We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Baybayan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
James, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Moving with purpose and intention is a mantra I stand by. I was able to find my purpose in helping guardians and their canine companions to live a more harmonious life together by way of positive reinforcement training through my very first dog I adopted while going to college. I soon realized that the school university system was not my path and the animal world was my calling. Having the ability to have my career path wrapped into my purpose in life is such a blessing that I will never take for granted. Improving the human animal bond is my mission and purpose!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Currently my main project at life is my pride and joy. My company primepaw I founded and scaled in July 2015. Professionally I run primepaw as the active founder/CEO focused around positive reinforcement training in every program we run from off leash dog walking, puppy day school, Adolescent Academy, group classes, daycare, and private dog training. We love to let our audience know and understand that we are not just. a dog training facility, but a viable resource that educates our community on the value of behavior and training through positive reinforcement practices. primepaw runs with a team of 17 employees and growing. Really focused on coaching, educating guardians and their furry companions to live a more harmonious life together as well as our team members to gain the skills needed to excel in the world of dog training. I have a vision to educate the masses and have more of a reach to the greater dog community.
A new program we just launched is our doggie daycare program and new and exciting group classes. We love to stay up to date on new techniques and practices within the positive reinforcement world so we always seek continued education. Other exciting factors is that we vet and value our clients’ needs so we ask our community constantly ways on how we can improve or add new programs to our operation. A kid can only continue to keep dreaming so the skys the limit for us as a squad!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Work ethic. The ability to keep going and persevere through the journey of highs and lows. Learned this from my immigrant parents whom I honor constantly.
2) The ability to learn through my failures. I was able to let go of the control I have on things and my company to allow others to help such as our business coaches to help guide us through our successes and failures.
3) My knowledge of positive reinforcement dog training and my desire to share this with the world has been my lifes journey and purpose. I love to coach guardians and their animals as well as my staff to help better their skills in the work place as well as carry something with them to learn so that they can be better animal advocates for the rest of their lives.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Forevery Young Agency has been instrumental in my development in business acumen and guiding primepaw’s success week to week. Their guidance has lesson mistakes, gives clarity to the operation, and allows our team to grow in areas I never thought imaginable.
Veterinarian behaviorist Dr Jeannine Berger, Mik Moeller (Academy for dog trainers graduate) , and Gladys Chan (Academy for dog trainers graduate) and the SF SPCA. These three individuals along with the SF SPCA have allowed myself to learn and grow as a positive reinforcement trainer under their mentorship for many years while I was an associate at the SF SPCA.
Both these experiences on the business level and the skill set level has allowed the culmination of my work to shine which is the result of primepaw!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.primepaw.com
- Instagram: @primepaw
- Facebook: @primepawsf
- Other: Google My Business: primepaw
