Lessons From Top Agility Handler Jennifer Crank on Running a Business

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In the final moments before she walks into the ring, Jennifer Crank narrows her focus. She tightens her shoes until they feel secure, sprays her dog’s feet for traction, and runs through one last visualization of the course. The crowd fades. The plan sharpens.

Then she steps onto one of the biggest stages in dog sports.

“There really is no other agility [competition] in the U.S. like Westminster.”

For Jennifer, that stage is both surreal and familiar. Her current dog, Bee, has attended the Masters Agility Championship at Westminster five times, made five trips to finals, and earned two Champion titles and two runner-up titles. Alongside this competitive career, Jennifer teaches others who want to follow their own path in the sport.

“I am a dog lover and agility competitor who turned my love and passion for the sport into a career of helping others with their own agility journey,” she shares.

Jennifer owns and operates IncrediPAWS, Central Ohio’s premier dog agility facility, where she takes a systematic approach to training and handling built on positivity and reinforcement. As a longtime Acuity Scheduling customer, she uses the platform to manage the moving parts of classes, private lessons, and facility access so she can stay focused on coaching.

Whether she’s competing or teaching, her performance rests on preparation, clarity, and disciplined execution. The same principles shape a steady, resilient business. Here’s what you can take from her approach.

Start with goals, then build the path

When a new student walks through her doors, Jennifer doesn’t start with obstacles or drills. She starts with questions.

“One of the very first things I do when I meet with a new student is to ask their goals,” she says. “What is it they are looking to achieve? How do they see me, as a coach, fitting into that plan? Are they looking to just have fun with their dogs with no desire to compete? Or are they looking to take their dog to the highest levels of the sport? Two very appropriate answers that have a different journey. Knowing what journey they are on allows me to be the best I can for them.”

Clear goals make it easier to design the right system. A team preparing for national competition needs a different progression than a team attending class for enrichment and bonding. Both deserve thoughtful planning. The structure simply changes.

In business, it’s easy to reverse that order. You can spend hours refining pricing tiers or rearranging your class calendar before you’ve defined what success looks like for your clients. When you understand the outcome you’re guiding them toward, your schedule, session formats, and enrollment process start to make more sense. The logistics support the journey instead of steering it.

Communicate clearly at every step

From the stands, agility can look like pure speed. The dog flies over jumps and disappears into tunnels while the handler runs alongside. To someone new to the sport, it may seem straightforward. To the handler, it’s a steady exchange of information.

“It’s so much more than just what dog can run the course the fastest,” Jennifer explains. “It’s about the relationship and communication that you develop with your canine partner over years of training together.”

Every run is a conversation. The dog reads shoulder position and stride. The handler adjusts in real time. When that communication is solid, the movement looks effortless.

“Observe them watching and reading each other. A really polished team will look like a smooth dance out there.”

Clients experience your business in much the same way. They notice whether registration is simple, whether confirmations arrive when expected, and whether expectations are clear before they ever show up for their first appointment. Those details shape trust long before the real work begins.

When scheduling feels organized and predictable, it reinforces the care you bring to your craft. Acuity Scheduling allows you to manage bookings, one-on-one sessions, group offerings, and space rentals in one place, so the operational side of your business reflects the same professionalism your clients experience firsthand.

Small habits protect long-term performance

Jennifer is candid about a habit she believes competitors often overlook.

“Agility is a sport. We need to treat the dogs as athletes and that means warm ups and cool downs, but also conditioning to keep them in great shape and minimize injury.”

These routines rarely get applause, yet they extend careers and reduce avoidable setbacks. Over time, that consistency matters more than any single event.

Running a business requires the same discipline. Clear intake processes, thoughtful cancellation policies, buffer time between sessions, and organized availability may not feel exciting, but they prevent friction and protect your energy. When those foundations are steady, you’re less likely to spend your day putting out small fires or drowning in busywork.

Make smart adjustments while staying the course

Agility continues to evolve, and training evolves with it. “As the rules and design of the sport change, so do the concepts we train and teach, the way we go about teaching them, and the direction and goals students develop in the sport,” Jennifer shares.

A growing business faces similar shifts. Demand fluctuates. New services are introduced. Client expectations change. When something feels off, the instinct can be to overhaul everything at once. In practice, steady progress usually comes from measured adjustments made with a clear head.

“The more events you do, the better you get at handling the logistics, stress, and chaos,” Jennifer says. Experience sharpens your judgment. You learn which signals require action and which simply call for composure.

During a past silver medal run, a judge briefly raised his hand to signal a fault, then withdrew the call. Jennifer didn’t know that in the moment. She stayed focused and finished the course. The lesson stayed with her.

“Never give up… Just keep running your absolute best!”

Having scheduling software that lets you update your offerings, adjust availability, and manage payments without rebuilding your entire calendar gives you room to adapt thoughtfully. You can refine what isn’t working while keeping the core structure intact. In sport and in business, accuracy often serves you better than rushing.

Remember why you started

For all the structure and preparation, Jennifer’s favorite moment happens after the obstacles are behind her and her dogs.

“When we cross the finish line, the look on their face is the same. They just had the absolute time of their life. Giving them that opportunity while I also get to have fun is why I love this sport!”

That sense of joy draws many trainers into this work. You see it in a shy dog gaining confidence or in a handler celebrating a first clean run. Those moments are the point.

Your systems should make space for them. When bookings, reminders, and payments are organized, you spend less time chasing logistics and more time making progress and strengthening the relationships that brought you here in the first place.

Train like a professional. Run your business like one.

As the Official Scheduling Partner of the Westminster Kennel Club, Acuity Scheduling supports trainers and facilities like Jennifer and IncrediPAWS who bring care and professionalism to their work.

No matter what type of business you run, you can benefit from the same tools.

Start a free trial to explore the platform. No credit card required. Then purchase a plan at 20% off with code WKC20 at checkout, now through February 28. [View terms.]