Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lynna Choi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lynna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

When I created Woofboard, I had a few non-negotiables for what kind of treats I would source for my barkuterie boards. One of Woofboard’s top missions is to provide only the healthiest treats for dogs – this meant following a strict criteria of all-natural, preservative-free, & minimal ingredients.

Why was this such an important factor in creating my business?

Just before creating Woofboard, my dog, Puck, was experiencing the worst allergies. He was constantly itchy & had the worst blisters all over his body. Our vet brushed it off as allergies & prescribed a special shampoo, but his blisters just kept getting worse. I felt like the most horrible dog mom! Eventually the vet ordered a blood panel for Puck to see what exactly was causing his severe allergies. It turned out that Puck was allergic to various proteins from beef, lamb, venison, and even had a ton of seasonal allergies (just like his mama, ha). None of the proteins he was allergic to were part of his regular diet, so I made the decision to switch out his food & treats to all-natural ingredients.

I swapped his kibble out for a cooked meal subscription plan and started paying attention to the ingredient list of treats. I only purchased treats where I understood every single ingredient and were all-natural, preservative-free, and included minimal ingredients. Almost instantly, Puck’s allergies disappeared! Although to this day, I’m still not sure what was causing such severe allergies, but I am so happy I made the change & Puck is no longer in discomfort & pain!

Because of my own personal experience, I want to be able to share my story with my customers. Anyone can go to the pet store and buy cute treats, but I want to educate fellow dog parents out there that there are so many delicious & HEALTHY options out there for your dog! I love sourcing a variety of proteins & healthy biscuit-type treats for my barkuterie boards so that it’s not only a fun way to celebrate our dogs, but also an opportunity to try out new & unique treats that you may not see in stores – AND you’re also supporting small businesses that I partner with!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Unemployed during the pandemic, I was scrolling through my dog’s Instagram feed (as any millenial dog mom does) & came across a post that caught my attention. It was a charcuterie board for dogs – aka barkuterie. In the middle of a mid-life crisis trying to figure out what I wanted to do next in life, I figured barkuterie would be a great way to tap into my creative side, incorporate my dog into my life even more, and possibly do this as a side gig until I found a new job.

I thought barkuterie was such an fun & creative way to celebrate our dogs – especially for my generation where people were opting to adopt dogs rather than have kids. Not only was barkuterie such a fun way to celebrate any occasion with our dogs, I wanted to make it a mission to 1) source the healthiest treats and 2) support small businesses.

I began with local barkuterie orders that included a variety of all-natural treats & dog-friendly foods found in my kitchen – fruits, vegetables, plain yogurt, etc. Barkday barkuteries quickly became a favorite and I loved helping dog parents celebrate their dog’s birthday! Honestly, dog birthdays > human birthdays.

The Woofboard community quickly grew and I knew I had to take the next step. In July 2021, I launched my website & nationwide shipping. This completely changed the game and my barkuterie boards were shipping out to dogs all over the country!

What started as an idea to pass some time quickly turned into my dream job. I’m able to spoil dogs from all over & the best part, I get to be part of a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. In September 2022, I was given the opportunity to fulfill a huge goal for Woofboard and open up a storefront in Downtown San Jose, CA. We’ve expanded beyond barkuterie and offer dog goods of all kinds from accessories, toys, treats, & more! I’m most proud to say that we house products from over 50 small businesses around the world and give fellow e-commerce shops a chance to offer their products in person to our customers & community.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I knew that social media would be my #1 marketing tool to get my brand out there, but wanted to do it in an organic way. My strategy was to post as much as I could on a daily basis, engage with the community, and be true to myself.

Before I even began taking any orders, I would have fun with my dog’s treats & create Instagram-worthy content to post to build up excitement and anticipation for Woofboard. I posted religiously hoping the algorithm would find my target niche – fellow dog obsessed parents. By the time I officially began taking orders, Woofboard’s Instagram account had hundreds of followers.

Engaging with the community was an important factor in building my social media presence. Even today, I try to respond to every comment & DM that I see. This is a great way to build personal connections with my customers – many who have turned into friends now! I also focus on engaging with fellow small businesses in the community. One of my favorite things about being a small business owner is connecting with fellow entrepreneurs who are going through the same things as I am! It’s truly a community & I love the mutual support & bond we create.

Lastly, I wanted to make sure I was true to myself & showing the face behind the brand. It took a while to get comfortable, but actually showing up in front of the camera helped build level of trust with my audience. I didn’t want my audience to feel like I was just a robot, but that I’m simply a fellow dog lover like them! When I look back at the content I’ve created, my most popular content is usually a vlog-style where I show the behind the scenes of what it’s like to run Woofboard. I enjoy creating a more personal relationship with my supporters & audience because it just makes spoiling their dogs so much more special.

My advice for those starting to build a social media presence in any niche is to not take it so seriously & just have fun with it! Be yourself, be silly, and be true to who you are! You don’t have to try to be anyone else but yourself – your audience will love you for you. Oh, and social media is not as easy as it looks – like anything, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication!

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

During my first year of building Woofboard, I participated in almost 40 pop-up markets. I applied all over California from Sacramento to SF Bay Area to San Diego. I knew I couldn’t rely solely on social media marketing, so I spent most of my weekends participating in in-person events.

Pop-up markets are so unpredictable & a lot of the times can be hit or miss. It was such a high to sell out during some events, yet such a low to not sell enough to even cover the event fees. There were times where I questioned if these markets were worth my time, money, and energy.

One day, I received an email from a HUGE nationwide brand – Lagunitas, a brewery based in North Bay. Someone from their marketing team had seen me at a pop-up event that I had originally been down about because it was not a great selling day. Being at that event that day gave me an opportunity of a lifetime to partner with Lagunitas for a huge holiday campaign!

From then on, my view on my marketing strategy of in-person events completely flipped. It gave me a new insight that even if I may not do the best in sales at that event, you never know who you’ll meet and what opportunity can come from meeting that right person. It’s about reaching a different audience that may not be active on social media & create new relationships with the community.

Now, when I’m asked for advice on if I think pop-up markets are worth it from fellow small business owners, I tell them to go for it. It’s not always about the sales, but it’s about the connections you’ll make in your local community!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.woofboard.co
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/woofboard
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/woofboard
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@woofboard
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/woofboard-san-jose