We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abby Harr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Abby, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.
One of my goals with starting my business is that I wanted a way to give back to the community, particularly animal rescue and shelters. I adopted both my dog and cat from shelters. Each month I choose a charity to donate a portion of my sales to. I’ve done everything from the shelter I adopted my dog from, to a local food pantry that also provides pet food to those in need, to a rescue farm that rehabilitates special needs animals. I also like to purchase products from other small businesses who donate to charities as well, so in a way, when someone buys a Pupnic Basket, they’re donating twice!
Abby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I grew up in Missouri but moved to Florida when I was in my late 20s. It was kind of an accident that I ended up in Dunedin, one of the most dog friendly places in the state! I didn’t have a dog at the time but I knew I would adopt one in the future. That happened in spring of 2020. I was already working more than 50% from home prior to COVID-19 hitting, but with the extra time I was spending at home I figured it would be the perfect time to foster a dog and see how my 12 year old cat would feel about it. My partner and I went to Suncoast Animal League and met an adorable terrier lab mix named Annie. It was love at first sight for all of us! She had a rough past and needed some extra TLC, but I think we both knew from the moment she got in the car with us that she wouldn’t be going to anyone else. The idea for Pupnic Baskets came to me when my partner and I would make charcuterie for ourself, we’re a bit cheese obsessed. As a joke I started making Annie her own little charcuterie with dog friendly treats, fresh fruit and vegetables. I posted a few pictures on my private social media and a couple of my friends suggested I start selling them. At the time I didn’t think I had what it takes to start a business or that anyone would actually want a charcuterie board for their dog. I was so wrong about both! I’ve always been creative and enjoyed making things, but adulthood and working in corporate America drained me of much of my creativity. As I began experimenting with charcuterie the ideas just started flowing. I researched other similar businesses and noted what inspired me and what I would want to do differently to set me apart. I’ve received such amazing support from the community and other small businesses. I’ve had the opportunity to work with doggy day cares, groomers, rescues, dog trainers and many other dog centric businesses.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I’ve began to realize that in order to make this business grow, I need to expand beyond my own neighborhood, beyond my city. The number one question I’ve received since the day I started is “do you ship?”. I didn’t plan to, I thought I knew what my product was and that because a typical Pupnic Basket includes perishable such as cheese, fruit and vegetables, that I wouldn’t provide shipping. I wanted my product to have the feel of charcuterie for humans. I began to notice as I sold more product that fewer customers were interested in the fresh produce part of the charcuterie, and more were looking for the treats themselves to be of high quality ingredients. So I started experimenting with a whole new way to do Pupnic Baskets, a non-perishable shippable charcuterie board. I just launched this week and the feedback has been extremely positive! People in other states are sharing on social media about Pupnic Baskets now and messaging me about orders for the upcoming holidays. I will still be offering my original vision of Pupnic Baskets locally, but now I can share my new vision with customers all over the US.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am by no means any type of social media influencer or expert at it! I have a small steady following. One of the things I’ve done since the start was follow back. When someone follows me on Instagram, I try to send a message thanking them for following me. If it’s a dog account, I’ll say something about how cute their dog is and I hope they’ll consider allowing me to make them a charcuterie soon. I’m lucky to live in a city with many other creatives and small business owners so I’ve made it a point to follow and interact with them online. I purchase many of the treats I use from local treat companies and I always tag them in posts, most will reshare my posts which then gets their followers attention to follow me. I’ve reached out to local shops, dog related and not, and many have allowed me to put my business cards in shop which has helped with draw customers to social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: Pupnicbaskets.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/pupnicbaskets
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PupnicBaskets/
- Other: Tampa Bay News WFLA interview https://www.wfla.com/news/animals/puppy-party-pinellas-woman-serving-up-puppy-charcuterie-boxes/
Image Credits
Jessica Veguez Photography