Frozen Pup Treats Are No Barking Matter

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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Hello, hello, what's up? Welcome back. Hey, my name is Chris Guillebeau. I'm your host for Side Hustle School, bringing you a different story every day of someone creating an income generating project. Also known as a money-making project, also known as a freedom-making project.

Even if you love your job, even if you have no plans to leave your current situation, you need more than one source of income. That's what a side hustle is all about. And today, frozen yogurt dog treats are on the menu, the side hustle menu, that is. And this is not the simplest project to start, but hey, dogs need frozen yogurt, just like humans do, or at least that's what one Colorado couple thought, and this inspiration led them on a journey to what is now a full-time occupation for one of them, with annual sales exceeding $1 million. Of course, it all started with an initial idea to do something small and part-time.

Listeners, be careful what you woof for. The frozen yogurt dog treat story is coming right up. [Music]

You know how your dog likes to eat your ice cream? Okay, maybe you don't have a dog, but it seems common knowledge that dogs like to eat ice cream, especially if it comes from their owners. Well, thanks to Meg and Matt Meyer, you can now send him or her, your dog that is, or somebody's dog, to the freezer to get their own.

Meg and Matt's side hustle is a healthy and fun frozen yogurt treat for dogs called The Bear and the Rat. It's named for their own two dogs. One of them is Alasa Apso, who growls like a bear, and his brother from another mother is a rat terrier. Matt decided to make these beloved dogs their own treats when he got tired of the battle between giving into them when they wanted some of his ice cream and being the mean guy who wouldn't share because the sugar and milk weren't good for them. But wait, not so fast.

Would dogs and their owners actually like the frozen yogurt treats that he envisioned? To find out, the Meyers made a sample batch with their home blender and ice cream maker. They then tested this product for three weekends at an affluent farmer's market. Each week, they sold over $100 worth of $2 cups and decided their idea was viable. They got licensed with the agricultural department of the state, and they also consulted with holistic veterinarians to perfect their recipe.

Right from the start, they needed a facility to make their treats. How hard can that be? Well, it was about as hard as getting a dog eating frozen yogurt to stop wagging her tail. In other words, it was rough. Also tough.

It was rough and tough, let's say. They found a small ice cream maker to help them produce their product, but after a year, that company moved on to a larger co-packer. So Meg and Matt rented a commercial kitchen and tried doing it themselves. Also rough and tough. Eventually, the original ice cream maker opened back up and Meg and Matt returned to them, but then as their company grew, it became more and more difficult to keep up with demand and they had to move once more.

From there, they took a series of next steps over a series of years. During much of this time, Meg worked as a director of marketing for a cookie company and Matt went back and forth from being employed to working on the hustle full time. This process continued slow and steady until 2017 when they reached $1 million in sales for the first time. This year, 2018, they expect to double it. Just in case this sounds like it's been a walk in the dog park, well, it hasn't been.

Meg and Matt say the road has been, you guessed it, rough, with plenty of dropped leashes along the way. For a while, they had a failed product, a no-go on a private label deal, and at different times, plenty of unbelievers who thought they were just barking up the wrong tree. Without a doubt, the biggest headaches Meg and Matt have experienced have been caused by challenges in manufacturing. Before tearing off in search of a tennis ball or a commercial kitchen, in their case, neither of them had any experience in manufacturing. Plus, their product wasn't proven.

Frozen yogurt for dogs? In one of their biggest times of challenge, when they had two children and seriously considered giving up the business, they had plans to attend a trade show in Orlando. The headquarters for Publix, a southeastern chain of supermarkets, was just 20 minutes away. Matt called their ice cream buyer several times and finally managed to get him on the phone. The buyer agreed to a meeting, and two weeks after Meg and Matt presented, Publix asked them to produce a product they hadn't yet debuted.

This was a problem because, remember, they didn't have a packer or a large enough facility. So Matt called one of the co-packers he'd been talking to for years and explained the situation. At first, the packer couldn't believe that Publix would actually bring in an early-stage brand until he saw the email, but then he was on board. The couple transitioned to the new facility just before their new product went to Publix, which they considered a huge victory and turning point. 2018 is looking strong for the couple and their brand, the Bear and the Rat, which means it's also gonna be a good year for dogs to eat frozen treats from their own bowls.

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Side Hustle School friends, listeners, community, don't go barking up the wrong tree. You need support. You need knowledge. You need encouragement. That's what Side Hustle School is all about.

Listen, from time to time, I get emails from people who say they love the show, but they just don't love all the puns. And I'm like, I totally understand. This one guy, he kept hounding me over and over, and I was like, man, just don't bite the hand it feeds you. Don't go over to the bark side. Can I do something to help?

Should I fetch something for you? But then he never wrote back, so I'm sure he's a big fan. Before I wrap up for the day, let me remind you, inspiration is good, but inspiration combined with action is better. You should feel encouraged and supported by listening every day. It's less than 10 minutes long, and my goal is that in each episode, you're gonna learn something.

If you'd like to see the show notes for today's episode, and learn more about frozen yogurt for dogs, just come to sidehustleschool.com/384. I will be back again tomorrow and every day. Until then, don't stop retrieving. This is Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School.