We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Staudenmaier and Grace Foley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt Staudenmaier and below.
Matt Staudenmaier and, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
“I should put that on a shirt”, I said after a particularly challenging day of repeating myself while dog training.
The Daily Dog Designs was created on a whim! As full time dog trainers (and Grace is a former veterinary technician of 20 years), we’ve spent a great deal of our lives working with, and living around dogs – their healthcare, their sports, their training and their owners. The bond between people and dogs is amazing – and complex! This sometimes yields some hilarious notions:
“My dog can’t get heartworms, I live in a gated community” (heartworms are spread by mosquitos)
“I keep saying ‘NO’ but my dog doesn’t listen” (the word NO means nothing to a dog until you train its meaning)
If you’re laughing or shaking your head, you might be a dog trainer, or a vet, or a pet sitter! We looked around and saw this group of amazingly patient and big-hearted people didn’t have many outlets to feel seen & understood and to laugh.
In talking with other trainers, we found we weren’t alone in feeling the joys and frustrations of the profession. The sport & protection dog world also involves huge challenges. Training is a bit like a puzzle – you have to find just the right combination of techniques to help the human/dog team do their best. Sometimes the stakes are high and dogs may be surrendered if through training, you can’t get the team to gel.
We made designed our first shirts, and started hearing from dog trainers and dog handlers that they love the designs because they made them smile. We’ve made designs for training businesses, vet hospitals, sport dog clubs, and for dog lovers alike.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
For us, being authentic is key. We speak from experience and I think this sets us apart from other designers. Dog training is actually quite complex when done properly – there’s a great deal of science in the behavior of learning. Grace graduated from Georgetown University with a Psychology degree and her understanding & practice of learning theory helps us work efficiently through dog training issues. We don’t have a “one size fits all” approach to our private dog training. Good dog trainers understand our designs because they recognize the humor and the meaning behind our products.
Along with apparel, two of our most popular products are ones we made designed using our past and current experience. We create digital download products for trainers to use with their own businesses. Grace’s experience as a Veterinary Technician was a guiding influence in knowing what information to include to help trainers safely care for the dogs they train. I’m a woodworker and used this skill set to create Wooden Skills Training Boxes to help trainers (and dog owners) teach dogs better impulse control. The boxes are hand-crafted, durable and beautiful. Trainers often tell us the box is exactly what they needed to use with their own clients. We include the boxes in our own training programs, so we know how useful they are!
We couldn’t meet our buyers’ needs without knowing what they go through. We’re dog trainers first, and I think this is key to knowing what our customers need.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When Covid was first appearing, most people understandably did not want us in their homes to train their dogs. With so much uncertainty, training dried up for awhile. We considered what our options were at the time and started online training but this was simply not enough to cover life costs.
The Daily Dog Designs was an answer to the question of “what now?”
We had so many design ideas for apparel, downloads, and training tools, that we pivoted to online sales and commerce. The learning curve wasn’t difficult, just time consuming. And suddenly, we had a great deal of time on our hands so it was the ideal moment to create this business.
With almost every endeavor, you start with time, money or knowledge, but rarely with all three! If you wait until you have a all three, nothing ever gets going. Suddenly we had the time, and took the opportunity. I’m so glad we did so all these years later. Our businesses continue to grow and it’s definitely a good feeling knowing that if something ever goes wrong, the floor’s not going to fall out under us. We have options.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
An essential lesson we’ve learned about being in business, is that you follow what your clients or customers want or need.
What you want to create may or may not feed you! But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try putting your weird & wonderful soul out there in your creations. Make your business your own, but also be ready to adjust as your clients ask you for what they want.
For example, we were steadily making apparel for dog trainers and people in the dog world. Then we noticed a trend. What people were wanting and buying were the tools that helped their own businesses succeed. Essentially, they were willing to pay for knowledge & tools they didn’t have to solve a problem they DID have. So while the creative part of us loves designing for apparel, our downloads and wooden skills boxes keep the lights on!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDailyDogDesigns
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailydogdesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DailyDogDesigns
- Other: Link to our Dog Training Business: https://gracewithdogs.com/ Along with in-person training, we do offer online training worldwide and offer training on use of our Wooden Skills Training Boxes.
Image Credits
Grace Foley