Together again!
Registration
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Registration details are published in the Facebook group Owners of Dog Daycares.
Our Speakers
Sarah Kalnajs, B.A. / CDBC / CPDT-KA
Sarah has been working with dogs professionally for over twenty years and is the owner of Blue Dog Training and Behavior in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the CCPDT and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the IAABC.
Sarah is on the board of the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, is recognized in the state of Wisconsin as an expert witness in dog behavior, and has run a dog rescue organization for over twenty years.
Sarah graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, studied comparative cognition between dogs and dolphins through the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was a member of the Lab’s humpback whale research team.
A popular public speaker since the release of her Language of Dogs and Am I Safe video series (available on DVD and streaming), Sarah has given more than a hundred seminars across the U.S. and internationally to dog training organizations, veterinary schools, dog breed clubs, and rescue/shelter groups.
Sarah and her husband Andrew, an engineer, work together with their four dogs to create training tools for professional trainers and dog owners. The most well-known of these tools is the Dog Safe Hands-Free Leash System.
~~~~~~
Topic: Engagement. It’s Not Just About the Ring.
Use simple, science-based training concepts to improve the overall behavior and wellbeing of dogs in your care, increase staff satisfaction and retention, and increase the happiness and loyalty of your customers.
Picture a scenario in which your staff are engaged and excited to come to work because they are acquiring valuable training skills, applying those skills with the dogs in their care, and seeing how much calmer those mentally-stimulated dogs are. Staff retention is at an all-time high.
When your staff provide the dogs in their care with daily enrichment and learning activities as well as group play, those dogs get two great workouts - one physical and one mental - and as a result, are much better behaved in your daycare and at home. Your customers will appreciate the change in their dog’s behavior and your staff will feel pride in their accomplishments.
As an add-on service, you can also provide your customers with regular video updates of their dog's progress with the new skills they are learning.
Everyone benefits:
• The dogs in your care are calmer and have fewer conflicts.
• Your staff feels good about the daily progress they are making with each dog.
• Your customers appreciate the improvement in their dog's behavior.
Sherry Acanfora-Ruohomaki, President/Owner, K9 Kampus & Facets Consulting Group
Sherry’s companies represent her unique ability to uncover gaps and then build businesses that deliver unparalleled service to fill marketplace needs.
K9 Kampus, a luxury Dog Daycare & Boarding Facility in Melbourne Florida, is one of her unique approaches that expands traditional pet daycare, boarding and grooming and various training programs in a spotless, safe, and secure environment.
Facets Consulting Group provides expertise in technology start-ups, lean manufacturing principles, business development, and organizational health.
Sherry’s background includes B.S. degrees in both Computer and Electrical Engineering, an M.S in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Florida Tech, and an Executive MBA from the University of Central Florida. Sherry was the Director of Operations for Florida TechStart on the campus of Florida Tech, a technology accelerator funded by a 2 year grant from the National Science Foundation in collaboration with UCF’s highly successful Technology Incubator.
As owner of Facets Consulting Group she specializes in programs for Effective & Efficient communication skills in the workplace and conflict resolution and has developed her own programs for Corporate Organizational Health. Sherry co-founded XL TechGroup, focused on technology innovation & company creation. She also worked in Silicon Valley California for LifeScan a Division of Johnson & Johnson and Electronics for Imaging as Manager of Manufacturing & Quality Engineering.
Sherry is the recipient of the 2016 Small Business Administration’s Business Person of the Year for the State of Florida and for the South Florida District and the 2014 Small Business Administration’s Women owned Business Person of the year for the South Florida District. Sherry was awarded the Space Coast Business Bernie Simpkins Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016. Sherry has also been a Top Ten Nominee for the Bright House Regional Business Awards for 2015 and 2016 and been nominated for the Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce Women of Excellence award in 2014 and 2016. Sherry received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Psychology & Liberal Arts from Florida Institute of Technology in 2019.
Sherry also volunteers as a mentor/facilitator in the Ignite Program hosted by WeVenture on the campus of Florida Tech. Sherry serves as the Vice President on the FIT Alumni Board of Directors and is Chairmen of the Board of Directors for the No Limits Academy a not-for-profit school for children with brain and spinal injuries.
Sherry is married to Davin Ruohomaki who is the Vice President, Deputy Aviation, National Business Line Leader for WSP USA. They have a beautiful 15-year-old daughter Isabella who is a blossoming equestrian who competes in Dressage, Hunter, Jumper and was recently accepted on an IEA Competition team with hopes of competing in college.
Prior to receiving her engineering degrees Sherry was a crew member and mechanic for a Professional Pro Stock Drag Racing Team and enjoyed bracket racing in Englishtown New Jersey with her own car that she still owns today. Sherry is Black Belt in Karate and was a fitness instructor for 17 years. The Ruohomaki family has been made complete with their dog Tootsie and their 2 bunnies Pizzaz and Finito.
Topic: Staff Training and On-boarding.
Robert C. Bowen
Robert C. Bowen is a Certified Financial Planner™ with over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services industry.
Mr. Bowen graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 with a degree in Finance. After graduation, he began working with a large life insurance company and he became the Northern California Retirement Plan Specialist. Mr. Bowen was responsible for educating the financial advisor community on the various types of retirement plans available and helping those advisors implement the appropriate plan for their clients.
Taking this expertise, in 1995 Mr. Bowen moved into the retail side of the Financial Services industry and began working directly with both corporations and individuals. Over the following 20+ years Mr. Bowen has set up hundreds of qualified retirement plans and helped thousands of individuals achieve their financial goals. He has followed two simple strategies: work with like-minded people whenever possible, and always put the client’s interest first.
Mr. Bowen maintains the proper licenses and certifications to work with clients on both a fee basis and a commission basis, recognizing the advantages of both arrangements.
Topic: It's Your Money. You Earned it. Make Sure You Have it for Later.
Sherry Boyer
Sherry Boyer took $750 in 2005 and started a dog training business in a town of less than 2500 people.
She grew her business quickly, and expanded into a 16,000 sf boarding, daycare and training facility in 2007 right before the economy turned upside down. She went on to make that into a 7 figure business, despite a great family tragedy. She created a method for her business that allowed her to go absentee in 2015, and then she sold it for a profit in 2018.
Sherry is also a certified and award winning business coach. Other owners in the industry started asking her for advice and then hiring her, and over the past 7 years many have gone on to:
*Go absentee while growing, with committed staff
*Buy their dream homes and properties
*Build to over 7 figures a year
*Create recurring revenue streams that produce even during slow times
*Expand from leasing to owning property with massive buildouts
*Grow revenues even during the worst of the pandemic
*Add on new facilities
*And do whatever they want with their time
Sherry was lucky to be asked to speak at the very first ODD Ball, also held in Las Vegas, and is so excited to see old friends and meet new ones at this one!
~~~~~~
Topic: Pricing Strategies for Profit & Bringing Recurring Revenues in to ANY Business.
How to recognize your value, price accordingly, and add recurring revenue streams to improve budgeting and cash flow projections.
Claire Cronin, VP – Pet Care Facility Financing
Claire originally joined Live Oak Bank in 2015 as a member of the hotel team.
In 2018, Claire moved onto the vet and pet facility team where her focus has been on assisting customers with financial options; including acquisitions, expansions, start-ups and renovation projects. Her goal is to provide financial solutions that afford her clients opportunities to continue to grow their businesses.
Claire resides in Atlanta, GA, with her husband Brian and three kids Emmet, Fintan, and Emer.
~~~~~~
Topic: Financing for Growth. (with Brandy Keck)
Learn how to line up financing for that expansion, new location, second location, or side business.
Jill Dretzka, Owner, Work and Woof, Austin, TX
Jill Dretzka is the owner of Work and Woof in Austin, TX. Work and Woof is the country’s only Daycare, Coworking Space and Indoor Dog Park combined concept. Work and Woof specializes in crate and kennel free boarding and shared office space for pet parents.
Before opening her daycare, Jill worked in social media marketing creating and executing strategy for businesses around the world. TikTok and Instagram are her social platforms of choice and she spends her free time outside of work with her Australian Kelpie Lucca, her inspiration for Work and Woof.
~~~~~~
Topic: The Power of Video and its Impact on the Future of Social Media
We will be covering how to best utilize video for your business, how to find the time, inspiration and the tools to execute and the impact video has on your audience.
Katherine Godwin, BSN, RN – Medical Unit Chief, Workers’ Compensation Section
Katherine Godwin has worked for the State of Nevada’s workers’ compensation regulatory agency (DIR/WCS) for over eleven years. Her responsibilities include statewide oversight of the Medical Unit as well as managing the Medical Unit in Southern Nevada at the Division of Industrial Relations (DIR). Ms. Godwin conducts much of the workers’ compensation training in Nevada and is a regular speaker at annual conferences. Her background includes hospital staff nursing in several neonatal units, rehabilitation, managed care, case management, utilization review, peer review and outpatient psychiatric program development (Medicaid). She has worked in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Godwin has experience in workers’ compensation in both Colorado and Nevada.
In her spare time, Katherine is an avid swimmer, outdoor enthusiast, and pickleball player. She loves animals of all kinds, except spiders and cockroaches!
~~~~~~
Topic: Workers' Compensation
Brandy Keck, SVP – Head of Veterinary & Pet Care Facility Financing
Brandy joined the Live Oak Bank in 2017. Prior to joining the team, she worked at Bank of America Practice Solutions as a business development officer in healthcare and veterinary financing and Carr Healthcare Realty as a brokerage liaison.
Brandy has been helping veterinary and healthcare professionals achieve their goals of private practice ownership for the majority of her career.
A graduate of Mount Union University and native of northeast Ohio, she is now the head of the Veterinary Lending Division and the proud owner of two Labrador retrievers, Deac & Jett.
~~~~~~
Topic: Financing for Growth. (with Claire Cronin)
Learn how to line up financing for that expansion, new location, second location, or side business.
Brian Linning
Brian Linning is the Founder and CEO of Linning Associates based in Northern Illinois. Linning Associates is an established cybersecurity and business IT solutions provider. Brian holds the firm belief that CEOs and business owners should spend their time and focus on growing their business and not on their technology.
In his over 35 years of professional experience, Brian has worked with a Fortune 100 company as well as consulting with a wide variety of local Small Businesses throughout the US. These include businesses in Pet Care (Lodging, Daycare, Veterinary, & Grooming), Construction, Legal, Insurance, Automotive, Printing & Packaging, and more.
As a bestselling co-author of “16 Strategies You Need to Know to Protect Your Business From Hackers”, Brian discussed the topic of “How to Ensure Your Remote Workers are not Endangering your Business”. He mapped industry and government standards into an easy-to-understand list of strategies every business should implement to protect their most valuable asset, their company.
Brian has been the co-owner of Bark ‘N’ Town Pet Resort & Day Spa with his wife Beverly for over 19 years. Together they’ve grown their 70+ year old business into a well-known upscale pet care business with raving pet parents. He’s excelled in local leadership roles and event management for organizations in his local community.
Brian has been a speaker at local and national events on topics such as IT security, Implementing Voice over IP systems, Line of Business Applications – Which One & Why, The Importance of Prioritizing IT Costs, and other IT related topics.
~~~~~~
Topic: Remote Workforce: How Can it Ease Your Hiring and Employee Pains?
Can your pet care business be agile and create a blended workforce where some employees work on-site and others are remote? Opportunities exist to create positions for work from home jobs. These positions could be easier to fill with candidates looking for more flexibility in work hours and less travel to and from the office.
What is the right technology to have in place to enable a remote workforce (i.e. Voice over IP, VPNs, Security Software, etc.)?
What positions can be handled by a remote workforce? How will I manage remote workers? How do I keep my clients’ information secure?
Rob Van Craenenbroeck
Rob Van Craenenbroeck has been a Human Resource and Learning & Development practitioner for the past 30 years. He has led Human Resource teams in multiple industries including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and academia in such roles as VP Talent Acquisition and Director of Learning and Development. Rob has also provided leadership for national and global salesforces and served in the capacity of Director of Human Resources and Vice President of Operations for Kaplan Professional Education.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Development . During his career, Rob has helped companies emerge from bankruptcy and has been a catalyst for successful organizational change. He is a frequent keynote speaker and facilitates cultural change workshops. Rob currently resides in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
Topic: Maximizing Human Capital.
Ways to create and sustain a culture that people want to work in.