What am I going to give in return, aside from the love for your dog and the caring. Walk in the streets of Brooklyn or any urban area you know you have to really be a detective. It's not just looking ahead and watching out for dogs, you gotta watch the sidewalks, the glass. Storefronts have good hearts and they leave out waterfalls in the summer. I will not let any of my dogs drink out of that. [01:00] Suzanne: Welcome to the Brooklyn made show I am Suzanne Lin. Today we're gonna be talking to a guy that well he just kind of rocks. His name is rock, Rocky Conway and he is a dog walker. [02:02] He's the owner for New York Dogs Rock in the Dumbo area. If you think it's just about walking dogs and it's an easy task and there's not a lot of skill to it, you are gonna want to stick around. Because Rocky has got a fascinating story about how he got into it. You're gonna hear his heart and his love of dogs, so let's just jump right into the show. Rock let's start off by talking about your love and passion for what you do and and how you got started? Rock: Absolutely, it started really with my mom getting me to be not so frightened around our superintendent's dog. His name was Russ, he was a cutie. So, she had me threatening to go over and had him and whatnot. But I basically would hide behind her. Suzanne: Yeah. Rock: Oddly enough a few years later, I ended up becoming his dog walker though there's no such thing as a dog walker in those days you know. [03:00] For 25 cents a trip which was a lot of money in 1966. From there, I know what I don't think I would have really remembered the story so clearly if I had not become the dog walker you know so many years later. Suzanne:Was your mom, she wanted to make sure you weren't afraid and she also had a love for animals clearly? Rock: She had a love for animals. Yes, we had a lot of alley cats in those days and because there was Mrs. Conway, but chucking the cooked food to the kitties. You know the trick and hearts and stuff like that. It all comes to the window and just understanding the rapport between people and animals. She was a very strong person but more so she, in this case, she was being supported with me as a child, which she did to my three older siblings. She was fantastic in that way. Suzanne: What a great inspiration, I mean we're recording this right the day before Mother's Day. You're kind of making me tear up, thinking about the love you have for your mom and what a huge influence here you know decades later. [04:00] Tell me about your business? Rock: The business is, it's a modest-sized dog-walking company and we're out sounding all corporate America. I am trying to expand so this way ironically I'll have more free time and I'll be able to run it better you know. As I say run it better it's being run to the max and my clients who actually are customers, they're not better words are so formal. I just won't be so consumed because what goes into it is promotions as well as the physical and psychological manifestation. They're taking care of the dogs you know they're like pills and I look at them for my being a 6-month-old baby to maybe a 10-year-old. You know you have to understand a lot of nurture and goes into this. Without sounding when I say psychology that it comes out of a textbook. I mean really understanding and that comes through love and being sincere. They all have their own personalities. Suzanne: Wow, I love the fact that you understand each dog is so different. [05:01] I mean you have a special relationship with each one. Rock: Yes, but as we know again it is a business that if you lose sight of that you'll find yourself out of business. This is why I buy offer packages; you know introductory, reduced fees for like when they first start walking with us for two to four weeks. If they use, they need multiple walks a day then they get at least a 5 percent discount, which just means that 20th walk is free. Suzanne: Okay. Rock: Everyone likes a bargain and my client make a lot of money. But you give something back and it's not just a sales pitch, be sincere what are people looking for you know and what they eating. We all have to pay our bills and I don't walk into their very lavish apartments and homes and think; well these people can afford anything. Everyone gets charged the same price for whatever they need. See some dogs need extra care so you have to boost up the price. We still understand. [06:02] Suzanne: Now you were talking about like some packages and discounts and stuff. Tell me what else, since we're talking about your business, what other services do you offer? Rock: I also do dog boarding and for those who don't know what that is understandably so. That means I have them stay at my home, if I do dog sitting then I stay with them. Sometimes you strike more for that because you are though kind of I don't want to use the word inconvenienced. But you're displaced you know and you have to, I mean I've stayed at someone's house well for two weeks. So, it's not just -. Suzanne: Oh wow. Rock: So, I got to live forever in middle-class. Suzanne: It's not always real convenient though. I mean so you are charging a premium for that. Rock: I do if you do use me on a regular basis. Which is usually Monday through Friday standard is like a half-hour walk, five days a week. If you're using me but almost every week how can I not give you a discount for dog boarding and dog sitting. [07:04] So, that's the kind of not just to get them to use my full-time, if they don't need it they don't need it. But again, it's always about giving something back. You know what I mean it's that conversation like we're having now. So, you hire me I appreciate it well sometimes I can't always take on a client that we can discuss later. But then what am I going to give in return aside from the love for your dog and the caring. Walk in the streets of Brooklyn or any urban area you know you have to really be a detective. It's not just looking at watching out for dogs, so watch the sidewalks the glass. This storefront has good hearts and they leave out dog water bowls in the summer. I don't mean to paint New York as a bad town but I will not let any of my dogs string out of that. Because who knows, evil person, evil country, might drop something in the water. Suzanne: Wow, I never thought about that. Rock: Well, I grew up born and bred I'm a Brooklyn, I don't know how heavy my accent sounds but it's. [08:05] Suzanne: So, I mean just some of the things you're talking about showing me that you have a very unique business model. What are some other things that maybe you haven't touched on that makes you sound unique? Rock: I would say, well, first of all, I don't even like using the word client even though technically they are. They are customers and what they do is that buying time for me you know. The time that they need for their dog, walks can be 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes an hour. They can be a group walk or can be a solo walk. If it's a solo walk that means the dog is either very timid or just very aggressive. You said why would you walk with are aggressive? Well, they have a right to enjoy life too. Suzanne: Sure. How do you get business, I mean are you relying on social media or how does this work as word-of-mouth, what you do? Rock: Yeah, that's a good question. Dog walking as a whole, when it was at its early stages social media didn't exist with this. [09:03] It maybe existed for other businesses but this wasn't a big corporate business at that point saying. So, what we do is just flyers, word-of-mouth mostly. Which ironically even though I am really delving into social media recently. All my work in the past couple of years has come from what about. Restaurant owners, clients recommending me people that what it depends on what area you work in. So, tumble now is very much like Manhattan in New York City. So, they're mostly skyscraper big buildings with a concierge, I meet different people look at the front desk. So, they've often got me work and not for free if you know what I mean. You network with all the dog walkers, so maybe you'll trade-offs. He or she will say, I can't walk that dog can you walk it. I'll either give them cash upfront or I'll maybe see it, I have a dog in my area that, I want to walk the dog but I'm just too busy at that time. [10:04] There’re many variables yet have to keep yourself open. But the social media is a blessing to be honest because then you can sit at your phone or laptop and get the word out there. But now we're getting back to corporate America. Because it depends how big your budget is you know. Like when social media again when that was in its early stages, “oh look he's got an Instagram, she has a Facebook account, oh this company is on Twitter”. Now everybody is, even your carpenter any independent contractors you know. If the more you spend the more recognition you get. I have to be realistic because I'm a small company what my budget is. I put a very little down for Instagram and I got many more hits. If those hits turn into money so, therefore, I have more money to put into advertising. Suzanne: Sure. [11:00] Rock: Exactly, sauce the pillow up it's just to go in a positive direction you know. Suzanne: Rock, how did you get into dog walking? Rock: A mutual friend introduced me to a man by the name of Scott, who is a really good jazz musician. I'm a rock musician which the woman didn't know. But that's fine she meant well sweetheart of a woman. We did talk and it so happened that he was a dog walker and was going on vacation. I filled in for him and I briefly worked for the woman, he worked for then I thought I can do this for myself, I'm a Conway. I don't mean that arrogance it's going back to my mom giving us that strength that, you believe in yourself it will happen you know. I went and it's actually too long of a story, but I met a woman who hired the woman I was working for to walk her dogs. Her name was Nicole.