We were lucky to catch up with Cynthia Okimoto recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cynthia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the best advice you ever gave to a client? How did they benefit / what was the result? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)
The best advice I ever gave to a client was to take some time for herself everyday just for her- it didn’t matter if she took a nap, read a magazine or just took a walk for herself. She benefitted and her pet/family all repeated the rewards of this as her dog was previously super anxious (making the walks stressful and anxiety provoking). As a holistic dog trainer, one of my jobs is to help clients get back to a place of embodiment and presence. When I am working with dog parents I not only hear the problems they are having, I am also taking into account their emotional state. Over time her prioritizing her need for her own time allowed her to slow down and put herself first- so that she could be an anchor for herself and her family. Dogs reflect our energy and when we are fearful, nervous and not centered they feel they need to protect themselves and us and that can look like guarding, proactively barking at any and all triggers on the street (or in the home) such as other dogs, service workers or strangers. When pet parents are able to be present within their own bodies, it gives permission to the dogs to be able to relax and follow us which is what they want on a walk.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Cynthia Okimoto and I am a self-taught holistic dog trainer. I developed my own methodologies to help dog parents meet their dogs wants and needs proactively and on a frequency that makes their dogs feel seen, heard and valued. Since 2010, I’ve been working professionally with dogs (and cats) in and around New York City from walking packs of dogs, to operating my own brick n mortar dog daycare, grooming, training, overnight care and pet sitting with a staff of up to 14 at times. I’ve witnessed remarkable developments in the pet food, treat, toy and care service with technological advances such as previously acquiring clients through Craigslist in 2010, to the development of mobile websites to dog tracking apps to a gig- economy model of providing services to pet parents.
Currently I board small breed dogs out of my own home in the NYC neighborhood of Chelsea and am a solopreneur. I also do in person at pop up events and virtual pet psychic readings where I help connect pet parents with their furchild’s wants, needs and secret cravings. I also do pet healings with reiki and my own natural pet healing gifts to help pets with hip and hind leg problems and separation anxiety.
My goal in whatever it is that I do with pets is to give pet parents peace of mind taking while being in tune with that their pet needs to thrive or at least get to a step closer to being happier and healthier. Everything that I do has a holistic bent- whether it’s boarding dogs over the weekend (we go on a hike, to the beach or get into nature), doing a pet psychic reading or providing recommendations for types of nutrition for a dog training clients- there’s rarely just one answer to anything and I take into account as much of the latest developments in the pet medical industry, pet food and toy industry into account keeping in mind that newer is not always better and that longitudinal data can help determine use and value for each specific pet’s needs. For instance, many dog parents struggle with dogs that bark “a lot”. It may at first glance seem like the dog is spoiled, hyperactive or aggressive. I always tell my clients that there is almost always a need that the pet is trying to meet with their behavior- and they will almost always accept a treat or more food or a walk if that is what is offered even if that’s not what they need. My job is to get to the root cause of the barking (or “unwanted” behavior) by helping provide an optimized care schedule for their pet which can include things like games, a change in diet/nurtrition, more focused attention on them, different types of walks outside, or socialization/ play freqency and durations with other dogs or people. At times the root cause is medical such as a UTI, ear infection or even a slipperly new hardwood floor.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
As woo-woo as this sounds, I had to unlearn about scaling up and delegating. It wasn’t until I met with an astrologer who said that in this lifetime it’s important for me to apply myself and do direct service work. That means, no delegating, no scaling up and minimal outsourcing. No business books I ever came across, podcasts or common knowledge about business ever lent me the idea that I am supposed to being being client facing in my career. This lends some light onto why it never panned out well or for long whenever I’d hire a manager and why my business only thrived when I was on site. The further away I’d be from the hands on work or geographically distanced the more problems my company faced. Now that I do and create almost everything I can myself the better my business is doing and the better I’m able to be responsible for my own impact on my clients well being.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
In the 15 years I’ve been in business serving pets and their parents I’d say that most effective strategy has been doing inner work- shadow work around allowing myself to be seen, being in touch with my own gifts and expanding my personal container for financial abundance. I tried all the kinds of advertising, followed the good and the bad advice and at the end of the day it boils down to me – how many clients am I going to be able to serve, am I utilizing my gifts to add value to my clients and am I being compensated in the way that energizes me and makes me into more of who I want in this world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.newyorkdognanny.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nydognanny
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newyorkdognanny
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiaokimoto/
Image Credits
Roger Lanoue
Kelsey Haskins
Stann Nakazono