Meet Eva Leersnyder

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eva Leersnyder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eva, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I get my work ethic from my mom, dad, and myself. My mom and dad are hard workers; they always have been. They taught me to be on time, prepared, and responsible. They also taught me to be helpful, patient, and kind to the people I work with.
Something else that I learned from my parents is to do something I love doing. If you have to go to a job you hate every day, then you are not going to enjoy your life nearly as much as you would getting a job that brings you joy.
Lastly, I believe that I also learned how to have a good work ethic based off of the dreams that I had. When I was fifteen years old, I wanted a horse, but I needed a way to afford one. I applied for a job that summer and got one right down the road from where I lived, so that I could walk if I needed too. I was able to buy my own horse after that same summer.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a professional dog trainer in the Nashville area. I love training all kinds of dogs, but I think aggressive dogs are one of my favorite cases to handle. Besides aggression, I also focus on puppy training, anxiety and fear, and basic and advanced obedience. I offer private, in-home training with the option to go out on excursions as well. In fact, I have even taken someone to the airport to do some service dog training.

A fun fact about me is that I was able to train my own Diabetic Alert Dog and I trained her in agility.

Something new at Mixed Empire Dog Training is educated walks. An owner will drop off their dog at my house for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and I will train their dog in whatever they need help with. This could be anywhere from leash manners to come when called.

Merch is available on request. We have t-shirts, stickers, and car decals.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three skills that have helped me on my journey are never giving up, being courageous, and patience. If you have a dream, go for it. Start with thinking it is possible to attain and put some steps together to start achieving it. Show courage, especially if things do not work out the first time around. Lastly, patience is key. It has definitely been a tougher part of the process for me; however, patience brings peace with it.
For people who are just starting their own business, I recommend being proud of the work you do from the beginning. Even little steps are steps in the right direction.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always looking out for people and/or businesses to collaborate with. I did a collaboration with a dog bar back in April, and it was very fun! I love meeting new dogs and their people, while getting to know local businesses as well. There are a few coffee shops and local eateries that I would love to do some pop ups at this fall. Doing a pop up allows me to branch out my business, while supporting another business.
Dog friendly coffee shops, eateries, and boutiques are some of the places where a pop up could benefit Mixed Empire Dog Training, the other business, and dog owners in general.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://evajanicel.wixsite.com/mixdedempiredogtraining
• Instagram: uziandpebbles