Neil Smith has a long history working with animals. His professional career began in the Queensland Police Service as a dog handler. Through many years of operational policing Neil developed deep skills in working with animals and understanding people. While in the police service Neil began helping dog owners with training programs. This grew into a business so large he left the police service to concentrate on his new venture.
As his business grew Neil saw further opportunities in the provision of pet products online. Capitalising on this opportunity, Neil developed his business into offering a large range of pet products across four websites in Australia and New Zealand, including Bark Control and Ready Pet Go.
In this episode Neil discusses his approach to business, the importance of thinking through decisions, trusting your instincts and when to focus on improving the structure of your business for further growth and to weather the many storms of the sea of business.
Transcript
Murray Smith: Neil Smith from Bark Control Australia—welcome to Gripping Business Tales.
Neil Smith: Hi there, Murray. How are you today?
Murray: I’m good, thank you, mate. I appreciate you making the time to come on. There are quite a few stories worth sharing from your professional journey, so I’m looking forward to it.
Neil: Should be fun. We’ll just avoid saying anything that’ll get me criminally charged.
Murray: Yes, let’s try. Like all episodes, we start with the same two questions. Could you share one personal success and one professional success you’ve had recently?
Neil: Sure. Personally, getting your kids through school is a big moment. Our daughter Olivia started university this week—she’s studying speech pathology. That was a proud moment for my wife and me. We now have two kids doing well out there in the big, bad world.
Murray: Fantastic. And professionally?
Neil: I’ve been thinking about this. It ties back to having the right people in the right seats—an EOS principle. We recently hired a 19-year-old for our warehouse. He started in December and has far exceeded expectations. He’s now also creating content for us and contributing to marketing. We probably should’ve realised that most 19-year-olds are far better with content creation these days! He’s been a gem.
Murray: That’s excellent—great to hear you gave someone an opportunity and were open to recognising unexpected skills. A win-win.
Neil: Absolutely. I’ve always had an open-door policy. If someone has an idea, I want to hear it. If it helps the business, let’s use it.
Murray: Let’s zoom out a little. For those who don’t know what Bark Control does, could you explain the journey and where you’re at today?
Neil: Sure. We’re primarily in e-commerce, although we have a distribution arm as well. We’re focused on the pet industry. Unlike a lot of your B2B guests, we’re a B2C business—interacting with customers directly and helping solve pet-related issues. We run several websites in that space.
Murray: And there’s a bit of a connection between our backgrounds, however tenuous. So how did you end up here?
Neil: Just a couple of dumb ex-coppers doing alright, I think! I was a police dog handler in Queensland for about 18 years. Around 13 or 14 years ago, I started dog training on the side. It grew quickly. By 2008, I had two days off in the whole year—juggling private dog training and police work. Eventually, my wife gave me an ultimatum: choose one. I chose business.
Murray: And the business evolved from there?
Neil: It did. Private training transitioned into selling dog training products online. That took off faster than the in-person training. The challenge with dog training is that it’s hard to scale when it’s reliant on you personally. E-commerce, on the other hand, gave me the chance to replicate and grow.
Murray: You’ve also done well to remove the complexity of choice for consumers—something I think sets you apart.
Neil: Thanks. We’re deliberate about avoiding cheap, junk products. We focus on innovative, quality items. Our purpose is solving problems by removing complexity in choice, and we build websites around that philosophy. We also still run a call centre, so people can talk to a real person. That’s important—it sets us apart from faceless overseas sites.
Murray: Take us back to when you left policing. It’s a secure role with regular income. What gave you the confidence to walk away?
Neil: I did love policing. Nothing beats the adrenaline of going out at night with your dog and catching offenders. But over time, the bureaucracy and changes frustrated me. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak and wanted to make my own decisions—live or die by them. Business gave me that freedom. And I still get to work with animals, which I love. It just tapped into another part of me that policing didn’t allow to emerge.
Murray: Earlier you mentioned that year with only two days off. Was that fuelled by motivation or just consistency?
Neil: Probably both. I had two young kids and a mortgage. You can’t just walk away from a well-paying job—you have to build something alongside it. I don’t think I consciously planned it that way, but in hindsight, that’s what I was doing. I genuinely enjoyed the dog training too. That year, I actually earned as much from dog training as I did from the police, which made the leap less risky.
Murray: Sounds like we both “jumped quick and left slow.” Let’s talk about EOS. Why did you feel your business needed that structure?
Neil: Like many, I came across EOS through reading Traction. Our business had gone through huge growth—moving from under my house to multiple premises, scaling from one to 10 staff. But systems started breaking down. We needed an ERP solution, brought in consultants, and ended up wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was a mess. Traction felt different—it was more than motivational fluff; it offered a real roadmap. We needed to get aligned and focused again, and EOS gave us that.
Murray: You’ve been using EOS for a while now. What are the challenges you’re currently facing?
Neil: We’re still ironing out some software issues, but the biggest challenge now is external—misinformation in our space. There are competitors not even based in Australia selling $5 products from Alibaba for $200 and using fake vet endorsements and stock photos. It’s misleading for consumers, and we’re losing ad space to them on platforms like Google, which don’t do much to filter bad actors. We’re now taking legal action where we can.
Murray: So you’re now in a position to look outward, having stabilised your internal systems?
Neil: Exactly. We’re always improving internally, but we now have the bandwidth to confront these external challenges. We’ve built the business on integrity and authenticity, and it’s frustrating when dishonest operators take up space we could be using.
Murray: What’s your best piece of advice for business owners—not including EOS?
Neil: It’s hard to generalise, but I’d say: trust your instincts. If you’ve come up with the idea or know your industry, back yourself. But when you need help, seek it. Just be very selective about who you get that help from. I got it wrong the first time, and it cost me.
Murray: Good advice. Finally, can you walk us through your websites and what each one offers?
Neil: Sure.
- Bark Control Australia: Australian site for dog training, bark control, containment systems, leads, harnesses and other high-quality dog products.
- K9 Control: Our New Zealand version of the above.
- CatGenie: A self-washing, self-flushing cat litter box. Life-changing for cat owners.
- Ready Pet Go: A broader range of dog, cat, and other pet products in Australia.
We’ll be launching more websites over the next 18 months too.
Murray: Brilliant. I love what you and the team are doing. You really do live your values—authentic, passionate, and always evolving. It’s been great working with you. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
Neil: Thanks, Murray. And thanks for all your help.
“If you are going into business, there must be some trusting of your instinct. If you need help you should get it but be careful about what help you get.”