The Sun-Herald
18 November 2007

Alex Bedwani’s parents did him a huge favour as a child – they refused to buy him a dog.

Instead they let Bedwani mind other people’s dogs in the family home, figuring that he would soon tire of the responsibility of feeding, walking and caring for them while their owners took a holiday.

“They didn’t think it would last,” he says.

Two years after Bedwani got his first dog-minding client he had more then 100 dogs on his books.

Word-of-mouth referrals gave him more work then he could handle so he enlisted the help of some friends and started matching dog owners with dog minders.

“Most of them were other families whose kids wanted dogs of their own,” Bedwani says.

The business continued to grow and, in 2001, 14-year-old Bedwani set the business up as a company called The Dogs Retreat.

“That’s when I really had to start to learn the business side of things,” he says.

“It was a really big learning curve.”

The next big step was to move the business onto the web.

Bedwani says the key was to get a good web-design team who could build the site and provide ongoing support and service. He spent three months researching before finding the right supplier.

He then funded the $35,000 site development cost from his own savings, which boosted him through the critical small business hurdle of capital-raising.

The Find-A-Dog-Minder website – www.findadogminder.com.au – was launched four months ago. It comprises an online database that allows dog owners to search for a suitable dog minder by postcode.

Owners pay a site registration fee ranging from $55 for three months to $132 for a year to get the contact details for dog minders in their area.

The dog minders provide a doggy-friendly yard, daily walks, food and care. In return owners pay a daily fee, all the food and equipment a dog needs – and reimburse the unexpected expenses such as veterinary fees.

For 20-year-old Bedwani, it is the realisation of a dream.

Antoine Hermens, the director of the executive MBA program at the University of Technology in Sydney, is an expert in the area of e-business strategy.

“A promising young entrepreneur like this really needs an experienced business mentor, particularly when his business is poised to expand,” he says.

Bedwani agrees. He has had a series of business mentors, including millionaire real estate agent John McGrath and, a director of Macquarie Bank.

“I couldn’t have done it on my own,” he says. His parents and two older brothers have been hugely supportive but he also relies on a support team that includes his chartered accountant and the team that designed his website.

“I’ve got a great solicitor, too – and I mind her dog,” he adds.

Eleven years after minding his first dog, hes still minding other people’s dogs.

-Fran Molloy

www.sunherald.com.au

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