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

Stephen , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Before moving to Phoenix in 2017, I worked as a hotshot firefighter for the Sacramento Hotshots. I loved working in wild land fire, but I always had this creative entrepreneur side of me that wanted to try something “outside the box.” Something that would make life easier for my customers.

I came up with the dog potty box idea during my last year working for the Forest Service. I did some research and realized that Phoenix did not offer this kind of service for dog owners. I took a big leap of faith, sold my house in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and moved to Phoenix to start The Pottio Box!

I didn’t know a whole lot about business, but I had a go get it attitude coming straight off an Interagency Hotshot Crew that served me well. I decided to make 25 real grass dog potty boxes and let local dog owners try them out. That is how I got my first customers. Dr. Dex Whittemore, his wife Paulette, and their shih tzu Salty of Ahwatukee. They were my first customers, and they are still valued customers 4 years later!

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?

Hi everyone! My name is Stephen Brandt. I’m the owner of The Pottio Box, a real grass dog potty box service catered towards helping dog owners living in apartments.

I started my business in February of 2018 after leaving the forest service where I worked on a hotshot crew fighting wildfires.

I knew how hard it could be living in an apartment with a dog when it came to taking them out to go potty. I wanted to simplify the potty situation (especially in apartments.). I designed my wooden boxes which hold a fresh patch of grass! These potty boxes go on my customers patio or balcony and their dog can conveniently go potty on the grass. You might be wondering how this grass stays fresh??? To answer that question… I deliver fresh patches of grass to my customers every week, so they always have fresh grass in their potty box!

I take pride in providing excellent customer service. I get to see many of my customers every week, so there’s a unique relationship I have with everyone! So far, I have 46 reviews on google. All of them are 5 stars! I love my customers. Without them, there would be no Pottio Box!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Luckily, the startup cost for The Pottio Box was not as much as your typical startups. I was able to use the money I had saved up at the time to start my business. I was fortunate that I did not have to take out a loan.

With that being said, there are so many great funding programs that help startup businesses with a higher startup cost. There are even grants available out there for new businesses. Obviously loans have to be paid back in time, but they can really help you financially in that first year or two of starting a new business!

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

One of my favorite marketing moments was being on the AZTV morning news segment. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous being on camera in front of thousands of people watching at home, but me and my yellow lab Daisy went live and nailed it! I described my new dog potty box concept and Daisy started barking at the news anchor. It was picture perfect!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thepottiobox.com
• Instagram: @pottiobox
• Facebook: The Pottio Box
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Ivan Lugo at Lugari Pet Salon