We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Bodendorfer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angela , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I cannot even begin to imagine going back to working for someone else.

I had some amazing bosses in the beginning of my career which is likely what led to my longevity and upward growth.

The end was different and Covid 19 changed so many things.

While my new life doesn’t have the lucrative salary my previous job did it allows me to be at home around my family, with my pets and a lot less stress.
Being a small business owner you also are allowed some tax benefits that help with that salary discrepancy.

As I have hit my mid 50s I know that I don’t need to be around stress, drama and conflict any longer.

Mental health, peace and happiness truly is a better paycheck.

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?

After over 30 years in contracted food service at colleges and universities (both on site and in a traveling divisional role) a change was needed for my personal well being and health.

With the support of my husband Bill and our family I left my career.

We downsized our life, sold our home and moved to the cabin.

A friend posted that she was looking for somewhere/someone to watch her dog while she was on vacation.

I messaged her and said I was making a change and would love to watch Norman but was only at the beginning stages of starting a pet business.

She came for a “meet and greet” with Finn (our resident counselor) and myself. Norman is our original customer.

Amongst this I reached out to my insurance office and told them what I was planning and the agent who answered the phone said I need a place for my dog to go when I’m on vacation! I reminded her that I wasn’t official yet but Jerome was now on my books and our second customer.

I spoke with our neighbors and they were supportive of the idea.

After working with the county, they directed me to my local township who was very supportive as well.

We met with an attorney and drew up a LLC.

Our youngest daughter created a logo and Sand Lake Pet Camp was official.

On August 16, 2023 we will have been in business for two years.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We just hit over 1000 followers on Facebook. We are on Instagram as well.

I think as we started our page we posted photos of our campers and their parents liked and followed.

We try to post relevant information that pertains to all pet owners. (Staying hydrated in the heat, flea and tick prevention, holiday safety etc)

We recently started to do more reels and they are taking off as well. Finn and Phoebe are doing a Sunday Funny and I’m finding that is getting shared and giving us more exposure.

Social media is a time consuming part of the job. Engaging is important, answering inquiries should be timely. Plan on a minimum of two hours a day for your page and social media time.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think we are unique to our market as we are home based and pets are not in kennels. They are a part of daily life here at Sand Lake Pet Camp.

We limit the numbers we take because frankly, they are in our home with our pets (Finn – head counselor Phoebe – counselor in training Bob – in charge of check out and Olive -indoor activities director) as well and all deserve individual attention.

Many traditional kennels charge for extras like a walk or play time in a yard or photos/updates. Some charge more for medication dispensing or tuck in service – some dogs sleep in our bed, that’s just a normal part of camp here.

We don’t take walks but the dogs are in and out constantly and in the lake whenever they have the chance. We send updates throughout the day for both day campers and overnight campers as well as action photos and a first time camper photo shoot.

I think our personalized care separates us from traditional kennels and even though we are very remote we have customers from a wide radius that utilize our service.

Good word of mouth from clients is also important. Many customers come to us because they heard about us or saw us on social media.

We require a meet and greet prior to any stay (overnight or day camp) so that both the camper(s) and their parents can see and are comfortable with the camp prior to arrival.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076254891093&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076254891093&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Photo of Angela and Finn only by Emmalee

Ruth Photography

All other photos Angela Bodendorfer