Earlier this month, I visited a bustling local Country Fayre — one of those classic British events with bouncy castles, cider stands, a dog show, and rows of returning vendors. If you’re in the pet business, you’d love it. Families, dog lovers, and hungry crowds; it’s a goldmine of potential customers.
But one interaction stuck with me.
We queued for ages at a popular food van. The scent of sizzling food was too tempting to pass up. We finally placed our order… only to be told:
“Sorry, it’s cash only. The signal always drops at lunchtime.”
Wait — always?
They knew the Wi-Fi crashes every day at peak time, yet their solution was… to do nothing. They shrugged it off. “Not our fault.”
But here’s the thing: it is their fault. Just like everything in your business is your fault.
Harsh? Maybe. But empowering? Absolutely.
As a business owner, especially in the pet industry where face-to-face interactions matter and events can be chaotic, you don’t control everything — but you do control your response. That vendor could have invested in a mobile router or portable payment system for less than a week’s profit. Instead, they let customers walk away.
Blaming external circumstances is easy. Taking responsibility is harder — but it’s what separates struggling businesses from thriving ones.
And the upside? When you own the results, you also own the success. You get to say, I built this. You get the glory.
If you’re serious about growing your pet business, start with this mindset shift: everything is your fault — and that’s your power.
