A (sorta) quick story…
Do you remember a few years ago when Royal Oak Dog Walkers was getting ready to build out and rent a property off Woodward Heights? I had this great plan to move from our office on Hilton to a small building with some yard space that would eventually become a dog park. It was my dream to have a space like that and everything seemed to be falling into place. But as soon as the city approved the plans, progress on the project stalled a bit.
It took over a year before I saw lease and terms of an agreement and when I finally did, it became clear that Woodward Heights wasn’t an option anymore. By then, my business had grown and evolved and I wasn’t confident that it would still be the right place for us a few years down the road. Signing the lease would have limited how and when RODW could further expand. I was really hesitant to walk away from this opportunity, but ultimately I am really glad I did.
It was always the plan to rebrand Royal Oak Dog Walkers. When I started walking dogs, I was in Royal Oak and I really didn’t think that I’d venture outside of it. Hence the name, Royal Oak Dog Walkers. The growth of the business was unexpected and so it wasn’t until after the fact that I realized Royal Oak Dog Walkers probably wasn’t the best choice, as it doesn’t reflect everything I eventually want to offer in both the immediate and distant future. It really became a matter of when, not if, I should relaunch under a new name. At first, my plan was to rebrand after we were moved into Woodward Heights. Since that wasn’t going to happen anymore, I had to go back to the drawing board in a way.
Our new office!
You know that saying that if you wait for the right time to do something, you’ll never do it? That was how I felt with the rebrand. I felt pretty unequipped for it and the entire thing seemed like it would be a ton of work (spoiler alert, it was). BUT It was a really interesting process and forced me to think of all the different ways the business might get from where it is today to where I want it to be in 10 years. The marketing team was incredibly patient with me to say the least.
We also had to move offices. We were in a temporary office space until the property on Woodward Heights was ready for us to move in. When we started looking for somewhere new, I was immediately drawn to the one we are in now. It fits our needs now and will continue to fit our needs well into the future. It was perfect and it was also the first time I was 100% confident in my decision to deviate the original plan of Woodward Heights.
Obviously there is never a shortage a treats around here!
Have you met Doug? He is our resident office dog and is also our model when we do harness training sessions with our staff.
In August 2019, I finally made the jump and rebranded from Royal Oak Dog Walkers to the Loyal Dog Club. With the new name came new services and an updated software to give customers the ability to book a service on-demand straight from their phones. We introduced new services such as pet taxi and poop scooping. Leah, our Lead Dog Walker, started her training to become a certified dog trainer. And yes, hopefully in the near future, a dog park exclusively available to members of the Loyal Dog Club.
Five years ago, I can say for sure that when I was walking the first dog of RODW (shout out to Charlie, the white lab) that I never thought I would be looking for commercial property one day. I surly didn’t think that I’d be speaking at a planning commission meeting, let alone attending one. And I definitely didn’t think I’d be reading up on the city’s code of ordinances about fences. It’s been a journey and I continue to learn something new about running a business every day.
For the people who started with RODW when it was just me, I really can’t thank you enough for sticking with me through all of the changes over the years. This one has been the biggest change to date, but I am sooo excited about the future of LDC! I can’t wait to share more of this journey as it continues to unfold.
Until then…