NASHUA – Local inventor and businessman Mark Robinson is a pro at engaging with his clients – whether they are two-, three- or four-legged.

A jack of many trades, Robinson is the founder and president of Nashua-based HandicappedPets.com, manufacturer of the world’s leading brand of adjustable dog wheelchair – which also happens to be Robinson’s invention – called Walkin’ Wheels.

He’s founder of Handicapped Pets, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Amherst that provides dog wheelchairs to families with financial hardships.

He also principals the Energy Grid, a Nashua-headquartered strategic Web marketing business for the alternative energy industry and other forward thinking businesses.

Robinson will be the keynote speaker at the BizConNH 2011 conference planned for Oct. 1 in Peterborough. He’ll speak about a recipe for business success that he’s coined “The Awwwww Factor.”

Since Robinson started selling the Walkin’ Wheels dog wheelchair for pets with hip and leg problems in August 2008, he has sold thousands worldwide, including distributors in Canada, Japan and Spain, he said. They’re sold to individuals as well as distributors in the veterinary community.

“As far as the business touching the most number of lives, Handicapped Pets really does that,” Robinson said. “Its success is based in the dog caretaker community. People now are learning that there’s a whole new attitude toward care for animals. We see people calling us all the time, calling their animals a part of their family, when they need help or are looking for the ability to care for them.”

To get a sense of how quickly Walkin’ Wheels took off, Animal Planet did an episode of “Underdog to Wonderdog” in 2010 featuring six canines wheeling around in Robinson’s Walkin’ Wheels chairs, playing together, fetching balls and catching frisbees.

HandicappedPets.com has a Facebook page with more than 40,000 “likes.”

But Robinson’s Energy Grid is equally successful, handling Web sites and Internet or search engine management for hundreds of forward-thinking companies, Robinson said.

“It depends on how you define success,” Robinson said. “When I look at the Energy Grid, there is a new horizon coming around energy and the way we deal with energy. As the grid gets smarter and battery technology becomes more advanced, we’re going to see a huge new energy age where we have all the energy we need coming from multiple sources, and being a part of that is quite a privilege.”

Understanding another massive grid – the Internet – has been the basis for Robinson’s strong community connection that allows his businesses to thrive, he said.

“I stay very up-to-date on new technologies because of my work for the Energy Grid, which does a lot of search engine consulting,” Robinson said. “I spend a great deal of time understanding Google and how the Internet works. People often ask people how many computers there are in the world; well, there’s one computer, and Google is the operating system. We’re all nodes to this one computer, so understanding and studying it is fascinating to me.

“As soon as Facebook became a force, I started learning a great deal about it. I do it for all new technologies. … That’s the way all my businesses can kind of work together.”

With a resume of diverse industry experience, including companies such as Honeywell Protection Services in Manchester, Curtis Manufacturing in Peterborough and Jaffrey, and Advanced Energy in Wilton, Robinson is no stranger to learning and growing with new technology.

“Understanding technology, that’s really the key,” Robinson said. “When computers first came out, I understood the computer. When networks started happening and a computer became a bunch of computers, I learned about networks, and that’s when I created (Peterborough-based) Computer and Network Services. When all of these networks began connecting together, learning and understanding the Internet has been my passion, so a lot of my business relies on that background.”

As the keynote speaker at the BizConNH 2011 conference, Robinson will highlight the importance of keeping up with technology, as well as engaging with the community.

“‘The Awwwww Factor’ is really about engaging your customers. When you see our site, the intention is that you go ‘Awwwww,’” Robinson said. “‘Awwwww’ is the sound of a client who is engaged, emotionally a part of your product and service. ‘Yum’ is another one. If you’ve got a restaurant and can get your clients to say, ‘Mmm,’ that’s a marvelous engagement with your product.

“I’ve had half a dozen businesses in my life, and they have to do with the fact that I’m an early adopter of new technologies and the computer. The sound people would make when they first saw a computer was ‘Huh?’ … The Energy Grid business is the same. It’s a new technology, and I started it as an early adopter and have been promoting new energy technologies ever since.”

It takes more than a Web site to make a business, though, Robinson said, a point he will emphasize at the Peterborough conference.

“I’m going to talk a lot about engaging and different ways to engage your customers, the traditional ways and new technology ways,” Robinson said. “They all need to be combined.”

Providing value specific to the community is vital, he said. The handicapped pet community is healthy enough for his Walkin’ Wheels to take off and help thousands of people, Robinson said, with 78.2 million dogs in the United States, occupying 39 percent of U.S. households.

“When you provide that much value to a community, the community supports you,” Robinson said. “That’s part of what I’ve learned here. The community that Google provides value to is global, which is why Google is doing so well. Your success is based on the value that you provide to your community.”

The BizConNH conference is hosted by the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. It offers a day of workshops, panels, seminars, networking events, table talks and speakers. For more information, or to register, visit www.bizconnh.com.

To learn more about the Handicapped Pets business, visit www.handicappedpets.com or hpets.org for the foundation.

For more information about the Energy Grid, visit www.theenergygrid.com.

Maryalice Gill can be reached at 594-6490 or mgill@nashuatelegraph.com