Launching my business

“I can't take it any more! I hate work!”

Five years ago I walked in from work one night and yelled this at my husband.  He jokingly struck back, “Just quit! Take a break, get some fresh air, and walk the dogs around the neighborhood. ”  

So I did.

Today my company, Alexandria Pet Care Inc., has nine employees -- and 2008 gross revenue of a quarter of a million dollars. We pet sit and walk dogs for over 300 clients and their 600 household pets of all kinds, the smallest of which is a snail named Patrick who loves fresh basil.

Despite the state of the economy, Alexandria Pet Care had a 40% growth rate in 2008. We continue to differentiate ourselves from our competition, and we hope to achieve annual gross revenue over half a million dollars by 2011.

So how did severe burnout turn into such success?

Back to five years ago: Thanks to our Portuguese Water Dogs, Nutmeg and Bailey, I already had many neighborhood friends and contacts with other “dog people” in our hometown Alexandria, Virginia – where there is an enormous pet owners’ community that supports a network of dog parks, obedience schools and agility classes.

“So, why not walk, and do it for profit?” I thought. Of all the neighbors I see walking dogs each morning, some of their dogs must need some sunshine and exercise during the workday, too.

But dog walking as a job, really? Hmmm… certainly not like business-suit-and-heels job I’d always had! I’d spent the past 10 years consulting, and I loved my client relationships, but my work became such a chore with travel, long hours, and more repetitive work. I knew I needed to get out of my stale environment and seek something to make work fun again.

So, to save my sanity and my health – I went for it. I spent three months doing research, a business plan, a detailed launch plan, and voila!

I quit my job. I opened my one-person business. I splashed a marketing campaign across the neighborhood, talked to everyone I knew, and a week later I was pet sitting my first cat clients Phoebe, Simon and Maxwell.

Within three months, my schedule was full and I had my first major decision: hire help, or stop taking clients? I hired a part-time pet sitter, kept taking new clients, kept hiring, and never looked back.

Do I still walk dogs?  You bet!  I fill in for our employees’ days off to get my fill of fresh air, dog walking and pet sitting. And I still have close client relationships in a service business that keeps me motivated and excited to come to work, every day.

Advice for others

My number one tip for Quick Books’ users is "report, report, report". My favorite report for our business is the “Income by Customer – Summary” – so we can give top clients supporting our business more relationship support and discounts. And if you're a NEW business owner using Quick Books, “plan, plan, plan” – use the forecasting and budgeting tools. The more you think about the future of your business, the faster you'll react to good and bad news, and move on to achieve greater success.