BRING ON 2020!
It’s hard to believe another year has come to a close and what a year it has been! What we love about the beginning of a new year is the chance to reflect and reflect is exactly what we will do in our first-ever Fair Dinkum Dogs blog …
When I meet a 19-year-old, I look at them in disbelief. Disbelief that this is how young I looked when I purchased the Fair Dinkum Dog Coat business from a dear neighbour and friend who had seen me growing up. Ima loves telling the story about how I would turn up on her doorstep with carrots and buckets of Lucerne ready to meet and befriend each rescue pony she brought home. Ima was my idol. Fostering and rescuing animals of all different descriptions has been Ima’s life and I longed to grow up and be just like her.
On reflection, I’ve managed to follow quite closely in Ima’s footsteps. Not only did I buy her business, we’ve also opened up our home to two rescue ponies, a cat, and chooks. Currently we are keeping our eye out for the perfect rescue pup to add to our little family as our old girl Missy gets older. I do have to keep myself in check though as with two little girls, husband and business to look after we are almost at our adopting quota!
As 2020 kicks off we’re feeling pretty chuffed about living on the land with plenty of space for our two and four-legged family members to live and play. We’ve also settled into the new sewing room which was purpose-built beside our family house to allow more flexibility while caring for our two girls. It is so much more convenient, although we are missing my grandparent’s hospitality as the old sewing room had been located on their property for the past decade. Now unfortunately it’s up to us to make the cuppas and keep the sewing room tidy!
With our children growing and the youngest about to start school, being accepted as one of the 100 businesses to participate in the 2019 Digital Champions Grant and Facebook Gift Guide has given us the enthusiasm to work hard and knowledge of how to get Fair Dinkum Dog Coats known to more Australian dog-owners.
We’ve always known we have a great product. You can’t get a better testimonial than past customers reporting that their coats are still in use 15 years on. That is why we’ve never compromised on quality even in a very competitive market of imports and big corporate companies.
What has changed in the many years we’ve owned Fair Dinkum Dogs, is how products are presented and showcased via the internet. What a blessing to be provided with this great opportunity by the Australian Government. Six months on, armed with valuable knowledge and resources via the Digital Champions Grant, we are now ready to improve our online presences and better showcase Fair Dinkum’s unique designs.
You can imagine our disbelief when the Facebook Gift Guide team also invited Fair Dinkum Dogs to be one of the 30 Australia wide businesses to be showcased on the lead up to Christmas. Mind blown and lots of happy tears followed.
Never had we imagined that during 2019 I would be flying to Sydney twice and Canberra on another occasion. Meeting equally awesome small business owners from all over Australia, rubbing shoulders with inspiring entrepreneurs, and showcasing our products to politicians at Parliament House has been a wonderful experience and opportunity to grow our small business.
A definite highlight was a film session at Sydney Fox Studios with a stunning kelpie co-host, George. While I needed a hair and makeup session, George was hot to trot. Then, when George got the take right, I got it wrong and vice versa which kept the film crew on their toes and thoroughly entertained … or exasperated, I’m not entirely sure!
When the results of this film session ended up on billboards at regional shopping centres, and two major airport terminals, not to mention all over Facebook, we couldn’t quite believe our luck. Our girls were so proud and insisted on having a selfie in front of one nearby billboard much to everyone’s amusement.
2019 has been wonderful Fair Dinkum Dogs but 2020 has got us chomping at the bit. Being the best possible parents to our girls, aged 7 and 5, is and will always be our priority. One way we wish to do this is to show them to dream big, work hard and give back.
Our team at Fair Dinkum Dogs is excited for 2020. A new website is underway, we will be working hard to keep engaged with our customers all year round via Facebook and Instagram, and we have teamed up with Mount Alexander Animal Welfare Group to support them with their wonderful animal rescue organisation. $2 from every coat sale will be heading their way in the coming year.
We wish you a wonderful 2020 and encourage you to also follow your dreams in the year ahead. And please do let us know what you think of the new look Fair Dinkum Dogs online presences via our Facebook or Instagram Page. We hope you will love it as much as we do.