In this ongoing series, we share advice, suggestions, and insights from real entrepreneurs who fight the battles of business every day. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Please give us a transient description of your organization’s activities.
My name is Sue Delegan, I’m the co-founder and CEO Brutus’s Bone Brotha woman-owned and operated family business dedicated to pet nutrition and giving back to the community. My sister, Kim Hehir, and I were inspired to share our family’s bone broth recipe that prolonged the lifetime of my senior shelter dog, Brutus. We desired to make nutritious, dog-friendly bone broth accessible to all pet owners.
What inspired you to start out this company?
Our business began with our beloved Brutus, who we adopted when he was a 6-month-old puppy. When I saw him, he slowly began wagging his tail, holding his head down. That stopped me in my tracks. I walked as much as him and petted him. He had no fur on his face or chest (he had mange) and was larger than the other dogs—about 6 months old and 40 kilos. I knew we needed to take him home because no one else would. Despite his very rough start, we nursed him back to health using our family bone broth recipe. Brutus lived a long and healthy life until he was almost 14 years old, which is well beyond the typical lifespan of a dog his size. We decided to share our family recipe with other pet owners who, like us, were desperate to find a technique to help their dogs live longer, happier lives. After receiving compliments and countless stories of improved dog well-being, we decided to make our delicious and nutritious recipe available to all pet owners and in 2017 we founded the company.
Tell us about one terrifying moment in your entrepreneurial journey.
When we began, I oversaw 200,000 packages from Sweden—the gold standard for sterilized packaging—to New York. Then we discovered that our packages were missing a word. It said “with glucosamine” (a cartilage-building complement for healthy joints), but New York state regulations required it to say “with in addition glucosamine.” We were faced with the loss of $125,000 worth of materials and products. But then our sacred @#$! moment became a moment of epiphany. We came up with a solution to the sticky problem: stickers. We printed stickers that covered the words “with glucosamine” from the Project K-9 Hero logo promoting our philanthropic partnership. Although our launch was delayed by a month, we ultimately saved an incredible period of time and money if we had just scrapped it and began over.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs in search of financing?
The most vital piece of recommendation I can provide is to guage your whole financing options. So many entrepreneurs think they need to boost equity, but there are so many other types of capital. We got an SBA loan, a line of credit from our bank, and a grant. That allowed us to preserve our equity and proceed to grow. So many other founders surrender their businesses and find yourself with bad terms because they didn’t know they’d options.
What does the word “entrepreneur” mean to you?
To me, “entrepreneur” is synonymous with “collaborator.” Starting a business is not a solo endeavor and truly takes a village. While I had the privilege of working with my sister and our dad earlier in the process, I learned when to ask for support and how one can tap into a larger network. Especially as female founders, it’s so vital to hearken to others about what made them successful and to share our knowledge with the next wave of entrepreneurs. Developing a team you think in goes beyond the hiring process and requires an incredible amount of trust and vulnerability. The company you’re employed for impacts your actual company, and that dynamic ultimately results in productivity and profitability.
What do many aspiring business owners think they need but actually don’t?
While the opinions of others can offer helpful perspectives, all it’s essential to do is trust your gut. We have received a lot of recommendation about selling exclusively to boutique pet stores because it might be “crazy” to try to start out a national brand. However, we desired to help as many pet owners as possible. Advice can often be very helpful, but sometimes you have to take it with a grain of salt. I might encourage latest business owners to follow their principles when making vital decisions that impact their business and their goal consumers.
Is there a specific quote or saying that you simply use as personal motivation? Explain the way it inspires you.
Our dad used to say, “If it were easy, everyone would do it.” It sounds cheesy, but it’s 100% true. While entrepreneurship isn’t all the time easy, you have to have complete faith in your product and be passionate about it. When you have doubts, that keenness will provide help to overcome them.