Olde Towne Pet Resort's Leah Fried Sedwick and Steve Jones ...

Olde Towne Pet Resort's Leah Fried Sedwick and SteveJones Interviewed on MSNBC's Your Business ShowNorthern Virginia Pet Resort Senior Executives Discuss the Success of their PetBoarding Operations and the Opening of Second Location in Loudoun CountyApril 10, 2012 Leah Fried Sedwick, President of Olde Towne Pet Resort (OTPR) and Steve Jones,President of Fried Companies, were both recently interviewed by MSNBC's premier show, YourBusiness. The show, dedicated to issues affecting small business owners, aired the OTPRsegment on Sunday, March 4, 2012.As members of OTPR senior executive team, Mrs. Sedwick and Mr. Jones were selected tospeak about a variety of topics pertaining to their Northern Virginia pet boarding operations.The duo shared details regarding the points of inspiration behind their business concept almost10 years ago and how they used extensive market research to determine the next location fortheir second pet boarding resort."My father shared his love of dogs with me," says Sedwick, a longtime, passionate advocate fordogs, cats and quality pet care. "At the time, I didn't have children and I wasn't married and mydog always needed babysitting. I remember my dad saying there just wasn't a good enoughplace for my dog and there had to be other people who felt the same way about their dogs aswe did ours." This was the driving spark behind what would ultimately become the first premierpet boarding business in Northern Virginia spanning 30,000 square feet on land the Fried familyalready owned.Regarding the market research the executive team performed in an effort to find a viablelocation for their second pet boarding establishment, Jones shared the vital importance ofdoing your homework. "We research market conditions quite extensively before making anypotential growth decision," says Jones who referenced their resort's potential expansion intothe Charlottesville, Virginia area as an example. "After we researched the Charlottesville marketin great depth, we determined the area did not have the population density needed to sustainour business."Given the strong business owner demographic of this MSNBC show and televised segment,Sedwick shared some practical, sound advice relevant to other entrepreneurs. For those whoseek to fill a niche market or give life to a business concept that's new and uncharteredterritory, Sedwick's late father's words may resonate: "My dad used to say pioneers get mud intheir face and arrows in their back. Ask yourself if you really want to be a pioneer in a newindustry."Business owners who identify with these words of truth and can respond with a resounding yeswill also benefit from this additional advice: "If you're an entrepreneur and you are in control of

your own business and you are doing it slowly and successfully, I think that's a lesson welearned," shares Sedwick. "I was anxious for a while that we weren't opening five (pet resorts)in a year and we might; or we might only open one (new pet resort) every five years." In theend, Sedwick admits, the best way to grow is slowly but surely.About Olde Towne Pet ResortFor almost 10 years, the Olde Towne Pet Resort (OTPR) has provided quality boarding and spa servicesfor dogs and cats in Northern Virginia. With locations in both Springfield and Dulles, Virginia, OTPR isknown to spare no detail to ensure the utmost of comfort, safety and joy for its customers' pets. Formore information about boarding or day camp services, please visithttp://www.oldetownepetresort.com.About MSNBC Your BusinessJJ Ramberg is the host of MSNBC’s Your Business, the only television show dedicated to issues affectingsmall business owners. Now in its fourth season, the program has profiled hundreds of small businessowners and offered advice from countless business experts and investors. Ramberg is a regularcontributor to The TODAY Show about small business and financial issues. To learn more about theshow, which regularly airs on Sundays at 7:30am and Saturdays at 5:30am EST, please visit them onlineat http://openforum.com/yourbusiness or their Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/pages/MSNBC-Your-Business/62499551911.