Get to Know the Difference

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in pet care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tracey Rentcome, owner of Bones2GO!, located in Houston, TX, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is a raw feeding specialty store for primarily cats and dogs. It is a small, family-owned, and run business with a focus on customer service, excellent quality products, and deep knowledge of raw feeding to help pet owners make the transition to better nutrition for their companions, which leads to better health for the long term.

Our customers are anyone that loves their pets. They want to care for them with better nutrition, whether that is smaller changes to use toppers and additions to a dry food diet or a full switch over to feeding fully raw.

Our customers shop with us and support us because we are able to provide education, support, and great products and customer service throughout the transition period and into the golden years of the pet, often helping transition new puppies added to the family after a loved family member has passed. Many of our customers have shopped with us for the full twenty years we have been open.

Tell us about yourself

I started feeding my own dogs a fully raw diet in the late 90's. At the time, I was also running a small rescue group for Great Danes, my favorite breed. The dogs in my care all ate raw food, and the adopters of the dogs were interested to learn how to feed a raw diet to their new companion, as the dogs looked so healthy. That long ago, there were not really commercially available raw diets, so I was feeding them myself with created recipes and combinations of whole parts and pieces such as chicken necks, pigtails, and pork riblets along with pulped fruits and veggies and ground organ meat.

This was too much work for many of the adopters, but they were interested in buying "meal prepped" food if I was willing to make it for them. I started making food for other people, and then slowly, commercial foods became available on the market. I found that the food side of my life had taken over the rescue side and wound down the rescue aspect, and grew the food aspect. My goal was to provide education and encouragement, and support to those wishing to learn about and start to feed a raw diet to their pets.

My vision when I started was to teach everyone how to make the food themselves, so I would not need to keep making food, but as it turned out, people liked the convenience of the pre-made food and were willing to pay for it rather than make it themselves. What started out as a short-term teaching project turned into a full-blown, full-time endeavor. I quickly outgrew working from my home kitchen and garage freezers and moved into my first retail space in August of 2003.

I gradually increased the offerings to include healthy treats, chews, canned food, freeze-dried, and, yes, even a small offering of dry kibble for emergencies (we are located on the Gulf Coast). I am motivated every day by the pets' lives that are improved because we exist.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

This is a tough one. My biggest accomplishment as a business owner would have to be my reputation? From the growth we have experienced, the lives we have touched, both people and pets - the people that I have come to know either by providing well-paying quality jobs or by helping customers and their pets, to the friendships that have developed over the years, the products that have come and gone and the associated relationships with those vendors and reps in the industry - all have a common thread of saying what you mean, and mean what you say. When you give your word about something, stand firm on it and never give anything but truthful, honest opinions and answers to your people that surround you.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

People and relationships have to be one of the hardest things to manage. The boundaries between friend/customer/vendor/employee/employer can sometimes blend and blur, and that can lead to some beautiful and heartfelt moments. It can also lead to feelings of hurt, betrayal, and stress. Its a constantly evolving, and it's not for the faint of heart. The pain people feel when they are dealing with a sick pet or an elderly pet that may not have much time, the feelings of loss when a pet -or even a customer, passes.

The joy of a new puppy, a customer name change because they found love and got married and then have babies that you get to witness- the new hires that become part of your everyday life, with the ups and downs of all close relationships as you get to know one another- all become part of the story you carry that makes you who you are. Fragments of memories over the years that are woven into the most glorious of tapestries that send little reminders of your journey.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Make sure you are ready to work like you have never worked before in your entire life.
Whatever funds you think you will need to get started, it is likely to be double that.
You have to be flexible. Be prepared to think of ways to solve problems from all kinds of different angles. Be prepared to ask yourself, "but what if ?" Be prepared to try and be prepared to fail. There is no shame in failure; just be prepared to get back up and tackle it a different way. In this economy and with the lack of available workers, be prepared for the wildest ride you have ever encountered in your life. Be prepared to enjoy the small victories when they come. Savor them; they will sustain you through the struggles.

They say, if you find something you love, make that your job, and you will never work a day in your life. Raw feeding is my passion, and I do love my job, but I have never worked so hard at anything in my life because you don't just get to do the "fun" parts that you love; you also have to hire and fire, negotiate contracts, deal with small maintenance issues in your space, deal with tech issues, deal with power outages and service interruptions and people that screwed things up, you have to file taxes and make payroll and on and on....but you don't have to do it all at once, on the same day....so launch yourself when you think you are ready, work a side gig before leaving a paying job to be sure you have figured out at least some of the potential pitfalls. Throw your heart into it when you are ready- and drink wine when you aren't <3

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.bones2go.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bones2Go-103623559679518/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.