NOT AS MAD AS IT SOUNDS!
“If a dog continues to chew stuff he shouldn’t after the age of 2, he’ll likely chew stuff forever!” That’s exactly the kind of insight that Designed for Dogs entrepreneur Holly Bryant gets on a daily basis from research with her growing list of dog-loving customers. She makes good quality, custom designed and handmade beds for dogs – at an affordable price. “We’ve had dogs for years, and I was never happy with the limited range of dog beds on the market. If you want something that does everything, you’d have to part with 100s of pounds,” says Holly. Shopping for a bed for a new puppy, she couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t alone in being disappointed, judging by the comments she heard from other customers.
The idea came at an opportune time. Holly had recently taken a prolonged break from her career as an Airline Operations Manager: “it was really stressful, I worked a 100hr week – I really loved the job but you can only do this for so long,” she told 10×10. So, she did some market research, took courses in sewing and, today, does everything in the Designed for Dogs production line from initial design to making the beds. “I get more and more orders for made-to-order beds, which I really enjoy doing as its always a challenge,” she continues.
Holly has plans to grow her product range to include other dog accessories and to scale up the business. With her range of top quality, handmade dog beds as the quality standard benchmark, the success of an expanded product range is pretty much assured.
For Holly, the 10×10 programme has been a weekly eye opener into new ways of thinking and running a business and is helping here to make some vital business decisions. “The biggest bonus is the network – I had not anticipated that the 10×10 business network would be so big,” says Holly. “There really is something for everyone, the topics are really good.” Judging by what Holly told 10×10, the programme is creating quite a positive impact on her business.
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