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From Bookkeeper to Doggie Day Care Owner This was an entirely unexpected slam dunk. Dawn was angry, depressed and discouraged when she showed up in my office to talk about the rest of her life. She hadn’t gone to college and didn’t want to. She didn’t think she had any particular talents or skills that would get her anywhere beyond bookkeeper or the part time job she had at an athletic equipment store. The prognosis was not good. The “What do you love?” exercise revealed one stand-out: an exceptional love and knowledge of dogs. Further dialogue and reflection on the possibilities around this one passion quickly led to some serious thinking about a doggie business. Actually, many friends had already suggested this but she never took them seriously because she couldn’t imagine how she would be able to pull it off. It didn’t take much, really, once we began planning. Within six months, Dawn had named her business, purchased cards, permits and insurance, and reduced her job hours to part time. She placed one ad in the right newspaper, told her fellow dog-walking friends, and boom, she was in business. She’s never looked back. She now zips around the East Bay Area in her little truck with business name on its side, and visits her beloved dogs providing whatever care and service they need. Her favorite activity is taking them on wilderness hiking and swimming adventures, thereby bringing together all the things she loves in one fell swoop. And guess what? She’s making more money than she ever thought possible. In this fourth year of business, she is turning away some new clients because she doesn’t want to hire employees at this point, getting rid of difficult clients, and designing her time so she can be more available to her high school-aged daughter. The daughter is very proud of her entrepreneurial mother. Not bad for a high school graduate with no talents or skills she could speak of. |
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