We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Juan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When I think of risk I tend to look at both sides of the spectrum. Risk is all around us, sometimes we don’t notice the reward that comes from such risks and vice versa – we can get lost in the reward of it all and forget about what happens if it doesn’t go our way. In my life I have been on both ends, when you’re winning you feel this high that you never want to come down from. When you’ve lost, you feel a sense of remorse and wish you could go back in time and do something different.

Before getting to where I am now, I used to get so hung up on should haves, could haves and would haves, but I believe the most important thing about not getting what you thought you may have is taking it as a learning lesson.

I like to say “You live and you learn, you never lose”.

Taking risks has been a major role in my journey. After being more risk seeking I have come to discover that the greatest risk of all(to me) is inaction. For anyone that is struggling with taking that first risk, take it and see what happens, it could be the game changer.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I began this journey after graduating with a B.S. degree in Management and Business Economics from UC Merced. I was set on going into finance after graduation and joined an Investment Management Firm in Newport Beach. I didn’t feel satisfied with what I was doing and by that time I decided to look for a dog training apprenticeship. I took the risk of going up to the owner of a dog training facility that had just opened up in LA and offered my time for some knowledge. I began in kennel maintenance first and kept moving up and understanding the entire business. After about a year of gaining that experience I began my own journey and just kept going. It definitely hasn’t been easy, but nothing great is. I overcame most of my challenges by just continuing to show up even if the results I wanted weren’t actually there.

I’d like to let the world know that I do what I do for the dogs. I am on a mission to create clear communication between dogs and humans worldwide!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First off, my best friend is my dog!

Jokes aside, if I were to show a friend around I would take them hiking first to get the blood pumping, probably around Santa Monica or Pacific Palisades. After the hike we would go to a spot called Back on the Beach Cafe, really good spot on the beach.

We would also go to a museum, I like the Peterson Automotive Museum but would depend on their taste. There is this small falafel spot less than 10 minutes away that I love called Falafel Queen which I would take them to afterwards.

Definitely going to fit in a bike to the beach day since I am on the west side and we would just chill there and play some frisbee or volleyball. Once the weekend starts creeping in I would take them to dance either to some house, groovy disco or even some techno. I like going for the music and the production that is set. The underground techno scene or Secret Service in Long Beach always has a good vibe! There’s really so much to do in the city and I am pretty open to trying new experiences, whoever it is that visits may also need to be open to doing things that could be out of their comfort zone!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to Jimmy Gonzalez. He has helped me turn what was only an idea in my head into reality and we are still going, the #1 dog training app will be here to wow the world!

Additionally, I would like to give a shoutout to my girl Tasha. She is my first dog that I have owned on my own and I have learned so much from her and continue to learn more about myself thanks to her. She keeps me going!

Instagram: @K9CoachDan

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-juan-24out

Youtube: K9CoachDan

Image Credits
Daniel Mateo – Valentine Pictures

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