Name: Tonya Christiansen 
Employer: Must Love Dogs Boutique & Spa
Job Title: Boutique Owner
Years with current position: 5 years
Educational Background: High School Graduate
Job Description: Tonya’s duties include everything from sweeping the floor to marketing to accounting to sales and beyond. A typical day would start with her cleaning the store to make sure it is ready for business, stocking shelves, etc. When open she helps customers find the best product to meet their needs. This entails everything from the right winter coat to the best food that would meet their dog’s nutritional needs. She might do some accounting, payroll and plan a marketing event or two during the day. Tonya states, “If I’m lucky, I’ll get to make a difference in a dog’s life via holistic solutions, nutrition, behavior and training.”
Favorite Component of Her Job: Tonya admits, “My favorite part of my job is making a difference in the lives of dogs. I love having solutions for people to help their dogs live happier, healthier and longer lives. It is my purpose. Dogs bring so much to us and ask for so little in return. As their guardians, it is our responsibility and hopefully, our pleasure to give them the best life we are capable of providing. I love being a part of that.”
Least Favorite Component of Her Job: Tonya states, “I really dislike accounting and the behind the scenes paperwork. Although owning your own business is rewarding, I also dislike the insecurity of my financial future. It takes a long time to build a business into stability and it has been very stressful. You need to be prepared to make sacrifices but it seems the harder you work for something, the better it is. At least I’m hoping that’s true.”
A Special Experience or Story about His Job: “My favorite experiences are when I know I’ve made a positive difference in someone’s life. I’ve had a customer whose dog had cancer and we worked together to help keep him comfortable as long as she could. I have a customer who had a difficult dog (in regards to training) and when others told her to give up or gave up on her, we kept working toward our goal and now her dog is an ideal canine citizen and she thanks me for it every time she comes into the boutique. She is brought close to tears every time she talks about it. I work to get people started off on the right foot with new puppies. They are often lost and don’t know what to do and I can help them avoid issues they may have otherwise been burdened with.”
Tonya Christiansen’s Recommendations to Those Interested in a Career Similar to Her Own: “Feed your passion with learning as much as you can - business management, marketing, accounting, animal nutrition, behavior and training. I want to be the go-to person whenever someone has a need or question regarding their dog. I try to make myself the Dog Expert. Get involved with dog clubs. Financially, if you need a loan, you’ll have a better chance if you can work in the field in which you want the business loan. Most importantly, don’t listen to people who say you can’t do it. There are always people that will tell you that you can’t but YOU CAN. The biggest part of success is passion. The rest can be taught ….but you can’t teach passion.”
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