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Kate Bendix is a journalist and former TV producer who is setting up her own business, Natural Pet Choice which sells healthy, organic food for pets. She loves real food, proper cooking and organic produce for herself, so it makes sense that she should want the same for her pets. But when she tried to find a site on the Web that offered a range of natural pet products, she couldn't find one. This is why she has set up the website. She talks about her progress here.

August 17th 2008

Use The Law To Treat Your Customer As A Cash Register

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Here's a word of advice. Do not EVER go to bed taking the trade press of your chosen profession with you. It will only make you dream of a dark and foreboding presence lurking on the edge of your consciousness who's just waiting to drag you and your business under. Actually just imagine (assuming you're old enough) the small black creatures who arrived from hell to take Patrick Swayze's mate down to eternal damnation for murdering the lovely Patrick. That's what last night was for me. Why? Well it seems that in it's wisdom the people who make up the Veterinary Medicines Regulations are looking to remove some 'natural' medicines from the shelves, particularly flea medicines unless they're backed up by supporting dossier that demonstrates safety and efficacy. And I'm all for banishing the quack stuff and regulating the industry in order for customers to be able to make an informed and SAFE choice. But what about that choice. What if my customers and many thousands of other pet owners out there would like an alternative an SAFE choice to putting pesticides on their animals? What if they would like to treat their best friends with a 'natural' product that actually works? Well stuff them it seems. But I needn't worry, I'll be fine. Because there is now deregulation of a fair few prescription only medicines which I only need to do a (short and hard) course to be able to sell. Training I am also in favour of, especially when peddling hardcore pesticides I wouldn't put on my cats if you paid me. It's alright though, the same article tells me what fantastic revenue opportunities this gives me by being able to sell a repeat product to repeat customers and what a generous margin it will afford my business. Which is lovely when you consider I only make 8.5% on tins of food. Worming and Flea treatments. Ongoing problems that need ongoing treatment that means repeat customers. And don't get me started on worming! I hate this. The fact that customers are just seen as profit and not people (which is probably what will have me out of business by this time next year). That pet owners are viewed as idiots who must be spoken to v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y lest we lose them on some vital point. But mostly that I am not free to sell the products that I know work because the person who makes them probably won't have the tens of thousands of pounds it takes to prove efficacy and if they could everyone would be at it so eroding the whole point. That's taking my business, giving me sleepless nights and making me question this whole thing. What happened to my choice and that of my customer. And their pet's safety? I will never sell pharmaceutical flea treatments. Not ever, no matter how good it is or how much profit there is in it. Because I don't like them, that's MY choice, customers come to me because they don't like them either that's THEIR choice, and where would my point of difference be then eh?

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Posted August 17th 2008 in Business

August 14th 2008

Some Days I Think I Know Nothing....

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I wake up some days and wonder just who do I think I am? Peddling healthy dog food with no prior pet food expertise, why should someone trust what I say? And if their cat's got a case of the nervous twitches why would anyone seek advice from me on anxiety remedies? Then I realise that actually I've been knowledgeable on food and remedies for years and years, only on humans, not our four legged friends. And actually, they're not much different when it comes to the basics. Plus I read, talk to manufacturers, vets and pet owners constantly. Feed them proper food without poor ingredients or cheap fillers, add omega oils for a healthy heart and joints (if we had fur we'd be glossy too!), and give remedies and supplements as required. The point is, it's not rocket science and the pet food industry is where the human food industry was 15-20 years ago: shrouded in spin and seemingly unaccountable. Can you read a conventional pet food label and understand what's inside the packet? You are not alone. But that's all starting to change with a shift towards better pet nutrition. All we need now is a little transparency. What's lovely for me is that the movement of pet owners wanting to know what's really in the packet is a growing one and I am only to happy to advise pet owners and learn from them too. Because the more informed pet owners there are out there the better. For pets AND my growing natural pet business.

Technorati tags: small business, online selling, retail, pets, dogs and cats, healthy food
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