Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in pet care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jeremy Adjovi-Boco, co-founder of Jope, located in New York City, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Jope is a pet supplement company bringing veterinary-grade and scientifically-proven ingredients to pets and their parents in yummy and organic chews.
Tell us about yourself
Christine and I are two passionate veterinarians who worked for 15 years in the veterinary space as practicing veterinarians and for pharmaceutical companies. Our personal and professional experience made us realize that veterinarian-developed supplements with clinically proven ingredients were not accessible on the direct-to-consumer market. So, we decided to create Jope, which stands for Joy of Pets.
Jope's mission is to make veterinary wellness easy for pet parents to live long, happy, and healthy lives with their fur babies. Jope provides veterinarian-developed supplements and free veterinary advice on social media. There are still so many things to do to help pet parents better take care of their dogs, and we want to be a part of the solutions.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We launched our first product, Jope Hip, and Joint Dog Chews, in December 2022 and already have hundreds of satisfied dogs and dogs' parents. We have already listed in a dozen of veterinary clinics in New York State and counting. We are thrilled when we get feedback from veterinarians using our supplements on their own stiff and achy dogs, saying how amazed they are by the efficacy and the impact of our supplement on their dog's comfort. Vets don't give positive feedback easily. It's satisfying when it happens.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
When you are a business owner, challenges are numerous. I would say you must accept that for one success, you need to fail nine times before. So you need to learn to be resilient. You need to learn how to fail and how to fail fast. And cash. Cash is key. Cash is hard, and cash can give you nightmares.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Give your best but do not feel guilty about resting (it's really hard to take free time, but you need to.)
- Do not hesitate to try new things and take every opportunity.
- Do not overthink things. Test your business in front of real clients as fast as you can. This is the only truth.
- Do not overestimate influencers' power.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://petjope.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petjope
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petjope/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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