The Entrepreneurial journey and being hooked…

To all the Entrepreneurs out there: Have you ever found yourself wondering why on earth did I start this? Are you noticing that this thought is starting to creep up more than 3 times a day? Yet, you quite easily find yourself wondering about it but never actually wanting to make a change.

 

That’s it. You’ve entered the Entrepreneurial lifestyle.

 

And now you’re hooked.

 

We asked Fiona, proud owner of Fiona’s Pet Services, whose been in business for over a year now,  if she would give up a her business.. “Fiona, if we had an investor lined up to give you a sizeable Shark Tank Tank-Full of money, would you sell the business and give it up?” and the silence followed by the response was “No..”, pause “no, no, no, I wouldn’t!”

“No, no, no, no!

I couldn’t do it to myself!

I’d be heartbroken…”

 

“As much as it sounds good I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do that to myself. I guess the reality is that I haven’t come this far to come this far!”

Fiona says, Entrepreneur life is: “It’s tough. You get exhausted, the to do list doesn’t go down to zero!” but Fiona doesn’t stop as she adores what she does just as much as the pooches that she loves and whom adore her back.

Humble roots and a deep passion that never leaves…

Fiona started her journey after an incredibly brave step into the unknown world of childcare after many friends, family and people in her networks were at odds with her dreams, unsure and misbelieving of the pet care industry as a sustainable option for this lovely young girl with a farming background.

Having come from farming roots Fiona shares her mother’s love for horses, her passion for animals has always been deep inside her and the idea to be a pet specialist has always been a given.

However, this passionate dream was not to be fulfilled until after 3 years later.

Letting go..

Letting go of her childhood dream was the best foundation to Fiona’s life and passion journey, we now realise in hindsight. It was a tough journey and at many times daunting but it taught and built up within Fiona a barrage of resilience and practice at a range of good teaching and learning theory, knowledge, experience in addition to specialist techniques in dealing with and rearing society’s precious youth.

There are many positive impacts that early childhood educators bring to the industry and although these impacts seem small at times, “they do make good difference in the children’s lives and it’s an amazing industry”, Fiona says.

But Fiona faced a misguided long 15 years of ignoring her own deep passion and did what she could to ignore her passion and get on everyday with the task at hand in her role in childcare.

Fiona then decided to make the move…

“Well I can’t remember a defining moment, but I had always kept an eye out and done a fair bit of reading (researching/looking around) at other pet businesses, and the certification I would need to make the next step out of childcare into pet care”.

Pet care is as close to childcare as it gets for some pet owners, it can be a risky business for anyone to take the plunge into, but with some well structured steps to learning as much as you can about your new pet client, your new pet owner, their home, their habits and their world, is a journey of discovery that Fiona loves to make with whomever pet and client pet owner she newly meets. Fiona has a great assessment method and a well defined structure that helps to make the interaction, friendship and caretaking as nurturing and reliable as possible.

She credits her supportive partner James for his constant wise words and belief in her fulfilling her dream and making the move from childcare to the pet industry. And so began the birth of Fiona’s Pet Services.

Fiona’s Voice Inside..

For those going through the same journey of wondering about their career and wondering what’s next?

Anyone who knows Fiona would be a little surprised to hear her speak with such insight and determination about being an Entrepreneur. When Fiona speaks of her business and what she believes in, it’s an incredibly empowering tone of voice that we have the privilege to hear from this self-confessed Introvert.

Fiona’s Daily Motivational Tips…

Here are a few motivational words from Fiona (the stuff that she thinks matters for anyone wanting to start out on their journey) and as cliche as she thought her comments were, if the time and truth tell all, here are the truths she has discovered:

• No, Don’t ever give up!
• Prove people wrong
• Hang in there!
• Go for your dreams, don’t compromise who you are inside
• Even if it takes time and effort and money – You just don’t want to have regrets in life as you get older
• Take the plunge, just do it!

Into the Dragon’s den…

Fiona loves watching the dragon’s den and shark tank. She always finds herself glued to the TV seeking inspiration and courage from those who dare to enter the den…. It’s probably from the likeness of her own mold, for she’s courageously stepped into the real world of her own dreams.

Taking the plunge..

Fiona told us “The scariest part about taking the plunge and starting a new business was in actually saying goodbye to the old childcare center back in 2015”. We’ve all had one of those nail biting meetings and but she mustered up the courage and words of gratitude and gave herself the permission to move freely into her new life and space.

All bets in? Or get a part time job?

So how did Fiona, get started? She went online to do her final set of research, in search of part time work she created her world across a few freelance profile sites and made herself known in various pet forums, sharing her knowledge and thoughts on how better pet care can be fulfilled by all.

Eventually Fiona popped up a website, started to attend regularly at networking sessions and quietly stays determined to learn what she can, to allow her to step out proudly and become a success in her new world. Pet care in a Friendly, Reliable and Responsible way is what Fiona’s new world looks like and we are proud to see her leading the way in the universal love for pet and pooch passion.

How far in your Entrepreneurial journey have you come?

Stay tuned for more Pooch and Pet loving lifestyle for Entrepreneurs – from Fiona & Focus Now !!