The Game of Inches

ACTION 1: Find a gap

‘I think ultimately I respond to a gap in the market — the service that is not provided, one area that is being underserviced.’

Kristy-Lee Billett, Footprint Group

Sylvia Wilson sits in front of a computer screen in her home in San Diego. Sylvia and her husband Danny run a global business called Bark Busters. The company has well over 300 franchisees in seven countries. I was sitting at the other end of a Skype call in my office in Sydney while what had started as an interview quickly became an animated conversation, and I listened to Sylvia's amazing story.

Bark Busters trains people's dogs in their own homes. It's a clever idea but, when you think about it, a no-brainer. Why train a dog in a foreign environment? The moment they get home, the rules and boundaries have changed.

It all started 30 years ago, when Sylvia was managing the RSPCA in Wollongong, Australia. When people brought in their animals for adoption, Sylvia would suggest that before they decided to leave their pet, why not let her come to their home and train the animal? She didn't think of it as a great business idea; she was just trying to help. She had grown up with dogs, so she instinctively knew how to handle them.

Soon the word spread that Sylvia and Danny had a knack for this and other people started requesting their services. One day Danny came home with a broken arm, unable to work. He said to Sylvia, ‘Good thing you have a job to pay the mortgage', to which she replied, ‘Well, ...