Weddingbee PRO

I mentioned in my typical day post that I’ve been a dog walker for the past two and a half years.  The story of how I became a dog walker is kinda interesting, so I thought I’d share it here! 

When I first started Weddingbee, working from home alone was pretty lonely.  Sure I could work in my pajamas and never think about washing my face or brushing my hair.  But there were times when I wouldn’t leave the apartment for days at a time, and I’d never talk to anyone other than my cat Smokey, who never answered back.  At one point I considered waitressing part-time in the evenings or weekends so that I’d be forced to socialize and leave the apartment.  But I quickly put it out of my mind because it was too big of a commitment.

One day out of the blue, I got the brilliant idea to become a dog walker!  We couldn’t get a dog because we had a dog-hating cat, so being a dog walker would enable me to have a vicarious dog. I was so excited that the moment I had this idea, I created a flyer and headed to a copy place to have copies made.  With one laminated flyer and a bunch of paper flyers in tow, I headed to the local dog park.  I secured my laminated flyer with cable ties to the gate of the dog park, and then passed out my flyers to everyone there.  I’m the type of person who never goes up to anyone and introduces herself, so that’s a testament to how much I wanted to be a dog walker.

Weeks went by.  I was beginning to lose hope that I could become a dog walker.  Finally one day I got a call from a gentleman that lived a block and a half away from me.  He saw my flyer at the dog park, and his dog walker had just moved to Paris.  I went over to his apartment the following day where I picked up the keys (what trust!), and met Francis the 14 year old pug.  For the past two and a half years, no matter how busy I am, I absolutely must take a break to walk Francis every single day.  It’s probably the best thing I’ve done to alleviate stress, and some of my best ideas have come about on those walks!

I loved it when I recently found out that Weddingbee PRO Laura Nadeau is a dog walker as well!  It’s brilliant of her — she already has her own dog (a lovable rescued greyhound), lives in a large apartment building with lots of dogs, and most of her gigs are on weekends leaving her time during the week.  Dog walkers of the world unite!

When I first started walking Francis, Weddingbee wasn’t really making any money so the $75/week I made dog walking was great.  I used it as my lunch money and it felt like I was contributing, albeit in a very small way, to the household.  I never liked depending on others much, even if it was my husband.

Did you have any alternative revenue streams when you first started your business?  Do you ever get lonely working from home alone?