Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Teixeira.
Laura, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The story of Ellie Walks Dogs started a couple years ago when I made the decision to quit working full time so I could stay at home with my, at that moment, 14-month-old son. While enjoying our time at home I still wanted to ‘do something’, I went online and googled: ways to bring income home while staying home with a baby.
A few stuff came down on the google list but the one that got my attention was the ‘walking dogs’. I did a broad online research about everything I should probably know regarding what is a dog walker. It just seemed like a perfect idea: I would still have a very flexible schedule, I could make some income, I could bring my son with me on the walks, I could use some of my background knowledge on animal behavioral science from my prior job, and best of all, I would be working with my favorite animals! And so, I started walking dogs here and there, I started to study more and educating myself more on how to care for other people’s dogs.
Now I had to work on how to get more clients! I was very fortunate to receive free small business related classes with SCORE, these classes were the key to the beginning of my business. From the knowledge received from this class, I worked really hard on learning about marketing, and advertising, and on putting up a website. But I did not want to stop there, I wanted to reach others who shared the passion for dogs as much I do and so I started to write blogs about everything and anything related to dogs. I really enjoy writing the articles for the blog. I enjoy studying to prepare them, I enjoy putting them together, and I enjoy knowing that other dog lovers who might read can benefit from them, it really is a win-win situation!
With time and perseverance, Ellie Walks Dog started to ‘roll around’ and clients started to come, and in January of this year, Ellie Walks Dogs became a registered business! It has been such a great experience and I have enjoyed every second of it! I am so honored to work with some amazing families and their dogs! I can truly say that I am one of those people who can proudly say: I do what I love and I love what I do!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part yes. A lot of learning was and still is involved with running a dog walking business. But nonetheless, learning about it has been truly a great experience. One of the struggles I had at the beginning was to actually find clients. It can be a bit difficult at the beginning since ‘the word of mouth’ pays such a big impact on the success of a business.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Ellie Walks Dogs provides two types of service:
1) dog walk: 30′ visit where a dog is taken out of the house for a potty break, exercise, and human interaction.
2) overnight stay overnight human companion for your dog at the comfort of your house. This service includes PM and AM potty break, human interaction and companion, feeding, and cuddles.
What I am most proud of is that I am able to work with any type of dog, whether they are small or great, pup or senior, healthy or disabled, well-behaved or defiant.
What sets me apart from others is my persistence in educating myself as much as possible, researching, reading, taking classes and keeping myself ‘up to date’ with the knowledge. I also believe that being bonded is insured shows my clients and possible future ones that I am liable and that I take my work very seriously and treat it respect, care, and love. Having a Pet First Aid and CPR certification definitely ads up to it.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was always an animal lover. As a small child, I would reply to the question: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ with the answer: ‘An animal doctor’. I had since I can remember, always have a passion for animals. I can’t even tell you how many times I had come home with a stray dog with me, and there was no way my parents wouldn’t let me care for them, I was pretty sneaky! 😉
I have always been the ‘sweet and kind of quiet’ type of girl unless I see a dog, then I will not stop talking!
Pricing:
- dog walk: $20 for a 30 minute visit
- overnight stay: $65 for 8-9 hours stay at your home
Contact Info:
- Website: elliewalksdogs.com
- Phone: 508-530-2282
- Email: elliewalksdogs@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/elliewalksdogs
- Other: www.linkedIn.com/Laurateixeira
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