Be in a Business You Love with the One You Love

Meet a handful of Dogtopia's married franchisees who are helping to grow North America's leading dog daycare provider. Learn how they balance keeping their relationship alive and their business successful.

Where did you meet your spouse?

At Dogtopia! I hired Craig as a Canine Coach in 2009. Over the next year Craig quickly grew within the company. Our friendship also grew, we soon became friends and started spending time together outside of work. We started dating at the end of 2010 and the rest is history!

Stefani Ballard & Craig Dunlavey | Dogtopia of Austin and Dogtopia of South Austin, Open since 2009

What is it like being in business with your spouse?

We thought we would do everything together but you really have to figure out what roles you will each take. Sharing and communicating is so important, as is being open to switching roles as needed. Being together to greet our pet parents and their pups at Dogtopia in the afternoons makes us feel good about each other and the business. It is a team effort!

Diane Hotz & Meg Halaska | Dogtopia of Miramar, Open since 2016

What advice would you give to others thinking of going into business with their spouse?

Definitely do your research! We sought knowledge from every source we could think of. If choosing a franchise, know the history of that company. What is their success rate? What are its core principles? Do they align with your own? What support systems are in place to assist you along the way, and what expectations do they have of you? Choosing Dogtopia was easy for us. We are passionate about our dogs and treat them as such. We are both very interested in the pet industry and want to be part of its evolution to be the best it can be. Dogtopia strives for constant improvement and that is very important to us. Communication is key. Talk about your goals and expectations with your partner. Discuss possible pros and cons and have back-up plans in place. Starting a business is very time-consuming and a big adjustment for everyone involved. Talk to your kids and listen to their thoughts and concerns. Involve them, if you can, so they can share in your pride and excitement. Kids can be your biggest advocates!

Jolene & Matt Urbancic | Dogtopia of North Austin, Open since 2015

How do you keep your relationship strong in a crazy, busy environment?

One of our core values is to have fun. If we find that we're not having fun, we try to change that as quickly as possible. it could be as easy as taking our dogs out to lunch - or having a nice bottle of wine with dinner. We try to keep our sense of humor and remind each other to keep things in perspective. We have aspirations of enjoying fabulous trips in our future. We spend a lot of time sharing our different ideas, keeping us motivated to grow our business together so we'll have the ability to make those travel dreams come true.

Terri & Michael Wilson | Dogtopia of Sacramento - Nimbus Winery, Open since 2018