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

Julie, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I lived in St. Louis Missouri for 25 years, being an avid animal lover I volunteer my time doing events, and fundraising for the St. Louis animal Society. Being a part of such a special organization my love for animals and helping them grew even stronger. I continued this passion by working with Chinese Shar-Pei rescue groups which lead to rescuing dogs from them as well. My life was about to take a big change when my husband came to me and said he had a job opportunity in Charleston, SC. I was so happy for him but my home, friends, family were all in St. Louis, I thought what was I going to do in a whole new city. I’ve dedicated a lot of time with these rescue groups, so I thought what can I go to continue this joy I get being around animals. Well why not start my own dog walking and sitting business. This idea started to develop with the support and help from my family I came up with a name Happy Hounds Dog Walking and Pet Sitting. My nerves of moving away from home started to turn into excitement, I could start this new adventure in my life being around animals full time. The thought of not knowing anyone in a new town still weighed heavy on me. Arriving in Charleston now where do I start? I didn’t know where to turn because I knew nothing about the town. Knowing it would be a slow start I got a job in the restaurant industry until I could build up my clients. While I was working in the restaurant I continued trying to build my business and slowly but surely things started to come together. One customer lead to another customer, to another customer happy clients lead to many referrals. Things are starting to look good for me seeing a growth in clients I cut back the days in the restaurant industry and started focusing with the dog walking and sitting. Another hurdle hit the pandemic, I was laid off from the restaurant and was terrified that I would lose my clients as they would be home more as well. Surprisingly my business took off!My thought of people being home more was wrong they needed me to assist with walks because they were working from home and didn’t have time to take the dogs out. My business just flourished because of the pandemic and has been going strong ever since. With all my worries and doubt I’m just so glad that I stuck with my dream, even though it started slower than I thought it would my business is still growing to this day! I’m a true believer of everything happens for a reason so if you have a passion for something don’t give up because it is taking time greatness doesn’t happen over night.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a professional dog walker and sitter serving the Charleston area I strives to create a personal connection with each pet, building a strong relationship with both the pet and the client to ensure that each animal is taken care of like it’s their own. My special touches, like taking videos and photos during my walks and stays, puts pet-parents at ease to know their pet is happy and being taken care of.

I moved from St. Louis, MO 7 years ago to Charleston, SC. This new place gave me an opportunity to start my dream job Happy Hounds Dog Walking and Sitting, I always loved animals and thought this was the perfect opportunity to start a dog walking/sitting, it was a slow start as I was new to Charleston and didn’t know anyone. I stuck with it and eventually, one client grew into many. My personal touch and attention to the needs of my clients set me a part from other walking and sitting business, this helped spread the word to new clients. Word to mouth is how I grew to what I am. I want to provide the best care and I want the pet parent to know that I will love and care for their babies as they were my own. I start by meeting with the client and their fur baby to discuss the needs of the care to their dog or cat. During this meet and greet we go over what services they are looking for. At this point I explain to them how Happy Hounds Dog Walking and Sitting is different than any other walking services out there. I ensure the client that I will keep them informed throughout the walk or sitting to their dog or cat. Updating the client with photos and videos of their fur babies during the visit, I want them to feel as though they are with their pet during my time of caring for their dog or cat. I always give a personal touch with each and every walk or sitting to build a strong relationship with my clients and their pets. I put my all into my time with your fur babies and I absolutely love what I do, and everyday I get to wake up and truly enjoy the work I do with animals.

I provide many services. Dog walking, dog sitting, drop in visits, overnights. Cat visit. I dispense medicine, and wedding services. Just about anything the pet needs I will do, along with the needs of my clients whether you need me to get your mail, watering plants, yard cleanup while out of town I provide those services as well. I love what I do bust most of all I love the animals. I ensure to create a special bond with each and every dog or cat and clients I meet to try to make it special.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My best strategy for growing my business is word-of-mouth. I feel my reputation and my love for what I do speaks for itself. Because of that I get many calls and emails from people saying that I was referred to them as being a wonderful pet caregiver and they would like to meet me and start a relationship.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

So I started on my own personal Facebook page. I then made a Facebook page for my business. I would share daily photos and videos of what I was doing. I could be walking the dog on the beach, in a park we could be sitting at home playing or just lounging on the couch. I continue to do this on both platforms as well and just shared my daily activity and routines with everybody.

Even when things were slow I never gave up I just kept going at it and sharing and promoting my business. I can tell you that all my parents love videos and pictures of their pets

Contact Info:

• Website: http://happyhoundschs.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057581493987