When I was about 10 years old, I wanted a dog of my own. My parents weren’t keen to give me one, because they weren’t sure I’d truly commit to it, so they put it off and that’s when I suggested I start minding dogs in our home while their owner is away.  Thinking I would tire of minding dogs shortly after they allowed me to take it on. And very soon I was having lots of fun with lots of great dogs, making excellent money – and also noticing what a huge demand there was for quality dog-minders.  Eventually I started outsourcing and had to get other families to help me mind my clients’ dogs, I learnt some important skills in those early years, the business took off and I couldn’t meet the demand, I was turning too many clients away. That’s how I got the idea on my birthday last year [2006] to launch a dog-minding business on a national scale.

“I had this idea to create a dog-minding directory on-line so that dog-owners can find a dog-minder in their area using their postcode whenever they need someone to take care of their dog. It’s a great alternative to boarding a pet in a kennel! Rather, you just find a dog-lover in your suburb. The dog-minders make a bit of extra cash, and dog-owners can rest easy knowing their pets are excercised, fed and most importantly getting heaps of TLC. Back then I didn’t know what I was in for, lots of hard work and finding myself in the deep end was ahead! But I would do it all again tomorrow if I knew. It took 6 months to set-up the business. Since we launched, we’ve had an enormous amount of interest, with hundreds of dog-owners already subscribed to the service, and various newspapers citing us as ‘best new website to watch’, Its been a huge help to the community.

 “Launching the website cost me a lot of money – more then $30,000.  That’s because it’s a very complex website that identifies and matches street addresses and postcodes Australia-wide. I’ve paid all the start-up costs for the business myself. I’ve made a lot of money from my dog-minding business over the years so I didn’t have to take out a bank loan or borrow money from my parents to bankroll my own business idea, that’s something im very proud of as debt is a huge issue in this country. I know I will be able to make back the money I have spent on the business but its still early days, there is a long way to go.

Owning my own business has given me some awesome rewards already allowing me to buy things I’ve always wanted and has put me on the way to living my dreams, and I still avidly invest, something I love doing.

“At the moment I spend about 20 hours a week on the business – I’m also studying media and communications at Uni and help run a charity with a group of friends in aid of Breast Cancer, so it’s a bit of a juggle, but I’m managing, I have learnt its important to find a balance as well as give something back.  I don’t know what I will do careerwise when I graduate from Uni, but having run my own business for nearly 10 years has given me a taste of what it’s like to be your own boss. I know I dont want to work for someone else once I graduate, ill see what life throws at me, I know if I put my mind to it I can achieve anything – I really do believe that.

 “I don’t know where I got this entrepreneurial streak from. Dad’s a CEO of a hotel chain and Mum’s a kindergarten teacher. They’ve definitely taught me the value of hard work and commitment, My dad came to Australia at 20 with nothing and worked hard to get where he is, I respect that and he is always there for support. He always told me if you really enjoy what you do you’ll never work a day in your life – its so true, I love what I do, its my passion. If mum and dad hadn’t refused me a dog all those years ago, imagine… I wouldn’t be the professional dog-minder I am now!”

- Josephine Brouard