Our next Client Spotlight is shining very brightly on Julia Rohan and the great team at Rover-Time! Rover-Time is one of the most personable, professional, reliable and innovative dog walking and pet sitting companies in Chicago, IL. Providing their human clients with peace of mind and the four-legged customers with the personal attention they need, Rover-Time has a robust vetting, hiring and training process for their awesome dog walkers. You can tell they take a lot of pride in their work based on their countless 5 star reviews on Yelp. Be sure to check out the Rover-Time website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram for some of the best pet pictures we've seen. And remember, Rover-Time loves your dog almost as much as you do!
What caused you to get into pet sitting/dog walking?
I haven't traveled into an office to work a normal job for someone else since 2009. I do remember my last day however. At the time, I worked in fundraising for a small Montessori school, and while I enjoyed parts of my responsibilities, it was never going to be a good fit.
But it only took one full day of funemployment for feelings of doubt and failure to sink in. So I buckled down on my budget and eventually started taking odd jobs to pay the bills. At some point, I applied for a dog walking position for a super small company here in Chicago. I got the job, intended on using the time before and after my route to job hunt, but then fell madly in love with the work I was doing. After nearly two and a half years of living far below the poverty line, I opened Rover-Time.
The business is almost six years old at this point and we've grown from a sole proprietorship with one employee to a corporation with 16 employees
What is the most fulfilling part of owning a pet sitting/dog walking business?
I learned to let the unknown unfold when I became a dog walker and that has an impact on my life as an entrepreneur. I still appreciate unplanned moments because I'm equally thrilled when my entrepreneurial light flashes on and I take an idea to the next level. Because I can.
Most of us feel like we need to know it all --- that we should have everything about ourselves and our futures figured out all the time. But I began to realize that it's okay to live in a place where we don't have all the answers, and that the unknown is actually where the magic of our lives unfolds. As long as you're taking action to move in the direction of who you are and what you love, you'll be presented with opportunities that you probably could have never planned for yourself.
What is the most challenging?
Many of the struggles point back to this: I never opened a business centered on loving pets to learn labor and employment law or price workers comp policies. To be honest if I knew my job description would evolve into what it is today, I may have never launched. But I get up and at it each day because I genuinely care for the customers that entrust us with their beloved animals and I value the people that make Rover-Time successful.
Where do you see your business in 5 years?
Let me start by saying that I'm really excited about the pet industry and its future. Right now, I'm working at being the best boss I can be so my business can sustain itself, while it evolves to meet the demands we're all facing as small business owners in this competitive market. I'm passionate about creating a supportive and fun workplace so in five years, I'll see how this pays off for us.
What has Time To Pet changed the most about how you run your business?
We can now pull data or produce reports much more accurately in a few quick clicks of a button, thanks to Time To Pet.
