23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage?

My Experience: I have over 14 years of experience with the breed-10 of which I've owned them myself and 6 of which I've been breeding on a serious level. This experience is very valuable-While some things can be taught many cannot be such as pack dynamics and some aspects of husbandry. This is not common but also is not rare-others can learn if they dedicate the time. This experience is not inimitable-anyone that invests the time will eventually learn these skills. It is however non-substitutable. There is no substitute for experience when it comes to knowing how to coexist and keep peace among a pack of working dogs.

My Brother Cody's Experience: Cody worked extensively with Jay training as a Summer job throughout high school. During that time, he has learned obedience and protection training. Cody's experience is very valuable-it would be impossible to do what I do if Cody, myself, or someone else wasn't able to train. While valuable, knowledge of training is not exceedingly rare. Training skill is easily copied by others. Cody's training experience is able to be substituted although paying someone to train for us might be cost prohibitive.

My Brother Connor's Experience: Connor has also worked for Jay and myself where he has gained experience in husbandry and training. While he doesn't perform these tasks now, his experience has proved valuable when he does our photography and it allows him to be a knowledgeable resource for customers. The individual parts of Connor's experience are not rare but his combination of skills is. Other's could copy what Connor brings to the table. We could substitute Connor's contribution by hiring a photographer while myself or Cody handled the dogs.

Jay as a Mentor: My dad's best friend from elementary school has been breeding and training working line canines for over 30 years. He is a close family friend and my mentor. Having Jay to teach us has been extremely valuable-none of us would have this hobby if it wasn't for the time spent with him. Jay as a resource is rare. While many people have similar knowledge Jay is one of only a few USK9 trainers that worked under Jack Healy and that knows the Healy-Salva method of training. This can be copied. There is another trainer in Alabama that teaches our method for a price. This could be substituted by using any one of the other proven police or military training methods coupled with a contact experienced in breeding.

Industry Contacts: We have reached out to the top kennels in Europe to seek advice and to import dogs that give us the ability to have quality genetics. This is valuable because it enables us to have lines that are rare here in the U.S. Our relationship with these breeders is not rare-anyone willing to pay can have dogs imported. This is easily copied-in fact since we have been advertising these lines other breeders have imported similar dogs. This can be substituted by purchasing dogs from other who have imported.

Our Grandfather's Support: My grandfather always ran small side businesses as a young man. When we acted on our interest and proved to him our commitment, he offered to invest in our business in exchange for a small stake that supplements his retirement income. His support has been valuable by enabling us to grow at a rate that we would not have been able to otherwise. This is not rare-many people have friends or family that is willing to invest in a venture. For this reason this resource can be easily imitated. We could have substituted his support with time.

Cash Reserves: Compared to our competition we are highly liquid. Since we have started breeding myself and my brothers have saved 10% of gross sales to fund growth and hedge for rough patches. This is extremely valuable in that it provides us security. It is not exceedingly rare to save money. This practice can be easily copied. There are few substitutes to cash reserves other than available credit.

Facilities: We own a rural property where we have built a kennel. Our facility is valuable because it allows us to do what we love in a way that gives our pets room to roam and enjoy a high quality of life. Many people have kennels although few have as comfortable accommodations as we do. This can be easily copied by anyone willing to spend the money. In our opinion there is no acceptable substitute for comfortable accommodations for our pack.

Our Bloodline: We have a unique combination of top European working and American show lines. It is very valuable. We've had people travel from all over the U.S. to buy our dogs because what we have is simply not available in their state. It is also rare-no one has our exact combination of bloodlines. It cannot be copied because many of the foundational breeders are no longer alive. Our bloodline could be substituted for a large number of comparable lines.

DNA: Due to our breeding practices, we have stock free of all genetic conditions known to affect canines. This is extremely valuable. Many of our customers that have owned dobermans before lost their beloved pet at a young age to DCM. When this happens many people only want a dog that is clear of this condition that affects half of all dobermans worldwide. This is also rare-just this month we had a family of 8 drive down from Washington D.C. during a pandemic because we were the closest breeder that could guarantee their pup would be free of vWD, DCM1, DCM2, DM, and DVOB dings. While this can be copied, it would take years to do so. There is no substitute.

Our most valuable resource is our breeding stock-the combination of our bloodline and it's genetic health. Most top American show lines have issues with vWD and most top European lines have issues with DCM. To my knowledge we are the only breeders in the state and one of only a few nationwide that have these famous lines that are also completely free of these genetic disorders.