We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Rowland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.
Katie , appreciate you joining us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?
Covid gave me a huge opportunity to shift how I viewed and ran my business. As a pet sitter, I lost nearly all of my business the day quarantine started. I had a choice to make; let it all go or reframe once life went “back to normal.” I had a client who unintentionally aided me in making that decision. He was considered an essential worker, which meant he needed a dog walker a few days per week. He single handedly kept Paws & Pads alive for the first few months of quarantine. Being a dog walker for essential workers almost always guaranteed that I wouldn’t cross paths with my clients, therefore I kept my exposure to covid relatively low. As we all know, covid took a major toll on individuals mental health, and I was no exception. Being able to maintain some normalcy in my life, and hanging out with dogs allowed me the healing I so desperately needed. It also gave me the clarity to move my business in another direction; a direction I had never considered when I started my business in 2017. I am now primarily a dog walker, who pet sits a few times per month.
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
I am Katie Rowland, Owner/Operator of Paws & Pads in Denver, CO. I found my way into the pet care world when I was 19 years old, after being asked to pet sit for a family friend. It was something I had never done before but seeing as I was attending the University of Wyoming for Pre-Veterinary Medicine, I figured it would be an easy job. Turns out I loved it! I ultimately did not pursue my veterinary degree, however, my desire to care for animals never wavered. Pet sitting was solely considered a “side hustle” for me. I was mostly happy in my Corporate America job, but I ultimately felt the pull toward entrepreneurship. I left my job to start Paws & Pads in 2017, where I specialized in overnight pet sitting in customer’s homes. As the years have gone on, I’ve expanded my business to include dog walks, drop-in visits, poop scooping, and custom homemade dog treats. Working with animals is my life and my passion, and is shown in how happy my client’s pets are after a session with me!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
In 2015, after years of casually pet sitting for friends and family, I saw an advertisement for a pet sitting service and decided to sign up. I was working in the automotive industry at the time and saw an opportunity to earn a second income without breaking my back taking on an additional part time job. This allowed me the freedom to work my 9 to 5 job while also getting paid to hang with animals. Win win! Eventually, the demand for a trustworthy pet sitter grew and I was booking up with clients fairly quickly. Nearly 3 weeks out of the month were spent in other peoples homes. I then started to realize that pet sitting could be quite lucrative and considered taking it on full time. Truth be told, I wasn’t entirely happy in my job but it paid the bills. In October 2017, one incident at my job was the straw the broke the camels back, and on that day, I started Paws & Pads. I’ve now been in business for nearly 5.5 years and it wasn’t until 2021 where I was finally able to work for myself 100% full time
When I started Paws & Pads, I solely focused on overnight in-home pet sitting as it generated the most revenue, but I was sleeping on all of the other services I could offer my clients like dog walks, drop in visits, poop clean up, etc. It wasn’t until 2020 when Covid hit that I had to completely reframe how I ran my business at the risk of losing it all. No one was traveling which meant that I wasn’t making money on those overnight visits, however, I had clients who were considered essential workers that had a need for a dog walker or someone to come in and feed/medicate their animals while they were away at work. Those services became my focus. I continue to pet sit as well, and recently added a few amazing pet sitters to my team. I’m currently booked for in-home pet sitting for 2023!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I started Paws & Pads with $1200 in my pocket, which came from my last paycheck at my job and the unused vacation days I had accrued. I knew nothing about starting a business. Every dime I made from pet sitting went towards building my website, purchasing business cards and other print marketing, and every other business expense you could think of. I was flying by the seat of my pants. It wasn’t easy and I struggled financially for quite some time, but if I had to do it all over again, I would. Albeit with more money to start perhaps, but I wouldn’t trade those lessons in for anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pawsandpadscolorado.com
- Instagram: @pawsandpadsco
Image Credits
Lexi Albarella