I am officially making an announcement: I will be leaving my current day job and going full time with my business starting on Nov. 22^nd. It is a month earlier than expected, but it is just going to jump start my plan.  I am so excited, and nervous at the same time. I have so many plans and ideas brewing, and I can’t wait to be able to do a lot of my events during the day, rather than squishing everything in at night.

My office found out what I was planning on leaving, and we all agreed mutually it was a better idea to part ways a little earlier. We are all good terms, and they are very supportive and excited for me. I am sad I have to leave this awesome company and all the great people who work there, but I’m excited I am starting the next step of my life.

This is a major milestone and I am proud to move on. I have accomplished so much this year and I’m so grateful for all my supportive friends and family. I have had major ups and downs the past week, due to this decision, along with difficult client situations, and personal challenges. But.. I somehow manage to keep my head above water and keep treading. Even if have swallowed some water sometimes, I haven’t drowned – as much as I thought I was going to on many occasions.

The most recent business challenge I have had was an emergency boarding client. For any boarding that I do, I require at least 3 days notice, the vaccination and contract information to be sent to me before hand, and for the dog(s) to come on leash with food. I don’t accept their toys, blankets, towels, beds or anything else to prevent the spread of disease.  I have always collected payment upon pickup, as sometimes I have the dog longer than expected. Oh, I also don’t accept dogs with human aggression, as that is something I am working up to – I’m not quite there yet.

This time, I had less than ½ hour notice before she showed up at my house, was late for my next client (which cost me $50 because I had to give a discount), didn’t sign the contract, and one of the dogs didn’t even have a leash. She at least brought food and vaccination history, but she also brought toys, blankets, treats, and insisted I keep them. I told her I would keep them in the closet, but I couldn’t let them play with these toys here as I have so many other dogs coming and going. She also neglected to mention her name, her phone number or any contact information, and didn’t tell me when she was coming back. Oh, and one of her dogs was human aggressive. Great. Just lovely.

*Skipping through the week to make this story go faster*

After a week of training, ‘normal’ day work, boarding work, and home events that week, the family came to pick up their dogs. I referred them to a trainer who works on issues like these, calmly explained the price (we had a miscommunication, making the night very stressful) and I learned a few valuable lessons.

-I will never do emergency boarding again.
-I will revise my contract on a few fine points where this could happen again.
-I will require payment up front for people I don’t know or who I haven’t done business with.
-I will make sure the total amount and the pick up/drop off times are CLEARLY discussed over the phone and included in the contract (for drop off times and price) so there is no confusion.
-Don’t get upset when there is a misunderstanding. I need to stay calm and completely stable in every situation.

I learn more from bad situations than in any other circumstance to minimize risk and prevent any miscommunication from happening in the future. I’ll get better, and I’ll learn how to prevent more and more uncomfortable situations in the future.