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.

Nick Powills asked Feaster about her franchise story and how she created a career that bounds into joining a franchise. Feaster explained that she used to be an executive at Exxon, but it wasn't her dream job. Her husband found a dog and suggested they leave their corporate environment to join Dog Training Elite. Feaster fell in love with the model and decided to become a franchisee about two-and-a-half years ago.

When asked about a moment where she realized she was done with her corporate job, Feaster recalled a stressful experience in Africa where she realized she was only doing her job to get to an end goal, which she didn't even know if she'd be happy with. She wanted to be 55 and not have to work another 10 years, so she made the transition to franchising.

Feaster's drive and competitiveness started when she was young, thanks to her father, an Irish surgeon who always emphasized being the best. This mindset helped her succeed in her corporate career, but it also took a toll on her mental health. She found that franchising offered a different type of competition, where she could focus on helping people and working hard to make money.

When navigating her mental focus as a CEO candidate in a smaller box operation, Feaster found that the transition was made easier because she was spending every hour making people in her community better. She appreciated the model of Dog Training Elite, which allowed her to work hard and hustle to make money.

Feaster compared her corporate experience to her franchising experience, noting that the mindset was different when she was managing a large corporation versus a smaller franchise. She applied the skills she learned in her corporate career, such as analyzing rate of return and investing money, to her franchising business.

When asked about the call that she received from Dog Training Elite, offering her the CEO position, Feaster said it felt good to be considered for the job, but she was also a little schizophrenic about it. She felt validated that all the hard work she put in on the ExxonMobil side had prepared her for the role, but she was also excited to take on the new challenge.