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

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I tend to think about how happy I am with my career and wish someone told me about this career straight out of highschool. But to be honest, Covid through me for a loop, a good one. Let me explain.

About 5 ish years ago, finished with school I was working a part-time
midnight job trying to make ends meet and figure out what I wanted to do with life. So I was looking for another part time job where I could be outside and dog walking was the right fit. It let me be outside for midday hours, have some fun with dogs, get some exercise in and get paid? Like I wish I started earlier. I loved it so much I started my own business based off of it. But then Covid hit. And my clientele dropped to nothing.

I was stressed wondering how this would affect my business as more and more people were leaning to working from home permanently. As things were lifting, an dog training apprenticeship became available. Now as much as I enjoyed dog walking, I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be yet. So dog training seemed like the right path to get me to where I wanted to go. And it was to walk multiple dogs at the same time. To be so efficient with my time vs walking one dog after another, after another.

It wasn’t an easy decision, it required me to take time off from my business and clientele to learn more. Had to limit my time, had to limit time with friends and family to dedicate myself to learning this new craft.

But wow, did it pay off in loads. Fast forward to now, I’m now walking 10+ dogs a day, getting to set my own working hours, looking to start new locations and services, training others and being able to spend more time with my friends, family and my own dogs.

Now if Covid didn’t hit, I wouldn’t of been able to take that apprenticeship as my clientele was pretty big it would’ve been hard for me to say no. Thinking back, I wouldn’t know where things would’ve taken me from there.

I’m super happy with the way things turned out, I’m fulfilled with my life, I had goals and crushed them. I have even more tougher goals ahead and looking forward to seeing how I’ll find my way there.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi, my name is Jennifer, but I like being called Jenny. I find it keeps up with my upbeat personality.

I’m a entrepreneur. My small business is called City n Tails. We provide services to the Oakville, Ontario area for pet owners. Services such as; midday dog walking, drop ins for feeding and potty breaks, overnight boarding for when owners go on vacation, and soon we’ll be offering some off leash hikes and training.

Our services also follow a strict training regime, we always want to make sure that when pets are in our care they won’t be learning bad habits, but they’ll be coming back home tired, fulfilled and learning/practicing better habits and mannerisms.

I’m most proud of the path this has taken me. The people and relationships I’ve made along the way. The educators and trainers that have helped me guide my way in this industry and as an entrepreneur.

We’re a small business that’s in it for the long run. We’re not just looking for anybody and any dog/animal. We’re here for the right clientele that wants to put in work in their relationship with their dog and ready to do so. We’re a big family, we get to know you, your schedule and you get to depend on us to help you navigate through pet ownership the right way.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

It took a lot of my own self confidence to show my face in posts and stories on Instagram. Now you just won’t go a day without seeing me or hearing my voice.

Your brand, your business is you. Why people stick around is for you.

I was able to build my audience on social media mostly by creating educational content for other pet owners to learn off of, engage with and ask questions about.

But now, I feel like I’m maintaining my audience and building engagement by appearing more. Sharing my day, explaining why I do things (the behind the scenes) showing some of my personal life.

Because my services and recurring with the same clientele, if you only had your clients following you just to see their dog you wouldn’t be growing. So share more, of your knowledge, your experience, your thoughts, your day to day life. People are interested in it, especially when they see how good you are at your job.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me is word of mouth. I have a great relationship with other dog walkers and dog trainers in my area. Which might seem like the opposite of what you want, but it’s been the best for me.

I have some that I consider friends, we all know there’s only so many clientele we can serve in a day but also that we all do things differently. And so does our clientele, we might not be the best fit for some so we farm out.

And my friends, my dog walkers and dog trainers in my area know how I work and know which clients would be a good fit for me or not, and vice versa.

So my advice, get to know others in your industry, it’ll help you with clientele but also to feel sane in your job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cityntails.ca
• Instagram: @cityntails
• Facebook: @cityntails

Image Credits
Fetch n Pet Photography