Transporting dogs & cats across U.S. & Canada

BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER A SIGN OF THE TIMES. THERE ARE A LOT MORE ENTREPRENEURS ACROSS THE U.S. THIS YEAR. AN HISTORIC 19% INCREASE, ESPECIALLY AMONG AGES 24 TO 34. TWO OF THESE ENTREPRENEURS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. A HUSBAND AND WIFE FROM MANCHESTER WHO STARTED A UNIQUE AND PRIVATE DOG AND CAT TRANSPORT BUSINESS ACROSS THE U.S. AND INTO CANADA. HERE’S A RECENT TRANSPORT OF WINSTON THE DOG, OR I SHOULD SAY, PUPPY FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO NEW HAMPSHIRE, HERE’S WINSTON LOOKING AT THE CAMERA NOW, WINSTON BEING CARRIED AT THE AIRPORT. WINSTON IN A CARRIER FOR BOARDING THE PLANE. AND WINSTON ARRIVES AT HIS NEW FAMILY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. DOG HOP. THIS IS THE BUSINESS. THE DOG AND CAT TRANSPORT BUSINESS. GROUND OR AIR TRANSPORT ACROSS THE U.S. INTO CANADA. DOOR TO DOOR. BASED IN MANCHESTER AND WITH ME IN THE STUDIO. IS THAT DOG WINSTON THE PUPPY? I SHOULD SAY, NOW FIVE MONTHS OLD, WITH LAUREN AND JOSEPH GETS OF MANCHESTER, WHO CREATED AND OPERATE DOG HOP THAT BROUGHT WINSTON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE. WELCOME. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU FRED, THANKS FOR HAVING US. LAUREN. YOU’RE A MARKETER AT THE MANCHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. AND JOSEPH, YOU HAVE A DEGREE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDIES. WHAT MADE. AND THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR GETTING INTO ANY BUSINESS, STARTING A BUSINESS. BUT YOU WENT INTO DOG AND CAT TRANSPORT. HOW COME? YEAH. BEFORE STARTING DOG HOP I WAS DRIVING FOR UPS DURING THE PANDEMIC FOR, FOR FOR TWO STRAIGHT YEARS. AND AT THAT TIME WE WERE ALSO GETTING LAUREN AND I WERE GETTING A PUPPY OURSELVES FROM A BREEDER IN VERMONT. AND I’M WORKING 60 HOURS A WEEK AT UPS, AND IT WAS HARD TO TAKE TAKE DAYS OFF OF WORK. SO WE NEEDED THIS SERVICE FOR OURSELVES BEFORE WE EVEN FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS. BUT YOU WENT RIGHT TO ANIMALS. WHEN? RIGHT TO ANIMALS? YEAH. I MEAN, I’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF HAVING A PET SPECIFIC BUSINESS, AND IT SORT OF FELL INTO OUR LAP. THE FACT THAT WE NOW OWN AND OPERATE ONE. WELL, THIS IS A BRIEF VIDEO HERE WITH WINSTON AND YOU, JOSEPH, AT THE AIRPORT, AND IT SHOWS HOW PERSONAL YOUR BUSINESS IS WITH THE ANIMAL FOR DOGS AND CATS, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE FOR CATS OR DOGS IN CARRIERS STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER IN A TRUCK AND A TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HERE’S THE VIDEO. MR. WINSTON AND I ARE AT THE GATE. THIS AIRPORT IS MOBBED RIGHT NOW, SO WE FOUND A NICE LITTLE CORNER BY OURSELVES. BUT HERE WE ARE. GOT ABOUT 20 MINUTES UNTIL WE BOARD OUR FLIGHT. AND THERE YOU ARE AT THE AIRPORT ON THE WAY TO NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH WINSTON, WHO IS SITTING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF LAUREN. YOU TRANSPORT BY CAR OR PLANE, EITHER ONE. WHAT DOES IT COST? YEAH, THE COST IS $2 A MILE FOR OUR PRIVATE PET TRANSPORT. SO DOOR TO DOOR, YOU KNOW, GROUND TRANSPORT. THAT INCLUDES FUEL, HOTELS, DRIVER WAGE. IT’S ALL ENCOMPASSING. AND THEN FOR OUR FLIGHT COMPANION SERVICE, WHICH WINSTON TOOK ADVANTAGE OF VARIES BETWEEN $1000 TO $2000, MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE, JUST DEPENDING ON AIRFARE AND HOW LONG THAT THAT TRIP IS. BUT THAT’S THAT’S A GOOD IDEA. THE RANGE. LAUREN, YOU GOT HELP FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. WAS THAT A LOT OF HELP? YES, IT WAS. WE SINCE WE STARTED. DOG HOP, WE’VE BEEN PAIRED UP WITH AN ADVISOR AT SBDC WHO HAS BEEN WONDERFUL IN SO MANY WAYS. AND MOST RECENTLY, THEY WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE IN HELPING US THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING A DOG HOP TRADEMARKED. SO THAT WAS A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR US, AND WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THE HOW DID YOU FUND THIS BUSINESS? I MEAN, YOU STARTED FROM SCRATCH. HOW DID YOU FUND IT? YEAH, SELF-FUNDED. WE HAD WE HAD SOME HELP FROM OUR OUR PARENTS IN A IN A SMALL LOAN AND WE TOOK OUT AN AUTO LOAN. I MEAN, REALLY THE BIGGEST THING WAS WE NEEDED A SAFE AND SECURE VEHICLE. RIGHT? WE HAVE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE THAT WE USE FOR OUR GROUND TRANSPORTATION. SO THAT WAS OUR BIGGEST, THE BIGGEST COST. BUT WE WERE ABLE TO TO FINANCE THAT VIA A LOAN. AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE WE BOOTSTRAPPED AND WE BUILT THE WEBSITE OURSELVES, HAD SOME HELP FROM A LOCAL WEB DEVELOPER TO BUILD AN INSTANT QUOTE TOOL ON THE HOME PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE. BUT IT DIDN’T TAKE, YOU KNOW, A WHOLE LOT TO TO REALLY GET GOING. SO YOU ALREADY YOU OFFER A 5% DISCOUNT TO VETERANS. I’M A VETERAN, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND YOU GIVE 1% OF YOUR PROFITS TO NONPROFITS, RIGHT? YES. THAT’S CORRECT. WE ARE MEMBERS OF 1% FOR THE PLANET. SO 1% OF OUR PROFITS GO BACK TO LOCAL NONPROFITS, AND WE ALSO PLANT TREES WITH EVERY TRIP WE TAKE AS WELL, TO OFFSET ANY CARBON EMISSIONS. AND I KNOW YOU’RE INSURED AND YOU HAVE A A-PLUS BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU RATING. LET’S PUT THE GRAPHIC UP ON THE SCREEN THAT SHOWS WHERE YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH DOG HOP ONLINE.COM, AND THERE’S THE EMAIL, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT UP ON THE SCREEN. MY THANKS TO LAUREN AND JOSEPH GOETZ, CO-OWNERS OF DOG HOP AND MANCHESTER, AND TO WINSTON. WINSTON, YOU ARE THE STAR OF THE SHOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING ON TRANSPORTING ANIMALS, YOU CAN GO TO WMUR.COM WHERE IT WILL BE POSTED.