Dominika was one of the #womeninbusiness who joined Women’s Business 
Center’s Celebrating Dreams, Celebrating Success event last summer. And she is a ball of fire; she tells her story behind Hot Chick’s Dog Walking Co. with vigor. After ten years of running a business and walking dogs everyday, she is still very much in love with it. She has not looked back ever since she decided to quit her job as a produce seller in Pike Place Market and pursue a career that feeds her soul. She has always been passionate about animals, especially dogs; her old boss at Pike Place used to tease her, “Every time the dogs come around, you stop working.”
Dominika’s early marketing efforts revolved around networking in a pet store at South Lake Union and leaving business cards at coffee shops, one of which is where, coincidentally, a writer from Seattle Times found out about what she was doing. Within the walls of Espresso Vivace, Karen Johnson contacted Dominika and requested an interview. This was unexpected yet spectacular for Dominika as it had only been a year into the business when it happened.
Soon, Tracy, her wife, joined her in walking dogs, turning it into a family business seven years ago, and it has been a wonderful experience. (They even enlisted their son to help out.) On a hectic day, they walk over thirty dogs around Seattle, from Discovery Park to Lake Washington morning to night. They have not stopped working tirelessly and enthusiastically to market their services through word of mouth and run a profitable business that supports their family.
It has indeed been an amazing ride for Dominika as a small business owner and dog walker, and she is not planning to quit anytime soon. She shares, “Honestly, I don’t see myself retiring. It’s an ongoing thing. I eventually want to have acres of huge space for dogs where we could do agility work and training, and we’d also have a veterinarian on call.”
We can’t wait to see how much more her business will progress!
You can view her Yelp reviews right here.
A great article! She takes such good care of our pups! We love her, and Tracy, as much as the dogs love them!