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October 1, 2007

Off the leash | A chat with Stephanie Hogan, founder of Portland's Paws in Portland.

By Erview By Kerry Elson
Founded: September 2006
Employees: Hogan, two walkers (one full-time and one part-time), and four house-sitters
Startup costs: $4,000
Revenue, year one: $17,000
Projected revenue, year two: $40,000
Contact: 408-9495
432 Fore St., Portland 04101
www.portlandspaws.com

What are your rates?
It's $15 for a walk per dog. It includes the hour-long walk and picking up the poop and the insurance costs of being out there with somebody else's pet. We walk in and around Portland. House sitting costs are $40 a day per dog. We definitely will service South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth.

Paws Adventures is going to be $30 a dog. That's six weeks, off-leash, all day. That includes the pick-up and drop off from people's homes, the day out wherever we go, snacks, water, a towel ˆ— you know, wipe down at the end of the day if we're really muddy.

Every client also gets a walking log notebook, and we leave it at their house. Every time we come in, we sign ourselves as Portland's Paws. And then we get back, we leave notes about how the dog is doing. It's good for the client in that they get to have a communication with us, because once I meet the client, I don't typically see them that often.

Do you have a key to their house?
Yup. The key is actually part of my insurance policy, to have a key to the owner's home. But we have a lot of checks and balances. None of our keys are listed with a client's name or address, so they only have the dog's name on the key. We carry everything on a key ring and all our spare keys are kept in a locked box in the office.

How many dogs do you walk at a time?
Right now I'm walking about 12 to 15 dogs a day. We walk up to five dogs at a time. We pick them up. I puzzle-piece the route together. The goal is not to retrace our steps but to create a substantial loop. Dogs are pack animals, so the reason I actually prefer to walk in groups is that you provide the group socialization.

Did you ever study dog behavior?
Yup. Well, [I used to work for] Boston Pet Sitters. [The owner's] 16 years of experience was plenty for me to learn exactly how to hold the leashes when I was walking and of course how to pick up poop while I've got five dogs in my hand, how to untangle leashes while others are trying to walk forward.

I noticed that you're licensed, bonded and insured. Is that costly?
Absolutely. I included that actually in [my startup costs.] I pay an insurance premium [through] Business Insurers of the Carolinas. They have a part of the company for pet sitters and dog walkers. And my membership fee at the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters covers myself and my employees every time they're in someone's home pet sitting, so if something happens in the house, they're covered by a bond. If something happens while they're out with a pet, they're covered by the pet insurer.

How did you start the business?
I started just on little stickie notes to draw out the business plan. And I started speaking with friends who at the time were students taking classes in Web design and marketing at Suffolk [University in Boston.] All of a sudden we were going back and forth with website design and making printing materials and business cards, so that I could start introducing myself to retail shop owners. Planet Dog has been a big supporter, Fetch has been fantastic. It is an extremely word-of-mouth-based business.

What is it like working with dogs all day?
It can be challenging. The nice piece for me is that I get to go out. So I don't necessarily feel confined. I try to be as much part of the community as I can knowing that I'm not walking into an office with coworkers. At the same time I feel so lucky. I wake up in the morning, my office is here, my husband made me breakfast. Then I get to go out and I walk for a couple hours and it's a day's work and I've had a really lovely day.

New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to editorial@mainebiz.biz.

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