Business – Bark.com Blog

Meet Dan – Owner and Founder of dogHEART

This week we’re heading to Richmond California to chat with Dan, owner and founder of dog training company dogHEART.

Let’s hear Dan’s story about building a successful career on Bark.

Can you tell us a little bit about you and your company?

dogHEART is a behavior training business for Service Dogs and Pet dogs that started in 2017.

We strengthen the human-canine trust by showing humans how to bring out the best value in their dog so their dog will be safe, and owners will have confidence and peace of mind in public.

What were you doing before you launched your business?

I was in business development, helping failing non-profits become sustainable.

What made you want to start your company?

I enjoyed helping non-profits continue their mission with underserved communities. But it was time for me to follow my dream to help people find comfort and strength in life and trauma through dogs.

Well-behaved dogs are powerful healers just by their presence and unconditional love. My dream is to start an Integrative Wellness Center, utilizing Service Dogs in a holistic approach to heal trauma.

When did you join Bark? What made you join?

I decided to join Bark in November 2020 because I had to rethink how to continue business due to the Covid-19 pandemic locking everything down. I posted ads on Google Search and YouTube, which yielded minimal results. Bark was my only viable option.

Can you tell us about your experiences on Bark?

I began to receive more results in two weeks than I did in two months with my other ads! By my third week, I had three clients. I cancelled my other ads, and I am staying with Bark.

What’s the best thing about Bark?

There are so many great things I have found with Bark. Probably the best for me is their business model. I am no longer sending out ads, supposedly focused on my demographic, and waiting for clicks.

Bark reversed the current marketing model by allowing my business a space to be visible to the people seeking out my specific service, and I find that this model yields high returns on investment.

Any top tips for success on Bark?

Show your passion. Follow the profile template the Bark professional marketers set up. Contact your leads as soon as possible. Utilize the professional help that Bark provides.

What do you think of the Customer Success team at Bark?

I have reached out to Bark’s Customer Success Team several times as I was getting started. I am continually impressed at how quickly I can get a real person who is courteous, professional, and who expedites solutions.

How has Bark helped you during Covid-19?

I am thankful that I found and joined Bark. We all have to get through life during this difficult time. I find Bark to be the link between me and clients who need my services.

Anything else you’d like us to include?

I am amazed at how much Bark wants business people like me to succeed by offering to reapply credits if you do not receive any clients from your first credit pack. I love that credits do not expire!

We’ve loved chatting with Dan today – it’s great to hear how he’s used Bark to follow his passion (and we didn’t mind the adorably cute pics of the dogs either!). If you’re looking for a dog trainer, then head over to Dan’s Bark profile. You can find more information about dogHEART, check out his reviews and make an enquiry – all from one place! Stuck at home? Dan also offers puppy training online (for puppies 2 months to 5 months of age).

Government financial support for businesses during Covid-19

It’s safe to say Covid-19 has caused significant challenges for businesses big and small.

Thankfully, governments are stepping in at a time when businesses need them the most, to provide vital financial relief.

To save you some time, we’ve put together a list of the financial support that governments are providing for businesses in the eight countries we operate in – as we could all do with a little bit of help.

United Kingdom

You can find the full list of UK government funding schemes, as well as information on how to access them, here. Here’s a quick summary of what’s available:

Coronavirus job retention scheme
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
Business rates relief

Ireland

Find everything you need to know about funding options for small businesses and individuals in Ireland here. Here’s a few examples of some of the options available:

Employment wage subsidy scheme
Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme
Covid-19 business loans

United States

Government funding options for businesses affected by Covid-19 in the US are listed here. A few of the funding options are listed below:

SBA debt relief
SBA Express Bridge loans

Canada:

Find all the information you need to know about financial support for individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic here, with some examples listed below:

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
Loan Guarantee for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Australia

Information on Coronavirus-related financial support in Australia, as well as how to access it, can be found here.

Sole Trader financial support can be found here.

South Africa

Keep up to date with Covid-19 business support options for individuals and businesses South Africa here.

New Zealand

Read information on financial support schemes in New Zealand here. Some of the options include:

Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme
Wage Subsidy Schemes
Business Finance Guarantee Schemes

Summary

Remember, the availability of the above funding options in each country is likely to change as the coronavirus situation changes, so it’s worth keeping a regular eye out for any updates on government websites.

We hope this information has been useful. If there’s anything else we can do to support your business during these uncertain times, please let us know. Our Customer Success team is open 24/7 – give them a call at a time that suits you (phone number available on our website), or drop them a line at team@bark.com.

Let’s get through this together.

How to protect your business during Covid-19

With a global pandemic sweeping the world, national lockdowns, and businesses big and small having to close their doors for extended periods, it’s been a turbulent year, to say the least. But despite the extreme uncertainty and challenges the coronavirus pandemic has caused, small businesses have shown incredible resilience and strength in the face of adversity.

As we continue to adapt to the reality of living with Covid-19, we’ve put some tips together to help you protect your business during these uncertain times.

Government funding

It’s important to know what financial support you’re entitled to as this could make a real difference to the stability of your business during a rocky period.

Here’s where you can find out more information about the government funding schemes for individuals and small businesses affected by the pandemic:

UK – gov.uk
US – usa.gov
Canada – canada.ca
Ireland – gov.ie
Australia – business.gov.au
Singapore – gov.sg
New Zealand – govt.nz
South Africa – gov.za

Make the move online

Having an online presence is crucial for connecting with customers remotely. After all, the internet is the number one tool for people searching for what they need, especially when they’re confined to their homes.

Providing your services online is key to retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. From dog training to personal training and everything in between, you’d be surprised at how many services can be provided remotely.

Refresh your website

Following on from the above, if you want to build a successful online presence, then you need to have a great website – it will help you to connect with customers far and wide but it won’t attract and retain new clients if it isn’t attractive, user-friendly, or relevant to their requirements.

If your website is in need of a revamp, now’s the perfect time to do it – and if you don’t know the first thing about web design, why not hire a web designer to take the pain out of the process? Many web designers provide this service remotely too!

Communication

With changes happening daily, it’s critical to maintain strong communication with your clients, to keep them up to date with any last-minute changes in your business operations as a result of new government restrictions. A great way to do this is via social media, regular email communications, or updates on your Bark profile and/or company website.

Manage your cash flow

During such uncertain and volatile times, it’s vital to monitor your cash flow closely, as this could be impacted significantly by the changes in work circumstances as a result of the pandemic.

If you haven’t already done so, create a short term cash-flow forecast for the next few months, taking into account various scenarios that could affect it, such as late payments from customers.

Employing an accountant is an efficient way to get to grips with the figures so that you can effectively prepare your business for the uncertainty of the next few months. Many accountants also provide their services online.

Expand your social media presence

Social media is an effective (and free!) tool that all businesses can harness to expand their customer base during a pandemic.

By expanding your social media presence, you can engage with more customers, remind them that you’re there, and come up with creative solutions to serving them remotely.

We’ve put together a handy beginners guide for creating a social media strategy for small businesses, which you can read here.

Address your budget

It’s a fact of coronavirus life that many small businesses will have to rethink and adapt their budget as a result of the pandemic.

If like many businesses, you’re experiencing a decrease in cash-flow, it’s vital that you adapt your budget accordingly. Here are a few considerations:

Monitor your cash-flow – It’s likely your cash-flow has changed a lot throughout the last few months, and it will probably continue to do so. Make sure you monitor this closely to be aware of any changes that need to be made in your budget i.e. in terms of cutting unnecessary expenses.
Be proactive with payments – Managing your payments during a pandemic is a balancing act between ensuring you receive your payments on time and being mindful of issues your client may be facing in managing their own finances. It’s always a good idea to touch base with your client before the payment is due so that you can identify any issues early on and come to an agreement.
Manage your personal finance – Many personal finance providers are offering flexibility to their clients during times of crisis, so it’s worth having a discussion with your mortgage lender, energy supplier, etc. to see whether they can provide you with any financial support. Having more personal income means that you could invest this into your business at a time when it needs it most.

Promote workplace safety

It’s vital that your workplace practices and environments are Covid-19 secure so that you can continue to serve your customers safely. To put your customers’ minds at ease, make sure you clearly state which measures you’ve taken to protect your staff and customers from Covid-19 infection.

Small steps such as displaying health and safety checklists on your office, website, etc. (which are often free to download) and sharing the steps you’ve taken on your social media channels is a great way to reassure customers.

Summary

We hope this guide has been useful. If there’s anything else we can help you with or anything that we didn’t cover in this article that you think is important to share within the professional community, please do get in touch via telephone or email – find our telephone numbers on our website or email team@bark.com.

We’re always looking for ways to support you during these difficult times.

Meet Simon – Graphic Designer at Media Monkey

This week we’re off to Devon in the UK to chat with Simon, Graphic Designer and Animator (or as he calls it ‘Designamator’) at Media Monkey, a creative design agency.

Let’s hear how Simon has grown a successful business over the years with Bark.

Tell us a bit about your background

I’ve lived and breathed design for over 20 years, working at various creative agencies in my twenties and finally setting up my first company in 2011, called ‘Ramsey’s Design.’

Over time, the marketplace I was working in demanded a lot more attention in motion graphics. Video was becoming more popular and engagement was through the roof on social platforms.

I only had a small understanding of animation, but I learnt on the fly by watching as much training as I could. In 2018 I rebranded Ramsey’s Design Lab to Media Monkey – really to focus more on video and animation.

When did you join Bark?

VERY VERY early days – 2015/2016!

Tell us about your experiences on Bark…

From day one it always looked and felt like a great site. Huge attention to user journey and packed full of leads for all sorts of different service areas. Bark was a huge change for me to now ‘close’ my own customers. Yikes!

Since the early days, Bark has continually listened and updated the system and it has progressed beautifully over the years. Any issues I had have been ironed out and we are always very excited to see new updates that make things easier for us to use Bark and importantly, make money from it. We now have verified phone numbers!! and each lead shows how many people have responded to it.

These may sound like small changes. But they have made a HUGE impact and created more trust in the whole system.

Over time Bark has become the sole source of my work. It accounts for over 95% of my revenue yearly, in both new projects and repeat business from those valuable relationships I have made.

If it wasn’t for Bark I wouldn’t have a business.

How has Bark helped you fight the coronavirus pandemic?

When the pandemic hit in March 2020 I lost over £250,000 in estimates, proposals and retained business which happened pretty much overnight. I had two weeks of pacing up and down the garden wondering how on earth we are going to manage.

I spent my last £60 on Bark credits which landed me with a handful of incredible clients. I was so happy to be back doing what I know best. Business is very much booming thanks to this wonderful system, with June and July 2020 being the busiest months on record.

What’s the best thing about Bark?

There are lots of GREAT things about Bark.

Active development team – It feels like we are being listened to. Updates and new features are rolling out all the time.

The ease of use – The whole platform is just great to use. And from a design point of view, looks great. Can’t wait to finally see the new portfolio rollout.

But the BEST thing about Bark? Always knowing you have a place to go and find work if there is nothing coming in. There are hundreds of new leads posted every day. You can always seem to get something – that hopefully leads to more.

What are your top tips for success on Bark?

Reviews, get reviews. I know I read them. Especially if I’m about to spend some serious money or I’m looking to form a working relationship.

ALWAYS respond immediately to anyone that has sent you a personal message. Clients won’t do that unless they are very very keen.

ALWAYS where possible respond to emailed leads (Elite Pro only) again if they have reached out to you. That is already your foot in the door. The likelihood of closing a deal with someone who has reached out to you is much much higher. At that point is just a price negotiation issue.

Remember that most of the people you’ll deal with – WILL COME BACK! it will all be repeat business if you deliver what you promise – and a little extra.

How helpful have you found our Customer Success team?

Great customer service team. If you ever ring them it’s a pleasure to speak with them. Every single team member I’ve spoken to in 5 years has been wonderful.

And that’s Simon, Media Monkey’s very own ‘Designamator’, disrupting the design world one motion reel at a time. If you’re looking to bring a new lease of life to your next digital project, head over to Media Monkey’s Bark profile to make an enquiry – check out its stunning 3D animation, read reviews and request a quote, all on Bark today!

You can find Media Monkey on social media too! Search mediamonkeybusiness on Facebook for more examples of its brilliant work.

We’re 6th in the Tech Track 100 awards!

We’re starting the week off with some good news!

Thanks to your continued support, we’re thrilled to announce that with your help, we’ve ranked 6th in the Tech Track 100 awards.

The annual Tech Track 100 is a prestigious league table, ranking 100 of the fastest-growing tech companies, and we’re so happy to make our debut in the top 10. We’re in great company too, appearing alongside some of the most disruptive and innovative leaders in the tech sector. You can check out the full list of all featured companies here.

To top it off, we’ve also been named in the Startups 100 awards, the renowned annual league table of new businesses to watch in 2020.

We truly appreciate having you as a partner and we’re looking forward to helping you grow your business even further in the future.

Thanks again,

Team Bark

Leeds tops the list of best places to start a business in the UK

For millions of business owners around the world, deciding where to set up shop is a vital decision, and one that could shape the future of their business for years to come. However, when making this decision there are numerous factors to consider, and choosing the right place can be difficult.

At Bark.com we have access to hundreds of thousands of price points from numerous business services across the UK, so decided to put our data to good use to find out where in the UK is the best place to start a business.

We analysed location price data from the last three years across accounting, recruitment, IT support, website creation and management, marketing, SEO, internet and phone providers to find out the average start-up cost per city in the UK.

We also took into account talent pool size, broadband quality and rent costs because some cities are incredibly cheap but wouldn’t be a viable home for most businesses. For example, Wells is cheap in terms of rent and business services, however is poor in terms of talent and broadband service.

Here is the full list of the ten best places to start a business in the UK, as well as each city’s average annual business launch cost:

1) Leeds – £15,550

2) Cardiff – £15,725

3) Liverpool – £15,744

4) Bristol – £16,013

5) Swansea – £16,082

6) Newcastle – £16,150

7) Birmingham – £16,368

8) Manchester – £17,129

9) Edinburgh – £17,174

10) London – £75,990

And here is the full list of the ten ‘worst’ places to start a business in the UK, as well as each city’s average annual business launch cost:

1) Truro – £22,306

2) St.Davids – £8,511

3) Bangor – £8,930

4) Wells – £15,299

5) Stirling – £15,482

6) Ripon – £7,989

7) Lichfield – £11,083

8) Perth – £9,007

9) Preston – £20,162

10) Salisbury – £19,405

The above cities have made the top ten ‘worst’ list because of either a very poor talent pool size, high rent and service provider costs or poor broadband, or a combination of these factors.

These average annual costs consider office rental, the cost of hiring a marketing, IT support, recruitment, accountancy, website and SEO agency, as well as the cost of internet and phone providers. It does not consider employee wages or corporation tax.

Kai Feller, co-founder of Bark.com said,

“When it comes to starting a business, choosing where to set up shop is always one of your first decisions. For decades, London has been the obvious choice for new businesses, however, we’re seeing that more and more people are opting to start their enterprise outside of the capital.

“Like Manchester and Birmingham, Leeds is fast becoming recognised as a business hotspot, so it’s not a surprise that it tops our list. It’s great to see the North of England getting the business accolade it deserves.”

Stranger Spins – Celebrate the new Stranger Things Season with a Chopper spin class!

We are proud to present to you Stranger Spins, the world’s first Chopper spin class to celebrate our return to Hawkins, Indiana.

The sessions will run on Friday the 26th July from 10am to 3pm in London. To make the class as immersive as possible, the room will be decorated like Joyce Byer’s living room, complete with the iconic Christmas lights!

Each spin class will run for one hour, led by one of our qualified spin instructors, AKA Chief Jim Hopper, as soon as he’s finished with his morning ‘coffee and contemplation’. Stranger Spins has the capacity for 9 participants per session and will work on a first-come-first-serve basis, so make sure you register your interest now to ensure you don’t miss out!

Should you stay or should you go now? Fill in your details below.

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Expect to be put through your paces to hit tracks from the show, like Scorpion’s Rock You Like a Hurricane and Duran Duran’s Girls on Film. We encourage everyone attending to dress up as their favourite Stranger Things character or in retro 80s fitness gear, but of course that’s completely up to you.

This class is free – all you need to bring with you is a towel and water. When numbers are confirmed we will email you with the location address, however if you don’t hear from us, assume you didn’t make the entry list. Don’t worry though, if demand is high we plan to run a few more classes!

Kai Feller, co-founder of Bark.com said,

“Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s most successful shows, with millions of fans across the world tuning in to the nostalgic sci-fi drama. We wanted to inject some of that TV magic into an activity that could otherwise be unappealing to some. Our ultimate goal is to help people get a good workout whilst having some serious 80’s inspired fun.

“We expect demand to be high, so I encourage any Stranger Things fans to register their interest now, this world exclusive class is going to be strangely enjoyable!”

Electricians revealed as the highest-earning self-employed pros in the UK

There are pros and cons to going solo, however over the last few years more and more people have made the switch to self-employed work.

With hundreds of thousands of self-employed pros using Bark.com, we’re in a unique position to find out which professional is the highest paid in the UK, when self-employed, and how it compares to their employed counterpart’s salary.

Surveying 20,000 professionals across 11 key sectors from our platform, we asked service providers about their earnings to find out the UK salary average for each service. In addition to information on their earnings, self-employed professionals were asked about their lifestyle and work-homelife balance. The research took a few months to collect due to the magnitude of the project. but allowed for a wealth of data for us to draw our conclusions from.

When results were processed it was obvious across all sectors that those who are self-employed have the potential to earn far more than their employed counterparts, and in some cases more than double.

Interestingly, electricians top the list of the highest earning self-employed pros, and independent cleaners can earn close to £30k a year, three times the amount of employed cleaners!

Here are the highest paid self-employed service providers in the UK:

1. Electricians £51,200

Employed salary £27,287

2. Counsellors £45,111

Employed salary £24,544

3. Landscape gardeners £40,140

Employed salary £19,143

4. Make-up artists £38,918

Employed salary £20,952

5. Graphic designers £38,760

Employed salary £22,012

6. Photographers £36,823

Employed salary £20,812

7. Plumbers £36,359

Employed salary £23,788

8. Tutors £34,147

Employed salary £22,630

9. Painter and decorators £33,075

Employed salary £21,405

10. Personal trainers £33,029

Employed salary £19,494

11. Cleaners £29,584

Employed salary £10,573

Despite a massive 90% of respondents stating that their workload is much more now that they are self-employed, more than two-thirds (68%) of professionals stated that they have been far more successful in keeping a healthy home and work balance. Nearly three quarters (73%) of respondents felt that their increased stress levels are worth it for the monetary increase.

Kai Feller, Bark.com co-founder, said,

“At Bark we work with thousands of self-employed sole traders, and thought it would be interesting to see how much they earn a year. We picked the top 11 most popular self-employed sectors in the UK, and you can see why so many people decide to go self-employed – a good living can be made from all of the professions.

“The survey took a good couple of months, but was well worth the wait, because the results speak for themselves – being self-employed results in a much higher income. We were expecting them to earn more, but almost double on average is a huge increase. That being said being self-employed comes with a lot more work, responsibility and pressure more often than not, it’s definitely not a career choice to be taken lightly.”

Turns out that going self-employed might be more beneficial than you thought!

*https://www.payscale.com/

Now you can show off how many times you’ve been hired on Bark!

You can now display how many of our users have hired you prominently on your Bark profile.

Whenever someone hires you, simply click the new ‘I was hired‘ button next to their Bark in the My Responses section of your dashboard and we’ll automatically add them to your total.

Then, when new customers view your profile, they’ll be able to see you have a proven track record of helping other Bark users with their projects – like It’s Magic Time here:

It's Magic Time I was hired — *Tony Charles has been hired seven times since he joined Bark in June.*

Buyers can also let us know when they’ve hired you using the new ‘I’ve hired someone‘ button in their dashboard – and we’ll ask them who they’ve hired when they close their Bark.

You can see all the Barks you’ve responded to in the My Responses section of your dashboard, so be sure to go back and click ‘I was hired‘ for all the jobs you’ve secured through Bark to date.

We’ll also now show you your average response time if you get back to customers quickly Bark Messenger. So be sure to respond to customers as quickly as possible to maximise your chances of success!

King Pest Control response time — *King Pest Control responds to pest control Barks in four minutes flat, on average!*

This feature should prove especially useful if you work in an industry like pest control or boiler repair, where customers are often looking for someone who can help them right away.

Combined with the customer reviews you collect on your profile, these new features will give you a real edge over the competition when pitching for business on Bark.

We hope you find them useful, and look forward to helping you secure even more business in the coming weeks and months.

If you have any further thoughts or ideas about how we can help you promote your business one Bark, send us an email at team@bark.com, or leave a comment in the space below!

Nick Hewer Twitter Q&A – The Answers!

On 6th October 2015, we hosted an engaging Twitter Q&A with the highly successful businessman, Nick Hewer. Nick gave us an insight into the business world and offered advice for budding entrepreneurs on the hashtag, #AskNick.

Nick Hewer is well known as the host of Channel 4’s Countdown, and from 2005 to 2014 he appeared as Lord Sugar’s adviser on the British television series, The Apprentice. Nick has been working with Bark.com since our inception, so we were delighted to have him take over our Twitter feed, offering valuable business advice and providing career inspiration along the way. If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s Nick explaining how Bark.com works earlier this year.

Missed out on the Q&A? Don’t worry, because we have compiled Nick’s answers for you to digest below!

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After a fantastic Q&A, Nick signed off…

Thanks to everyone who got involved in the Q&A! Was your question answered? Is there anything else you would like to #AskNick? Let us know in the comments below!

And while you’re at it, make sure you follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page or visit our blog to keep up to date with Bark news, tips and advice!

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