Looking Back at 2023
2023 was arguably one of the most important years of my life – it was the year my partner Becky and I eloped to America, got married and had an incredible 2 week expeirence touring some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
While the wedding stole the show for us, we also had a fantastic year with your amazing dogs – and we met some really awesome characters!
In fact, over 2023 we cared for 30 different dogs encompassing 17 different breeds from your tiny Toy Poodles to your giant Mastiffs (she was fun sharing a bed with!).
Here are some facts for you…
>The furthest a customer travelled to use us is Wales
>When we add up all the days, one dog stayed with us for just over 3 months of the year
>While we only looked after 30 different dogs, we saw many of them numerous times throughout the year boasting a 94% booking rate for the year!
>The smallest dogs we cared for were two miniture dachshunds, we have had so many BIG dogs it’s tough to pick the biggest!
Looking Forward to 2024 and 2025
As a business we are somewhat limited to how much money we can earn each year, and how much we can grow – purely down to the services we love to offer our customers – primerily our One Family rule, where we do not mix dogs from other households.
While some doggy day cares can have 5, 10, 15 or maybe even more dogs per day we limit ours to just your dog/s. It doesn’t take an accountant to work out that means we make significantly less than our competitors – and we are okay with that!
But, what it does mean is we are looking into other ways to keep growing and creating a meaningful business where we can have a positive impact on as many dogs (and owners!) as possible.
Growth Plan #1 – More Homes
A harsh truth is we have to turn down more dogs due to existing bookings than we look after. Our Growth Plan #1 is to reach out to other locals within Hartwell and enlist them into joining our team if we feel their passions line up with ours. We can then book in dogs with them based on their avalibility, they can earn some extra money, and we will help them not only get their own licence but also get the qualifications they need.
Growth Plan #2 – Residential Training
Owning a dog is one of the most amazing things, and I truly believe that they should enhance your life! Sadly, due to behaviours some dogs (while utterly loved) can be a massive pain. In 2024 I am looking to enhance my own education and experience in dog behaviour and training so we can then look at offering both Residential Training and 1-2-1 training sessions on things like achieving the perfect loose lead walk.
Growth Plan #3 – Enhance the Shop
In December 2023 we launched our Websites shop where our dog owners can get their hands on the 100% meat based treats we give their dogs when they stay with us. Dogs love these treats – and because they contain just meat they are a treat I have no bad feelings towards giving them. Growth Plan #3 involved getting more vairety on the shop as well as promoting it more to our customer base.
Roll on 2024
As I write this we already have bookings for over 200 nights of 2024, so it will be another very busy dog year for us – but we still have space and would love to make new doggy friends!
So, from all of us at Hartwell Dog Boarding & Day Care, as well as Toby and Athena (our two current Guests) – We hope you have a magical Chirstmas and a perfect New Year!
