“I needed to make a change.”

After years of feeling like he was putting his job as a police officer before his family, Andrew Lee just wanted to find a way to make a living and still have time to play cops and robbers with his sons. With a dream and a webpage, Andrew found his niche.

Andrew’s small business started when he decided to board dogs at his Diamond Bar home. From there the seeds for Diamond Bar Dogs and Estate Management were planted.  Andrew’s daily tasks have now gone past boarding and walking dogs. Diamond Bar Dogs not only provides professional animal services such as feeding but they get into the nitty gritty of dog care such as administering tomato baths for dogs who have been attacked by skunks. Although the business had started out offering pet services they have now expanded to landscaping, dry cleaning services, and provides private transportation.

For almost five years, Diamond Bar Dogs has had a profitable income stream but after 14-months of no new clients, Andrew decided to move in a new direction and entrust his company to the students of California State University, Fullerton’s Consulting program. Andrew worked with six CSUF students who spent time evaluating his company, working alongside him, and presenting Andrew with their recommendations for Diamond Bar Dogs. Andrew complimented the group, which included Danny Corona, Steven Allen, Jonny May, Khoi Pham, Reuben Ponce De Leon, and Ally Sanchez.  “They were willing to sacrifice and maybe even go beyond what they needed to. So, that was beyond my expectations,” Andrew said of his experience with the team.

After their initial meeting with Andrew to get a better understanding of his goals, the consulting team went to work. After hundreds of hours spent evaluating the business, taking time to get an up close and personal look at operations, such as helping getting the dogs ready for walks, they put their heads together and came up with an in-depth list of ideas to take Diamond Bar Dogs and expand its customer base. The most significant piece of advice that Andrew took from the group was the need for marketing his business. At the end of the presentation Andrew asked the group what they thought was the one thing he needed to concentrate on in order to improve his business. Their resounding answer: Marketing.

“It is something I think I’ve ignored…. My own idea of marketing is a company vehicle with signage on it,” Andrew said.

After this was brought to his attention, Andrew’s next question was how they thought he could improve in this area. From here they discussed using mailings and online marketing to garner new clientele. They even discussed getting a second vehicle, an idea with which Andrew had toiled with on his own.  The team then presented him with a comprehensive strategic plan they developed for how he could implement their recommendations for a new marketing plan. They even went as far as providing Andrew with quotes for marketing services that would fit his needs and purchasing a domain name.

At the end of his time with the CSUF consulting team, Andrew had an outsider’s look at what he could implement in his business to help it become even better than it is. Andrew went on to compliment the level of commitment he received from the CSUF Consulting group he worked with and talked about how he appreciated the work that was completed.

“They took it as far, as if they were a partner with my group. That was great,” said Andrew.

Andrew promised himself and his group that he would commit to 2-3 of their proposals and apply it to his future business plan. He went on to say that he would recommend local small businesses, such as restaurants, to become a client of the CSUF Consulting program. He also believes that businesses that may not have the resources, such as time or expertise to grow their business, should consider becoming new clients.

Do you have a business that you think can benefit from our consulting program? We at the Center for Entrepreneurship are always looking for new clients. For information on how a CSUF Consulting team can craft a custom consulting report for your company, please contact our Client Project Specialist, Ms. Charlesetta Medina, at cymedina@fullerton.edu or (657) 278-8243.