Q&A: Teaching a holistic approach to healing pets

This week we talk to Edward Bassingthwaighte, an experienced vet who took the teaching of his holistic approach to healing animals online in early 2019 as a sole operator. Today Edward has 1700 enrolled students, 36 practitioners certified, four teachers certified and a team of five helping him keep it all rolling.

ISB: Please tell us about your early background in working with animals, and your interest in holistic treatment.

EB: I grew up on a cattle property, working with and training animals from an early age. I graduated a bachelor of veterinary science in 1995. Soon after graduating I met a vet who developed a method of working with horses’ necks. Dr Tom taught me a lot about neck and back pain in animals, something I was not taught at university. Then I became very ill with chronic fatigue syndrome. Western medicine ran out of answers pretty quickly! I had to explore holistic and alternative treatments to get well. I experimented with what worked for me in my veterinary practice and got great results!.

ISB: What was the inspiration behind you developing your Whole Energy Body Balance concept?

EB: I realised that many pets are silently suffering with neck, back or body pain. I taught myself how to find and relieve silent pain with hands-on work. There were no modalities for me to study then. I learned by experimenting to find what worked. With the help of many animals, I’ve been growing my skills ever since. Four years ago, I missed awful neck pain in my own dog. This made me curious about how many people miss silent pain in their pets. Turns out it’s a lot (more than 50 per cent). My inspiration is to empower people to find and relieve silent pain for their pets, and help people build their own profitable pet-wellness practices.

ISB: When and why did you decide to transition from coaching that concept to a handful of students face-to-face to taking it online?

EB: In 2019, after I’d been teaching face to face for four years, I finally implemented the online teaching model. I wanted to reach more people, help more animals, and teach people all over the world. I could see that my time and energy were a big limiting factor in growing the business with only face to face teaching. It’s been very successful, we have over 1700 online students enrolled now.

ISB: And what was the most challenging aspect for you in making that shift from physical classes to online classes reaching thousands of students?

EB: There are a lot of moving parts in an online business. I had to learn a whole lot of new skills when it comes to computers, websites and software. Another challenge was learning how to write effective, engaging, ethical sales copy. But the biggest challenge was taking the plunge, doing what I’d been planning and thinking about for so long. It takes courage, and a willingness to fail, learn and grow.

ISB: What is your vision for the development of the business in the next couple of years?

EB: We want to rapidly grow the enrollments in our existing online trainings while developing and launching new products to help people give their pets (and themselves) the happiest, healthiest, most comfortable life possible. Our vision is to reach many thousands more animals through teaching their guardians.

ISB: And, finally, what are the key pieces of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs when it comes to changing your business model and rapidly scaling that business?

EB: Live your passion. Be willing to invest in yourself. Be willing to grow as a leader, and in your business skills. Find the best teachers and mentors you can to support you in this journey. Eat well. Exercise. Rest, and take holidays like you would if you were employed. Form a company structure, register for GST, even if you’re just starting. Be willing to show up, no matter what. Own your mistakes, and learn from them.