Today we’d like to introduce you to Geoff Ellinwood.
Hi Geoff, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My dog training journey I guess started when I was seven years old. We had a Brittany who was wide open! He would bust out the front door, chased the paperboy down, and would knock over the neighbor’s birdbath among other things! After a year or so my mom and I went to dog training class. I was to sit quietly, watch and pay attention. We got a couple of classes in and then my mom got injured at work and couldn’t physically hold a leash so… I had to do the classes. I think the next youngest person in that class was 25 years old. It felt like the trainer kept coming over every other minute to check on me, to which I thought “stop doing that you’re gonna get me in trouble my mom‘s gonna think I’m not paying attention! “But knowing what I know now, that trainer was probably terrified to have a seven-year-old child in their class!
Then I just took that knowledge and applied it to other dogs we would have over the years.
When I was a teenager, I talked to a dog trainer and expressed interest in wanting to become one. He said; “…this is a hobby, not a job… you’ll starve to death.” So, I didn’t pursue it.
In my mid-20s I had a dog that would go back and forth within training. One day I would win, one day he would win… that’s what it felt like. I had a card on my fridge from a trainer/K9 officer that had been sitting there for a year before I finally called him. After two sessions, he asked me to be his apprentice. I was super excited and really dove in! Looking back, I’m pretty sure he just wanted some knucklehead to wear a bite suit in 98° weather and work the protection dogs!
I apprenticed under him for a few years, until he moved out of state and I bought the company in 2009 and have been running at the full time pretty much since then.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? Definitely not. I’ve learned being a business owner is not a smooth highway, it’s all crossroads that are constantly under construction. It’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be. I have made a lot of tuition payments to the school of hard knocks and will continue to. I’m fine with that. Here was my first crossroad and challenge and I failed miserably. Mind you I knew nothing about business… running, owning, acquisition, absolutely nothing. But I knew right from wrong and chose wrong.
The previous owner who I apprenticed under became one of my best friends at the time. But I think I saw what I wanted to see.
He had apparently landed a gig doing K9 training for border patrol and had to move out of state soon to start that position. He asked me if I would buy the company. He said other people had offered him $100k+ but he wanted me to have it for only $10k! I was excited! Wow, my own business and he’s cutting me a deal!
My next question to him was about the current clients? They hired him, not me the apprentice. He told me how great I was and how great the clients thought I was and then convinced me to go along with a lie about him leaving. He said he’d tell the clients he would be gone for a month plus and then he’ll be back. He convinced me that after a while they’d like me better than him anyway. I don’t like lying, I knew it was wrong but I allowed myself to be deceived and went along with it.
Well… I bought the company, the contract was 1 paragraph on a word document, no assets, just some client contracts that had to be fulfilled. Turns out nobody had heard of the SCK9 Academy, not pet stores, vets’ offices nobody. They only knew him by his name.
Less than a month later everybody’s like, “When’s he getting back?” That’s when I couldn’t take it, I gathered everyone around and told the whole story of what really happened. I took ownership of being a part of the lie and accountability and offered refunds to any who wanted them and promised to those that would stay that I would bust my ass for them if they gave me the chance to prove it. 20% of them left, and the 80% that stayed, we were not happy and I had a lot to prove to them. Understandably so.
So yeah, in summary, I bought a $10k shit storm, a name with no recognition or value, and worst of all, I allowed myself to be deceived and started my business on a lie!
Other notable mentions would be working two part-time jobs to pay the bills and selling my baritone sax to keep the business open. That was hard. I went to college for music education and played a lot of professional gigs with that instrument. But it was either close the business or get it a much-needed cash injection. I chose the business.
Another fun one, I did siphon gas from my riding lawn mower to put in my truck so I could get to a prospects house in the hopes that I would sell them on training with me so I could get a check.
As you know, we’re big fans of SCK9 Academy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As the owner/ operator of SCK9 academy, I’m dedicated to helping frustrated dog owners transform their dog into a calm, controlled companion that listens to them! I do this through customized training programs that are tailored to the owners’ issues, goals, and what works best for their unique dog’s personality.
Even if they’ve been unsuccessful with training in the past or have been told by other pet professionals that their dog is a lost cause.
I do this by offering a free diagnostic evaluation and a free test drive. This way you get to meet me, see how I train, get some results, get a customized training program and then decide if I’m someone you want to work with!
Besides obedience and puppy upbringing I also offer behavior modification, personal protection training, and therapy dog training. I am an evaluator for the AKC CGC test and a member of The International Association of Canine Professionals.
I’ve also had several “Lunch n Learns” in the area with Vet offices, pet stores, and rescue groups. I pick up a few pizzas and while they eat, I show them 5 things they can do right now to have a calmer, more controlled dog that listens to them. I even demonstrate the exercises with one of their dogs.
Currently, I offer private sessions at people’s homes in the greater Columbia SC area.
There’s so much information out there and it can be very confusing for dog owners. So, I work to make dog training make sense to the owners because if it makes sense to them, they’ll do the work and get the results.
I also work very hard to set my clients up for success. I follow up each lesson with step-by-step instructions via email and encourage them to video me doing the exercises so they have them both when they’re doing the exercises during the week and to contact me if they have any questions or get stuck in between sessions. I want to make sure they keep the progress going.
Some of the things I’ve heard a lot from others that sets me apart are I’m prompt, I show up, I make training fun, I put people at ease, I’m patient with my clients and they all love the crazy analogies I come up with! Sometimes it’s hard for my clients to understand their dogs. So, I look to find a parallel in the human world. They get a good laugh and it helps them connect with their dog better.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like the people and opportunities here. Since moving here from NY state in 2002, this area has helped me thrive and grow. The friends I’ve made have become like family and my clients are fantastic people who are a wealth of knowledge in their fields that I can call on for advice and they also have become friends.
Least like? Well, nothing’s perfect but because I drive so much, the road infrastructure can be maddening.
Contact Info:
- Email: geoff.sck9academy@gmail.com
- Website: www.sck9academy.com
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Dog-Trainer/South-Carolina-K9-Academy-285624657330/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUuvXRCpY80GHqVTOZ-O9-6A
