There's always a bit of trepidation when a warm weather snap comes early, but this is turned to cautious optimism when you work outside walking our beloved Hot Dog Hols customers. 

Our boarding guests are loving the sunshine, and our regular dog walking customers are enjoying the clear blue skies and clean paths! It makes for quick clean ups as well so there are no complaints here. 

The early sunshine has got us thinking about how great it is to be your own boss and work outdoors. It isn't always like this however. The snow and cold has been relatively kind to our business this year (so far! and fingers crossed), but as far as we can see, you just can't beat the chance to walk outside with our fantastic customers. 

Long may this sunshine continue, but be sure, if the beast from the east 2.0 lands in March, we'll still be out looking after your pets  no matter what the weather. 

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Starting a small business a few months after starting a family is, on the face of it, a daft idea! The start of Hot Dog Hols came about after the birth of Lucy, a bundle of happy babyness that came into our lives in 2010. 

Shortly after came Hot Dog Hols and I've been grateful that the business has grown to point where it replaced my part time job income, meaning I could spend more time with Lucy as she was growing up. Working flexibly has been great throughout Lucy's life, I've been there for her first day at school, dropped her off and collected her everyday and seen Lucy grow into a confident, funny, happy youngster (going on teenager). 

I love my Hot Dog Hols customers and I'm proud of the service we provide, but I've reached a turning point where, to continue to serve those customers we need to make a few important decisions about where Hot Dog Hols goes next. 

When I think back to how nervous I was about starting my own Home Boarding and Dog Walking business, I wish I had someone to support me through the process. Someone to share ideas with and ask questions of. Someone to guide me on the processes such as HMRC registration, website set up and self assessment. Someone to help me licenses and insurances. I feel that I can be that someone to a budding new business person. We don't have all the answers, me and Steven (Hot Dog Hols Hubby) have been on a bit of journey and have the benefit of experience to give to a new small business and member of our team and we think that could be really helpful when someone is just starting out. 

That's why we've taken the decision to open up to the Hot Dog Hols service and expand our team. We want to find someone that wants to start to earn a living for themselves, someone who might be starting a family and wants to replace a part time income with something more flexible. Offering this kind of opportunity  hasn't been an easy decision. I'm really committed to my customers and care very much about their pets' well being and trusting another business with that care doesn't come lightly. If I want to grow the business though, that's how it's going to happen. By finding someone 100% committed to starting a new home boarding and dog walking service. Someone who is committed to growing their own small business with our support with every step of the way. 

So what I'd say to anyone looking to start a business, try home boarding or start walking dogs is... "Come and talk to us, we want to see if you have what it takes to represent our brand. What it takes to walk our customers beloved pets rain, wind or shine. What it takes to open up your home and share it with a stranger's pet." If we find that special someone we think we can offer them a brilliant start in their business. Support, customers, expertise and guidance - what more do you need! 

If you want to find out more about starting your own home boarding and dog walking business, or if you want to find out a little more about how I started my business, take a look at our opportunities or message me on Facebook. Cheers!