Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in pet care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Doug Kreeger, founder, and owner of PetProGo Dog Walking + Pet Sitting, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

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

PetProGo began with the mission to bring together pet parents and the very best in-home pet care professionals (we call them "Pet Pros") in the LA area. We knew there was more to it than just providing great services. Pet parents need to feel secure, safe, and well-communicated with, and that's exactly what PetProGo delivers.

Tell us about yourself

I first discovered my love of animals while growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii, helping to raise a Black Lab mix named Zeus, a Vizsla named Buddy, and a cat named Koniko. The lights of Broadway beckoned, and I moved to NYC to pursue a career in theatre, earning a B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. While pounding the pavement and auditioning, I turned my love of animals into a survival job as a dog walker (there's nothing quite like walking a Great Dane in the big city). After finally making it to Broadway, and after one especially miserable Manhattan winter, I made a move to Los Angeles to soak up the sun, and I started Doug's Dogs in 2013. As the business expanded, my family of happy clients and pets did, too. In 2020 we relaunched as PetProGo Dog Walking + Pet Sitting, providing pet care to hundreds of clients and employing a strong but mighty team of Pet Pros. In my 20+ years of experience in the pet care industry, I have worked with some of the top animal behaviorists, trainers, and veterinarians in the business. I am adept at sourcing the most experienced Pet Pros. They have committed themselves to treat all animals with care and compassion. I've always strived to lead a team with whom I'd trust the care of my own "fur baby," my Shih-Tzu mix Steven Tyler, Jr.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Pulling PetProGo through the COVID pandemic. Even though we only closed for the first three months of the shutdown, a client list I had spent seven years cultivating was devastated. All of my original staff has since moved out of the city or changed careers. From the time we reopened in July 2020, we've been rebuilding slowly and steadily, but it has been very, very difficult.

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

Accepting that my common sense and self-accountability do not always translate to other employees. Clear expectations must be set.

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

  1. Have a burning passion for whatever service or product your small business provides, and have the experience within that industry to trust your gut instincts.
  2. Outsource difficult or anxiety-producing tasks to the experts, and delegate day-to-day operations in order to focus on the bigger picture.
  3. Get an industry mentor.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

When you come to a fork in the road, where one fork diminishes the business and the other fork grows the industry, choose to keep growing, even if that road feels impossible and overwhelming. And find a good therapist.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.petprogo.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PetProGo/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petprogo/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/petprogo-llc/

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.

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