in the DogCo classrooms
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ROBERT STRICKLAND
AI, TECH, & AUTOMATION SPECIALIST
With over 18 years of experience in the pet care industry, Robert Strickland is an entrepreneur and automation strategist dedicated to helping pet business owners streamline operations, save time, and scale effectively.
As the founder of NextLevel Pet Businesses, Robert leads a community of pet care professionals, providing guidance on leveraging automation, AI, and technology to enhance client experiences and maximize efficiency.
In addition to coaching and consulting, Robert owns and operates a successful pet sitting and dog walking business, giving him firsthand insight into the challenges pet care professionals face.
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DOUG KEELING
HIRING & RETENTION SPECIALIST
Doug Keeling runs an award-winning pet care company and is an industry-leading speaker and business coach specializing in hiring and retention.
As the creator of The Pawsitive Hiring Course, Doug helps pet care business owners build their dream teams. The course includes lessons on preparing to hire, navigating a multi-step hiring process, and managing and retaining team members.
Doug can also be found on YouTube as “Doug the Dog Guy,” a leading YouTuber in the pet sitting and dog walking industry with over 8,000 subscribers.
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CORINNE MOORE
FINANCIAL LITERACY & PROFIT
Corinne knows pet care finances from both sides of the desk. She spent 7 years as the owner of Paws and Claws Pet Service in Wisconsin, and today she's a bookkeeper at a firm that serves only pet care businesses. Corinne is currently working toward her CPA license, with accounting coursework underway at UW–Stevens Point.
She recently founded Everjade, which builds tools made specifically for pet care owners, and she's the creator of the Pawsome Metrics spreadsheets you’ll see in DogCo. As DogCo's Data & Metrics coach last year, she worked with dozens of owners to make sense of their numbers. Now she helps owners master the fundamentals of finance: reading a P&L, managing cash flow, and knowing what their business can afford. Her style is plain-language and judgment-free and her goal is that everybody understands where their business’s money goes.
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COLLIN FUNKHOUSER
WORKFLOW & PRODUCTIVITY
Collin helps pet care business owners stop running their companies out of their heads. Most owners aren't short on ideas, they're short on a system for turning those ideas into finished projects while the daily fires keep burning.
His approach comes from his training as a scientist. During his graduate work in biology, Collin learned to define the outcome first, isolate what matters, and let results drive the next decision. He coaches owners to run their businesses the same way: prioritize what actually moves the needle, break big initiatives into work that gets done, and protect time for the important things so they stop losing to the urgent ones.
Collin co-owns Funky Bunch Pet Care with his wife, Meghan, serving central and southwest Missouri since 2012. He also co-hosts Pet Sitter Confessional, a podcast for pet care business owners with more than 740 episodes.
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MARIS MILLER-SONNABEND
MARKETING & BRAND
Maris is the founder of House of Paws Pet Care in St. Louis, where she has grown the company from a one-woman operation into a team of 40+ staff in just five years.
With a background in marketing and brand strategy, Maris helps pet care business owners clarify who they are, say it consistently, and turn local visibility into booked clients. She focuses on the practical side of brand: positioning, messaging, offers, and the marketing systems that keep new clients coming in without constant hustle.
At DogCo, Maris coaches owners through building a brand that actually holds up as the business scales, from first impression to repeat client.
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LAUREN DUNKLE
DATA & INSIGHTS STRATEGIST
Lauren Dunkle is the owner of The Pet Lady, Ltd., a professional dog walking company serving Chicago’s western suburbs since 1991. Since taking over in 2015, Lauren has developed a passion for using client and business data to make smarter, more strategic decisions.
As DogCo’s Data & Insights Strategist, Lauren helps pet care business owners understand the numbers that actually matter. Her focus isn’t just on tracking data; it’s on understanding what that data tells you and turning those insights into practical action.
Her philosophy is simple: you don’t have to be a “numbers person” to use your data well.
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DAVE PETERSON
SALES
Dave Peterson is the owner of Bethesda Dog Walkers, an award-winning pet care company serving hundreds of client households with a team of professional employees.
After acquiring Bethesda Dog Walkers in 2024, Dave rebuilt the company’s sales and onboarding systems, growing monthly recurring revenue 4X in one year while shortening the onboarding process from weeks to hours.
As DogCo’s Sales Coach, Dave helps pet care business owners turn more inquiries into long-term recurring clients through better offers, faster follow-up, and a simple, question-led sales process.
Coach’s Bonuses
Every year, the DogCo Coaches offer an exclusive bonus to the DogCo Launch Client Base that they can’t receive from their teachings elsewhere.
Check out our Coaches Offers below - you’ll receive access at the start of the program in January, if you enroll!
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Quarterly reset workshops: “The Quarterly Personal Retreat is a two-hour guided virtual workshop that gives DogCo members space to step back, reflect, and make an intentional plan for the next 90 days. You’ll take stock of what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and where your time and energy would be best spent. You’ll leave with 1–3 clear priorities, a realistic quarterly plan, and your first steps on the calendar—with time to think and plan built into the session.”
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An expanded version of her Pawsome Metrics Spreadsheets, with Precise Pet Care versions of spreadsheets that could not previously be run.
Plus, a Financial Dashboard - Personalized to Companies with their data!
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"The Meet & Greet Method" E-book and a DogCo Sales Course with pre-filmed lessons!
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The Pawsitive Hiring Course - helping companies grow their teams! Additionally, Doug has included DogCo exclusive offerings:
NEW for 2027: Leadership & Retention Training — The Pawsitive Hiring Course has been expanded beyond finding and hiring great employees. Doug is adding brand-new lessons designed to help you successfully lead the team you worked so hard to build.
Hiring the right people is only half the battle. Keeping them is where great pet care companies are built. In the new Pawsitive Hiring Course lessons, you'll learn how to lead and retain the team you worked hard to find!
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Data Course for DogCo Clients: “Tracking Data for Your Pet Care Business and Setting Up Strategic Insights & Strategy for Your Company”
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DogCo Brand Builder (Brand Positioning training + resource to build prompt for bot) + DogCo Brand Building Training with Maris!
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Robert is doing a full tutorial on using Claude to implement automations in a pet business, and he's sharing four of them you can build yourself.
The whole build is shown on screen. You follow along and end up with working systems.
■ Payroll. Claude logs into his booking software, pulls the reports, calculates what everyone is owed, checks mileage entries for errors, and uploads to his payroll processor.
■ Client success stories. Generated weekly from your visit reports. These are real moments from real visits, which gives your marketing a kind of authenticity you can't write from scratch, and they're ready to drop onto social media or your website.
■ Visit report monitoring. Many businesses spend a lot of time reviewing client visit reports, and this makes it fully automated. Claude reads every report and alerts management immediately when something needs attention, whether that's an emergency, an incomplete report, or a client who isn't happy.
■ Google Analytics. Reviewed automatically each month with specific steps to improve your Google rankings.
Client Experiences
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Laura Nelson
“When I joined the program, I was operating a pet sitting and dog walking business that ran around the clock, seven days a week. The biggest area DogCo supported me with was transitioning my entire business model to a Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. recurring dog walking model. Not only did I receive support in making that transition, but I also maintained the revenue I was making while offering pet sitting and increased my profit margins! As a result, I'm paying myself more while operating my business in a fraction of the time I used to.
In my experience, coaching has been the best investment I've made in my business. Not only did my ROI exceed my expectations, but this program also gave me so much time back with my family, which, in my opinion, is priceless.”
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Angela Watts
“Working with Michelle through DogCo has genuinely changed my life and my business. When we started in January 2025, I was exhausted and buried in the day to day. Michelle helped me step back, see the big picture, learn how to delegate, and build a business that supports both our clients and my own well being.”
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MaryBeth Benton
“What I found inside DogCo was a group of leaders who genuinely care about helping you build a healthy business that works for you, along with a community of people who are more aligned with me and my experiences than I imagined.
Since joining at the beginning of the year a few highlights are: our profit margin has grown by 6%, our labor costs are down 15%, I made the big decision to transition from ICs to employees, and I'm setting my team up to support the growth that will come from new marketing strategies I'm excited to implement.
I'm so grateful to be part of such a supportive community and can't wait to see what the future holds.”
If you want to grow with the pet care industry, now is the time to get in the room with other companies that are dedicated to raising the bar.
Who is this for?
DogCo Launch works exclusively with team-based pet care companies with a desire to grow and scale sustainably.
You are a fit if:
You have at least one staff member
You are the constraint in your own business and you know it
You want a bigger business, not a bigger job
You are willing to do the work for a full year
You are not a fit if:
You are a solo walker or sitter with no team
You are looking for tactics to try rather than a year of structural work
You want someone to do it for you
you are a member of a franchise, as we are only able to work with independently owned pet care locations
Not quite there yet? Check out our podcast and free Facebook group.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Eligible Mastermind participants are team-based pet care providers that are ready to dedicate themselves to a year of intentional growth.
You may be more ready than you think! During open enrollment, you can schedule a consultation to learn more and discuss whether it’s the right time for you.
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DogCo accepts new clients into the Mastermind once a year. The enrollment period opens in the fall and the program launches in January.
If you choose not to enroll during the current enrollment period, you will not have another chance until the following fall.
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You don’t—and that is what makes it worth doing anyways.
Any program guaranteeing specific results in your business should give you pause. Your Mastermind results are 100% determined by your efforts throughout the year.
DogCo Launch provides the resources, guidance, and support that can help you grow your business when implemented with intention and dedication.
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DogCo Mastermind is a 12 month program. Participants that actively engage for the full year get the most out of the program.
However, we understand that flexibility is necessary sometimes, and it is never our intention to force anyone to remain in the program if it’s not a good fit for them.
This is why we offer two payment plans:
Monthly
Participants are required to complete the first 90 days of the program. A 30-day notice is required to withdraw.Pay-in-full
Participants who pre-pay for the full year receive a discount. Discounted items are nonrefundable.
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DogCo Launch gives the option for all Mastermind participants to have a Go High Level account to serve as a CRM. Go High Level is a tool for businesses to collect and nurture client leads and streamline marketing, used by over 1 million companies to date. Clients are not required to use this software, but are encouraged to if it aligns with their strategic goals.
Please note: A Go High Level account is included with DogCo Mastermind enrollment, but Go High Level does charge additional fees for some features (text message marketing, for example). Companies are responsible for any additional fees incurred through the Go High Level platform if they choose to opt in to these features.
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During your discovery call, we cover the information you need to make an informed decision about joining the program. We’ll discuss your company, your goals, and you. We will also discuss pricing and terms of enrollment to make sure you have clarity on the investment.
We require a discovery call for 2 reasons:1. It’s the best way for us to make sure you truly do have all the information you need to make the right decision for you.
2. We are also assessing you. Because we do not require a 12-month contract on this program, we only accept business owners who we believe are going to be a good fit and who we believe we have the tools to help. We assess for culture fit for DogCo (gotta be honest — we have to like the idea of working with you, because a year is a long time). The phone call is our chance to make sure the partnership is a good fit for us, too.
If you…
want to see meaningful change in your business
feel stuck, burnt out, or discouraged with growing your pet care business
want to be at the forefront of the industry as it grows and scales
…then schedule your Scaling Audit call with our team and see how DogCo can help.
Different Results
Require Different Actions.
Still not sure if DogCo is the right fit for you?
We want to hear what would actually be life changing for you and your business, and then we'll tell you honestly whether we're the ones to help you build it. Our Scaling Audit call is non-obligational and regardless of if you decide to join us or not, you will leave with a clearer idea of your next steps to level up your business.