Today we’d like to introduce you to Allegra Kaough.
Hi Allegra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2011, I moved to Austin to volunteer as an assistant researcher in UT Austin’s Department of Evolutionary Psychology. This experience made me realize that I loved reading the findings but didn’t enjoy conducting the research. The day I turned down a spot at graduate school, completely lost and unsure what I would do with my life, I went for a hike. On the trail I ran into a woman with ten dogs who eventually gave me a job, then encouraged me to branch out on my own, which was another terrifying moment that I pushed through. It took almost a year of working two extra jobs, but my dog care business, The Naked Dog was off the ground! I started by offering a hiking service, where I took a group of dogs to Austin’s off leash trails every weekday. I eventually hired an amazing woman who helped me grow the hiking pack. I loved my years on the trails, but I wanted to share what I learned with more dog owners so I added private training to our menu. This eventually grew into group classes and an eCourse. During COVID, we closed our hiking program. Instead of helping that one group of dogs a lot, I wanted to do more for the dogs and owners that needed to know what I knew so they could have the best life together. Today we are shifting into sharing more videos, including a course I put together this winter when I rescued a dog in Mexico on your first two weeks with a new dog.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I look back on my nine years in business, it feels smooth, but the journey was certainly full of highs and lows and twists and turns. In the beginning, I turned down a handful of potential clients because the dog wasn’t a fit for the service or because they lived out of my service area. This was a great gift from my mentor at the time – don’t take a client you don’t want for the sake of having a client! Over the years, I have learned to determine what clients are a great fit for us and what are the early signs someone isn’t. I have learned that it just isn’t worth the money a service brings in or risking a bad review to ignore red flags. It has to feel like a great fit to both parties, not just the client. I have learned when to trust my gut and say no. I think this can be tricky and counter intuitive for new business owners, so heed this wisdom! Having no client is better than having an unhappy one.
Even though I had done three apprenticeships with different dog trainers over the course of two years, when I set out on my own, I still didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I literally used to pray when I was out with the dogs “please don’t let me quit before I figure this out.” It was so humbling and a little scary. I think this is the place a lot of entrepreneurs drop off because the ego hit of being out of your comfort zone is so painful and I’m grateful I had a newfound spiritual framework from a 12 steps program to help me get through this stage.
Even though I’m extraordinarily skilled at the ‘dog training’ part of my dog training business, learning the business end was a whole other challenge. I put off tasks that scared me like building a website, setting up a CRM, putting my eCourse on a learning platform much longer than I wish I had. I was so lucky to eventually find a coach that held my hand through that process and listened to me whine. My takeaway is that it’s worth the money to hire someone to do those things instead of trying to do them myself.
I have also had more than a few unhelpful coaches along the way. While I was very clear about what I was looking for, I’ve encountered some amazing salesmen who didn’t deliver and it took me a while to figure out what I was and wasn’t getting out of it. I’ve also learned to make contracts with everyone I work with, even if they are a friend or a friend of a friend. That blanket policy has been helpful: there are no exceptions to there being no exceptions. Finally, I have gotten some really bad advice from well-intentioned business owning friends. In the end, that was a great lesson to listen to my gut instead of my more successful or experienced peers. I think something slightly different is true for all of us based on our strengths and experience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Naked Dog teaches people how to better understand their dogs and build a happy, healthy relationship. We are balanced trainers who are experts in dog communication and body language. We believe that if we teach humans to ‘speak dog’ they can communicate much more easily. Instead of using treats to bribe your dog, we address our client’s dog training challenge holistically, building the type of relationship where your dog trusts and wants to listen to you. I’m proud of all the information we give away for free. There are articles on our site and we are building a YouTube library. We share tips on Instagram and Facebook. I am so passionate about helping people to better understand their dogs so they can love them better!
Our eCourse is a great starting point. No matter what your training challenge is, the eCourse will help you to address the foundation your relationship is built on. Often the problem we think we are having is actually the symptom of a totally unrelated behavior that doesn’t bother us as much. By doing our eight weeks ‘boot camp’ program, you can shift your relationship and get closer to creating the dog of your dreams.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have been very lucky for sure! To work with dogs in Austin has been a perfect fit for a business. I also feel like I have created my own luck. From getting my first client to finding my amazing first hire, I have put what I want out into the world. To find new clients, I would go around town hanging flyers in every coffee shop I could. If we had a client drop out unexpectedly over the years, instead of being nervous about the bottom line that month I would go put out flyers and post online, knowing in the back of my mind our new client wouldn’t find us that way, but by doing something I was putting good energy out into the universe. Someone always showed up through one avenue or another!
In the discussion of good and bad luck, I think it’s important to remember that failures, big and small, are a part of any venture, but especially business. I’ve had bad luck, I made mistakes, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and the business kept moving forward regardless of where we were at. Eventually, enough momentum was built and I could stop pushing. Life still comes and I could think of certain changes as setbacks, but life will always come even if I play it all perfectly. Being ‘good’ at business is as much about being resilient as anything else.
Pricing:
- eCourse $150
- 2 Week Board and Train $3000
Contact Info:
- Email: admin@thenakeddogaustin.com
- Website: www.thenakeddogaustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenakeddog/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNakedDog/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO1tLn-GvTrhAqQJ6J4JhEQ
