Rachel Yanofsky
Dog-walker and meal-prepper extraordinaire
Tell us about yourself, Rachel.
I have lived in the Hill Section for 25 years. I graduated High School in 2016 and decided not to go the typical route of going to college, but to start working for local interior designers and photographers. Then, shortly after, I picked up dog walking as a side job and grew to love it, eventually turning it into my full-time job! When the pandemic hit, I didn't have any dogs to care for, so I decided to do nutrition school online and began meal-prepping for clients and creating produce baskets from the farmer's markets for them.
What's the history and mission of your business? What inspired you to start your business?
I decided to start my dog walking and pet sitting business out of love for animals. As a kid, I grew up fostering dogs and cats but never realized I could have my dream job working with them daily. I love being able to put a smile on the animals' faces and cheer them up while their owners are at work. As for my meal prepping service, I'm someone who has been plant based since I was 18 and quickly grew to love nutrition and wellness and wanted to be able to provide farm fresh organic meals for clients.
What types of services does your business offer?
I offer dog walking and pet-sitting, as well as plant-based meal prepping services.
What's unique about your business? What sets you apart from the rest?
I would say the uniqueness of my business would truly be "me!" I think I have become such a part of all my clients’ families, and they place so much trust in me and my work.
Every business faces challenges. Can you share insights into any challenges your business has overcome and the growth that resulted?
The biggest challenge I have is being able to accommodate everyone. I currently have 30 clients and have many on rotation. There are only so many hours in the day it can be hard to fit everyone in. I wish I could clone myself it would be a dream ... haha. I don't trust many people with my clients’ dogs, though, so I work by myself with help from my Mom who is my "right hand woman," when it comes to running my business.
What's your vision for the future of your business? Please share any upcoming projects, milestones, or events you're excited about.
For my dog walking business, I would like to keep it small and quaint. While I could expand it to be bigger, I enjoy the personalization that it has. If it got any bigger, it would require me to hire people and I don't want to do that. Every day the pups look forward to seeing me or my Mom. As for my meal-prepping business, which is Called Otto's Farm Shop, I will be launching my website soon so stay on the look out!
Rachel Yanofsky, Hill Section neighbor
P: 310-503-3674