Maslow called… he’d like to have a word with your business
If you work with animals, you probably already know how a scientific idea can get mangled once it escapes into the public domain.
Case in point: Dr David Mech.
His early research on wolves was hijacked to fuel the ‘alpha dog’ myth. Trainers used it. TV embedded it. Pet owners parroted it. It became ‘fact’… except Mech never said it applied to domestic dogs at all.
Not only that… he later publicly refuted the whole dominance model anyway. His early study was based on wolves in captivity (unrelated animals forced into artificial groups), whereas in the wild, wolves live in family units.
But did the world update the story? Of course not! They kept the catchy version… the wrong version.
Popular interpretation ‘did Mech dirty’, as they say.
And the same thing happened to Abraham Maslow.
Maslow never drew a pyramid
Image from: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
You’ve probably seen the colourful triangle depicting ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’: survival at the bottom, self-actualisation at the top.
The unspoken message: meet one need, unlock the next level of your life… like some kind of video game, where you eventually defeat the final boss.
Except that isn’t what Maslow said. I’ll be honest… I only learned that myself recently. Like most people, I absorbed the pyramid version and assumed it was accurate.
But it turns out…
He never said human needs were some neat little staircase that you climbed if you tried hard enough. He never claimed that you had to fully meet one need before you were allowed to experience the next (although, of course, without your most basic survival needs being met, you’re not going to have an opportunity to meet the others).
And that beloved triangle? It was apparently slapped onto his work after he died.
But just like the alpha myth… the catchy version won, and the nuance of Maslow’s work got lost.
Maslow actually identified six core categories of human need… not just the five shown in the popular pyramid. His theory was that humans are motivated by:
Physiological/ Survival needs: rest, energy, food, shelter
Safety needs: predictability, structure, security, stability
Belonging needs: connection, acceptance, community
Esteem needs: being respected, capable, valued
Self-actualisation needs: growth, meaningful expression of potential
Self-transcendence needs: purpose, contribution beyond the self
Initially, Maslow didn’t include that sixth need (self-transcendence) so most people don’t even know it exists. But if you’re reading this, it’s probably something that you already live by. You don’t work ethically with animals because it’s the easiest way to earn money. You do it because something in you believes in making things better... kinder… fairer…. more humane. That’s transcendence.
Quick note for anyone clutching a psychology textbook: this isn’t a isn’t a peer-reviewed paper on clinical psychology. I’m simply using a familiar model of human motivation as a lens for business… because business is unavoidably human.
Stay with me…
What does that have to do with business?
Everything.
Your nervous system doesn’t care that you run a business. Human needs don’t take a day off just because you got yourself a business bank account.
Of course, your business isn’t responsible for meeting all of your needs but it does need to support them. When it doesn’t, it slowly starts working against you… in a hundred little ways that look reasonable on the surface but quietly drain the joy out of the work you love.
Do any of these sound familiar? 👀
You spend 40 minutes rewriting the same sentence until it sounds ‘safe enough’ to post on social media. You delete the version that actually said something meaningful because you can already picture another trainer screenshotting it to judge in a private group.
(Belonging + Safety needs)Your sessions regularly overrun by 20 minutes because ending on time feels rude… and you’d rather carry the cost yourself than risk someone feeling disappointed.
(Safety + Esteem need)A client messages you at 9.48pm. You see it, feel the tension build and then reply (telling yourself it’s just this once) because you’re scared that if you don’t, they might think that you don’t care.
(Belonging + Safety needs)You tell yourself you’ll rest when you ‘catch up’… but you never do, because you’re always trading time for money and there’s never quite enough of either.
(Survival + Safety needs)You decide you’re going to increase your prices but ‘never get round to’ updating them on your website because you’re secretly terrified that someone might think you’re ‘only in it for the money’.
(Esteem + Safety needs)You’ve got ideas (a programme you want to create, a book you want to write, a bigger impact you want to make) but you never seem to get beyond survival mode long enough to act on any of them.
(Self-actualisation need)You offer extra follow-up support for free… not because the client needs it but because you’re worried that they won’t think that your input so far was worth the money.
(Esteem need)
These patterns aren’t personal failings… they’re clues. Just like we tell our clients: behaviour makes sense when you understand what’s driving it.
This isn’t mindset work… it’s actually needs work!
Some people will have you believe that your business problems can be solved with a ‘better mindset’. Think more positively. Be more disciplined. Raise your vibration. Repeat a few affirmations and crack on.
Meanwhile your prices are too low, your schedule is frantic and your systems are about as under-control as a spaniel in a pheasant run.
No… you cannot power-of-positivity your way out of structural problems.
And while we’re on the subject of advice I don’t agree with… I’m also not a fan of the obsession with ‘£10k months’ that gets thrown around. Yes, money matters in business (let’s stop pretending it doesn’t)… but the £10k months headline kind of misses the point (lots of them, in fact). [I explain more about this here].
So how do we build a business that helps us to meet our human needs, rather than fighting against them?
The Five Pillars: business design that honours human needs
Most business advice jumps straight to tactics… post more, niche down, offer upsells. But tactics don’t fix foundations. If your business isn’t working for you, you don’t need a hack... you need architecture.
That’s exactly what my Five Pillars framework is designed to give you.
And just like Maslow’s model (and Mech’s wolf findings), this isn’t linear. There’s no ladder to climb. The five pillars work together, strengthening your business as a system… one that supports your energy, your ethics and your goals.
Pillar 1: Intentionality
Most people in our industry don’t actually build a business. They kind of cobble one together, almost by accident. Before long, they’re running a business that doesn’t even feel like theirs. Intentionality is where that stops. It’s where your values stop being a nice sentence on your website and actually become the basis of how you make decisions. It’s where you define what you’re building, where you want to be, why it matters and what you refuse to compromise on.
This pillar supports your Safety, Esteem and Self-Transcendence needs. It gives you a sense of direction you can actually trust, strengthens your professional identity and keeps your work rooted in purpose rather than panic.
Pillar 2: Visibility
When people don’t even know that you exist, they can’t possibly work with you… no matter how qualified or skilled you are. But being visible can feel like a relentless ‘task’, made even more challenging when you’re surrounded by louder voices spouting nonsense with full confidence. That’s why finding visibility strategies that suit you (so that you can keep doing them without sacrificing your soul) is so important.
This pillar supports your Belonging and Esteem needs by helping you find your place in your industry. It also strengthens Safety by creating a steady flow of opportunities, so you’re not constantly wondering where the next client will come from.
Pillar 3: Irresistibility
Irresistibility isn’t about having a massive ego or writing the word ‘transformational’ on your website… and hoping nobody asks for proof. It’s about being so relevant, clear and compelling to the right people that you no longer need to convince them... they already know that you’re the person who gets it and can genuinely help.
This pillar supports your Esteem and Belonging needs. It lets you be seen as the expert you actually are, without diluting your approach to sound like everyone else. It also contributes to Safety, because clear messaging creates predictable demand (also known as: fewer white-knuckle months refreshing your inbox like it owes you money).
Pillar 4: Profitability
Ethical trainers and behaviourists often struggle with this one. Yes, you want to help and don’t want money to be a barrier. But profit is what keeps your work alive. Without it, you’re just one vet bill, car breakdown or quiet month away from panic… or closing your business down entirely (and that doesn’t help anyone). And you know something that I see time and time again? Profitability can be the difference between loving your work and secretly resenting it.
This pillar supports your Survival and Safety needs because when your bills are paid and your income is reliable, your nervous system stops panicking in the background.
Pillar 5: Sustainability
Sustainability is what keeps your business alive in the longer term. It’s the pillar that helps you to build your business in a way that glows with a steady flame, instead of burning like a bonfire doused in petrol. This is the pillar where your daily reality lives... it’s about having systems and boundaries that protect your time and don’t make you want to cry into your cup of tea.
This pillar supports your Safety needs (because chaos is not a growth strategy) and your Self-Actualisation needs (because you can only do your best work when you’re not constantly on the edge of collapse).
Together, these pillars form a business that doesn’t fight your human needs… it supports them.
But, while we’re at it, now seems like a good time to call out an uncomfortable truth… the business world doesn’t always reward integrity. In fact, it often favours people who meet their own needs at the expense of everyone else’s.
Why unethical businesses often grow faster
Unethical businesses often grow faster. There, I said it.
Why? Because of course it is easier to grow when you don’t carry the weight of integrity.
If you don’t care about honesty, it’s easy to make bold claims.
If you don’t care about consent, it’s easy to pressure people into buying.
If you don’t care about nuance, it’s easy to say it’s simple.
If you don’t care about welfare, it’s easy to sell quick fixes.
Meanwhile, ethical professionals carry a heavier load because you care. You think before you speak. You avoid overclaiming. You put animal welfare first. You’d rather lose a client than compromise your standards.
In my experience, ethical businesses move differently… they play a longer game. But with the right structure, ethical businesses don’t just survive, they thrive… and they change lives.
Where this leaves us…
Maslow didn’t create a pyramid. He created a lens: a way to understand what drives us. When we bring that lens into business, everything becomes clearer:
You can try all the hacks and tips you like, but if your business is built on foundations that ignore your human needs, it’s always going to feel like hard work.
The good news? You can rebuild your foundations without burning everything down.
If you’re ready to build with intention…
This is exactly the work I do with ethical dog trainers and behaviourists inside Unleash Your Potential: my 1:1 business coaching/ mentoring programme for people who want to make their business better.
Inside this programme, we strengthen your foundations through The Five Pillars (intentionality, visibility, irresistibility, profitability and sustainability) so that your business actually works for you, instead of just for everyone else.
If this resonates with you and you can feel in your bones that your business can be more you… then I’d love to support you.
Request the Unleash Your Potential brochure here and let’s begin rebuilding your business in a way that feels like home.
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