Did you come into the New Year feeling all fired up and filled with energy about your pet business and what was going to happen in 2026?
Then, as we were flung into wars, political upheaval, economic uncertainty, did it feel like you skidded to a bit of a halt?
If you’re nodding along, that’s ok, it’s totally normal to feel like this.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now. And when you’re running your own business, all of that takes it out of you in a way a regular paycheck never would.
Consumer confidence is down and people feel less confident spending money on things that aren’t absolutely necessary.
So it can be tempting and totally natural to feel despondent and think: “What’s the point? Nobody wants to hear from me. Everything is rubbish.”
This blog and podcast episode is about picking yourself up and getting back on the bike, and doing the things you need to do to keep moving forward.
You can listen in on the player link below or read the key points as a blog post.
I also cover how my Pet Business Planner can help you. At the time of publication – 31st March 2026 – I did have some copies remaining.
You can order one here (or pre-order for 2027 if you’re listening or reading in the future. (https://rachelspencer.co.uk/product/pet-business-content-planner/)
You can have a fresh start or reset whenever you like
You don’t have to wait for another January to reset. Fresh starts can happen whenever you’ve got the energy for them, so like now, at the beginning of a quarter, or for the beginning of spring, or on any random Tuesday morning.
Spring is here and this helps us feel more positive, the mornings are lighter, the daffodils are out, the sky is blue, it’s a bit sunnier.
So it’s the perfect time to let go of what didn’t work in the first three months and start again.
First, take some time to get focused
Can you take yourself away for an hour, ideally somewhere quiet, without your phone or computer pinging at you with a pen and paper?
Have you been talking about what you do?
Have you made it easy for people to work with you?
If you want to see the evidence, have a look at your email software, your social media dashboards, your website analytics.
If you’ve been quiet try not to be hard on yourself.
You know that to grow your business or even keep ticking over, you need to get back to talking about what you do.
What worked? What didn’t?
Look back at the first quarter honestly. What did you enjoy doing?
What was absolutely draining and you never want to do again?
For example, I’ve been doing more Instagram reels and learning more about the platform.
Some of them went viral, but the ones that actually got me inquiries and bookings were more focused on the dog friendly approach.
The viral posts helped me build my audience, and the values posts helped people chose the cottage as where they wanted to stay.
You can do the same, so look at what brought results, not just what felt good or looked impressive.
Think about your gaps
Where are you not visible enough?
Where could you be showing up that you’re not right now?
Maybe it’s a newsletter you stopped so for you, the focus is email marketing.
Maybe it’s a product or service you barely talked about last quarter.
Where does your energy and focus need to be? What could you let go of?
Pick three priorities for Q2
Start small so you don’t feel overwhelmed. What do you want to focus on in April, May and June?
When you’re clear on where your attention needs to be, this means that the activities you need to do to get your work out there happen.
Find the awareness days that support your work
Which awareness days are linked to what you do? Are there any where you look at them and think, “I could do something with that?”
You’re not staring at a blank page wondering what to write about and instead you have reasons to talk about what you do.
And when you plan ahead around these dates, you can pitch to the press, you can build campaigns and be strategic instead of reactive.
Use tools to support you
I created the Pet Business Content Planner because I kept seeing the same thing.
Clients lacked time and space to think. They were so busy running the day to day that they couldn’t see what was working, or notice what they were enjoying.
When you’re not able to take this time, you don’t see your wins and the chance of your focusing on what matters decreases.
The planner is built to give you that space, with all the awareness days plus monthly planning pages and content prompts so you’re never staring at a blank page.
Each month there’s a “Paws and Reflect” section where you look back and celebrate.
And because I’m an accredited coach, it’s also got something called Words for When.
These are 12 guided journaling exercises for the mindset stuff that gets in the way like comparison, confidence wobbles, feeling overwhelmed, burnout, being copied.
They’re based on real coaching work I’ve done with hundreds of pet business owners.
If you’ve already got a copy, you don’t have to start from page one.
Jump in at April (page 83) and do the review for the last three months, see what worked, and then plan April, May and June.
Pick the awareness days that fit and build a plan that’s tailored for you and your business.
What does being visible look like in 2026 and the age of AI?
I was listening to a podcast with Kate Toon and Rand Fiskin recently, both huge authorities in marketing.
And they both said the same thing: PR is the new SEO. It’s not about link building alone, it’s about mentions and no matter what you do in your business, you want to be getting mentioned in as many places as possible.
So factor PR into your planning, factor in influencer work and think about different ways to show up. When you do this, you’re building visibility that serves you for years to come and builds your authority because people see you everywhere.
There are lots more resources on approaching the press – head to the search function and put in ‘press coverage’ or ‘influencer’ and it will bring up episodes on these topics.
Want to use the Pet Business Content Planner to support your reset?
There are a few copies left at £20 plus P&P and you can order here: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/shop/
Links mentioned in this episode:
Get a copy of the pet business planner: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/shop/
Download my free social media calendar: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/calendar
Read the Nielsen report on Consumer Confidence: https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/2026/consumer-confidence-down-three-points-in-february/
Listen to the Kate Toon podcast on AI and digital marketing: https://therecipeforseosuccess.com/final-guest-how-marketing-and-seo-have-evolved-in-11-years-with-rand-fishkin/
Further reading/listening:
How Kim from Leo Charley and Me boosted her visibility
The confidence experiment and how to feel more brave as a pet professional
Why I am an accredited pet business coach
How to navigate stop start periods in your business
