UCEDC - News Item
Entrepreneurial Training Gets Dog Salon Up and Running
Most people concerned about losing their jobs get scared and panicky. But not Melissa Cullen. She saw the opportunity she’d been waiting for – the chance to open her own business. With the help of UCEDC’s Entrepreneurial Training Initiative, she was able to take advantage of the chance and turn a long-time dream into a reality.
Cullen always knew what kind of business she wanted. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time – being around dogs,” says the owner of Riverview Bark, a self-service dog wash and pet service facility in Jersey City.
What she lacked in business experience, she made up for with enthusiasm. A makeup artist who worked in the entertainment/event industry, Cullen says if she hadn’t been laid off “I would have left anyway.” She’d been doing research for a year before losing her job. But to move forward with her dream, she needed a business partner who really understood the details of starting a business.
“I was so glad when I found UCEDC. They explained all the little things I never would have thought of,” she recalls. “Just the checklist was amazing!”
Cullen worked with Erich Peter and completed the six-week Entrepreneur Training Initiative program. Her business is set to open in January and so far, while she’s used the tools she learned in ETI, she has largely used personal funds to get up and running. But she’s preparing now for panel review and hoping to obtain some financing.
“When I think about it, it seems like it’s taking so long to get going,” says Cullen. But UCEDC has helped her manage her expectations. “They said there are things you can’t control and glitches that happen in every startup.” She tries to keep that in mind while awaiting delivery of her custom tubs.
Peter has been a continuing resource for Cullen. “I shoot them emails with questions all the time.” The experience has been “intense” and a lot of work, but Cullen knows she needed UCEDC. “The owner has all the hopes and dreams, but they (UCEDC) turn it into a business.”
Find Riverview Bark at www.riverviewbark.com; find out more about the ETI program by emailing epeter@ucedc.com
Posted: 01/06/2010
