The Good Dog Co

Name: Alicia Rose
Position: Founder
Website: www.gooddogco.shop
Location: Ettalong Beach, NSW, Australia

The Good Dog Co helps show your dogs unique personality whilst always keeping them safe. There’s no other dog like them. They help you express it.

What products/services do you offer?

The Good Dog Co. specialise in high end dog accessories that can be personalized with custom text or identification information. We also offer a great range of fun and unique apparel for our proud ‘pawrents’.

Why did you start your business and how long have you been running it?

We only officially launched in November 2019 and feel so lucky to already be finding a passionate and loyal community of supporters.

What struggles do you think most businesses face in your industry and what would you say they need to do to overcome them?

In my opinion their greatest hurdle would be a saturated market coupled with no clear voice or identity.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?

They are wide and varied but having my photography exhibited internationally, a recent short film I wrote and made screening in lots of large festivals, helping women turn their concept, side hustle or stagnant business into a brand, creating The Good Dog Co. somehow whilst a full time carer for a toddler, and giving birth to the most incredible little girl who overcame the greatest odds after 4 months in hospital to survive.

What has been your biggest ‘fail’ so far?

Honestly I can’t think of anything! They’ve all been incredible steps for learning and bettering myself along the way.

What do you love most about your business?

I created The Good Dog Co. in order to be able to donate 10% of our profits to dog rescues and charities. Helping dogs in need is definitely the thing I love most about it.

What do you find most challenging?

I get so determined when working toward a goal that I can sometimes run myself down just by not knowing when to stop.

How do you promote your business (please include as many details as you can)?

Primarily on Instagram, Email campaigns, our referral program, and we are now about to launch Facebook ads.

What business skills do you have (eg. graphic design, customer service)?

I have a really extensive creative background in film, photography, writing, art, plus had also worked in e-commerce, web design, online customer service, and website management so I dove into marketing to upskill and then combined all these skills to begin freelance digital consulting. I was just super lucky to have this background when starting The Good Dog Co. because I didn’t need to outsource anything to launch.

What software did you/your designer use to create your website (eg. WordPress, Wix)?

Being e-commerce we decided to go with Shopify (though will definitely be integrating a WordPress blog in the near future!)

What are some of your favourite business tools and apps?

  • I LOVE love love Slack for communicating and collaborating,
  • Omnisend for e-commerce email campaigns, and
  • Zapier for automating tasks.

What do you like about your website and what’s not working for you?

I love my branding and layout, though I do wish that Shopify had a better blogging setup and I didn’t have to go the route of a subdomain.

What lessons have you learnt during your time as an entrepreneur?

Jesus take the wheel, where do I start?! I think most importantly I’ve learnt to feel the fear and do it anyway each time something new comes up and I have that tiny but loud thought that says “you don’t know how to do this” – I know how to say “watch me” with gusto and just dive in anyway.

What key tips for success in business would you like to share with others?

Build your audience before you launch… find your people and then figure out how to solve their problems with a product or service, not the other way around. Also, surround yourself with people who lift each other up, dream big, and work with dedication toward their goals.

What is the one thing that you want everyone to take away from this post?

The inspiration to decide that there is nothing that sets a successful business owner apart from anyone else apart from making the decision to do it, and then the stubbornness to never give up.

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