Hello world!

Is this thing on?? Testing 1, 2, 3…

How do you start a blog? How do you build a website? How do you start your first business? All questions I can finally answer.

In my 50th year on this great big planet, I finally did something that I wasn’t sure I would ever have the opportunity to do.

I am my own boss. I am self employed. I am the man.

I been pondering and planning Mr. Woof for a little over a year. In July of 2019, I quit my job of 12 years in sales with nothing in place. After my “early retirement” or “midlife crisis” or whatever you want to call it, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Stay in the alcoholic beverage industry, go back to restaurants or find something new? Hmmmm, I was still young enough for a career change but what career? Its always been said if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day. So, what do I love? Dogs & hiking. Perfect, I’ll be a dog walker.

I got a job with a local company and started walking dogs. I loved it! I lost weight; my blood pressure dropped. I was in the best shape I had been in decades.

I also got to play with pups all day, every day. They have always made me smile. I have had dogs my whole life. From Red, the Irish Setter when I was a kid, to Nevada, the singing mutt, to Akiko & Kenji, my rescue Shiba Inus, and all the other ones in between, dogs have always been important to me.

That was it, I knew what I wanted to do. I will start my own dog walking and pet sitting service. I started the obsessive research: I talked to my wife; I talked to friends & family. I Googled “how to start a business”. The plan was starting to take shape. I could do it.

Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Everybody was staying home. Everyone was cautious of spreading germs. No one needed (or wanted) dog walkers to come into their homes. I went from an average of 8 dogs down to 1 or 2. It was ugly. Luckily, I was also driving for Grubhub so I just picked up extra hours. I wasn’t sure it was the time to start a business in an industry that was kicked in the nuts by the corona virus. No, not a that time.

The business started coming back as the pandemic ebbed and waned over the next 6 months. I started getting some pet sitting gigs on my own. I could start to envision my own company again. Mr. Woof was back on! With support from my wife & family, I was able to secure the funds to handle the opening expenses.

So here we are. We’re all caught up. To answer the question from before, yes, my dog Nevada actually would sing & accompany me when I would play the harmonica. He was a good boy!