Tina Hannaford spent 14 years in the corporate world as an executive recruiter, even starting her own firm. Recently she decided that it would be better for her to give up her career and follow her passion, and that meant becoming an entrepreneur. She gave up her livelihood to follow her love of dogs.
Hannaford loved dogs and photography, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a full-time dog photographer. She chose instead to focus on developing a business around gifts created specifically for dogs. In February of this year she, along with her husband, started Pooch Paw Box.
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The company offers a monthly subscription service to dog owners, which sends boxes of dog treats and toys right to their doorstep. So far the couple has completely funded the venture on their own, and they run it out of their home in Phoenix, AZ.
The subscription box service in general has grown in popularity recently, and Hannaford says she’s aware that she has a lot of competition. However, she believes that Pooch Paw Box has something different to offer. They only use American-made treats and toys in their boxes.
Similarly, all the treats they offer are all-natural. In fact, Hannaford said she’s even tried a few of them herself. She spends hours online and on the phone every day talking with companies that make snacks, toys, and accessories for dogs. Currently she has formed partnerships with 15 companies across the U.S. to feature their products in Pooch Paw Boxes.
Hannaford says that it is important to her to know exactly how each product is made so she can answer any questions that her subscribers may have. Right now she’s only signed on about 20 subscribers, but she’s working on getting more.
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She believes that by knowing all the information about each individual product in the box she can make a better sales pitch to prospective clients. She says the majority of her subscribers come from social media, so her main focus right now is to market Pooch Paw Boxes and spread the word about its products on different social media outlets.
She is also planning to attend a number of pet expos this year because she made a lot of contacts at the Phoenix Pet Expo earlier in 2015. The business has started out strong for a small company, and the Hannaford’s are hoping it will grow largely over the course of the year.
