Entrepreneur Highlights

Urban Tails The Business Story

Urban Tails the business concept
Urban Tails opened in 2003 as a sole-proprietorship, operated by Jen Lord and one part-time helper. Initially I offered in-home cat sitting, dog walking and dog sitting at dog friendly hotels in downtown Vancouver. My next great adventure is to incorporate and open a resort-like boarding facility, exclusively for cats, in Vancouver. I anticipate Urban Tails – Resort Boarding for Cats opening in the summer of 2007.

Describe Yourself as an Entrepreneur and how/why you became an SME?
Becoming an entrepreneur was never my plan! After completing my degrees I thought that I would work a 9 – 5 job in my profession but I quickly discovered that I didn’t find work rewarding if I wasn’t learning and creating at a rapid pace. I love exploring new ideas and the challenge of turning them into reality – maintaining the status quo is not my strong suit. The first chapter of Urban Tails was an excellent crash course in business and I was hooked on entrepreneurship quickly. I think it was Bill Erichson who first used the description that I immediately identified with – “Serial Entrepreneur”.

Explain how the Business Plan FastTrack workshop has assisted you as an SME?
When I started the Business Plan FastTrack workshop I was really lost for direction. I knew that my current business model wasn’t working and I had ceased offering many services due to burnout. I knew that if I could come up with a comprehensive business plan, that accounted for every aspect of operations, financing, marketing and so on, I could build a great business and life for myself at the same time. The Business Plan FastTrack workshop didn’t provide me with any answers – just all of the questions that I needed to answer in order to solve my own problem. Completing the business plan was a monumental amount of work but the result was that I have both the plan and the confidence to launch the next phase of Urban Tails.

The 4th Annual Business Plan Contest

Small Business BC is pleased to announce the winners of its Fourth annual Business Plan Contest. 162 plans were submitted by new and established businesses from across the province. A panel of eight judges reviewed the plans, narrowing the field down to five.

Urban Tails – Resort Boarding for Cats offers spacious, relaxing and loving services for cats in Vancouver, BC. The resort has the warm appearance of a West Coast spa and will be designed to fulfill the physical and psychological needs of its feline guest to give peace of mind to the owners who adore them. The resort contains twenty-four cat suites, uniquely designed to ensure the cats feel safe, relaxed and enjoy their stay. There is also be four play areas, a cozy fire-place, aquariums and bird-TV so the cats can be entertained. Pampering packages are also available for purchase including organic cat nip, kitty caviar and self-warming beds.

Comments from Judges:

Good client analysis and understands how to target customers
Strong industry knowledge is captured in an effective presentation and analysis of a concise and well-written plan
Clearly passionate about the business

Urban Tails The Business Story won 2nd prize at this year's contest!