Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in animal care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kim Hehir, co-founder and president of Brutus Broth, located in Owings, MD, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Brutus Broth is an all-natural pet food company with a mission to nourish your pet while giving back to the community. Our bone broth products are fortified with glucosamine, chondroitin, and turmeric for joint health and inflammation. They can be added to any dog's existing diet to boost nutrition and flavor. Our audience is anyone with a dog!

Tell us about yourself

Everyone would always ask how my sister and co-founder Sue's rescue dog Brutus lived such a long, active life. The answer was love and Grandma's bone broth. For us, the "AHA" moment was when we discovered that we couldn't find a pet-safe bone broth in the market, and we realized there was a hole in the market that we wanted to fill. We wanted to bring tasty nutrition to every dog's bowl.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We have been in the market for 3 1/2 years. We are proud of the fact that we took our mom's recipe and turned it into an extremely high quality (human grade) commercially viable product that has helped thousands of dogs. Brutus Broth is now sold in over 4,000 stores throughout the country, including Target, Petco, Chewy, and a number of retailers, boutique shops, and large grocery chains. We are also really proud of our sustainability and philanthropic platforms, including forming our Kids Committee that teaches kids about philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Not to mention that we also underwent double mastectomies during that time and kept our business thriving during a global pandemic. It hasn't been easy. But, it's made us stronger, resilient, and even more driven entrepreneurs.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Fighting off burnout. It’s really easy to let the stress and hustle of building a business wear on you. Knowing how to balance your time to find ways to make your mental health and wellness a priority is hard. I could not have done this without Sue. We work really well together. When I have a bad day, she picks me up and vice-versa. There are so many ups and downs as an entrepreneur, so it is REALLY important to have a support system in place!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Build (and use!) your network. You never know when a connection you've made could help open a door that leads to something big.
  2. Make sure you love what you are doing and believe in yourself. If you don't believe you can make great things happen, no one else will. And if you don't love what you are doing, you will burn out quickly!
  3. Find time for yourself in all of the chaos. For me, I schedule my daily exercise like a meeting, so it happens!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://brutusbroth.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brutusbroth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brutusbroth/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrutusBroth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-hehir-6753391/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.