Entrepreneur Andi Shifley had nearly completed the Entrepreneur Cohort class at North Central State College’s Urban Center before deciding to launch Andi’s For Paws Bakery, which features all-natural baked treats for dogs.
Shifley quoted instructor Heather Tsvaris as saying, “You’ll probably decide to change your business fifteen times before you graduate.”
“She wasn’t wrong,” said Shifley, who admitted to changing her business more than once during the course.
Shifley wrote her business plan on pet sitting, but that wasn’t what she ended up doing.
It was an offhand comment to the owner of Blackbird Bakery that encouraged her to pursue her business in gourmet dog treats. “It happened by accident,” Shifley said.
Now Shifley’s “Bone-Scotti,” an attractively packaged, pumpkin and carrot flavored, bone-shaped cookie is available at Relax, It’s Just Coffee, as well as Doc’s Deli.
“The specialty pet market has really boomed. It was the one thing in my research that survived the recession,” Shifley noted. “People are really willing to go that extra mile for their pets.”
“They are getting away from the ‘made in China’ treats, or the big bags that you don’t know what’s in that stuff,” she added.
“We are treating our own bodies better than that, why shouldn’t we do the same for our pets?” she asked.
No stranger to the business world, Shifley sold antiques at Carrousel Antiques for approximately eight years. “I decided my vision for that had changed, and it was time to move on,” she said.
After leaving the antique business, Shifley’s entrepreneurial adventure began in earnest. “It just happened that the class fell into my lap within a month,” noted Shifley. “It was a wonderful class. It was eight months of really hard work.”
“Everything up until now has seemed like a very surprising but very natural progression along the way,” she said. “Things just sort of rolled into place.”
Shifley noted that she comes from a long line of bakers, though she’s the first to bake dog treats. Her heritage, plus her sincere appreciation of animals, makes Andi’s For Paws Bakery a perfect business venture for Shifley.
“It fulfills every point for me: my love of animals, my love of baking, and it also allows me the creativity I crave,” she said.
Shifley not only creates and bakes the treats, but she also designed the packaging and created her own labels. “Bone-Scotti” is the first of her gourmet offering, but she plans to expand to other flavors, as well as treats for cats and even custom “adoption cakes” for dogs.
“I think my next products may have honey in them, just because honey is a natural preservative for things like this,” she added.
Shifley noted that a sole proprietorship is hard work, “But I have a good support system, and a good circle of supportive friends. That helps.”
Asked where she sees her business in five years, she replied that she would love to own a “brick and mortar bakery.” “I’m not ready for that now,” she said, though she noted that the Entrepreneur Cohort class helped her immensely.
“The beauty of taking that class was that it filled in a lot of the gaps for me,” said Shifley. From sales advice to financial management, she said all aspects of business ownership were covered. “It gave me more knowledge about current trends in business,” she added, “especially small business.”
Shifley hopes to eventually be successful enough to give back to the community by donating dog treats to shelters and rescue organizations.
Andi’s For Paws Bakery gladly accepts custom orders. The bakery can be reached at 419-961-8118 or at the Facebook page. “Bone-Scotti” may be purchased at Relax, It’s Just Coffee at 105 North Main Street, Mansfield, and at Doc’s Deli at 424 Glessner Avenue, Mansfield.
“The beauty of taking that class was that it filled in a lot of the gaps for me. It gave me more knowledge about current trends in business,” she added, “especially small business,” said Andi Shifley.
