1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,080 Welcome back, pet parent. Today's episode is going to be a 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,000 fun one. No matter if you are a pet 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,280 parent or if you're in the industry or wherever you're 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:15,160 coming from, if you have pets, this is going to be a super fun 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,560 episode to listen to. Tony Schlasky is back on the 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,120 podcast with me. We're doing a swap because this 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:30,440 is about Omni channel sellers, brands selling both in Indy pet 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:36,240 on their website, often times in big box stores, lots of 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,840 different places, third party sellers, Amazon, TikTok, all the 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:45,960 places and how that not only effects their brand, how it 11 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:50,360 affects sales through all of these channels, but also how it 12 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,720 affects you as a pet parent looking to do better for your 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,120 pet. We're also going to talk about 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,360 global. We're going to talk about how 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,800 that plays into Super Zoo, which I'm so looking forward to this 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,240 year. And just a little bit about us 17 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,840 and the things that we see and notice in the pet space. 18 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,800 Super fun conversation. I can't wait for you to hear it. 19 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:22,840 So here we go. Welcome to the Pet Parenting 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,400 Reset podcast. If you're new here, my name is 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,840 Jess and this is a space where we talk about all things health, 22 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,600 span, and quality of life for your pets and you too. 23 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,840 I'm so excited that you're here. Let's dive in. 24 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,640 So Tony, how the heck are you? First of all, I'm so excited to 25 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:54,480 have you. I'm good, good. 26 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,040 We were kind of riffing a little bit before we hit record. 27 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,000 But the reason that I asked you back on was because of an 28 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,440 article that came out in this Pets Plus magazine. 29 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:12,240 And I think this is this is both a good topic for it's it's a 30 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:17,320 good topic for industry, it's a good topic for indie pet store 31 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,600 owners and staff. It's also a good, in my opinion, 32 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,240 a good topic to talk to pet parents about. 33 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,520 So I think this kind of covers pretty much anybody that would 34 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,720 be listening to either one of our shows. 35 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,240 I agree. And I think we both have a 36 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,120 combination of all of those listeners, right? 37 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,840 Yes, I think so. And what's really so the the 38 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:50,440 topic is brands that are Omni channel, meaning that they are 39 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,720 selling in Indy pet stores, they're selling on their own 40 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,640 website, they're probably selling on 3rd party sites as 41 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:58,960 well. So when we think of, you know, 42 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:05,040 Chewy or Amazon, TikTok even, and then some of them might also 43 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:11,120 be in big box stores. So it's a it's a pretty big 44 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,320 topic, quite honestly. And one of the interesting, one 45 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,360 of the things that made it even more interesting for me, even 46 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,080 though I'm very much into promoting indie pet stores. 47 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,440 I think it's, it's something that we just in in our little 48 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,920 like sub niche. I think we need to be promoting 49 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:35,120 this as much as possible and we can get into the reasons why. 50 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,200 But, and you may not know this, I actually recently started an 51 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,400 online store. Oh, just in re progression of 52 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,920 everything that I'm doing. I don't carry a whole lot of 53 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,560 things. It started for me and I'll just 54 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,160 this. So this is kind of back story 55 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,000 for you so that we can move forward in the conversation. 56 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,480 It started for me with just my own personal like clients that I 57 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,680 have working with health coaching and nutrition 58 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,680 consultations and the things that I'm recommending to them. 59 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,360 I'm sending them to 10 different websites to buy them. 60 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,920 You know, my, my first, the first thing I always tell them 61 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:11,920 is if you can get it locally, get it locally. 62 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,240 But not everything is available to them locally. 63 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,279 And some people don't have any idea if there's an indie pet 64 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,560 store, I'll let you. I, I will go so far as to, you 65 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,040 know, go on a brand's website, go to their store locator and 66 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,600 see if there is anything around my client within 100 miles. 67 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,720 And a lot of times there isn't, which is sad. 68 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,640 Yeah. So that's where it started is 69 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,040 like I, I get frustrated, I'm sure people, my clients get 70 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,520 frustrated with me sending them to 10 different websites. 71 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,240 So I'm trying to put everything kind of in one place as much as 72 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,040 I can in one place for them. So it's really only things that 73 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,520 I, I tend to recommend a lot. So it's a pretty small 74 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:54,080 selection, but that's the back story for me. 75 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:59,800 The again, the bigger story is how brands handle selling in so 76 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,320 many different places. And I'm sure you have a lot to 77 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:03,720 say about this, so I'm going to let you start. 78 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,440 Yeah, it's, it's a really hot topic for so many. 79 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,880 The Indies are just super frustrated because they feel 80 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,000 like it's a stab in the back. You know, we've we build these 81 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,800 brands up and then they go Omni channel. 82 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:30,600 And so, you know, I think we're at a point that it's it's just 83 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:32,960 part of life and it's not going to go away. 84 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,760 And yeah, from an Indies from an independent pet store 85 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,720 standpoint. So before COVID we had a lot of 86 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:51,480 in store seminars and activities and happy out yappy hours, you 87 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:56,040 know, where which people loved and we brought people into the 88 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,520 store. I always did seminars and then 89 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:02,440 COVID hit and everybody got away from that because we had to. 90 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:08,440 So we have to as independent pet stores, we have to get back to 91 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,880 that to give customers a reason, pet parents a reason to come 92 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,320 back into the store. So we have to up our game from 93 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,760 the education standpoint, we really do. 94 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:27,080 Because these brands, I, you know, there's, there's some new 95 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,280 ones coming on the market, but very few. 96 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,760 And I, I just think we have to accept it. 97 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,760 You know, when it first started happening, there were so many 98 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:43,120 stories of Indies like, you know, pissed off and just 99 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:47,280 dropping the food immediately and all of these things. 100 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:52,080 And Jess, I, I never did, I never took that approach 101 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:56,800 because, you know, pets need time to adjust to foods, whether 102 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,760 it's an intolerance or whatever. So I never did that sort of 103 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,120 thing. I kind of just educated the 104 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,640 customers, put signs up and said, hey, this is what's going 105 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,200 on if you want to switch this blah, blah, blah. 106 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,640 Same with same with buyouts, like you know, if a company 107 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:21,760 sells to somebody else. So it's tough, it's tough, but 108 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,080 but there are brands that are going Omni channel that are 109 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:32,680 doing things to support Indies. Yeah, well, and that is exactly 110 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:37,120 what you said is why I try to push people to Indy pet stores 111 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:43,160 so much because that education piece is critical. 112 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:48,440 Like somebody who has who's walking into a big box store. 113 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:55,400 Granted, some big box stores try to have somebody and in house 114 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,680 that knows something. I don't personally think that 115 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,160 they they know what they should know. 116 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:08,640 But walking up to let's say, you know, Petco or PetSmart put in a 117 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,280 huge freezer section, average pet parent walking in is just 118 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,280 going to look at that and be so overwhelmed. 119 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,840 They're not going to have any idea what the difference in this 120 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,520 brand versus that brand versus the next brand. 121 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,880 And it is so confusing. I get it. 122 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:30,920 It was insanely confusing. And without that education 123 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,720 piece, without that, not just the education piece, but 124 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,960 actually people there that get to know you, that get to know 125 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,520 your pets, that get to know, you know, oh, you know, so and so 126 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,760 has a little Yorkie and their spring in the spring and then 127 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:48,480 the fall, their allergies are really bad. 128 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:53,200 So we want to make some pivots. And like, that's the piece that 129 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:58,240 is missing for so many people, which is going to get me to 130 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,120 another point that I would love to share closer to the end of 131 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,560 this episode and something that I think would be really, really 132 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:11,600 great for any pet stores to do. But it it really is that like 133 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,480 that piece that we're missing. I think a lot of millennials are 134 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,600 there to where like a lot of millennials specifically are 135 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,160 looking at the world and looking at society and they're going, I 136 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,960 don't want this anymore. I want the Doctor Who I see 137 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,240 every single time that knows me, that knows my kids, that knows 138 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,080 that I there is no, you know, there's no way I'm going to take 139 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:37,320 that pharmaceutical. You know what I mean? 140 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,000 Like people want that again, they want off grid, they want to 141 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,560 be disconnected, they want off social media. 142 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:50,160 They, and I think Gen. Z is kind of in a similar boat, 143 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:55,280 except they're still really, really attached to the tech and 144 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:57,680 social media. But I also think they're 145 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:00,920 rebelling. And so I think there's a huge 146 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,640 opportunity in front of people with Gen. 147 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:06,560 Z. It's fresh. 148 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:14,760 It's a frustrating 1 though. Yeah, so I do, I do. 149 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:16,680 I agree with you. I think we're moving the needle. 150 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,360 And every dollar is a vote, right? 151 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,640 So. And I don't care how many brands 152 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,000 go into PetSmart and Petco and whatever. 153 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,160 They can't sell raw, they can't sell supplements, they can't 154 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,120 have somebody on staff. And I have a video, a recent 155 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,440 video of me in PetSmart. I didn't post it yet. 156 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:42,640 I was in there for 20 minutes and I am recording for 20 157 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,640 minutes. So, you know, they can't even 158 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:51,120 greet people, let alone talk to them about food and supplements. 159 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,800 So and I just, I just don't see that happening. 160 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:04,240 But I think that maybe a positive is, and I, I talked 161 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:08,360 about this to a few people at global is and this is what 162 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,400 manufacturers always tell us. And at first, you know, 163 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,840 retailers are like, well, that's just a bunch of bullshit. 164 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,880 You're just, you know, trying to make me happy and all that kind 165 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,400 of stuff. But it does kind of build brand 166 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,320 recognition. So if a, if a customer does for 167 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,360 some reason start to buy something in PetSmart or Petco, 168 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:33,000 and then they come into an indie pet store and they see the same 169 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,640 thing whether it's a treat or whatever, and their dog or cat 170 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:42,400 absolutely love that treat. Them grabbing that and buying it 171 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:47,760 into in an independent pet store cost cost me no payroll dollars 172 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,680 because I didn't have to explain why that treat was a good treat 173 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:53,120 for their pet. You know what? 174 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:55,000 You know what I mean? Like does that make sense? 175 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,440 Yeah, well, and I'm, I was thinking through, I read like, 176 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,720 you know, in the in the article, it listed a bunch of different 177 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:11,120 brands and what different indie pet store owner staff said about 178 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,000 these brands and why they were doing a really good job still 179 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:19,520 supporting Indie Pet. One of them said that, you know, 180 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,040 there was there was a brand and I don't know, I'm, I'm fine 181 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:23,680 talking about brands. I don't know about you. 182 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:24,840 I. Don't care. 183 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,440 I think it was a pup above, which is honestly not my 184 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:31,960 favorite. I don't generally recommend it, 185 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:37,240 but they, I guess we're doing an online marketing thing where 186 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,720 they were having people go into the indie pet store to get like 187 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,040 free samples and that was really frustrating. 188 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:49,720 Indie Pet and somebody reached out to the company and they kind 189 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,800 of changed the online marketing to be a little stronger and 190 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,960 talking about actually buying the product from the Indy pet 191 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:03,440 stores. So for me that's, that's still 192 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:08,240 not amazing. Like you, you had to be told 193 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,440 that you know this was going to hurt. 194 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,760 You're, you're wasting our time, our payroll dollars to have 195 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:20,880 people come in to get free stuff from me, from us on your behalf, 196 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:22,600 right? Like that. 197 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,840 That's kind of frustrating. I can imagine. 198 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,200 I don't, I have never worked in an indie pet store. 199 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,240 I have done like events at indie pet stores and I know like I've 200 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,840 been like, absolutely. There is no way I could never do 201 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,840 this. I do not have the temperament 202 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,120 for this. I just don't. 203 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,560 But yeah, that would be very, very frustrating. 204 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:49,520 I think across all of the brands, the thing that I saw 205 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,280 more people talk about than anything else were the loyalty. 206 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:58,040 Yeah, like the Astro loyalty. Yeah, and I think that's that's 207 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,800 probably at the top of the list of everything that was listed. 208 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:11,080 But if, if Astro, when Astro first came on, I was like, oh 209 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:16,600 boy, genius process, genius company to develop because 210 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,080 they're making money on both ends. 211 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,600 But for an independent pet store, you have to be on Astro. 212 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,960 You just have to be. So manufacturers that are 213 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:33,160 available on Omni channel, you earn frequent buyers when you 214 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,360 shop Indies. So in other words, it's by X you 215 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:40,280 get one free. They also it's also a great 216 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:45,080 platform to run monthly sales. They have that that's not 217 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,640 available in Omni channel. And also Neighborhood Pet Store 218 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:53,120 Day, which is an indie pet creation, is the third Saturday 219 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:58,520 of every September. And Astro has created like a 220 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,360 whole separate farm for Neighborhood Pet Store Day. 221 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,720 So manufacturers can dump sales into that Neighborhood Pet Store 222 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,320 Day. And I don't know if you realize 223 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,040 this, but Neighborhood Pet Store Day has grown so much for 224 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,240 retailers that it's actually higher volume than Small 225 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,960 Business Saturday. So which is the Saturday it's 226 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,080 giving? Because you're, I mean, well, 227 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,440 yeah, because Black Friday originally was like the point in 228 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,080 the year where. Yeah. 229 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,760 Companies would actually start making a profit for the year, 230 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,360 which is sad. Like that's very late in the 231 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:35,920 year. That's sad. 232 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,480 But that sounds like that you you might actually be doing that 233 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,640 earlier in the year because of Neighborhood Pet Store Day. 234 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:50,440 So we definitely, I would say across the board, yes, retailers 235 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:57,040 would see it earlier in the year, but you know, the Astro 236 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,440 loyalty, God, I started loyalty programs and we literally had a 237 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,960 card file for every manufacturer. 238 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:07,040 We'd have 15 card files on the on the cash wrap. 239 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,240 It was crazy. So Astro was, you know, is a 240 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,440 saving grace for Indies. It really is. 241 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:19,440 So what are some of the things that it are their brands that 242 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:25,240 you think are still doing Omni channel that are really are they 243 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,480 are doing everything they possibly can for Indy pet, Do 244 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,480 you think that's possible? Do you think there are brands 245 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,520 that are doing that? And if so, how do you like 246 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,760 what's that differentiation that you see? 247 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:43,800 Yeah, I, I think the ones that are on Astro number one is the 248 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,600 main thing #2 is in store support. 249 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,680 So reps coming in, checking with store managers, checking with 250 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,920 the pet store owners. What can I do for you? 251 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,280 How are sales analyzing those sales you've dipped here? 252 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,800 How can I help when they have events? 253 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:04,040 These reps should be at the events as much as possible. 254 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,200 I mean, I know they have territories and can't be 255 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,680 everywhere at the same time, but they need to be at in store 256 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,160 events, whether it's adoption events or whatever. 257 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,000 You know, my Florida store and this is another way to get 258 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:25,720 people into the stores, is we have a Kitty condo and we found 259 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:27,720 a, we have a local rescue that we work with. 260 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:33,320 She primarily just does cats and small dogs, but we have a cat in 261 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:38,760 our Kitty condo all the time and we average 2 adoptions a month. 262 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,480 So that's and that's people love to come in and they sometimes 263 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,280 they come in just to see the cat that's there. 264 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,120 And they don't always buy something, but their regular 265 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,800 customers, they know, you know, we're known for it. 266 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:54,680 We're partnered with a great rescue. 267 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:00,640 So anyhow, I got off topic, but how manufacturers can also is 268 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,480 map pricing and making sure that customers if they are choosing 269 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:06,800 to shop online because it is a convenience. 270 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,920 We all do it. We all have crazy times in our 271 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,400 lives. Yes, we want to always depend 272 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,600 indeed. I mean, I like to support my any 273 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,160 small shop. You know, I have a local shoe 274 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,400 store that I love to go to the local farm that I love to go to, 275 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,800 but life gets crazy. So sometimes we do have to shop 276 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,960 online and that's a convenience. Convenience. 277 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:34,640 So we should have to pay more online and we do ultimately. 278 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,440 I mean, if you're it's a convenience. 279 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,440 Yeah, it. Is when it comes to raw? 280 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,760 Go ahead. No, I, you're right. 281 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,600 I mean, it is a convenience. It's frustrating. 282 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,360 I think Amazon ruined a lot of people. 283 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,640 And I know a lot of people are kind of disillusioned with 284 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,360 Amazon anymore because all of those things we came to rely on 285 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:03,520 are not happening any longer. I mean, even for me, you know, 286 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,720 I, I ordered something on Amazon the other day literally because 287 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,000 I needed it to show up in Indiana. 288 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:15,840 Like it wasn't I'm in Virginia. I needed something to show up in 289 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,240 Indiana. So it made sense for me to buy 290 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:23,040 something online. And I could have gotten honestly 291 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,880 the same price at Best Buy as as I did on Amazon. 292 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:32,960 But I have this like mentality that we, I think we all have now 293 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,920 that, oh, if something goes wrong, Amazon is just going to 294 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,040 make it right, right. So people will choose Amazon 295 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,080 over, over other retailers for that reason. 296 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,120 But it was supposed to get there on a Saturday. 297 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:47,200 By Monday, it still wasn't there. 298 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,200 And I'm like, why am I doing like I have again, I have no 299 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:56,160 guarantees of delivery if I'm buying from Best Buy or another 300 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,280 retailer either. But it's like everybody, I 301 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,840 think, is starting to become very disillusioned with Amazon, 302 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,440 and I think probably a good thing, too. 303 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,080 Yeah, and same with Chewy, because if you're on a food auto 304 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,760 ship and they run out of your food or there's something in 305 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,480 that Channel between the Chewy warehouse, Amazon warehouse, and 306 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:25,000 your house, which weather transportation, there's only so 307 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000 much we can control. You're in full panic mode. 308 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,880 And first of all, nobody should be on auto ship because you're 309 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:37,040 getting the same food and Chewy does not have it in their 310 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,520 rotation to rotate your proteins. 311 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,560 So anybody on auto ship should just stop. 312 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,240 I don't care how convenient it is. 313 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:46,800 I don't care how much money you're saving. 314 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,000 You're not rotating foods. You and I are. 315 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,800 I know like in the same camp on that. 316 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:59,160 And another thing I like to mention is, which I think a lot 317 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:06,160 of people don't realize is when we're only shopping online, we 318 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:14,680 are only being shown what the algorithm is bringing, what the 319 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:19,360 data, what the cookies on your websites are pulling. 320 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,400 So you are only going to be exposed to certain things and 321 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,120 there's a whole world of other things that you're never going 322 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:31,880 to be exposed to. And I think that's a really bad 323 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:38,160 thing because that just continues to channel consumers 324 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,560 and dollars into the same buckets. 325 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,440 And that's not a good thing. We need diversity. 326 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,800 So that's another reason why it's so important to go to 327 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,680 independent pet stores because you're going to see brands that 328 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,560 aren't online. I just met lovely people that do 329 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:01,920 a beautiful, I mean, it's just lamb long, but it's beautiful 330 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,640 New Zealand lamb long. Just it smells good. 331 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,640 Like you can tell it's crap. I don't even believe that. 332 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,240 I swear to God, it literally smells good. 333 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,440 It's beautiful. And they were so people and knew 334 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:23,040 it was their first global. So Biebs is the name of it. 335 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:27,880 But anyhow, I just, you know, that makes me nervous. 336 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,600 And I believe in free enterprise and we're in a in a world of 337 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:36,400 freedom, or we should be, but we can't put all of our money into 338 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,080 the same place. We just can't. 339 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:45,480 Yeah, well, in that same vein, I don't remember which states have 340 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,960 done this, but I think 2 states have now made it illegal. 341 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,600 I don't know if you've noticed this. 342 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,680 I almost never like for years I didn't go into a Walmart when I 343 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,840 moved back to Virginia. There's just nothing here. 344 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,400 I have found myself in a Walmart twice in the past few months and 345 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,800 both times I have regretted it. But one of the things that I 346 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:09,120 have noticed is that there are items that do not have price 347 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:14,800 tags on them anymore. And grocery stores have started 348 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,840 doing this too. And I saw some, I wish I could 349 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,400 remember what states they were, but two states have already made 350 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,640 it illegal. But what they're doing is they 351 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,680 are, they're intentionally not putting prices on things because 352 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,520 they are charging you based on how much the whatever algorithm, 353 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:41,040 based on your shopping habits, what they think you are willing 354 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,960 to pay for that item. So the person behind me might 355 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,720 pay $10.00 for it, I might pay $12.00 for it. 356 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,120 And so stores are already doing this and it's going to be, it's 357 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,360 a lot easier to do online. I have seen Amazon do this. 358 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:59,080 I have seen the exact same product from the exact same 359 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:03,280 seller shown to me at two different prices and then I have 360 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,040 had like a friend look up the same item on Amazon and he's 361 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,440 getting a totally different price. 362 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,040 So they're already doing these things. 363 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,360 Yes, it is based on what they think you are willing to pay for 364 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:19,600 that item. That's terrifying. 365 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,400 Isn't it terrifying? And you're like literally just 366 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,480 walking into a Walmart? They're doing this to you 367 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,800 already. It's crazy. 368 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:35,280 Scroll control control I just saw and I, I, I'm assuming it's 369 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,360 true. I did see on an on Instagram, 370 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:46,280 but I saw Ford trucks, you know, all the technology in our 371 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:50,720 vehicles. Now they now are not only 372 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:56,440 watching our eyeballs to make sure we're awake, they're also 373 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:03,880 listening to us and reporting to the insurance companies what 374 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,360 type of driver we are. And we have no control over 375 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,200 that. And they're getting money from 376 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:10,960 the insurance companies for doing it. 377 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,840 And it's a patented product. Well, Congress is getting ready 378 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,400 to vote on whether this is going to be mandatory for 379 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,720 manufacturers to put in vehicles like it's about to be mandatory 380 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,480 for every vehicle to have this technology. 381 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,480 Oh my God. Yeah, it's crazy. 382 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:37,160 On my new car, it monitors, you know, whether you're sitting up 383 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,040 enough, whether your eyes are open, blah, blah, blah. 384 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,720 It's annoying. It is so annoying. 385 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,520 It drives me nuts. I covered it with tape. 386 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,800 Yeah. Well, and, and you know, when I 387 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,040 one of the things that I do think it is really, really good 388 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,680 to do right now, because, again, insurance companies are doing 389 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,120 the exact same thing where they are, they will just keep raising 390 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,240 the rates every six months, every or whatever your renewal 391 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:10,280 is, because it's usually too much of A hassle for people to 392 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,960 switch insurance companies. Yeah. 393 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,040 So that's kind of what they're banking on. 394 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,280 Just like gym memberships, storage units do this. 395 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,640 You're not going to empty your storage unit and move it into 396 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,560 another facility. Like they know that they've got 397 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:24,600 you. They're just going to keep 398 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:29,920 raising the rates. Well, I the, so I'm currently 399 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,160 with Progressive, which is not my favorite, but that's like, I 400 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:40,720 actually do the research every renewal to make sure that I, I 401 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,760 have what I want and I'm getting the best rates. 402 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,600 They will give you a discount if you install a little device in 403 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,200 your car so that they can monitor your driving. 404 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:52,040 I'm like, you are out of your mind. 405 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:58,680 You are out of your mind. Just I can't, I, I can't, I 406 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,560 can't, I have a new thing like that. 407 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,600 I think I have to exit society. My niece, I said that to my 408 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,720 niece. She's like, stop saying that. 409 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,320 It sounds like you want to off yourself. 410 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:13,240 I'm like I I just, I just don't. I just went out of the matrix. 411 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,880 Like I, I, I can't. I can't. 412 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,320 I'll go back to a car that I used to crank the windows down 413 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,360 South. That's terrifying. 414 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,880 That's I just. But I I say all of that to say 415 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:36,440 that I don't think indie pet stores are there like, and the 416 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,560 reason I say that is because y'all are struggling. 417 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,960 You're not buying the technology to not put price tags on things. 418 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,120 You know what I mean? Like right, right. 419 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:55,000 It I'm sure there are because like even with my web store, I 420 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,080 use Shopify, there maybe there are apps that I could do this. 421 00:27:58,080 --> 00:27:59,680 I'm not doing that. That's ridiculous. 422 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,200 There's no way I'm going to do that. 423 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:05,240 And that's how I'm building my brand is because I think I want 424 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,560 people to trust me personally, not just to be buying from just 425 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,840 like that's what people should be doing with Indy pet stores. 426 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,000 You go in, you're not just going in to buy a product. 427 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,320 You are going in to cultivate a relationship with somebody who 428 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:20,960 not only knows you, but knows your pet. 429 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,400 If you're here, it's because your pet isn't just a pet, 430 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,960 they're family, and you can feel when something's off, even if 431 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,560 the labs look normal. That's why I created Wild 432 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,800 Wellness Pet and the Wild Wellness Bioenergetic Test to 433 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,960 help you see the hidden stressors your pet's body is 434 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:46,480 quietly carrying and give you a clear, holistic starting point. 435 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,840 Head to wildwellnesspet.com to explore the Bioenergetic 436 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,600 Energetic Test and the Apothecary and take the next 437 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,320 loving, protective, proactive step for your pets healing 438 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:04,400 journey. I mean, yes, should everybody, 439 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,560 everybody needs to be a little a little leery of other people. 440 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,160 But I talk about this all the time, that if as a pet parent 441 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:18,360 you are the head of your pets care team and having an indie, 442 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,120 somebody at an indie pet store that you know, who knows your 443 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,600 pet, that you have some sort of trust in is an important part of 444 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,440 that. It really is. 445 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:34,520 And not only that, but you know, the Indies are such a great 446 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:38,360 place to go for socialization with your dog and your cat. 447 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,680 I have. We have people bring cats in 448 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,120 quite often. I know it's definitely not as 449 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,560 often as dogs, but it's becoming more of a thing that people are 450 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,440 out and about with their cats, which which is fantastic. 451 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,680 So but we get super excited when cats come in because they can 452 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,320 get on the counter and do all kinds of fun things. 453 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:04,360 But it's important to always socialize your pets, like don't 454 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,920 stop when they're a year old. And this is totally off topic, 455 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:08,600 but that's what Indies are great for. 456 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,720 They get so excited when your pet walks in and that's a 457 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:14,440 really, that's a really great thing. 458 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,720 And you know, I don't want to get on a soapbox, but we, we 459 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,040 can't lose that human bond either. 460 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:28,680 We, we need to keep, we need to keep community and shopping 461 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,640 indie is part of it. So you're going to get better 462 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,480 service, you're going to save money. 463 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:39,200 You are keeping your money in the community and Indies do 464 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,320 struggle. Just I mean, to work on margins 465 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:48,200 that are 30%. It's, it's, it's tough. 466 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:53,160 You have to build, I mean, to truly make it you, you have to 467 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,960 build pretty high volume stores. So to turn product, which is 468 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,760 what I have. So, but it's, it's, it's tough 469 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,480 and we hear it all the time. And that's why, you know, I'm a 470 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:10,080 board member for Indy Pet, just to try to help people across, 471 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:15,960 across the country. How do you feel about the Indie 472 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,200 Pet Store itself going Omni channel, meaning that they have 473 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:27,600 an online presence? I would so if I still had my 3 474 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,520 Pittsburgh stores because you know, I sold them a year and 475 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,840 three months ago and I have one Florida store currently. 476 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,120 That was the direction I was going. 477 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:45,240 They can't ship everything though, so you have to be like 478 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:51,560 huge as an independent pet like Treats Unleashed or Premier Pet 479 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,400 Supply in Michigan. You have to be really big to be 480 00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:01,640 able to ship food competitively against Chewy and Amazon. 481 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,800 So I'm I'm not against it. I'm not against it. 482 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,040 And another thing that I really like about building an online 483 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,840 platform for Indies is, and this is what I do a lot is I shop and 484 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:18,800 pick up. So yes, so, and that's like a 485 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,440 lot of stores. I was just in Kohl's the other 486 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:23,680 day. I didn't realize this. 487 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,080 I don't shop a ton. Like I, I worked, I've worked 488 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,480 retail so many years that I really avoid shopping. 489 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:32,640 But I don't shop online either. But very much. 490 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,280 But anyhow, I was in Kohl's the other day and they have a whole 491 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,800 section dedicated to pickups, just like walking into Panera 492 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,200 Bread or something. Like your your pickups are all 493 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:47,000 in one location. I've seen an an indie do that 494 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,520 too, so I I love that. I think it's a great convenience 495 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,160 and really could give Indies a leg up. 496 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,160 So 'cause I love to shop and pick up. 497 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:05,600 That actually reminds me when I was still living in Texas, I I 498 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,720 had an indie pet store my friend owned and she just didn't. 499 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,960 She had access to but didn't carry in store the things that I 500 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:20,920 wanted for my pets. I guess there's a whole lot that 501 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:26,640 could go into that conversation, but I would literally just place 502 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,040 orders with her and she would order it through her distributor 503 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,000 and then I would go and pick it up. 504 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,400 Absolutely. And that's I think a very good 505 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:39,240 point for pet parents to know is don't be afraid to ask because 506 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,600 most likely if you are looking for something that you suggested 507 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,360 just that that you don't have on your shop yet or is in the 508 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,360 natural more natural category, your indie can likely get it for 509 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,080 you. So don't ever be afraid to ask, 510 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,440 especially if it's frozen. If you are buying frozen food 511 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:06,040 online, you are losing money because you are paying a ton for 512 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:10,159 shipping when you can go to a local independent pet store and 513 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:12,600 save all of that money on shipping. 514 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,440 I think a lot of people don't realize that too, especially 515 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,080 with I mean with frozen food. They just can't ship it without 516 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,000 dry ice and today it it's expensive. 517 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,120 It is. I know I'm at a point right now. 518 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:29,400 Well I will admit that I am purchasing frozen things online 519 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:31,600 and having it shipped and I'm having to pay shipping and I 520 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,000 hate it. But at the same time, I'd have 521 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,719 to drive an hour one way to go get it. 522 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,080 Sure. Otherwise, and I'm just not. 523 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:43,639 I'm like which which am I going to do this month? 524 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,520 Do I have the time this month or do I not have the time? 525 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:51,320 This month, right, you have to balance Yeah, it is and it's. 526 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,159 Frustrating. And I hate it, I'm not going to 527 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,760 lie, like I hate, I hate, again, another thing that Amazon has 528 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:58,760 done to us. I hate paying shipping. 529 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:07,880 Yes. So, OK, well, no, the one thing 530 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,360 that I was just thinking when you were talking about that was 531 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,520 that there is a, they were talking about a company that 532 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:21,360 does beds, that has a drop slip program that is available to, 533 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,840 and I don't know if it's available outside of that, but 534 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,120 that is available to indie pet stores so that you don't have to 535 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,160 carry everything in store, which is kind of nice too. 536 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,760 Absolutely. And people like to feel the beds 537 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:38,640 and squish the beds and, you know, see the zippers and really 538 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,720 look at the size. So and the fact that I'm pretty 539 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:46,800 sure it's pet play provides them with a Swatch ring, I think is 540 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,200 and a drop ship program is fabulous. 541 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,960 I actually did that not with pep play, but I did it with cots. 542 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:59,000 I can't remember 4 something cots, four leg legged cots, I 543 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000 think it was. So I got one of each size for 544 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,320 each store and then they had a Swatch ring too for the fabric 545 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,880 and like the little plugs on each corner. 546 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:14,960 You could really customize it so and I did a drop ship program 547 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,320 like that with them. So that's another thing that 548 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:22,200 really kind of I think sets India apart. 549 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,400 Freedom, no pull harnesses, same deal. 550 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,560 They have so many patterns and so many colors and I love that 551 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:32,720 company. Made in the USA, same deal. 552 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:38,240 You can have a limited amount and have an affiliate link on 553 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:40,800 your website. I mean, these are things that 554 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,200 the manufacturers might not directly come to the Indies and 555 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:48,160 say, hey, you can do this, but it takes us going to them and 556 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:53,720 saying, hey, I want to do this. So the only other thing that I 557 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,800 wanted to really bring up because the only company that 558 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:04,800 for me I feel like is consistent consistently doing this very 559 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,080 vocally very well, which is also the company that I have been 560 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:13,400 ordering from online because I don't have the two hours to go 561 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:18,960 get it is Green Juju. Yeah, they, even though I do 562 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:23,520 feel like they could, they could kill it if they sold more 563 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,840 online. But they every single time they 564 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:32,640 do anything, whether it's a live on social media or physically at 565 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:37,080 an event or whatever they're doing, they always say go to 566 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,960 your indie pet store or like even I've had Billy on like 6 567 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,160 Times Now. Every single time we'll get it 568 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:48,240 at your indie pet store. And I don't think a lot of other 569 00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,480 brands are doing that. I agree with you. 570 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,400 I agree with you and they should be more vocal about it. 571 00:37:55,640 --> 00:38:02,640 They really should all of them, you know, maybe they feel that a 572 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,240 Rep coming into the store is doing it for them. 573 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:10,720 But yeah, they all. And another thing is geofence 574 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,960 targeting. I mean that can help store 575 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:16,760 locators on manufacturer websites can help. 576 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:24,520 So, and as far as green juju, I mean Billy's pounds of pavement 577 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:30,960 half the year and is in stores and AT AFCO and AT seminars and 578 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:37,880 like he, I mean, he truly at his heart and soul believes in the 579 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:42,840 Indies and that's that's awesome. 580 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,440 Yeah, well, I think Kelly does too. 581 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:47,880 I mean. Of course. 582 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:54,000 Well, yeah, yeah. To I mean, yeah, it's, it's it 583 00:38:54,000 --> 00:39:01,840 really is something different that I see from them that there 584 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:05,000 are some other companies that will say it, but I don't think 585 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:08,960 do it as well or as often as they do it. 586 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,720 So, OK, you brought up global a couple of times and I have 587 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:20,120 actually never been to global, not because I don't want to go, 588 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:23,480 but because generally speaking, there are only so many places I 589 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:27,240 can go in a year. And I tend to go to Super Zoo 590 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:31,320 and most people tell me that that's the better one to go to 591 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:32,560 anyway. I don't know. 592 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,280 That's what I'm, that's what I'm being told. 593 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:38,920 But I do think what we were talking about before we hit 594 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:44,680 record that whatever trend is going on at global is probably 595 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:47,120 the trend that's going to happen at Super Zoo. 596 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:50,160 So I'm curious of your thoughts for of global. 597 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,920 I can't say this but I hope you're wrong because Global is 598 00:39:53,920 --> 00:40:00,320 disappointing. SO and I interview. 599 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,040 I think you know this. I interview manufacturers at 600 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,520 Global so I put together 2 episodes. 601 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:08,240 That was great. It was very well, well received, 602 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:13,480 but and then I did a whole sub stack article on global and you 603 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,120 know, I'm pretty authentic. I tell it like it is. 604 00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,840 So Global was pretty disappointing from the 605 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,440 standpoint of, and I'll try to keep this as short as possible 606 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,600 and I talked to a lot of manufacturers as well. 607 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:33,600 So they really feel that attendance was down Friday. 608 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:39,600 The last day literally was a ghost town like Wow town and 609 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,720 they had a ton of influencers there. 610 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:48,440 Interesting. Well, their marketing to for 611 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,160 attendance I did notice was different this year that they 612 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:54,880 were trying to get more influencers there, which is the 613 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,920 opposite of what Super Zoo is doing. 614 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,640 And I wonder how many of those influencers are being 615 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,440 compensated. So even the and I might have the 616 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,520 name wrong. Jackson Callie, the ones that 617 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:10,000 have like the it's a golden retriever, I think. 618 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,920 And it's a they're hysterical, but they talk to one another 619 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,960 about about mom and dad if they're really funny, But they 620 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,120 were there ton of influencers. So from the manufacturer's 621 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:25,360 perspective, they, I literally had, I mean Donna from up 622 00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:28,680 country say it was very disappointing because a lot of 623 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,800 people coming to their booth were influencers and they're not 624 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:39,760 buyers. So another thing, I and my best 625 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:43,560 friend Kelly, who is my accountant, we had a speaking 626 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,320 engagement. We were chosen to be speakers 627 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:49,520 and we put together, yeah, I was super excited about it because 628 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,640 we put together a program and she, you know, we really 629 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:59,000 crunched numbers on a 45 minute talk on how to help Indies 630 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:05,040 become more profitable. So Global has always offered 631 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:11,160 education in the past for free. It's not the case anymore. 632 00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:17,720 So NOW and Super Zoo has always charged Global Now charges which 633 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:21,120 I was not aware of and I don't know exactly how the paying 634 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:25,160 platform worked, but I had people coming to me with 635 00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:29,640 intentions of coming to my talk, couldn't get in and they were 636 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:36,960 told they had to pay $350.00. Oh wow, right, For I hope that's 637 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,960 not for just one talk. Not just I think it's kind of 638 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:42,240 like a day pass. Or like the day, yeah. 639 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:45,600 Pop in and out of any of the classes in one day. 640 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:51,760 So that was very disappointing. I had seven people attend my 641 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:57,000 talk and very disappointing. And my best friend flew from 642 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:01,440 Pittsburgh to Orlando just to do this in taxis. 643 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:03,200 Yeah. Wow. 644 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:08,640 I well I the first year I went to Super Zoo I paid for the 645 00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,640 education and I have not done it since. 646 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:17,600 I was not enough to pay for it. I agree with you and that's why 647 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:22,600 I was excited that I was chosen because I feel like the 648 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:26,920 education that's provided are not people walking the walk. 649 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:31,080 They are not. Most part, most of those are 650 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:34,880 marketing companies, social media companies, finance 651 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,640 companies, retail expert companies. 652 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:41,960 They're not people truly in the pet industry and they don't get 653 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:43,720 it. They just don't get it. 654 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,680 It's a good information they're bringing probably because I also 655 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:48,720 have attended many classes over the years. 656 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:54,160 But it's not, it's not people that understand what we are 657 00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,360 doing. It's a different industry. 658 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:02,960 Yeah, I, I have a little bit of a different opinion on the 659 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,920 influencers. First of all, I hate the word 660 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:12,360 influencer, though I think for some people there, there are 661 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:17,200 people out there that deserve that title because they don't 662 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:20,200 know what they're talking about. They just have an audience, 663 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,120 right? So like companies are coming to 664 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:27,000 them, paying them, giving them product because they have an 665 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,760 audience. They have no idea what they're 666 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:32,160 actually talking about. They're just getting sales for a 667 00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:34,560 company. That's what I think an 668 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:40,240 influencer is. And those are the kind of people 669 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:44,440 that I don't think have value at places like Global and Super 670 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,640 Zoo. People that they call micro 671 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:55,200 influencers, I think are generally more apt to actually 672 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:56,600 know what the heck they're talking about. 673 00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:00,760 They are more educated. They have smaller audiences 674 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:04,320 because of that because it is more education based and less 675 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:09,000 entertainment based. And I do see that. 676 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,720 The thing that I have not been happy with Super Zoo about in 677 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:17,920 the past couple years is even though I completely understand 678 00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:21,080 the people that are paying to have booths there want buyers in 679 00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,280 their booths 100% understand that. 680 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:28,240 Also, having a pot, a platform like that to where you can 681 00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:32,480 connect with content creators, I prefer to call them content 682 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:39,400 creators or micro influencers. I think that if you're a brand, 683 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,080 especially a smaller brand, and you're not connecting with 684 00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:44,600 content creators and micro influencers, you are missing the 685 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:48,200 boat in in some form or fashion. 100% agree. 686 00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:54,320 So I think that it can be both. I think that it can be. 687 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:59,200 Yes, I want buyers in my booth, but also I would like to also 688 00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,720 take this opportunity to have to get to meet people one-on-one, 689 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:10,600 face to face together, some sort of marketing program for me to 690 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:12,560 get out. There. 691 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,080 No, that's an excellent point that I didn't see that side of 692 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:16,440 it, but that's an excellent point. 693 00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:22,600 But again, people that are just influencers like, you know, the 694 00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:26,400 the nom noms and the farmers dogs and the that have humongous 695 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,360 marketing budgets, yeah, sure, they're going to use the people 696 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:31,280 all day long, but those people have no idea what they're 697 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:32,360 talking about. Yeah. 698 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,280 In my opinion, generally speaking. 699 00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:38,080 Yeah. And I, I mean, and then there's 700 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:46,720 ones that are micro, micro so, and I would only provide 701 00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:50,480 information on a manufacturer that I truly support just 702 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:55,000 because I, I just, I just couldn't and wouldn't do it 703 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,800 otherwise. I mean, what I say about my 704 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:01,160 stores is I won't sell it if I wouldn't feed it. 705 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,400 And that's based on a full economic range because I do sell 706 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:11,160 kibble, you know what I mean? But you know, because kibble's 707 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,480 unfortunately probably never going to completely go away, but 708 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:17,760 but yeah, that's, that's an excellent point. 709 00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:25,000 Yeah, well, and I mean, nobody has to agree with me, that's for 710 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:29,480 sure. WPA doesn't seem to, but it's, 711 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:33,120 and I get it, like people, especially people that are 712 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:39,720 paying the big bucks for the, you know, half of a style and 713 00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:42,160 doing all the things and putting in huge installations. 714 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:44,360 Of course they want to make their money back, which means 715 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:50,440 they need buyers. But also there, there there is 716 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:54,240 some forethought to be had in making your money back through 717 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:59,160 how people are buying today, which is social media like 718 00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:04,240 TikTok shop hasn't gotten as large as it is because people 719 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:06,320 want to be buying from big box stores. 720 00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:10,000 Like that's just not, you know, there's a shift. 721 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:14,960 And I think there are some small manufacturers or some small 722 00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:20,240 brands that kind of get that. But generally speaking, like, I 723 00:48:20,240 --> 00:48:26,840 just think it can be both. Another thing about Global is 724 00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:30,720 there were there are some manufacturers not showing up 725 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:35,640 anymore and I think they're from what I have heard, some I've 726 00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:38,200 talked to directly, some I haven't, but they're not. 727 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:43,240 It is a huge investment and they are choosing to put those 728 00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:49,920 dollars in somewhere else. That is interesting there. 729 00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:52,680 There have been a couple of brands kind of noticeably 730 00:48:52,680 --> 00:49:01,120 missing at Super Zoo, but not huge huge like usually not even 731 00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:05,200 the ones that are even in Indy, even though they could be. 732 00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:09,880 There's one in like animal Biome is one that I think I've off the 733 00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,440 top that hasn't been at Super Zoo the past couple of years and 734 00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:17,640 could easily be in Indy pet. I don't know if they just 735 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:21,240 haven't marketed marketed it appropriately because they do 736 00:49:21,240 --> 00:49:26,560 have wholesale available. It could be both, you know, 737 00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:31,520 stocked or drop shipped. They do both, but I haven't 738 00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:35,240 noticed Indy pet kind of bringing them. 739 00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:39,960 And I've seen like, you know, Yukari has has hung in there and 740 00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:47,040 I have seen some Indy pet bring Yukari in, which is not not my 741 00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:48,520 favorite. Like we could go down that road. 742 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:52,560 That's not my favorite test, but like they, they did it, they 743 00:49:52,560 --> 00:49:55,400 stuck in there and they said you could bring our stuff into your 744 00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:59,680 into your shop and it has a price that that that could make 745 00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:01,880 it work. I don't know. 746 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:06,000 But yeah, it is interesting where people, especially the 747 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:09,080 smaller, smaller brands, they're just like, I don't, I'm not 748 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:13,840 getting my return on this. And bigger ones, I mean, in 749 00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:17,440 nature's variety, instinct wasn't there, selling really 750 00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:20,480 wasn't there, Yeah. Wow. 751 00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,080 Yeah. So, and I don't know if you 752 00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:26,400 realize this, but there used to be 3 industry trade shows a 753 00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:32,000 year. Yeah, Backer was one. 754 00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:37,240 It started out in Atlantic City. I think the last year for Backer 755 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:42,680 was I went once. So probably 2011. 756 00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:50,120 So, you know, it wouldn't surprise me if we were down to 757 00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,360 one at some point. It'll take a while, but it 758 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:55,720 wouldn't surprise me if that happened. 759 00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:00,240 I will say, like at first when you said Stella and Chewie's, I 760 00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,440 was like, oh, but then I'm like, well, they already got into big 761 00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:05,920 box. Yeah, yeah. 762 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,280 So they're clearly not supporting Indy because they're 763 00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:13,920 not going to global and their CEO is grocery now. 764 00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:19,240 He's directly from grocery. He and his, I think CFO or 765 00:51:19,240 --> 00:51:22,280 something also not in the industry. 766 00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:27,000 And they, they came and smoke spoke at the Indy pet trade 767 00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,800 show. I totally lit them up. 768 00:51:32,360 --> 00:51:35,040 I did. So they are an example of how 769 00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:38,680 not to do Omni channel. Exactly. 770 00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:42,680 They are totally. And it's it's sad because you 771 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:48,320 know that start that was a heart and soul grass roots like Marie 772 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,920 walking through New York City with her cart of raw food and 773 00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:56,280 like it's it's sad to see a brand die, die like that. 774 00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:01,640 But and it's not dying, but it's just changed. 775 00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:08,800 Yeah, it's not well. And the big, the bigger concern 776 00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:16,920 that just like as an advocate in the industry I have had is when 777 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,880 you go, when you make such a huge leap into big box like 778 00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:27,240 that, if you're like, how is the quality of your product going to 779 00:52:27,240 --> 00:52:31,440 be affected? And I don't know that that I 780 00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:35,600 heard any answers around that that made me comfortable with 781 00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:44,040 the fact that it wouldn't. I mean going into big box if you 782 00:52:44,400 --> 00:52:47,400 if it does impact your cells positively, you've got to crank 783 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:51,080 out food quicker, which means you might have to go there are 784 00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:55,640 total I think they're 100% in house, but you may have to 785 00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:00,680 increase production which usually lowers quality and who 786 00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:04,400 knows, who knows. Right. 787 00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:08,600 Yeah. And less likely to, you know, I 788 00:53:08,600 --> 00:53:11,880 think one of the things that a lot of the smaller brands do 789 00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,400 really well, or I actually have had this conversation a couple 790 00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:18,280 of times that I think some of the small brands do really well. 791 00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:23,200 But I think they're going to have to double down on is 792 00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:29,280 transparency and making it like you're, you have to tell people 793 00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:32,400 any and everything like the smallest changes. 794 00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:36,240 Because if somebody finds out something changed and you didn't 795 00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:38,520 make people aware of it first. Yeah. 796 00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:42,040 People are not happy about that, Yeah. 797 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:47,040 And again, I think there are some brands that do that really 798 00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:49,080 well, but I think they're going to have to double down on it, 799 00:53:49,080 --> 00:53:53,240 especially with a lot of the bigger pet food company, like 800 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,680 pretty much all of them have entered the fresh food space in 801 00:53:56,680 --> 00:53:59,440 the last year in some way, shape or form. 802 00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:06,360 So it it's just going to be again, just like with have it 803 00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:11,120 with like labeling organic produce, which is totally bass 804 00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:15,680 ackwards. Like the the companies that are 805 00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:17,800 doing it right, that are being transparent are going to have to 806 00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,120 double down on that, which again, is really sad. 807 00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,720 But that's just the society we live. 808 00:54:22,720 --> 00:54:29,440 In. So, OK, the one other thing that 809 00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:33,360 I did want to bring up that I think would benefit Indy Pet 810 00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:37,920 Stores a lot moving forward and we kind of talked about this the 811 00:54:37,920 --> 00:54:45,200 last time I had you on my show was that and you said you had 812 00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:48,360 seen this too. And the last like 10-15 years, 813 00:54:49,280 --> 00:54:55,000 it has become more difficult. So like prior to that, we could 814 00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:59,920 just move a dog or a cat, specifically dogs to a raw food 815 00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,480 diet and so many things would improve. 816 00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:08,120 Often times everything, right? And now it's not that easy 817 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:13,800 anymore. One of the things is like it 818 00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:18,840 brings up so many things. One, if people are still under 819 00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:24,520 like if people if people still believe that in Indy pet that 820 00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:28,240 they can just switch somebody to a raw food diet and their dog is 821 00:55:28,240 --> 00:55:34,560 going to be cured or whatever. Like we can't say that but and 822 00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:37,840 it doesn't happen. Then that client then loses 823 00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:44,240 trust, loses faith, right? Which is frustrating, but also 824 00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:49,880 with as much education that Indy pet has had to do on their own, 825 00:55:50,760 --> 00:55:53,760 there's still more to be known, right? 826 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:58,200 There's still more education to be had to really be able to help 827 00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:03,160 pet parents the way that I think they need in ways that our 828 00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:05,840 current veterinary system isn't doing. 829 00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:12,480 And I have seen it work really, really well in the very few 830 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:18,880 cases that I have seen it happen in where an indie pet actually 831 00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:23,880 sends and trains somebody to become a pet health coach and 832 00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:28,080 learn about all of the organ systems, learn about Chinese 833 00:56:28,080 --> 00:56:33,840 medicine, learn how we actually support the body through 834 00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:36,520 whatever it's going through. There was all these, you know, 835 00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,880 different things that that could be alien, an animal in addition 836 00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:41,640 to food. Right. 837 00:56:42,320 --> 00:56:44,760 Right. And, and you have these products 838 00:56:44,800 --> 00:56:48,200 in house, generally speaking, it's just a matter of like 839 00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:50,680 actually combining them in the way that is going to move the 840 00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:53,680 needle. So that's something that I think 841 00:56:53,680 --> 00:57:01,120 could really differentiate and and move the needle and in a 842 00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:05,760 much more positive direction for Indy Pet to actually be not 843 00:57:05,760 --> 00:57:10,800 just, oh, you come and buy stuff from us, but also we can help 844 00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:14,960 you in ways that other people like literally just can. 845 00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:24,240 Yeah, I really think that could be, that can really be huge for 846 00:57:24,400 --> 00:57:30,400 for Indy Pet because you already have a knowledge base that is 847 00:57:30,400 --> 00:57:32,840 really going to make that an easy transition for whoever you 848 00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:36,360 send to train to be a health coach. 849 00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:43,400 I don't I just I, I I think it could really be a good thing. 850 00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:45,800 Yeah. And it these could charge for it 851 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:51,720 and have the whole waiver thing. And, and that's sort of, and you 852 00:57:51,720 --> 00:57:56,280 have to charge for it because otherwise the customer's not 853 00:57:56,280 --> 00:57:59,760 going to commit to the program. And it's just, there's not going 854 00:57:59,760 --> 00:58:02,560 to be a back and forth and it's just going to be a shit show. 855 00:58:02,560 --> 00:58:06,440 Because I've, I've actually tried this, but it was more 856 00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:08,120 towards when I was getting out of Pittsburgh. 857 00:58:08,120 --> 00:58:13,400 So I did not really market it to the point that it needed to be 858 00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:15,520 marketed. But yes, that would that would 859 00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:19,560 definitely set aside an indie because, you know, you and I 860 00:58:19,560 --> 00:58:23,600 both can you I you will probably agree with me. 861 00:58:23,600 --> 00:58:26,960 I mean, I talked to I have so many people reach out and I 862 00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:30,160 don't technically coach. I just, you know, hey, let's 863 00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:32,640 talk about this. And you know, a lot of times 864 00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:37,600 it's just talking them off the bridge, but they want guidance. 865 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:41,360 Like they're not like you or IA. Lot of people aren't like you 866 00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:47,400 and I willing to just do it ourselves, be our own advocate, 867 00:58:47,400 --> 00:58:52,640 use the vet only for clinical data, blood work, all of the 868 00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:56,000 things and they want, they want guidance. 869 00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:00,280 So and there's not enough integrative vets or holistic 870 00:59:00,280 --> 00:59:01,840 vets or whatever you want to call them. 871 00:59:01,840 --> 00:59:06,440 They're just not enough. So that would that would really 872 00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:10,520 help Indies and it would help the industry and moving that 873 00:59:10,520 --> 00:59:14,200 needle even more than we've already moved it so. 874 00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:20,320 Yeah, I did a talk a couple of months ago at a pet sitters 875 00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:24,160 conference because I, I, I, I think they're also in a good 876 00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:27,200 position to be able to help people like this in this way. 877 00:59:28,400 --> 00:59:33,440 But I think indie pet stores or even in an even better position. 878 00:59:33,840 --> 00:59:36,400 For sure. Yeah, to to be able to help 879 00:59:36,400 --> 00:59:38,360 people that way. I had my own pet sitting 880 00:59:38,360 --> 00:59:41,960 business prior to owning my stores for eight years, so I 881 00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:45,080 can't tell. Like it's difficult being a pet 882 00:59:45,080 --> 00:59:50,800 sitter feeding kibbles and bits or, you know, my first, my first 883 00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:56,240 client, I was a Beagle puppy that I had to fill with her Kong 884 00:59:56,240 --> 01:00:01,800 with cream cheese and Jelly. I know she died of diabetes at 885 01:00:01,800 --> 01:00:05,400 10. And, and this is, you know, I 886 01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:09,920 was already a raw feeder, but you know, I was not at the point 887 01:00:09,920 --> 01:00:13,800 then that I could say, Hey, do you really think this is a good 888 01:00:13,800 --> 01:00:15,520 idea? Can I give you some ideas? 889 01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:18,080 Like that's a, that's a tough. And a lot of pets that are don't 890 01:00:18,080 --> 01:00:21,120 even see the homeowner, the, the, the pet parents. 891 01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:22,520 They just see the dog or the cat. 892 01:00:23,760 --> 01:00:26,720 So. Which is a whole other whole 893 01:00:26,720 --> 01:00:31,800 other thing. Oh, they're bag of bag of. 894 01:00:32,520 --> 01:00:37,360 I don't even like crap to open bag of crap to anyway. 895 01:00:37,400 --> 01:00:38,200 I don't know. What do you think? 896 01:00:38,200 --> 01:00:43,920 Did we do this talk justice? I think, I think we hit the main 897 01:00:43,920 --> 01:00:50,600 point to you know, don't. It is what it is. 898 01:00:51,400 --> 01:00:54,440 Don't funnel yourself only to shopping online. 899 01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:58,840 Don't do auto ship. What else? 900 01:00:58,840 --> 01:01:04,120 What, what, what, what, what? Main I mean building the 901 01:01:04,120 --> 01:01:09,960 relationship. I think you know, people who 902 01:01:09,960 --> 01:01:12,480 work in Indy pet already want to build the relationship. 903 01:01:12,480 --> 01:01:17,280 The pet parent has to walk in willing to build that 904 01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:21,000 relationship as well. That's where for me, I think 905 01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:25,320 that's where the conversation with pet parents really needs to 906 01:01:25,320 --> 01:01:26,560 go like. Yeah. 907 01:01:27,080 --> 01:01:29,440 This, that this isn't just a place where you go buy 908 01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:34,160 something, right? And you know, if you're 909 01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:38,000 especially if you're coming from a big box, like that's not what 910 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:41,680 you're used to. But having an open mind, which, 911 01:01:42,040 --> 01:01:45,680 you know, that's a problem with society in general today is 912 01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:50,680 having an open mind. And it's hard, you know, we get 913 01:01:50,680 --> 01:01:53,680 beaten down so much that we close ourselves off. 914 01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:57,400 But you know, these people actually care. 915 01:01:58,480 --> 01:02:03,440 I think almost everybody that goes into any part of animal 916 01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:07,680 care, whether it is a veterinarian or a vet tech or 917 01:02:07,680 --> 01:02:11,720 owning an indie pet store or whatever, at some point in time, 918 01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:16,520 like they went into that because they care about the animal. 919 01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:23,480 And I mean, that's it's, it's you have a foundation there to 920 01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:27,080 build off. It's not like walking into, I 921 01:02:27,080 --> 01:02:33,000 don't know, a Walmart and just pulling anybody off of their 922 01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:36,600 register and saying, you know, care about my animal. 923 01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,680 Like, no, you have no idea. That person could literally hate 924 01:02:39,680 --> 01:02:42,880 animals, right? You walk into an indie pet 925 01:02:42,880 --> 01:02:47,400 store, you know that everybody in that pet store absolutely 926 01:02:47,400 --> 01:02:49,080 loves animals. And if you give them the chance, 927 01:02:49,080 --> 01:02:50,280 they're going to love your animal. 928 01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:55,400 Yep, and that common ground goes a long way. 929 01:02:55,720 --> 01:02:58,040 Yeah, yeah. And you never know where those 930 01:02:58,040 --> 01:03:01,960 conversations will lead that you have in those stores, whether it 931 01:03:01,960 --> 01:03:04,000 involves your pet or not your pet, you know what I mean? 932 01:03:04,120 --> 01:03:07,440 It's. Oh, yeah, I've, I've definitely 933 01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:10,880 heard many conversations about healing yourself. 934 01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:14,960 Yeah, like, you know, just figuring out menopause, 935 01:03:14,960 --> 01:03:18,000 perimenopause, like, like I've heard conversation because 936 01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,800 that's where we all are, right? Like we're, we're not just 937 01:03:20,800 --> 01:03:22,640 trying to figure out what's happening with our pets. 938 01:03:22,640 --> 01:03:24,600 We're trying to figure out what's happening with us too, 939 01:03:25,080 --> 01:03:27,800 because we don't trust any medical system anymore. 940 01:03:28,680 --> 01:03:31,760 When this is funny and then we can wrap it up. 941 01:03:31,760 --> 01:03:35,600 But when Billy was giving a talk at my Florida store, I don't 942 01:03:35,600 --> 01:03:38,000 know how we got on topic of cholesterol. 943 01:03:38,640 --> 01:03:43,520 And my cholesterol is 340, but my my good cholesterol is really 944 01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:45,840 high, right? So yeah, that's a good thing. 945 01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:51,160 So I like said it during his talk, a woman came up to me 946 01:03:51,160 --> 01:03:56,160 afterwards that came in just to hear him talk and said, So what 947 01:03:56,160 --> 01:03:59,560 doctor do you go to? Because my doctor just put me on 948 01:03:59,560 --> 01:04:03,120 medication because mine's high. But I don't think that thought 949 01:04:03,120 --> 01:04:08,920 like she truly was like wanting wanting help. 950 01:04:09,960 --> 01:04:13,320 Yes, quite you have to question and I'm she didn't know if her 951 01:04:13,400 --> 01:04:16,160 if her good cholesterol was higher try good list like she 952 01:04:16,160 --> 01:04:17,720 didn't know that all the details. 953 01:04:18,040 --> 01:04:20,280 She just followed what her doctor said. 954 01:04:21,720 --> 01:04:24,640 Yeah, yeah. I mean, people won't know that. 955 01:04:24,640 --> 01:04:29,160 They just keep decreasing what a good number is because they 956 01:04:29,160 --> 01:04:31,280 literally want the world on statins. 957 01:04:31,480 --> 01:04:33,560 Yep. Which is going to kill your 958 01:04:33,560 --> 01:04:37,880 brain like the the idea that we have demonized saturated fats 959 01:04:37,880 --> 01:04:39,960 when that is literally what our brain is made of. 960 01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:42,600 I know. Boggles my mind. 961 01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:49,560 I know, I know. OK, well, yeah, I think, I think 962 01:04:49,560 --> 01:04:53,320 that's hopefully good. Please shop Indy Pet. 963 01:04:54,400 --> 01:04:56,760 Please shop Indy pet please please. 964 01:04:57,960 --> 01:04:59,160 Right. Yes. 965 01:04:59,800 --> 01:05:02,480 Well, Tony, thank you so much for coming on. 966 01:05:02,520 --> 01:05:03,960 Thank. You great conversation. 967 01:05:04,840 --> 01:05:06,600 Yeah, I hope to see you at Super Zoo. 968 01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:11,280 And guys, if you haven't for like for me on my end, I hope 969 01:05:11,280 --> 01:05:15,360 you check out Tony's podcast, Tony Unleashed, for more 970 01:05:15,600 --> 01:05:18,040 interesting conversations with Tony Schwansky. 971 01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:19,200 Thank. You. 972 01:05:20,920 --> 01:05:22,480 All right guys, have a good rest of your day. 973 01:05:22,480 --> 01:05:28,360 I'll talk to you next week before you go, if today's 974 01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:31,280 episode got you thinking about what's really going on beneath 975 01:05:31,280 --> 01:05:34,200 the surface for your pet, don't forget to check out Wild 976 01:05:34,200 --> 01:05:36,880 Wellness pet.com. You'll find the Wild Wellness 977 01:05:36,880 --> 01:05:40,600 Bioenergetic Test to help uncover hidden stressors, plus a 978 01:05:40,600 --> 01:05:44,880 curated apothecary of holistic remedies to support true root 979 01:05:44,880 --> 01:05:47,880 cause healing. Visit wildwellnesspet.com to 980 01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:51,480 start building a calmer, more vibrant pet from the inside out.