My Winding Path to Being an Accidental Entrepreneur

A reflection on the past 46ish years (shh we don’t use that number around these parts…)

Composed in my head, while lying in bed at 3am the other night, and typed out at 4am in the hopes of getting a bit more sleep later. Written entirely by me, with no help from any AI tools, but yes, some significant help from spell check…

Everyone’s path to get to where they are in a particular moment is winding (ok AI helped me here as I wanted to use “windy” but as my husband would say, that’s not a real word – who knew…) road, and everyone’s path is unique – and mine is no different.

When people ask what I do, I reply “I make pet treats”. Those 4 simple words to me have tremendous meaning, but to those that hear them for the first time, or even the 5^th time, they most often underestimate their importance, and the winding, and often windy, path that brought me here.

I interpret the question of “What do you do?” as a polite ice breaker question, so I provide a simple answer – “I make pet treats”. This inevitably leads to a curious look on their face, often a bit of a head tilt, and either a comment or a gesture which indicates they would like to understand just a bit more. So, I explain that I make pet treats using novel proteins, those that pets don’t typically have allergies to as they are not found in most pet foods, like bison, kangaroo, seal, rabbit, duck, etc. For those that are actually paying attention they key in on the 3^rd type of protein, those that are not actively listen will most often miss it, as I purposely put it in the middle of the list. Why? For fun of course, and to see who is actually listening. From there the conversation continues, or it doesn’t.

But it is only in the past year and a half that I’ve been able to actually come up with a succinct answer to the question “What do you do”. For one, I am not a succinct person (obviously…), but also because what I did for the previous 18 years (again shh we don’t use that number out loud) was a bit more complicated to explain.

I used to answer, “Hmm well I work for a preclinical imaging equipment manufacturer…” and would go on from there. Even my husband would struggle to answer the question when asked what I do for a living. Part of this comes from the “preclinical” word, and for those not in this space it is rarely if ever heard. “Imaging equipment” ok most people have some idea, but it can mean different things to different people, even within the preclinical space. So how is one to know.

So, I worked with companies that developed equipment that research scientists would use to study various human diseases, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer, fetal development, immune system responses, etc. Generally, in the hopes of understanding those diseases, or developmental processes better, but also (and perhaps more important to me) to help develop new therapies to help those afflicted with them. This work is not done on humans (in the clinic, of course) but is done at the preclinical (before the clinic) using mice, rats, and other small animal models. To the best of their abilities, scientists work to create these diseases in these animals that mimic what happens in humans. As you can imagine this is challenging, as humans are not mice, and mice are not humans… What we learn from these preclinical models does not always translate into what is seen in humans – as is often said “From Mouse to Man”. The companies I worked with had most often focused on taking the imaging modalities, like ultrasound, MRI, PET, CT, etc. that had been developed for imaging humans, in an attempt to figure out what was going on inside of their bodies, without having to cut them open to look, and making them work in the preclinical setting – so from “Man to Mouse”.

My role at these preclinical imaging companies varied and progressed over time, of course, but all of them were very small when I started. This provided me with the opportunity, as I saw it, to learn a lot while wearing different hats within the companies from day to day. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by those that I call mentors, rather than bosses or managers, that were open to sharing as much knowledge about business as one was interested in learning. Without actively seeking this knowledge, as I often had many other things to learn over the years, it still sunk in, either by osmosis or some other phenomenon, and I will be forever grateful for that. My roles were primarily focused around working with researchers to understand what they were hoping to achieve, how they were currently doing it, what challenges they faced, and then looking within our “tool box” to see what solutions we had to help solve, or at least improve, their situation. I would also help support them in learning how to use the imaging equipment once they chose to move forward. Later on in those 18 years I was also more directly involved in the sales process as well. Through it all though, I still wore many hats, and this brought me into the marketing side of things quite often, which helped develop my knowledge in this area of business as well.

Taking a step back even further in life, some of my first “memories” (I hesitate to call them this, as they are not visual, but more feelings or sentiments, if you like) of my parents, outside of caring and providing for me, are of their work ethic. Both my mom and dad had worked for themselves, for the most part. My mom was a medical transcriptionist, but most of the time did contract work for various doctors around the city, typing at home, rather than working full-time at a specific hospital (which she also did for some time). My dad was a real estate appraiser and worked for himself from home as well. I would, as a kid, help him measure up houses, helping to hold the tape measure as he walked to the other side of the building or room. Regardless of what they were doing, both of them worked very hard at what they did, and they encouraged my brother and I to as well.

Ironically, I had never dreamt of starting my own business, it just wasn’t something that interested me. While I know so many other entrepreneurs are driven their whole lives to this. I would say I’m a bit of an accidental entrepreneur, and frankly cannot spell that word even when I try…

But here I am, ironically an entrepreneur, and I’d say doing an ok job out of it. Even the path to starting my business was winding (again, I’d prefer windy, but that apparently doesn’t mean what I think it does, according to Google). I was approaching burnout, and to be honest likely well into full burnout, at my last position where I had started as employee number 1, and we had grown to a team of around 20 or so. This position was actually my longest of the 18 years, spending the previous 8 years with this company – I learned a tonne, had 2 babies, and loved what I did for most of it. This was the case with all of my positions – I loved what I did. I just happened to travel A LOT, and when my daughter (4 at the time) realized that when mommy travelled she was usually going to bed when I was waking up (i.e. I was on the other side of the world) I thought – this is not something a 4 year old needs to understand so fully right now. I was also asked for identification when I picked the kids up from school one day, having gotten home early from a trip, as the teachers had not yet met me, and they were simply doing their jobs. I appreciated their concern for the kids’ safety, but what a gut punch!

So, I knew I had to make a change, but how? And to what?

Well, as my husband explains it, he woke up one morning to a stream of text messages that were flying back and forth, in a group chat, between myself, our friend, and my husband. He was a little late to the party, but the sentiment of it was that our friend had some space at the back of his pet shop that he wasn’t using. This would be perfect for me to use to make pet treats – specifically to dehydrate all sorts of things, as I knew my husband would not let me do this in our home. As my husband read through the flurry of texts, which were still going back and forth, he explains that he knew he had missed the opportunity to apply the breaks to this thought stream, and he might as well jump on board (as hesitantly as he did).

This was, in my head at the time, a 3-year exit plan for me. We’d build out the kitchen over time, start making some treats, go to some vendor markets, but that I would still work at my job to help support our family. Well, when I come up with an idea, the ball often gains momentum VERY quickly, and suddenly 3 years had turned into 3 months notice at my previous company, which ultimately ended 2 weeks after I’d tendered my resignation. Yup, from 3 years to 2 weeks… I had walked away from everything that I knew, to dive headfirst into something I had done no market research on, and had no place to do it YET – oh that magical yet, as my kids would say.

My mom has asked many times – where did I come up with the idea to make pet treats? I have no idea. I was too stressed out at the time I came up with it to even remember. But I’m incredibly happy I did.

So, from there B&T Pets was truly off to the races. Once you burn the bridges to your past, there is no option but to move forward, and in my case figure it out as I went. Now by “burning the bridges” I simply mean leaving myself no options to look back. I still grab lunch with my old colleagues, and pop in to visit, and I am welcomed, but going back to that world was for me, not an option.

I now realize it is almost exactly 18 months to the day that I handed in my keys and laptop and walked away from all I knew. Only to waltz into a pet industry trade show the very next day – looking to soak up all that I could, and gain inspiration for what came next.

B&T Pets, where the B and T stand for Baron and Tessa, my two previous dogs, has grown quickly. Much faster than I had expected. However, I think few who know me well are surprised. I believe we are on the precipice of something fantastic, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Over the past 18 months I have heard repeatedly that those who have been in the industry have never seen some of the products I have made, and apparently that’s saying something. While I just think it is natural – I couldn’t have walked away from an 18-year career that I loved, to do something “normal”. Some of the choices I’ve made, which again seem entirely natural to me, others have stated are so different, but they make total sense – think seal oil in a pouch rather than a pump bottle. A pouch seemed so natural to me, yet I don’t know why, as every other oil (fish, seal, or otherwise) on the market is in a bottle. Well, as they say, it will certainly stand out on a shelf next to the others – but of course, I say.

When discussing my day-to-day activities with my previous colleagues, they often exclaim that what I’m doing is SOOOOOOOOO different from before. I simply reply, well not really… I primarily focus on working with pet parents to understand what they are hoping to achieve, how they are currently doing it, what challenges they are facing, and then looking within our “tool box” to see what solutions we have to help solve, or at least improve, their situation. If that sounds familiar – it should. It is an almost direct copy and paste of my description of what I did in my previous career. It is simply the “tool box” that has changed. Skills, knowledge, and understanding are all transferable, you just have to allow yourself to believe that.

I have been asked by some over the past 18 months what I would do differently or if I have any advice for others. First things first, I would do NOTHING differently, in my entire life, as every experience, decision, and thought, is what has brought me down this winding (yet again I want to use windy) path to where I am today. No regrets. My advice though, don’t do what I did. Don’t walk away from a job that adequately supports you and your family, with nothing, and no means to support yourself for an unknown amount of time, until revenue is enough to actually pay yourself. Think it through, have a plan, and ensure you have the means and support around you to carry out that plan.

Luckily one of my other memories/feelings that I have of my parents is that they were always there to support me, and in this situation, it was no different. It is only with the support of everyone around me that I have been able to travel down this path, winding or not, to where I am. I have no doubt that I will continue to need support in all kinds of ways, but to see where I am today vs. 18 months ago, I am truly amazed.

But, the most important advice I have for all, no matter their situation, is to believe in yourself, your abilities, and your gut. One of my favorite phrases is attributed to Henry Ford – Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right (and yes I used Goggle to help me get that one right).

But alas, you may be asking yourself, why did I wake up at 3am to think about this? My business card. I handed it the other day to someone, as I often do, and this person looked at it a little longer than some (although this happens from time to time). I gave my typical answer of, I’m Tonya, and Chris is my husband – you see I didn’t change my last name when we got married, so for some it is confusing. So this is what got me thinking – in my “previous life” as I call it, I had made quite a name for myself, and at the time we got married it did not make sense for me to change my last name; but more than that, I didn’t want to change my name – it was what it was my whole life, and it was a part of my identity. So, this lead to a reflection on my reinvention of myself over the past 1.5 years as I made the conscious choice to pivot, where my one uncertainty or unknown was - will I be able to make such an impact on another industry space in this world, or will I simply blend in. That is yet to be determined, but I choose to believe that in this short time I am already starting to make an impact – this is not about ego, it is about having a purpose to do what I do, because it helps others and effects change.

With that I will end – back to sleep – I hope…