ļ»æTranscription
00:00:02
Hello and welcome to the Champagne Lounge. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Champagne Lounge podcast. Today I'm joined by the wonderful Rhiannon Beach, who I think has one of the best jobs in the world because she spends her days with four legged furry friends. Welcome to the show, Rhiannon. Thanks so much for having me, Rebecca.
00:00:22
It's great to be here. I absolutely, absolutely adore your business and following you online. So, in a nutshell, my love for me, I think you just spend your whole day running around chasing gorgeous little puppies, which I thoroughly love in my own life with my dog, but I'm sure it's a lot more than that in terms of running the business as big as you have it. So for everyone listening, tell us a little bit about you, your business and what got you to where you are today. Yeah, so I guess it's been a bit of a journey.
00:00:52
So the business has just celebrated 15 years this year, which was pretty exciting. So, yeah, I started the business in 2008 as just a sole operator, so I started walking a couple of dogs in between studying at university. So I worked just by myself and as I got a bit bigger, I had my brother and a couple of other people that were just doing some casual work for me. And then I guess even going back before then, I got the idea in year eleven, I had to do business class as part of my year eleven and twelve studies and had to write a business plan. And I used to walk home from college every day and see all the dogs in their backyard.
00:01:38
And the great Australian dream is we have a dog and we have a big backyard, right? Yes. But are we actually doing the things that we need to do to biologically fulfill those dogs? So I just thought, why not get out and start socializing and working with them? So, yeah, I ended up writing the business plan and my teacher at the time entered into a few different competitions, got a bit of traction, won a few competitions and I thought, well, why not have a go?
00:02:11
I'm 19, I've got nothing to lose. So went sort of all in and started the business and started my university degree at the same time in 2008. And within probably like six months I was just getting so busy that I ended up dropping part time at university. That was just to allow for more time to be with the dogs and also learn how to run a business. So I'd had one job before at a coffee shop and that was just to save money to start the business.
00:02:43
So I've always been business minded and always been entrepreneurial, but yeah, when you start bringing in team and learning all the different things and this is before the days of zero. It was in the days where Nyob had a file and you couldn't have it open while someone else had it open. So technology wasn't technology wasn't where it is today, know, spreadsheets and everything. So it was quite interesting, actually, to learn how that sort of progressed. And so sort of fast forward a few years, we offered, like, a dog walking and group we used to call play groups, like groups play service, where we'd pick up the dogs from their home, take them to well, at that point in time, it was my dad's courtyard for a bit of a structured walk and a play.
00:03:35
And then we went into dog parks once dog parks started being built in the act. And then we graduated onto having our own premises and our own locations. And now we look after about 1000 dogs per week in multiple locations. And our services include dog walking, dog Daycare, Puppy Daycare, puppy training, beginners training and dog grooming. So we do a bit of everything.
00:04:04
And so we went from sort of one person to now we have a team of 55 amazing people that have brought so much to the business over the years. That's amazing, that amount of growth in 15 years. And I honestly, baby, you and I talked about this when we were up in Queensland together at a conference a few months ago. I don't know how you handle 55 members of staff. That's the whole beast in itself, isn't it?
00:04:30
Yes, well, I think that's everyone always asks, what's the biggest challenge in business? And I mean, over the years I've had so many challenges. The first challenge I had was being sort of 19 and trying to be in business. And not only was it I was 19, I was female and I was in business, but I was also in a business that's super cute. A lot of people didn't take it as a genuine business.
00:04:58
Quite often I'd get the comments, oh, that's so cute. Like, what do you do full time? And there wasn't that, I guess, credibility for the industry. You started the business too, right. At a time where maybe Puppy Daycare and dog walking was seen as more of a luxury to some rather than right now, I know it's almost a necessity for people that have the dog and full time, but at the time of you starting, it would have almost been a bit of a novelty.
00:05:26
So I can see in it. Yeah, definitely. Well, at that time, I believe there was only one other daycare in Victoria at the time, so it was starting to get traction in America, but in Australia it was sort of like one of those things like are you know, who's going to pay their dog for their dog to go to daycare? But as you can tell, and as you mentioned, as we've become more reliant, I guess, almost on these services because we've got such a closer interaction like the pet care industry, I think when I started was around sort of 9 billion and that's the total pet care industry and I think in 2021. So not even accounting for the whole growth in COVID, it was worth over 14 billion.
00:06:08
So we've noticed a massive, massive growth. So that's one of my passions within business is to gain the traction and the credibility for the pet care industry and help people, consumers, but also other business people realize that it is a serious business and that it can have valid business opportunities, but also career paths for people that want to get into the industry. Very much so. And you mentioned there that there's been a lot of challenges along the way growing a business, regardless of what size it is or what type of business. There's always those learning curves what have been some of the big ones and lessons, the big lessons that you go oh yeah, I don't want to revisit that ever again.
00:06:53
I think it's continual. I think my biggest challenge has always been staff people. One of our mottos is we don't just love dogs, but we love people. I was a bit foolish when I went into this thinking that I would be playing with dogs all day. And the reason I didn't pursue my law degree, my law career, is because I thought, oh, maybe I'm not that passionate about working with people, I'm more passionate about working with dogs.
00:07:20
But it was very quick for me to realize the importance of people with working with the dogs and that people bring so much value, whether it be the clients. So if we look after 1000 dogs a week, there's at least one person attached to each one of those dogs. So that's 1000 clients that we have interactions with, plus the 55 people. So at this stage, where we're at most of the business is in relation to people and building relationships. So I think that is a forever challenge, I guess, that I work towards.
00:07:56
And it's a challenge, it's not one that I regret or don't enjoy, but it is something that it is difficult. I guess probably one of the biggest learning curves as well is learning how to scale, or when to scale, or if to scale. When you go from a smaller operator, you start investing money and time and building team and building infrastructure and getting to those sore points where it's growing, but you're spending a lot of money, but you're not seeing the profit or the revenue and knowing how far which are the big leaps to take and whether it's sort of worth it. So I think that's been a really interesting journey. And one of my biggest learning curves is understanding how to scale, when to scale and why is it important to scale, is it about being the biggest?
00:08:51
And for me it's not about being the biggest. But I needed to be able to have a business that could grant me the lifestyle that I wanted, but also provide the biggest impact on the industry and my community and the people and the staff that I genuinely really care about to create those career paths to get into that industry. Yeah. And there's two big questions here. I'm going to say both of them because they're going in different directions, so we'll have to come back to them.
00:09:19
But one of them is very much around that community factor right, in the people. And you probably couldn't have the business you have today without the people that come attached to the dogs. Right. So that whole community piece I want to dive deep on, but I'll say it now because I want to talk about also the importance of having the right people around you to help you make those decisions, because you're doing something and building something and have built something that other people hadn't even comprehended, even being a thing. Right.
00:09:46
So let's start with community and then go back to doing something completely unique and different and having the right people, because I think it will flow together. But you talk about the team as a community internally for you guys. I know the clients and your wider community are also there are several layers in how you operate within community, within people. How have you nurtured that? So that it is that community feel that everyone does feel that they're seen and supported and you're seen and supported by the outer community in the act area as well.
00:10:21
Yeah. So community has always been super important to me. So I know the challenges that I faced, for instance, when starting the business. So anything that I can do as I've grown or scaled to assist someone else to be able to get into the industry and to do that has been one of our priorities. So recently we started a sort of community based side of our business called the Canberra Dog Hub, which is a location where we've started a membership for both private and professional members.
00:10:53
So private members are members of the community that have dogs that may not be suitable to go to doggy daycare or may not be suitable to go to public dog parks, not because they're bad dogs, but they just might be a little bit reactive or don't want to have a big bunch of other dogs around. So we've provided a fenced in leashed sorry, fenced in area where they can run around and be free and stretch their legs safely without having to worry and their owners having to worry about coming across other dogs. And our professional memberships is in relation to other dog trainers or people that are offering services one on one, that can't afford to go and hire a big warehouse and lease a big warehouse or anything like that. So being able to provide a small low cost benefit to them so they can actually get into the market, but also provide, again, help our community, because some of the things we do offer, some of the things we don't. So the more people, the merrier, I believe.
00:11:55
So that's kind of from the business point of view, but then from our client point of view, community has been massive. We celebrated our 15th birthday with a big event, which was great, and it was such a reminder after 15 years how many clients that had still with us, so their dog may have passed away, they've got a second dog, they come back, even the people that hadn't got a new dog come and celebrate. They're very supportive and I think the reason for that is we have a common purpose and we have a goal as far as a business and for the team. And yet the community achieved the best outcome. It's more than just a business, obviously, when you're running a business, you have to draw the line and make sure that you're doing enough to be able to make profit, to maintain where your operations and everything, but to have that community factor.
00:12:55
And one of these examples that showed is the act government made some changes to the animal welfare legislation a few years back with great intent and trying to do as much as they can to help out animal welfare, which was excellent, but some of the changes obviously didn't have the same effect as what they were intending. One of these changes was a limitation on how many dogs could be taken into a public pace. And when these changes and amendments were open for consultation, I was blown away from the community. They ended up writing submission after submission because obviously we take a lot of dogs out in public, so we're quite renowned for doing these lineups around Canberra, in front of Parliament House and different places. And so the clients in the community got behind and said, if we stop that or if we disallow that, the impact on the dogs and animal welfare is going to be so extreme.
00:13:57
Because how much difference that this sort of service has made to not only their dogs, but the actual dog community itself. Like looking at Europe where dogs got in the trains, dogs everywhere in the cafes, and so moving towards that aspect of having a socially acceptable, good canine citizen. So being able to actually have them in public to do that was great. So they put all the submissions in and they essentially blocked the legislation, made this change. That's phenomenal that they've all got behind you without, I suppose without even you necessarily asking them to get behind that, because this goes to show the testament of what you're actually creating and doing within the community on so many levels, which is just mind blowingly amazing, right?
00:14:50
It's a phenomenal thing to have created. The Champagne Lounge isn't just a podcast, it's an instant digital community for ambitious businesswomen and entrepreneurs like you, wanting more connection. Community and celebration. So wherever you are in the world, whatever stage of business you're at, if you're looking for that ultimate female cheer squad of like minded women, head over to thechampainlounge.com to come and join us.
00:15:19
One of the things that I did say I wanted to talk to you about was that jumping through different areas of business and knowing when to jump, when to stop, when to scale, when to not, you created something and you have created something that not many people would have thought was possible. Or even going from, oh, that's a nice kind of hobby thing, to having scaled massively over 15 years, where have you bought in the support for you in Navigating, the business decisions as a business owner? Yeah, so obviously I spend a lot of time and money on sort of personal investment. So I've had mentors over the years that have helped me to work out where I want to go. And my first mentor actually was his name's Matt Bullock, and was the CEO and founder of a previous business called Eway.
00:16:13
So he ended up growing that business and on selling that. And it was quite a large It tech based business, which was totally different to a service based, local community business. However, by having that sort of mentorship to know that the sky's the limit and if you want to design it, you can use different things to bring in to make that work. And I think that having those and then since then, obviously, I've been part of a whole bunch of different masterminds. Even meeting people like yourself, being able to share ideas and share things that work, don't work, little tips on how to move things smoother and stuff.
00:17:02
So I really think that building within the business community is super important. And that's only been possible for me for the last few years. For the first few years of business, it was super lonely. I didn't know what I was doing. I was young, I'd go to these business networking meetings, and most people were middle aged men that really sort of didn't relate to me and didn't really take me seriously.
00:17:30
So I put that aside and I said, it doesn't really matter, I'm here to learn. But I think that now we're in a really great space in business where we can get together, share ideas, everyone's there to help each other, cheer each other on. And it's just made a huge lot of difference. I think that the growth that we've had significantly in the business over the last two years has been massive and it was the fastest, quickest growth. And I don't think without the supports of the people, obviously my team and the clients, but from a business sense, from the community around me, I wouldn't be able to get through it.
00:18:10
Sometimes without that support, it feels like that anyway. But it's made it much easier because you can bounce ideas and go, okay, should I be doing this? Do you have any ideas? I'm stuck here and I think that that's just excellent. So that's one of my passions, is being part of the groups where I can and I know that sometimes people get busy and can't always be there for everyone, but I think that's one of my goals, if I can share something because I know how lonely the business journey can be sometimes.
00:18:41
So if I can learn or share anything that can help anyone, I think that that's super important. I couldn't agree more. It's why the communities that we're in exist, right? It's why the Champagne Lounge exists to the drop in dropout sort of BFF on speed dial comes from, is because you're right, you can't be all things to all people and you can't be around all the time, every single week or every single month. But to be able to be in a group where you can jump in when it suits you and possibly help someone or just put a tipbed out or just share an idea or a lesson and it can mean the world to someone else, that's in that conversation.
00:19:17
So I love that you've articulated that so well. And you're right, business can be lonely, right, without the people. So communities for us as business owners, but also in building the communities that we find our businesses thriving in. Now, Rhiannon, I can't let you leave the podcast episode today without asking you my one big final question. How do you celebrate the successes that you have in business?
00:19:42
And I know you talked about your 15 years and you had a nice event and it was fabulous and everyone came, but as business owners, we're constantly striving next, next. And I know that you've got some phenomenal awards you've won over the years and you're striving to do different things within the community and growing more. How are you navigating or marking, I should say, the milestones that you're wanting to get to? And how do you celebrate those things along the way? That's something that I can always be better on.
00:20:11
So one of our values within the business is we celebrate wins. We do that through a lot of our day to day operations and having mini celebrations within the teams and making sure that we're really doing that. And I find sometimes it's like you said, you chase the next best thing, tick that's done, move to the next best thing. I find I do every opportunity that I get. When if I'm nominated for award or have the opportunity to partake in that, I find that is a super good way to pause and reflect.
00:20:46
Of course, you shouldn't have to wait to that stage, but sometimes and previous to the last couple of years before the major growth, I was a lot better at the celebrating the wins because there was a little bit more pause time, but most of the time I try and encourage personally myself to I love to travel. It's one of my passions and obviously having a service based business in one location makes that a little bit difficult. That's one way that I celebrate and then be able to move on, recharge and go for the next. And then, yeah, within the business we do a lot of team building. We had this amazing event at the start of the year where we got all the team.
00:21:30
We hired a bunch of what they call go boats on the lake, set up little challenges and had little whole big day planned. So it's really enjoyable to do the team building, but also the celebration of how far everyone's come and everyone's impact. Because although, yes, I started this business and I'm in it as a sole sort of director, but I've had hundreds of people over the years that are the team and I couldn't do that without them. And they have so much impact on creating such a great service and help me pursue my dreams as well about trying to validate the industry. So I think it's always really important to try and celebrate with them as well.
00:22:21
So much so. And I love that it's part of what you do internally, right, is celebrating the wins because we couldn't do it without the teams and the people around us. So to acknowledge that for them, I think is phenomenal to have it written and within the culture of the business, but also the travel for you, because travel does recharge, recharges, resets and can be a really great thing to unleash the creativity for the next phase of business, which is always fun. Thank you so much for coming on today's show. I've loved it.
00:22:52
Your business journey is so inspiring and I cannot wait to see the next phase of what you do in the community and I'll make sure that all the links to your work and to your socials is all going to be in the show notes. So thank you so much for coming on the show and spending the morning with me. Thanks so much, Rebecca. I love it and I just love the Champagne Lounge and I think that that for itself based on this community is super important. I can't wait to see where you take it.
00:23:18
Thank you, my love. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Champagne Lounge podcast. If you'd love to be part of our thriving global community, head over to thechampainlounge.com to join us.
