You might have noticed I haven’t been on line much lately and thought I would share the reason why. What follows is cross posted on dogdish.com:

A special note to all our Dog Dish friends – A New Chapter at Dog Dish

Exactly seven years ago this week, we opened Dog Dish.  We left our corporate jobs so we could work together and with our dogs.

It has been truly a labor of love as we worked to build our business and help all the wonderful customers we have met over the years.  We know this is why we have been so successful these last seven years.

As many of you know, Bill has not been around much as he began to focus more and more on teaching public relations and social media at Oklahoma State University.  We have been working together less and less which has been difficult for us both professionally and personally.

As a result of Bill’s work some new opportunities presented themselves to us.   We started a second company focused on public relations and strategic planning so that we could share our knowledge and help other organizations achieve the same success we have achieved at Dog Dish. As you know, we love to work together and make a pretty great team.  While initially Bill had the primary responsibilities for this new venture, we found that more and more he needed Shelli’s help. About the same time we started the new company and were wondering how in the heck we were going to do all of this, Jim, Juley and Emily Langdon (you may recognize the Langdon name as the owners of Langdon Publishing, publishers of Tulsa People, Tulsa Pets, and other publications) expressed an interest in acquiring Dog Dish.  After a few meetings, we decided it was a good move for us all.

We have always been believers that everything happens for a reason and it is true for this situation as well.  We cannot imagine a family better suited to take the reins of Dog Dish. They have been customers for many years and understand what a special place it is.  They share our love for pets, our commitment to making Tulsa a better place for pets and our vision for making Dog Dish the wonderful place it has become.  They will also bring some new and fresh perspectives to the business and we know that under their guidance, it will continue to thrive.

It is with mixed feelings that we share this news with you.  While we are excited about our new opportunities and what the future holds for us, it will be hard to imagine our lives without Dog Dish.  We’ve celebrated with you the new four-legged additions to your family and cried with you when you lost one. We’ve hunted Easter Biscuits, celebrated Barktoberweenfestivary and so many other holidays the way only dog lovers could.

We owe so much to you for making Dog Dish the place it is today and it has been our pleasure to serve you for the last seven years.  We cannot thank you enough for your loyalty and support and we truly wouldn’t be as successful as we are today, both at Dog Dish and in our new endeavors, if it wasn’t for you and the inspiration you have given us.

Some of you have been our customers since the day we opened and some of you recently joined our family.  Regardless, we know you will welcome the Langdon family as the new owners just as we have welcomed them.  We look forward to seeing all the talents and fresh ideas they will bring to Dog Dish.  They are wonderful people and you will enjoy getting to know them as much as they will enjoy getting to know you and your four-legged family members.  Emily Langdon will be managing the store and she would love for you to stop by soon and say hello.

We don’t look at this as change but more of a continuance. In fact, if you visit Dog Dish you will still see Jennie, Angie, Holly and Lindsay and on special occasions we are sure you will see us there as well. We will be around for the next several weeks as we transition the store to its new ownership.  We would love to say good-bye to you in person, but if that isn’t possible we would love to hear from you. You, of course, can find us on dogdish.com or by email at bill@hhhstrategicsolutions.com or shelli@hhhstrategicsolutions.com.

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In future posts I will share some observations about building a business from nothing and, of course, the value of setting goals, objectives, strategy and tactics in doing so .