These Educators Found Their PAW-fect Match with US!
Dog Training Elite has a brand new location in Chicago, Illinois! Katie and Tim Matt are the newest members of the Dog Training Elite family, and we got to hear a lot about their journey towards dog franchise ownership in a recent interview! This couple has worked in similar industries and spent time around dogs together for quite some time.
“We met in high school and got married after college,” said Katie in the interview, “We have been married for ten years now with a family of three kids. Our dog’s name is Storm, and we will be getting a golden retriever puppy in about two weeks. We live and work in our home town, and are very invested in our community. When I graduated from high school I worked at a doggy daycare. I have taught high school science for the last eleven years. I have my masters in educational technology as well.”
“I taught grades third through fourth for ten years,” said Tim, “I have a master's in Education Technology and during college, I coached and played volleyball.”
Even though Katie had some experience in the pet care industry, one can’t help but wonder what could take two teachers from their existing careers into the world of dog training.
“Ultimately, we wanted to have more control and say in our day-to-day lives,” said Katie, “We like the opportunity to work hard and see our efforts rewarded not only in potential profits, but also in a way to give back to our community.”
The pair first heard about Dog Training Elite while they were searching through various franchising opportunities outside of teaching.
“We independently searched different franchise opportunities,” said Tim, “We know that we wanted a franchise because of the opportunity for support that franchises offer. In our search, Dog Training Elite kept coming up and we kept seeing different positive things about it in our research.”
What’s more, Dog Training Elite’s unique business model caught the couple’s attention, especially when it came to the focus on family.
“Family is an important aspect to our lives, and the DTE’s business model reflects the family mentality,” said Katie, “DTE allows us to have flexibility in how we run our business, so that we can fit our client demand here in the Chicago land area. We will be able to offer something special to this area based on how DTE has been collaborating and developing across the nation.”
That flexibility is something that has attracted many Dog Training Elite Franchise Owners. Far too often, many career-switchers will enter a franchise without much knowledge of just how much of workload they will have to take on. With DTE, our business model is highly flexible and bespoke to the local market, facility size, and more. The Matts were even more impressed by Dog Training Elite when they participated in their Approval Day. An Approval Day is a one-time event where potential DTE Franchise Owners can see how a facility operates, meet the corporate team, and connect with other Franchise Owners.
“One of the major things we appreciated about the Approval Days with DTE was how transparent they have been throughout the whole process,” said Tim, “We felt that there were no surprises. We felt that the research that we did reflected what we were hearing from DTE. This made us feel more confident that this was a good decision for our family. Getting to see the training in person was also a great part of the process. We got to go out in the field and see a training session, and get to experience what it is we will be doing.”
“The DTE team is great!” said Katie, “The personalities of each person a part of the team really complements each other. The passion for what they are doing was very evident from the first conversation we had. Each team member we met brought something different to the table, showing us the support system that they have for their franchise owners. The team felt very authentic and invested in what DTE has to offer.”
We believe the market in Chicago is extremely promising at the moment, and the Matts seem to share our optimism. The pair noted that they believe their success will come down to what they can offer via DTE in terms of specialty dog training, something that is missing from their specific market. Just as well, the pair hope that their versatility and focus on clients can set them apart and launch them towards success in the pet care industry. We’re rooting for you, Katie and Tim!
Ready to launch your successful pet franchise just like Katie and Tim? Get in touch with the Dog Training Elite corporate team today to get the scoop on everything you need to know about running your own dog franchise.