It’s important that your business stands out in its market, and Timberdog’s done just that thanks to its unique product – the RuffRest, a multifunctional pet bed ideal for travel and adventure.
Timberdog has done a great job of standing out on the market with its RuffRest multifunctional pet bed, ideal for travel or adventure.
We spoke with Timberdog owner, Leena Chitnis, about starting a business from scratch, developing a new product, and why she’s looking to move website builders.
Leena Chitnis is the owner of Timberdog. We talked to her about how she started a business, developed a new product, and why she wants to move away from website builders.
“Being an entrepreneur means strapping in for a marathon, not a sprint.”
“Being a business owner means preparing for a marathon and not a sprint.”
Timberdog’s website is full of high-quality product images to show off the RuffRest.
Timberdog’s site is filled with high-quality images of the RuffRest.
Behind the Business
“I started Timberdog in 2017 after adopting my rescue puppy, Kashi.”
I started Timberdog after adopting my rescue dog, Kashi. She had terrible trauma, including separation anxiety, and I knew it would take a long time to train her.
She was suffering from separation anxiety and a lot of trauma. I knew that it would be a long process to train her. In the meantime, I wanted her close to me everywhere we went, and so I invented the multifunctional pet bed – RuffRest® – that could travel with us, whether we were camping, staying in a hotel, going to the office, road-tripping, or flying to a destination.
I wanted to keep her close to me wherever we went. So I created the RuffRest® multifunctional pet bed that we could take with us on a road trip, camping trip, hotel stay, office visit, or flight.
The best part of my day is when someone tells me that they love their RuffRest and can’t live without it, and don’t know what they did before it came into their lives!
The best part of my workday is when someone tells you that they love your RuffRest, can’t live with it, and don’t remember what they did before!
I feel the same way – I never leave home without it.”
I feel the exact same way. I never leave my house without it.”
A Green Commitment
“The environment is the most important thing to me in my business.”
The environment is my number one priority in my business.
What would be the use of an outdoor pet bed if we had no destinations to travel to or camp in, due to forest fires and polluted water and airways?
What would the purpose of an outdoor pet bed be if we could not travel or camp because of forest fires, polluted air, and waterways?
My dog’s love of nature and wanting to be in it as much as possible drove me to craft the perfect outdoor adventure pet bed.
I was inspired by my dog’s love for nature and desire to be as close to it as possible. I also love nature and need to be able to escape to it.
I also love nature and need to be in it. So, preserving the great outdoors has been of the utmost importance to me.
Preserving the great outdoors is of utmost concern to me.
That’s why Timberdog has partnered with One Tree Planted to plant two trees for every RuffRest sold.
Timberdog has partnered up with One Tree Planted, to plant two trees per RuffRest sold.
This will help us with our ambitious plan to be carbon negative by 2027.
This will help us achieve our ambitious goal of being carbon-neutral by 2027.
It’s extremely pricey to be sustainable, but I didn’t want to be one of those companies who does it later on just for optics.
I knew it would be expensive to be environmentally friendly, but I did not want to be a company that only became green later.
Even though it hurts my bottom line, it was imperative for Timberdog to be a green company from its very inception.
It hurt my bottom line, but it was important for Timberdog to start as a green business.
Brand and brand equity is everything to a company, and I want everyone to know that Timberdog doesn’t just do things to “look good”.
Brand equity and brand recognition are important to any company. I want people to know that Timberdog does not just do things “to look good”.
We do things because we want to be good.”
We do things to be good.”
The Daily Grind
“The average day has me going through emails for about 3-4 hours per day, and then working on organic SEO through things like internal linking, blogging, and guest blogging – as well as responding to journalist queries in order to get additional exposure.”
I spend about 3-4 hours a day going through emails, then I work on organic SEO by doing things like blogging, internal linking, and guest blogging. I also respond to journalist queries to gain additional exposure.”
I also spend quite a bit of time connecting with influencers and signing them up to showcase RuffRest via their user-generated content.”
I also spend a lot of time connecting with bloggers and influencers to get them to promote RuffRest through their user-generated content.
Building Connections & Influence
“I offer a direct line to me to anyone who seems like they need one – usually it’s folks who are hesitant to buy and tell me they need to be convinced, or people who wish I had a brick-and-mortar presence as they don’t trust buying things off the internet because they can’t touch or test them in person.”
I offer direct contact to anyone who appears to need one. Usually, it’s people who are hesitant to purchase and tell me that they need to be persuaded, or people who wish that I had a bricks-and-mortar store because they don’t feel comfortable buying products online as they can’t test or touch them in person.
I also look at every comment as an opportunity to engage in dialogue and demonstrate why RuffRest is, say, at its price point, or why it’s the best pet bed on the market.
I also use every comment to engage in a dialogue and show why RuffRest, for example, is the best pet bed available.
After trying to contact Gear Junkie for two years, I finally got through and word of RuffRest has traveled all the way to the editor-in-chief, who will have one of his reviewers do a full spread on RuffRest in the next few months.
After trying to reach Gear Junkie for over two years, I finally made contact. Word of RuffRest reached the editor-in-chief, who will have a reviewer do a full-spread on RuffRest within the next few months.
Also, getting 22 influencers with a combined following of 6.2 million people to sign with Timberdog hasn’t been bad either!”
Also, getting 22 influencers who have a combined following 6.2 million people to join Timberdog wasn’t bad either!”
More Information
- How to Sell Pet Supplies Online: Read our guide if you’re thinking about building an online store to sell pet-related products.
- Sustainable Business Ideas: For more ideas to help you get started.
- How to Make Your Website More Eco-Friendly: Minimize your website’s impact with these simple steps.
Creating a Unique Product
“Our pet bed is the first of its kind in the world.”
Our pet bed was the first of its type in the world. Usually, travel items for dogs are either a thin roll-up mat, or travel bag, or a simple pet bed made from durable nylon, or simply a sleeping bag for dogs.
Travel items for dogs usually consist of a thin mat or travel bag or a simple pet-bed made from durable nylon or simply a sleeping dog bag.
But it’s never all four of those items in one.
It’s rare to find all four items in one.
RuffRest accomplishes all of that plus 10 more features with its patent-pending design.
