We recently connected with Allie Landis and have shared our conversation below.
Allie, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
Growing up I had ZERO idea what I wanted to do (and the more adults that asked, the more nervous I felt trying to find my “calling”). I applied to the Business School at University of Rhode Island and was accepted! I picked Marketing as my discipline in hopes to be able to continue my creative, artsy side. As any business student, I had to take Accounting 1 & 2 and realized I was actually really good at accounting LOL (though, I have to credit my professor, she made the course interesting and easy to enjoy). There was a moment there I considered switching majors to accounting, but something in my gut said to stick with marketing! A friend of mine was the President of the Entrepreneurship Club that I joined (and later created their logo!) Looking back, it was invaluable to have not just my marketing major, but also the accounting path I briefly went down AND the entrepreneurship exposure!
When I graduated, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do! I applied to be a marketing manager for a real estate group in Providence and got the job! I worked there for 6 years (the last 3 remotely when I moved to Texas). I learned A LOT about not only marketing and real estate, but also running a business as I worked very closely with the owner of the brokerage! Often times, it was just her and I in the office and I admired her work ethic. She was/is the definition of a “Boss Babe”. I remember thinking “wow, Joy never stops working!” and now I get it! That comes with the territory.
How I landed in the dog walking industry is a wild story in itself (and in another Hidden Gems article!) Going on 5 years of owning my own business and 8 years in the industry, I have had my moments where I wonder what it’d be like to have a “regular job”, but then I always remind myself how lucky I am to literally live the dream job: getting paid to love on dogs, exercise and be outside! It’s cliche, but it’s SO true! Every new opportunity getting to travel for a client, work with a rare breed, and even the connections this career path has lead me to, I always say “The dream job keeps getting dreamier!” Of course normal hours and weekends off would be great, but I wouldn’t trade my job or business for that!
Whenever I’m asked what I do for work and answer with “I own my own dog walking & pet sitting company in Austin, Houston & Denver”, the response back is SO enthusiastic followed with dozens of questions. I am usually running a mile a minute, I don’t have time to sit and reflect on my business and growth (because I’m working on it LOL good problem to have and I will take it!)
In addition, the lessons, knowledge and personal growth I have gained from being a business owner is INVALUABLE. I often think about something my dad would often say, “college is proof you don’t give up when life gets hard.” I wish I could tell him, “same with owning your own business!” Becoming a business owner has taught me SO much. Everything from the business side: customer relationships, hiring/interviewing, managing employees, scheduling 400+ clients (which is similar to a game of Tetris), billing, payroll, getting creative with marketing, especially in the Austin market which is SO different from the Houston market, just to name a few. But I’ve also learned so much personal growth and still am learning: the strength I didn’t know I had in me, physically and mentally, setting boundaries, not giving up, learning to ask for help and I know I will KEEP learning. And I can’t wait!
Allie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
It’s a funny (little lengthly) story, but worth the read! My stepmom had sent me a NextDoor post for a woman looking to hire a dog walker for her company in Atlanta. I had recently moved back. home after a 4 year relationship that had just ended and was feeling a little lost. I was still doing marketing for the real estate company remotely, but I figured applying to this dog walking job couldn’t hurt. I also thought my stepmom knew this woman, so I did it to be nice LOL. My confidence was at an all time low, so I was shocked when I got the job right then and there after the interview! (I called my stepmom after to tell her I got the job with her friend and only then learned she did not know this woman! I am glad I didn’t know that prior, I probably would not have applied!) This was one of MANY “God Winks” as my dad calls them that lead me to where I am today.
Quickly this dog walking “job” was not just a job, it was my purpose to get up every morning. My mental health took a drastic upward turn that I needed. Looking back, just being a dog walker, I thought THAT was the dream job! When I had to relocate to help my Texas side of the family when my dad became sick, I was devastated to leave the best job I had ever had, but family first! As soon as I got settled in and my family was stable, I emailed EACH and EVERY dog walking company in Austin asking if they needed another walker. This was prev-covid, so everyone was fully staffed. The owner of Let’s Walk Austin, Steve, answered my email and offered an interview, “I’m not hiring at the moment, but let’s do an interview” (now as a business owner, this was SO smart on his part – hiring is one of the toughest challenges!)
I went into the interview shaking with nerves (I had recently broken my wrist and was in a pink camouflage cast – my nickname is “Grace” for my clumsiness lol). Steve did a double take when he saw my cast and asked what happened, I jokingly replied “what cast?” to break the ice (since it was camouflage). Similar to the Atlanta interview, Steve said at the end, “well, never mind, I am hiring and you’re hired. But one question, how are you going to walk dogs and pick up their poop with one hand?” I replied “Let me show you” and the next day, I did exactly so!
I worked for Steve from 2019 to 2021, when he offered me the company. I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I had always day dreamed about running my own company, but never thought I had it in me (self confidence gets the best of you sometimes). From April 2021, when I took over, Let’s Walk Austin grew strictly on word-of-mouth! I REALLY wanted to put my marketing skills to use and advertise, but I couldn’t keep up with the demand (another great problem to have!) I had to quickly learn how to look for employees, interview, hire and train. This was ALL new to me and totally out of my comfort zone. It was a lot of trial and error and I am still learning, but what a great experience!
In 2023, I finally had a team big enough I could really go out and market for more clients! This was SO fun! Everything from old school marketing techniques like fliers on telephone poles, to walking around and writing down addresses where dogs were in the yard or I heard them barking inside and sending postcards! I also spend SO much time on our social media (that is a whole job in itself LOL) but have built a community of followers, a lot who don’t even live in Austin or Houston or even have animals, but follow along religiously to see our fun!
In 2024, I wanted to expand to Houston (and experience a new city – I love to move around. One of my favorite quotes is “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet”). I did underestimate the drive from Houston to Austin, BUT I made it work with the help of our incredible team! It has been SO fun learning an entirely different market. I joke I could write a book about the differences owning a business in Austin vs. Houston!
Now for what we do: we are a professional dog walking & pet sitting company that works 24/7 and is 100% customizable to our clients! Not only am I a crazy, overprotective dog mom to two rescues, they are both reactive so I don’t trust many people with them! This is where Let’s Walk thrives! We don’t offer pack walks (though I would love to shadow a New York City dog walker and try this one day). All our visits are one-on-one, giving all our time, focus and love on that one client. We have an app that logs when we arrived, where we walked by GPS map, a detailed write up about our fun, the BEST photos (my favorite is when we see our pictures printed out in client’s homes), potty report and time clocked out! We have SO many clients who tell us our daily reports at work bring them so much joy! It’s almost as if they joined us on our walk!
For pet sitting, we stay in our client’s homes. This keeps their animals schedule and surroundings the same, which is so important when their parents are out of town. It also doubles as house protection, plant care, mail collection, you name it! We’ve even saved client’s homes with the rare Texas freezes by dripping their faucets, catching leaks, etc.!
I am very picky about who I hire. Each walker/sitter has to pass walking my dogs before I bring them on the team. If I am confident they can take care of my babies, I know they can do so with our clients. And all our walkers love all our client’s animals like their own! They go ABOVE and BEYOND! I have never been more proud and excited with the teams we have built and know 2025 is going to be our year!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Ooof. Back in May of 2022, I had bit off WAY more than I could chew. We only had 3 other employees at the time and I was taking the bulk of the work to prevent burnout for my team. I said “yes” to 5 weeks of back-to-back overnights for different clients. On top of walking 20,000 plus steps every day, I was barely home with my dogs (who are my emotional support) and didn’t sleep in my own bed for over 35 days. I was worn OUT. I remember coming home on my short breaks, crashing on my bed and crying. It was such a tough, confusing feeling being so burnt out doing what I loved. I couldn’t understand why something I loved SO much was hurting me.
There was a couple days there I *thought* about the idea of selling Let’s Walk Austin, but I talked to my family, friends and even my two dog walking inspirations, Ken from Ken Walks Dogs and Jane from See Jane Walk (both dog walking companies in Austin) and they ALL told me I could do this. Don’t give up. This was just a bump in the road and to look how far I had come. I couldn’t throw it all away now!
I also went to my therapist who helped me learn what boundaries are and that saying “no” is okay sometimes. (Something that made me laugh during that rough time was my dad would not have believed I wasn’t saying “no” LOL. He said that was my favorite word as a kid). But it was true. I had to learn to say “no” sometimes. I was putting everyone before myself and was totally drained.
As soon as I could after those 5 weeks, I took a much needed 3 day trip to the beach with my husband and dogs and stayed still as much as my body would allow. I came back to Austin refreshed and ready to jump back into work, but with boundaries AND knowing it’s okay to ask for help. Not just okay, but critical.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Oh social media! It’s funny because I was SO anti social media for the LONGEST time. I got into it when I rescued my cattle dog, Maisy, and had to share her hilarious personality. I was also addicted to Chick-Fil-A (who isn’t!?) and got some recognition from Chick-Fil-A from Maisy’s instagram and it grew from there! When I lost my dad and sister in 2020, I turned Maisy’s Instagram into a source of grief therapy. I wrote my feelings, confusions, pains and shared it with strangers. It was a form of grief work for me, but it also turned out to help SO many other people who were afraid to discuss such an uncomfortable part of life – death. It was here where I really built a sense of community on Instagram. (I know it sounds a little silly, it’s social media, but that’s the world we live in now). People followed along my grief path, and still do, feeling safe talking about their pain and grief. I am still at a loss of words to describe the support I received from strangers on the internet, but it was SUCH a pivotal part of my grief journey.
With all of my experience working on Maisy’s Instagram, I had a good idea how to start with my work accounts. Like I mentioned before, social media is a whole job in itself. I spend an embarrassing amount of time on Instagram (especially now that I run 3 accounts: @MischiefMaisy, @LetsWalkAustin and @LetsWalkHouston, but I have to say it’s SO worth it! It’s where I get to be creative, I have way too much fun making stories of our daily adventures, literally laughing at myself with what my brain comes up with. (Follow along and you’ll see what I’m talking about lol)
I will say though, it takes TIME and EFFORT! You literally get out what you put in. That means commenting on every follower’s post who’s commented on yours, posting often, tagging the right accounts and even the correct hashtags are vital!
My advice with almost 7,000 followers: it takes so much work, but make it fun and give it time! Create a brand for your account. For example, Maisy’s instagram is all lessons we’ve learned. Some are serious, raw and real, but a lot are funny and light heartening. My work accounts obviously include all the cute dogs we walk every day, but I also include the humorous moments that happen throughout the day. For example, catching a squirrel splooting, clever bumper stickers we see driving to walks, funny doormats I pass in apartment complexes, etc. Make it relatable and fun to follow along. (Whenever I take a break from posting, which is rare, people message me or if I know them in real life, they ask “what’s going on!? You haven’t been posting! I need to know what the dogs and team are up to!” It’s such a compliment having such a fan base.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.letswalkhouston.com/ and https://www.letswalkaustin.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letswalkaustin/ and https://www.instagram.com/letswalkhouston/?hl=en
