i have this crazy notion, but can i make it work? need advice

hey all, you know i love dogs, they are like my obsesssion, i will watch any movie with a dog even if its not about the dog, will watch any commercial etc... they have been my passion since i was about 7 yrs old & i have been interested in training since then, reading all that i can & learning all that i can. while we stockpile money for a career leap, OH was thinking of offering horse lessons & helping ppl with their horses, & i got the idea why can i do the same with dogs?

the problem is I am not 'certified' offically tho i have what i would concider quite a bit of experience (tho i am always learning & willing to soak up knowledge) would i have a shot at charging for my services to ppl who are having probs with their dogs? just a thought (note this thread isnt a solicitation, just looking for advice on how to get started).

Selling dog training services is the same as selling any product out there: if there's a market for it, if it's something people will pay for, then it will sell.

Most dog trainers affiliate themselves with another company or organization, mostly to gain credibility and start to build a customer base. For example, a new trainer might apprentice with an established company to get their name out there to customers; the more respected the company, the more respected the new trainer will be. Other trainers go through a certifying organization (Karen Pryor Academy, Triple Crown Academy, APDT, CPDT, etc.) as a way of proving that they have an adequate knowledge base, and also to get their contact information on a dog trainer search page.

And still other dog trainers are successful with simple, word-of-mouth advertising and marketing. You train your friend's dog, then your friend tells his friends about you, and the business blossoms from there.

Because being a dog trainer is not so much about being good at training dogs as it is being good at marketing yourself and providing good customer service. If you're not marketing yourself well, you won't have customers. If you don't provide customer service, you won't have repeat customers or referrals. Of course being good at actual dog training helps tremendously in making your customers happy, so in that way it is very important. But you have to get customers in the first place.

You can always start by doing lessons for friends and see how you like it; use their feedback to fine tune your methods and teaching style for your future clients.