So back in the summer of 2021 I was driving through my local town and stopped so my eldest son could get his dinner. Whilst parked I looked across to see a To let sign on an empty shop that looked in need of a lot of TLC! I immediately had a light bulb moment about opening a pet shop. You see at that time my eldest son had just been made unemployed, and I was running a dog training center (qualified behaviorist here), so my idea was my son could run the shop and I would jump in the odd days I had no training appointments. So we made enquires, made arrangements to view, and started our journey.
The shop on first opening the door was like something out of a horror scene!! It had been empty for around 2 years and had been left as a tattoo shop after the old shopkeeper sadly passed away!
I'll never forget my poor husband's face! He was adamant we were not taking this project on, but after me explaining my vision of beauty and a lot of sucking up we signed the paperwork and started the transformation. I should add that this was being done by us and we had no contractors, we were also both working full-time and had children in the mix too. It took us just under 6 months to transform the shop into my vision and it was hard going!!
First, we had to rip out and go right back to brick and then start to rebuild the shop. It took weeks of plastering, tiling, painting, and pallet walling, but the final results speak for themselves. All the shelving and tables were reclaimed and pre-loved too!! We did this as a family team! Me my husband and my 3 kids all made a dent in this massive project and we now all couldn't be prouder of ourselves!
So here we are all open and ready to start our journey!
It has been just over 12 months since we opened and it's been a rollercoaster of emotions! Shopkeeper life is hard, there is no let-up, no days off, and no rest. It is 24/7 but it is the most self-rewarding business, to me anyway! Oh and NEVER open a business for one of your kids because they never follow through!! hahaha!
The biggest lesson that I learned in opening The Valley Pet shop is never let go of a dream! Never let anyone tell you that you can't and never give up on yourself!
Have a glorious day!!