Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Mercado.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Downtown Doggies really started from my love for animals and wanting to build a life around something I genuinely enjoyed doing. In the beginning it was very small and very hands-on. I was doing everything myself, walking dogs, pet sitting, communicating with clients, managing my schedule and building relationships one client at a time. I didn’t start with some huge business plan or expect it to become what it is today. I just knew I loved taking care of animals and wanted to provide the kind of care I would want for my own.
A lot of the business grew through word of mouth. One client would recommend me to a neighbor or a friend, and slowly I started becoming part of this little community of dogs and their owners throughout Jersey City and Hoboken. Some of my clients have been with me for years, and I’ve gotten to watch their dogs grow up. I think those relationships are a huge part of what made Downtown Doggies what it is.
Eventually I reached a point where I couldn’t physically do everything myself anymore. What started as me taking care of people’s pets became an actual company with a team of people I could train to provide the same kind of thoughtful, reliable care that our clients had come to expect from me. That transition has been a huge part of the story because I never wanted growth to make the business feel less personal. I still want our clients to feel like we genuinely know their pets, their routines, their personalities and all the little things that make them who they are.
Over time Downtown Doggies has also grown into something bigger than just pet care for me. I’ve always wanted the business to be connected to the community we work in. We’ve done community projects, events and different initiatives to give back, and I have a lot more I want to build in the future. I want Downtown Doggies to continue growing as a business, but I also want to use that growth to create jobs, support our community and find new ways to help animals and the people who love them.
I think the coolest part is that I’m still building it. Downtown Doggies has grown so much from where it started, but I don’t feel like the story is anywhere near finished yet.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced has been learning how to grow without sacrificing the quality of care that built Downtown Doggies in the first place. For a long time I did almost everything myself. I was walking dogs, pet sitting, answering clients, managing the schedule, handling emergencies and doing all of the behind-the-scenes work that comes with running a business. I got very used to being the person everyone could depend on, but eventually I realized that wasn’t sustainable.
Building a reliable team has probably been one of the hardest parts of growing. Pet care requires a lot of trust, and I’m very particular about who I’m comfortable sending into someone’s home and trusting with an animal they love. Finding the right people, training them, learning how to delegate, and getting clients comfortable with trusting my employees instead of always expecting me personally has taken a lot of work. I’ve had employees who didn’t work out, last-minute callouts, scheduling issues and plenty of days where I had to rearrange everything and step in myself.
Another challenge has honestly been learning to create boundaries with my own business. When you build something from the ground up, it’s really easy to feel like you have to say yes to everything and be available all the time. There were years where I worked seven days a week and barely took time off because I felt responsible for everything. As the business has grown, I’ve had to learn that being a good business owner doesn’t mean doing everything myself. It means creating a company that can provide the same level of care even when I’m not personally there.
There have definitely been stressful moments and a lot of learning as I go, but every challenge has forced me to make Downtown Doggies stronger. I’m still learning how to balance being hands-on with actually running and growing the business, but I think that has been one of the most important parts of becoming a better business owner.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Downtown Doggies?
Downtown Doggies is a local pet care company serving Jersey City and Hoboken. We provide dog walking, pet sitting, drop-in visits and other personalized care for people who want to know their pets are being taken care of by people they can actually trust.
What I think makes us different is how personal our approach is. We really get to know our clients and their pets. We know their routines, their personalities, their quirks, what they like, what makes them nervous and all the little details that matter when someone is trusting you with an animal they love. I’ve always wanted Downtown Doggies to feel like you have people in your neighborhood who genuinely know and care about your pet, while still having the reliability and structure of an actual company behind it.
We also put a lot of focus on building relationships within the community. Downtown Doggies has grown into more than just walking dogs and pet sitting. We’ve organized and participated in local events, worked on community projects and created initiatives like DD Cares that give us opportunities to help animals and pet owners outside of our regular services.
At the end of the day, the actual work is pretty simple. We take care of people’s pets when they can’t be there. But there’s a lot of trust that comes with that. People are giving us access to their homes and trusting us with members of their family, and I’ve never taken that lightly. I think that trust and the relationships we’ve built around it are really the heart of Downtown Doggies.
What does success mean to you?
I think my definition of success has changed a lot as Downtown Doggies has grown. When I first started, success was just being able to make a living doing something I genuinely loved. Now, success to me is having freedom and building something that can grow beyond just me without losing the heart of why I started it.
I want to create good jobs for people, take amazing care of our clients and their pets, give back to my community, and still be able to have a life outside of my business. I’ve spent years working pretty much nonstop, and I’ve realized I don’t want success to mean running myself into the ground.
I still love being hands-on and doing the actual work. That’s why I started Downtown Doggies in the first place, and I don’t ever want to completely step away from that. I just want to get to a point where I’m working because I want to, not because everything depends on me being there.
If I can take a vacation, spend time with the people I love, work on new ideas, give back to my community, and come home to a business that’s still thriving and that I’m proud of, that’s success to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://downtowndoggiesnj.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downtowndoggiesnj?stkn=aHR6dzFuejhyMWpr&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1K1MFxweTa/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://share.google/8dRSzvfAzwmxMpFpe
