Some of you guys might know, I recently got my dog training certification last year and so in order to get as much experience as possible I’ve been volunteering at my local dog training club.
A while ago, one week after class I was approached by a couple about an issue they were having with their dog begging for food at the dinner table and then not wanting to eat her own food. The women told me that her husband just keeps feeding the dog at the table because he claims the dog must be hungry because the dog is not eating her own food.
She asks, “How do I make the dog stop begging and annoying us when we are having our dinner?”
To which I told her, “You guys need to stop feeding her at the table. She’s begging and being annoying because it works!”
To which the husband protested, “But she’s not eating her own food.”
“Of course not, because you are feeding her yours.”
The wife then asks, “So how do we make her stop eating our food.”
“Your husband needs to stop feeding her.”
The husband interrupts again, “But she’s hungry and not eating her own food.”
“Yes, because you keep feeding her from the table”
And round and round this conversation went until I kindly told them they need to actually have a chat to each other. I never heard back from them, so I hope they worked it out eventually!
Sometimes, teaching dogs is more about teaching their owners!
I bet you are reading this now and wondering why that couple could not see that they were just going around and around in circles, but not ready to accept a different answer from me. It’s so obvious when you are the outsider looking in and while I walked away shaking my head in disbelief I also sympathise with them.
I do also have occasional moments where without realising it I go round and round in circles and expect a different outcome. Sometimes it’s a conversation with someone, sometimes it’s a business activity, and sometimes it’s life related. The thing is, sometimes when you are in that loop, you are not aware of it and you just keep doing the same thing but expecting a different result.
Like the time many times I agreed to donate cakes in return for exposure. I'm sure most of you reading this realise that of course I didn't get any meaningful exposure, but also of course next time I thought it’d be different so I did it again!
Or the many times customers used to ask for discounts with the promise that they will order again in the future. And I used to cave and give in…. but they never came back.
Sometimes it takes an outsider or a little bit of reflection to realise that it’s time to do something else. Do you ever feel like that too?
Maybe something within your business is driving you crazy. Are you running a side business that is:
NOT making you much money,
Taking up a LOT of your time,
Starting to feel kinda un-fun,
Making you wonder if it’s even worth it…
Then you need Sweet Side Gig, my new community for people running a side business. It's full of people wanting to get control back over their TIME, MONEY, and SPACE.
Or maybe what you’re doing is kinda working for you, but we both know it could be working a whole lot better, right? Well, it’s time to start working smarter and earning more - and Sweet Side Gig is going to help.
