By Lauren Farberman
Staff Writer
They say dogs are a man’s best friend, but Costa sophomore Dean Lux proves that they are more by making a living through his dog walking business, D-Lux Dog Walkers.
Lux said he has loved dogs for as long as he can remember. He always wanted his own growing up, but his parents did not want a dog in the house. To find a loophole around this restriction, Lux started a business that allowed him to spend as much time as he wanted with dogs.
“In the beginning, walking the dogs was just a fun idea,” Lux said. “When I first started D-Lux Dog Walkers, I saw it as more of an enjoyable hobby rather than a job.”
Lux founded D-Lux Dog Walkers in 2012 when he was 12 years old. The business started out small, as he was only walking some friends’ and neighbors’ dogs. However, Lux said D-Lux began to grow organically and quickly.
“My business began to grow just by people seeing me walk a few dogs at a time, by word of mouth, and by my pretty good door knocking skills,” Lux said.
Lux established the company independently without any financial support. Lux realized that his business took little to start.
“Starting my own business has helped me to develop into a more mature person because it has not only shown me the necessity of being on time for important commitments, but also how to cater to all of my clients,” Lux said.
Lux walks the dogs for approximately two to three miles in the Hills Section of Manhattan Beach, Monday through Friday. Each walk lasts one and a half hours, and his service ends with treats, water and playtime in Lux’s garage. During this time, the dogs are taken off leashes within the garage to socialize freely with one another. Lux has 18 clients and a total of 25 dogs that he walks. He only walks 12 dogs at a time, because, according to him, that is the maximum number of dogs he is able to control.
“An initial challenge in the first year of my business was that the dogs were out of control, and I had no idea what I was doing,” Lux said. “After probably hundreds of hours of research and trial and error, I was able to get pretty good control over them.”
Lux charges four dollars a walk per dog, bringing in approximately $30 to $48 an hour. Lux said the hardest part about running D-Lux Dog Walkers is attaining new clients. Since he works Mondays through Fridays with only a total of 18 clients in the business, he has the time and desire for more clients.
“The number of dogs in my business does not always keep up with the number of dogs I would like,” Lux said. “Even though the packs are pretty large as it is, once I have the hang of walking a certain number of dogs in a pack, I want to take on more.”
However, a recent increased interest in Lux’s business has sprouted due to his new company shirt. He never intended to sell the t-shirts, but fellow students and community members started to ask to purchase one. Lux has not yet made his shirt sales open to the public, although clients and close friends have worn the shirts in order to promote his business.
“I think it is really cool that people want t-shirts endorsing my business,” Lux said. “I love spending time with dogs, and the money is just a bonus.”
Leave a Reply