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Meet the Mother-Daughter Duo Behind Our New Dog Training Business in Springfield, Missouri!
“I was born an entrepreneur!” Kristi Anderson says with a bright smile on her face. Kristi’s parents owned a mom-and-pop diner when she was a kid, and she grew up in an environment that was full of entrepreneurial energy. “As a 4-year-old, I sold my drawings in the restaurant on the backs of old menus.”
Jeremy, Kristi’s husband, who is taking a small part of the admin side of the business, found his spirit looking at strip malls. He would look at every shop and think to himself that those stores all represented a business that supported a family. He kept wondering, “why aren’t we doing that?”
It wasn’t until their daughter Nerissa got an inheritance from her grandmother that they began to think of ideas they could work on together as a family. Nerissa saw the inheritance as the money her grandmother had worked hard for, and she wanted to spend it wisely.
Keeping Up With The Andersons
You will want to be prepared to keep up with this active family! Kristi, a former home school mom and full-time artist, enjoys fitness and mountain biking. When the family lived in Durango, CO, she would ride over 100 miles of high-altitude mountain trails each week! And when she wasn’t attacking those trails on her bike, she went off-roading in her fluorescent green Jeep.
Jeremy and Nerissa admit they both just try to keep up with Kristi. Jeremy, an industrial electrician for 25 years, is Kristi’s mechanic for both her car and bike. The family also built their home from the ground up, with Kristi doing 59 percent of the construction herself and Nerissa helping with everything despite being only 13 years old at the time. And Nerissa paints, reads, and is learning both Spanish and Russian. While most of her career has been in retail, she has also done tremendous volunteer work. “I’m proud of my work in children’s camps and programs for people with special needs,” she says.
Best Friends Fur-ever
Dogs hold a special place in the hearts of the Andersons, including a boxer named Günter, who passed away last July. “I didn’t realize while he was alive what an integral part of my life he was,” Kristi says. “Whether I wanted to or not, he made sure I got outside every day, even if it was messy weather.” Nerissa agrees and says that she noticed the absence of having a dog in her life when she moved away from her parent’s home. “[You need] someone who’s always on and by your side, and the first time I cried without my dog wriggling into my arms to comfort me, I realize how impactful dogs have been in my life.”
The family now has welcomed their new pup Gidget, and Kristi says she is determined to appreciate the joys and benefits that dog ownership brings to their lives.
The Perfect PAW-portunity
The Anderson’s first heard about Dog Training Elite from their franchise consultant, Jack Johnson, and they knew it was the right fit for them with their love of dogs. “We share the same philosophy that dogs and people can work together to not only survive but to thrive together,” says Kristi. Nerissa agrees and adds, “With such deep impacts on both sides of the equation, what better thing could I be participating in than improving the balance?”
DTE’s in-home training model was one of the essential aspects of Franchise Ownership for Kristi and Nerissa. The model allows trainers to see the dogs and their families in their natural environment and empower them to create an individualized plan that supports the client where they need help the most. Jeremy adds that he enjoys that Franchise Owners are encouraged to start at home with their demo dog, which is excellent for business and has helped improve the Andersons’ relationship with their pup Gidget.
DTE is “Just Like Old Friends”
Nerissa and Kristi enjoyed meeting the DTE corporate team on Approval Day and said that they found themselves “sharing stories, making jokes, and laughing together like old friends at dinner.” DTE’s open and honest atmosphere with their Franchise Owners hearing about the personal experiences and stories helped both Kristi and Nerissa gain respect for DTE and how we help families and dogs strengthen their relationships.
While the Andersons’ were on a live session with a current Franchise Owner, they saw a service dog learn a new skill, and both remarked that seeing the dog get it, and then the pride on his little doggy face was the “a-ha” moment for them that this business would be everything that they were looking for. Kristi says she is excited for “the joy of purpose in the business, that you can help dogs and people live a fuller life.”
Join The Andersons
Are you looking for a dog training business? Nerissa says DTE is a wealth of information. Kristi adds that DTE’s commitment to families and their dogs made the Franchise stand out.
Our Franchise Owners can get started with their own dog training business with an affordable investment starting at $82,800. Ready to keep up with the Andersons? Visit our Franchise Owner Information Page now.
