Real Life Business: Inside The Human-Canine Alliance

This episode kicks off the "Real Life Business" live documentary series, chronicling the journey of building The Human-Canine Alliance (THCA) from the ground up. Join Stacie as she shares real-life triumphs, challenges, and lessons learned while creating a meaningful organization.

In this first episode, Stacie takes you back to where THCA began—what started as a lighthearted idea quickly transformed into a mission-driven app. Packed with actionable insights, this episode is perfect for new entrepreneurs and animal advocates. 

With a background in marketing and communications, Stacie offers practical tips on starting a podcast, using no-code tools to build an app, and adopting person-first language when discussing disabilities. 

Tune in as Stacie navigates the challenges of turning a big idea into a thriving business that makes a real impact on the rescue industry. This is just the beginning of an inspiring series—stay with us for the next chapter!

THCA Rescue statistics are pulled from the following resources:

1. Pet Statistics by ASPCA
2. Facts & Figures by Coalition for Pets & Public Safety
3. Industry Stats & Trends by American Pet Products Association
4. 2024 Stats by American Kennel Club
5. AKC Detection Dog Task Force Report by American Kennel Club
6. National Animal Welfare Statistics by Shelter Animals Count

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro to Episode
• 0:35 The Business Idea & How it Formed
• 2:51 Shocking Canine Rescue Statistics
• 3:59 Evolving of the Business Idea & Journey
• 4:48 One of the THCA Marketing Strategies
• 6:24 Podcasting Tips & Resources
• 10:06 No-Code App Intro & Resource
• 10:59 People-First Language Learnings
• 12:16 Mini-Bio on Stacie
• 13:27 THCA's Business Progress

Transcript

Hi everyone, this is Stacie, and this is the premiere episode of what will be an ongoing series of business updates for the Human Canine Alliance or THCA. My goal with this podcast is to create a live documentary of THCA's journey from a big idea to a real thriving organization.

Along the way, I'll share every step stumble and breakthrough. Let's dive in. 

 So how did I get here? Silly idea on a golf course a few years ago. I'm not really a golfer, but a lot of my family is. And I said, wouldn't it be great if We had a dog that would chase our ball and go sit next to it So we didn't have to go looking for it every single time we hit the ball Silly idea we all giggled over it. Ha ha ha 

 That is where all of this started, so let me help you understand how it got from that silly idea to where we are today. 

I have a bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in marketing. I also have an associates in applied science in radio and television broadcasting, so mass communications. 

But those classes and those degrees, I got those almost 20 years ago. So I felt like a refresher couldn't hurt.  I decided to take a class at Cornell University. It's a marketing strategy program. It was just a three and a half month program. 

side note, it was not a refresher course. I learned completely new strategies and techniques that I had not learned through my vast experience from small business to corporate marketing over the last 20 years. 

The Cornell course required you to take one of your own ideas and use it as a guinea pig as we learned modern product to market strategies. 

I decided to go with my silly golf idea, and to my surprise, this idea, which started as a novelty, right, actually started to gain some traction. So, by the end of the Cornell class, By the end of the Cornel Class, my silly golf idea had turned into an entertainment park where rescue dogs could be housed and trained to work in the park.

But this idea was turning into a pretty expensive vision . And so what made sense to me was the next step was to take my fully built marketing strategy that I had from my completed Cornell class and take it to chat GPT and turn it into an investment proposal, right? 

In doing so I realized pretty quickly I needed to know my stats and understand what level of value, if any, this thing could have on society 

And let me tell you, this is where I got hooked.

I don't think the average person is aware that almost 400, 000 dogs are euthanized annually in the United States and that 80 percent of them are healthy. I also was shocked to learn that almost a million dogs are relinquished every year in the United States by their owners. And I also was flabbergasted to learn that we spend 2 billion a year as taxpayers on the rescue industry.

And that includes the euthanasia of those dogs who are healthy. And as I am going to outline and show you They have a place in our society. There is a place for them in our society. We have a need for them. Why are we killing them? Why are we killing them? This is where I got hooked.

This is why I'm here. This is why I can't stop talking about it. 

So I took my investment proposal with the entertainment park concept, Home to New York on vacation and I told a family member about it. And our conversations led us to the core of this idea, which is creating a space where the skills and personalities of rescue dogs can be aligned with human preferences and needs. 

And from there, the idea went from ridiculously expensive to modern day inexpensive, which is an app . I mean, of course it is . 

Okay, so you might be asking, why am I telling you all about this on a podcast instead of you learning about it by say, downloading the app? 

Well, the podcast is part of my marketing strategy for two really good reasons. The podcast, number one, is acting as a live documentary for the unfolding of a new business. the Human Canine Alliance, . Number two, the podcast also serves as a perfect way to educate the public and maximize reach about THCA, the reasons behind it, and to get more people involved.

Okay, so let's take a quick break and when we get back, we will discuss the learnings I have had so far, which to be honest, even in these infant stages, there are quite a few

 All right, thanks for sticking around. Welcome back to the Human Canine Alliance podcast. 

I'm a huge nerd and have always been one. And therefore when I learn something, I really enjoy sharing it. And you know, second episode in, obviously I'm an expert, right? Ha ha ha. 

 First of all, what I did was I gave multiple podcasts, multiple YouTube channels a try. What I did find the most useful was Buzzsprout.

And they have a podcast that is literally called How to Start a Podcast. It was super helpful. The step by step action items and tips that they offer from their own experiences have been invaluable as I have made decisions on formatting, content placement, editing, and honestly equipment and software was one of the scariest things to me.

I felt like it was going to be so expensive to try to start a podcast and then what if it doesn't work, right? What if, I mean, I don't even know what I want out of this. I know I want to spread awareness, but I'm not trying to spend a lot of money to spread awareness, right? And if I happen to start making money off of the advertising, awesome.

But, that's not the reason I'm starting the podcast. So, my point is, trying to spend a lot of money wasn't in my game plan. And, Buzzsprout, they were awesome in terms of guiding me on the equipment and software that I could use to get started. And three basic things I wanted to pass along that, they helped me with, which are the microphone.

 They highly recommended, and I also highly recommend, I'm currently using it right now, the Samsung Q2U, and it's a kit. It's 70, you guys, on Amazon. You can literally have it tomorrow or the next day. You know how fast they are if you're on Prime. And it has USB capability, which, awesome. All I'm plugging into right now is my laptop, okay? And with this microphone came a mic stand and a windscreen. And a couple of other things like a clip and cables, but the point is the whole thing was 70 I mean boom and then?

They gave a bunch of options, but I ended up going with Descript, for recording and transcribing and editing. And I was using the free version, but I maxed out the free version really fast, building my first episode. And so now I'm doing it at 35 a month.

There's no commitment. I can just cancel after one or two months if I want to. And so then my last thing, my third thing is Buzzsprout themselves. They are hosts. So I'm hosting the podcast and doing my publishing and looking at analytics through Buzzsprout, . And honestly, right now I'm doing it for free, which I kind of feel a little guilty about because I got a lot of guidance from them through their podcast for free as well. 

So, but I will say, Hey, Buzzsprout, if you happen to listen to this, I'm sure by the time you listen to this, I will be on your 12 a month plan because that's where I'm headed next. In the next episode or two, I will definitely be on the 12 a month plan. But my point is guys, it wasn't overly expensive and I was really surprised with that.

That was a really fun learning for me. And then one other source I wanted to pass along that has been super helpful in terms of, Understanding etiquette, understanding best practices, understanding what people out there who have been doing podcasting for quite some time now and have learned through a lot of the mistakes that you can easily make, right?

One channel I have found really helpful for that is Jeremy Enns of Podcast Marketing Academy. And these guys, they do podcast roasts , which are awesome to listen to because they pick apart current and live podcasts. And it's really easy to see where you can apply their tips to your own work. And to be honest with you, I have already done that.

I feel like a lot of their. tips are super helpful for people who have already been doing it for a while. And you can, you can see what you've been doing wrong and how to adapt and apply, new learnings, which I mean, that's my digital marketer side coming out, right?

Okay, so the second thing I've learned is I had no idea apps were something you could literally build with no coding experience these days. I know coders can really knock them out of the park, but to be able to get something off the ground so that others can visualize it too, that is priceless to someone like me who does not have coding knowledge at all or care to for that matter I'm definitely more of your communications gal, not exactly the coding kind of person. So I learned about no code apps by watching a 30 minute YouTube video on the we are no code channel with Christian Pavarelli, super informational, highly recommend it.

Thanks to Christian and his demos and recommendations, I am using Softer to get started and I'll keep you posted as progress is made because I'm very much at the beginning stages of that as well.

 And the last thing that I wanted to share in my learnings are the guidelines there are for talking about people with disabilities . Now this is something I just want to acknowledge. I have no background in healthcare, so I am learning how to talk correctly about people with disabilities, and one of my good friends recommended I look into person first So I did and I wanted to share with you just like I said to you, I am learning as I go.

I am going to share my learnings too. I'm going to share with you in case you don't know what person first language means 

so, of the learnings about person first language is that you should focus on the person and not on the disability. You should avoid defining people solely by their disability and you want to use positive and neutral language. 

Now, what does all of that mean?

 Basically that means you want to say a person with autism versus an autistic person.

 Okay, so who am I? My name is Stacie. I am an 80s baby, but I grew up in the 90s in upstate New York in a town The to this day is 40 minutes from a stoplight. The last 20 years I have moved around the east coast a good bit, but I'm currently living in the western North Carolina area where I have been furloughed from work since Hurricane Haleen. We were very lucky. 

I am not complaining. That is just my current situation. But also, it's why I've had the time to take the human canine alliance from an idea to where we are now. 

My background is not in rescues, nor is it in healthcare. It's actually in marketing, both digital and traditional. I've also very much worked in hospitality, food and beverage and also acting and theater. 

I'm making this clear because I realize both industries, rescue and healthcare, have sensitivities and preferred ways to be discussed. And if I do it wrong here, it's not intentional. And I truly want to be called out so I can adapt and share my learnings.

It takes a village, right? Let's learn together. 

Since last week, when I released my first episode of the Human Canine Alliance podcast, I have sent 50 emails out to rescue centers and trainers to introduce them to THCA and the podcast. I have also written and recorded a second podcast episode, which is the one you're listening to right now. I plan to continue doing both of these as ongoing strategies to ensure the success of THCA. 

Next week, I'll dive deeper into the incredible opportunities between people in need and dogs in need.

I hope you continue to listen.