Meet the Zor: Dog Training Elite CEO Betsy Feaster

Betsy Feaster, a long-time Dog Training Elite* franchisee, is now CEO of the fast-growing franchise with more than 300 locations. She recently spoke with 1851 Founder, Publisher and CEO Nick Powills during his regular podcast, “Meet the Zor.”  

Feaster brings extensive leadership experience from her time in the military and her past executive positions at ExxonMobil. And as the current owner of 16 territories, she also brings a unique perspective to the role.

“I have ‘street cred.’ I can have that conversation with [franchisees] and say, ‘Look: I'm not going to make decisions that hurt you because I own 16 territories in Dog Training Elite. That hurts me,’” Feaster said. “And I make far more at my franchises than I do in this role, so it doesn’t really benefit me to sacrifice anything and put the franchisees into a position where they’re going to make less money because that means that I’m going to make less money and, frankly, the corporation is going to make less money.”

Feaster provided insights into making the transition from the corporate world to franchising, and talked Dog Training Elite business.

You can watch and listen to the entire interview above, or read the transcript below.

Video Transcript:

Nick Powills: What's up, everybody? Nick Powills, publisher of 1851 Franchise.com. We’re talking with Dog Training Elite [CEO Betsy Feaster]. Betsy, this is going to be a complex version of this because you are a franchisee, franchisor, and franchisee. So, I couldn't call this “Meet the Zee;” we're calling it “Meet the Zor.” But I want to set that tone to help construct where our conversation goes. Give me your franchise story. How did you even create a career that bounds into joining a franchise?

Betsy Feaster: Yeah, so it's a really good question. I'll try not to take too much time because, you know, I'm not young, right? So, it could be like a 30-minute discussion. No, I used to be an executive at Exxon, and then, it's a great career opportunity, good corporate job, super, super challenging. But, it wasn't really like my dream job. And so actually, my husband found a dog, and he was like, "Look, let's go. Let's just, like, go for broke, right? Let's leave this environment and let's just do this." And we came out — or he actually came out to a Discovery Day, and just really adored the CEO at the time and the staff here. He's like, "We should just do it." And it was really envisioned for him at the beginning, and I was going to, you know, do some other things. And then I really got into it. So, became a franchisee about two-and-a-half years ago. And through that process, just really fell in love with the model, being able to help people. And just with my business background, ended up getting asked to do this job. So, it was a good fit.

Powills: So, a few things that I want to unpack from that. First is like, you — you're in an aggressive professional career, something that is heavy on you from a mindset standpoint because you're a leader in a multibillion-dollar business. Can you recall, like, an exact moment where, like, "I'm done with this," that was like, "I'm ready to look at — I'm open to exploring something else."

Feaster: Yeah, 100%. And so, we lived in Africa, running some operations and big projects in Africa. And we were sitting there, and you know, I was in what we call the High Potential Academy, so the folks that are in competition for the president and the CEO jobs. And I remember getting so stressed out about whether or not the job was going to be and whether or not that was going to be satisfactory for me to get the CEO, like I've done everything that they had asked me to do. I worked in planning. I moved to Africa when they told me to. I lived in three countries in Africa. And all the reason, it was this reality checkpoint where I'm like, "Wait, I'm only doing this to get to an end goal, which I don't even know if I'm going to be happy doing it." So, I think it was just this realization in Nigeria that I was like, "Man, I — there are people around me that love what they're doing. I'm just doing it to get somewhere." And I was fortunate enough to be successful. But at the end of the day, I didn't want to be 55 and be like, "Man, well, now I have to work another 10 years because I'm the President." And so, it — it — it was that realization that my objectives in life were not in line with what's best for my mental and physical health.

Powills: Yeah, yeah. If you go, if you go backward from that, was it like — were you born driven? That it was — and obviously, you're — you're in big business at that point, but underneath you is like just this driven mentality to win, and it didn't even matter what you were winning at. You're just on to the victory.

Feaster: Yeah,like my husband says all the time, like, you know, it's like I said, "Well, I would just want to chill out." He's like, "Man, you can't chill out. If you were the toll booth operator on the Turnpike, you'd be seeing who could collect the most tickets." So, my father is an Irish guy, is a surgeon. There was no real — as a very young kid, it was just, "Be the best," right? So, I'm credited for a lot of my success, but also some of my mental health, my drive. So, so, yeah, that's for sure true. And that's always a great place for me because it is. It's very oriented around competition with your field, right? There's an annual review every year. "Who's better than who? Are you in the top 10%? If you are, how do you stay there?" It's a brilliant psychological model to keep A players engaged.

Powills: What's interesting in franchising — and this is pretty much any franchise or — it has some of those similar mentalities, and it's what's interesting, it's not — it's not completely black and white like a Franchisee of the Year award. Like, who's deciding this? What's this like? But franchising is set up a little bit like that, but then it's not as well. For instance, they're also conditioned like, "I don't want more blood in my marketplace," even though the collaborative mindset could have tremendous impact on unit-level economics. They — they're protected there, but then it's like, "But we're a part of a community. We're all together." So, you go into this franchise world as a franchisee, how are you navigating your own — your mental focus as a CEO candidate into a smaller box operation? Like, how did you approach that shift?

Feaster: Yeah, it was — it was pretty hard, actually, from, you know, managing thousands of people to — now I'm managing myself and my husband, which I would argue he's harder to manage than 2,000 people. But that's another story. But yeah, but it — it felt so good that the transition was made easier because it felt so good that every hour I was spending was about making people in my community better, and also, this for the unit economics, it was for my unit, right? Other than the loyalties, which I accept because I wasn't ready, because I came from a giant corporation just to go off and start my own business. So, the model of Dog Training Elite just fit us perfectly because sort of just do you, right? Work hard. If you work hard and you hustle, you're gonna make money. And so, that drive transitioned from drive to be regarded as the best to actually being the best, if that makes sense, yeah.

Powills: And then — and then you're — you're looking at a scale mindset, just in a — a different type of volume of — of cash, right?

Feaster: Right, right. But it's interesting how it — when I was managing our corporate plan, we were spending our company plan, we were spending, you know, at that time, $18 billion a year, right? So, it's — it's a much different mindset when you're watching the $500 spend on your potential show because $550,000 was lost in rounding for us? So, it was — it was difficult, but at the end of the day, all the things that I learned that come up as far as running — she looking at rate of return, understanding how to invest the money, what is it — you're probably gonna go negative at the beginning, but how do you get that cash back and really analyzing your success, apply just on a much smaller scale.

Powills: So, go — go — you're now, you're now a franchisee, you're operating, and — and talk about now the transition like you — you do get the call, the call that you waiting on at ExxonMobil, you get it at Dog Training Elite that says, "Well, what if you weren't just a franchisee? What if you were leading?" That — what — what was that like? And did — did that feel like true validation that all the hard work you put in on the ExxonMobil side, you knew you had the skill set, how — how did that feel?

Feaster: I would say I was a little schizophrenic about it, and that it felt really good to be — to be in — in consideration for the job that I was so driven to have at — at — at this giant corporation. It felt good because the original CEO, I think, did an amazing job of setting us up for success. But at the same time, I was like, "Look, I can't become the same person that I was." And then I — I — so that's why I took some time to really think about it. And then I realized that I just love Dog Training Elite, and I love the franchising model where the franchisees can still run their business? They're not employees of mine. I don't have to do evaluations and — teach them one through five and determine who's gonna get a salary bump. They do that. And I still get to use all the lessons that I learned. So, it — it took a couple of days. I think I was definitely — you know, I thought about it.  I took my time, and I'm a highly analytical person before — it feels really good doing it now. If it doesn't, it's not the CEO of ExxonMobil, thankfully? And now I just get to help get this business where it's intended to be, and — and it feels really — 

Powills: I've always felt that leaders that have walked a day in the shoes of a franchisee, whether that was totally as a franchisee or somewhat on the periphery of being a franchisee, gives a different lens into the way that they're gonna operate the company because you knew what it felt like when the franchisor was interacting with you, and it was — it was positive. Obviously, you were, you were pleased with what the opportunities were with Dog Training Elite. Does that give you an advantage now, and then as you've taken on this role and you're crafting your own vision for the organization, how is that sticking to other franchisees, and are they seeing like you're one of us and now you have a voice, or they saying, "Well, why is she in charge?" Like, what has that been like?

Feaster: So, it's — it's had its ups and downs, as you can imagine, in any environment like this. I think there's some credibility, like you said, that's probably the right word, like it — I have “street cred” that I can have that conversation with them and say, “Look: I'm not going to make decisions that hurt you because I own 16 territories in Dog Training Elite. That hurts me.” And I make far more at my franchises than I do in this role so it doesn’t really benefit me to sacrifice anything and put the franchisees into a position where they’re going to make less money because that means that I’m going to make less money and, frankly, the corporation is going to make less money. And frankly, that means that the — I — I want to — I want you to play on that just a little bit more because I think that's the difference between good and bad franchisors, too. The ones that have no corporate footprint, every decision impacts someone else, and you just said, "Like, why would I ever make a decision that would … I'm gonna make a decision that I'm gonna — I'm gonna make the decisions that we're gonna make are gonna benefit everyone because, you know, I just like anybody, right? I mean, there's all sorts of messaging that we can say that everything is about the greater good. It is. But frankly, I mean, if we're all honest, you know, I — I have to take care of my family, too." So, that's why I'm not gonna put anyone in — but we're growing so much that — that's where the kind of ups and downs come. We've got a lot of varying levels, a lot of different types of franchisees, and, you know, some see things a little bit differently than I see them. And so, you know, it's far from perfect, but we're working through it and just — and trying to all grow in the same — 

Powills: Yeah, I'm sure the politics are slightly different. Like Exxon, there's politics because they're — they're — if you're being put to the top, you're being chosen over your competition, your peers. In — in this business, the politics are well, "What have you done for me lately?" And so, you're — you're navigating it. But I'm sure, like, you're able to look back at moments in your career and leverage that as well. So, you have — you have, "What was it like to be in big business and navigate the politics of that?" And then you have, "Well, I've put my money into this — into this business. I left behind a pathway to the executive leader of a multi-multibillion-dollar company for this — for my mental health and for my value of life." So, I would imagine it's — it's just a political adjustment, but — I mean, you’re — you’re a planner, so I'm sure you're — you're checking off, like, "Made progress here. We're just building upon the momentum that we're set up to do."

Feaster: Yeah, that — that's a really good way of phrasing it. Right, it's a different set of politics, one that, you know, it's somewhat new to me, but I try to leverage, you said earlier, just the fact that I am a franchisee, and what — how would I feel about this? So, I'm trying to use that as the foundation for the decisions that I make, and the one thing that I — I, you know, the biggest takeaway from ExxonMobil other than the — how to — how to do big planning and how to do strategy was is really like, just everything is fair, right? Firm, but fair. Now, like, at ExxonMobil, I was known as Darth Vader, right? So, I'm trying very hard to be softer, but at the end of the day, you know, if — if we all just understand the agreements and we understand that it's gonna be lied across all the franchisees equally, I think people will respect that and do — 

Powills: I mean, in the business that you're in, I mean, this is — this is my perception, and I — I don't have a ton of experience as a dog owner. My — my first dog was not well-trained. My second dog, arguably, whether he's trained or not. But if I think about just the training of an animal in the category that you're in, it's not like you'd be like, "Fido, keep doing a good job. If you want to sit, go ahead and sit. If you don't, not — not a big deal." That's like — well, that's the beauty of the business that you're in. You have to be firm or strict with an animal. And so, franchisees are probably a little bit conflicted with that 'cause like, "Well, wait a second. You're — you're being like that with me too." And it's like, "Well, it's — it's not, it's not necessarily my approach. As a human, it's more so the discipline of setting someone up for the success of how they could eventually impact their — and that's why everybody, everybody's in the first place. And maybe that's like the — the language or the love language is what you're navigating is, how do, how do I do it the same way? Because I know how to — how to win in this business. 

Feaster: Spot on. I love that. The way that we act with dogs and — and that's one of the challenges that I had coming into this role was there was a timeframe that, you know, there was very little standardization across the organization. So, creating that causes some discontent, right? When — when folks are excited about, "I just do what I want to do, and I can do it whenever I want to." But as you well know, right, as we — as we grow towards 100 franchisees, you can't have 100 different types of dog training, the dog packages, and — but with that, you get more national recognition, which equals more profit, and, you know — and so we're just — we're — we're fighting through it and — we're growing together. I think that's the best way to put it.

Powills: So, what — what I like to do in these interviews is obviously set up the personality of — the leader. So, we've gone through kind of your pathway from going from executive leadership into franchisee and now onto the franchise side. When we're — we're now shifting over here and you're crafting your own vision, what — what is the reason a buyer should look at Dog Training Elite? How have you stood out as a franchise opportunity, and even some of the things that sold you and your husband on saying yes in the first place, what — what were some of those?

Feaster: The business case first: The overhead requirement for dog training is minimal, right? Once you pay your franchise fee, you are pretty much putting money in your own bank, and it's, you know, there's some things like you have to have a car and you have to come to training and some of that stuff. But there's no facility required. So when Ed and I threw our first, you know, our version, our boot camp here, when we initially became franchisees, we actually sold a package while we were here. So you know that sort of thing. You know, if you're looking for rate of return or return on investment, that Dog Training Elite is one of the top ones because you don't have a bunch of capital output in the beginning, and the second reason is that you really do get to help a lot of people. And that can be from just basically like you were saying, "I look, I have a family pet, I've got a lot on my plate, I've got jobs, I've got kids, I've got whatever. I just want this dog to be," you know, so you can make families' lives better and then to the extreme of the things we do, you can really help people with medical, either visible or invisible disabilities. So if you're in that realm where you want to make a difference in the world, you can do it with us, and that's another thing actually that I struggled with ExxonMobil a little bit. I was making a lot of difference for the CEOs and for the shareholders, but you know, there was all sorts of drama about the energy industry, right? But this is very clear. We're out to help people, help dogs, and make everybody's lives better. And you can do that with a very good return on your investment if you work hard.

Powills: Where do you see this business going? Does it, like, obviously you've always had a scale mindset, but where does, where does the business go? What is your vision as CEO?

Feaster: So I want to get to a point where we're international, so we've got our trademark locked in in Canada or the U.K. I wanted to have a kind of an office, a master franchise in Canada, and then I go to Europe because the Europeans are amazing dog trainers. And I think it's a very popular business, especially with them, so they really know how to train your dog. Not to take away from any other country, everybody does, but I think there's an opportunity there where we can collaborate with some of the other countries' mindsets and continue to grow the business that way, while we continue this sort of exponential growth domestically.

Powills: And just for clarity for anybody that's watched this, you're you've remained a franchise owner too as you shifted to CEO, yeah, yeah.

Feaster: Yep, so I have three in southeast Louisiana. So that's New Orleans and — and then 13 in the Philadelphia area, so well.

Powills: Well, and it shows that you figure out a way how to do multistate scale, which again, like if I'm looking at who do I buy from, and I've said this multiple times, I always buy or bet on the jockey, not on the horse. The horse is Dog Training Elite, but I'm gonna bet on the jockey, which ends up being the executive leadership team that's guiding this business forward because if they know what they're doing, then that's only going to impact me as a franchise owner. And so for you to be a multi-state operator in addition to now leading the company, I think that's a pretty good definition of the “Why Dog Training Elite” and “Why now.” I heard it earlier, you're growing at a pace that is significant. That means territory availability is diminishing, which if you're trying anybody that's looking at a brand like you don't want to have fear of missing out. And so if you're looking, if you're looking at an opportunity like this, you love pets, you obviously have to love dogs to some extent, right?

Feaster: Yeah.

Powills: Then look, the jockey has a pretty good story.

Feaster: You know what? I got something.

Powills: Well, thanks for sharing some of your story with us. I appreciate it. It's awesome. And looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Feaster: Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the opportunity. Really appreciate you.

Powills: For Betsy and Nick, this is another episode of Meet the Zor/Meet the Zee. Take care.