THE START
Christmas December 2010 me and the husband where with close friends (having a fun lunch) chatting about what to do on the work front. I was an unemployed mother with two beautiful girls who were now a little older and I wanted to do something – but what?! In the heart of the Hunting Countryside and previous jobs taking me down to London (where I couldn’t go now because of the children) it was thought provoking.
THE LIGHT BULB
Ideas floated about the table and then Janice our dear friend suggested I set-up a Rabbit and Guinea Pig Boarding holiday home. We had both recently caught the end of a documentary on the very same thing – bizarre! Being an incurable animal lover and having extensive knowledge and expertise gained over the many years with our own rabbits and guinea pigs – it was a genius idea.
THE PLAN – TO START MY OWN BUSINESS ON A SHOE STRING BUDGET
I immediately started to sell stuff on eBay to raise money to buy second hand hutches and runs. We are very lucky because we have beautiful outside barns and I was going to claim one to set-up my Holiday Home for furry friends. I would also have runs outside for them during the day.
In no time at all I had my fabulous collection of coops and hutches. Coops nice and big for the rabbits and rabbit hutches for the guinea pigs. When they were all set-up I took photos – they looked a terrible mix so I decided to paint them. Cheap paint on offer at B&Q was the perfect solution to my problem. I loved the pictures on our daughters walls of the camper vans as beach huts so that was the fun way forward. A beach theme was the perfect holiday look. I love our local auction house Shoulers so it was a trip to them to find the all-important suitcases and chests. A fun cheap way to store the rabbit and guinea pigs food. I took a trip to our local GI Joe Army store too hunt about for wooden boxes I could convert into play boxes for the runs. It was a very successful trip and not expensive.
HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND ME?
April 2011
I had already done a lot of research on the internet and found an amazing website called find pet boarding. They are an internet based company that advertise pet boarding facilities throughout the UK. You can add you own details and photos for just £11 per year – quite unbelievable at how cheap that is for the return I have had. I also printed flyers to go in pets shops and vets. Within weeks I was up and running and fully booked in the holidays.
” I love what I do and feel privileged to be able to step in to the shoes of the owners”
