What Julie Kelly loves most about her job does not necessarily reflect the work she does. She is able to be at home when her kids leave for school, and she’s there when they get home. However, that time in between it all is filled with a lot of work reports The Gazette.
Kelly doesn’t have to worry about the time it takes to get to work. She has time to prepare meals. She has as much control over her life as possible -although, like most people she would argue it’s still not enough.
That part is a success. And so is her business, aptly named Chilly Dogs, which makes seasonal clothing for dogs as large as Great Danes, all the better to survive the winter.
For her success as a mother and an entrepreneur, Kelly was named one of the Top 50 Mompreneurs in Canada by MOMpreneur magazine this month.
The early years were the toughest, when her two children were still at home, she says. Even now, she’ll work on company business late into the night, after the children have gone to sleep.
Juggling demands has allowed her to hire a seamstress and produce as many as 5,000 pieces of clothing for dogs a season.
“We’ve had 25 per cent growth year after year for 10 years. We’re bursting at the seams in our house.”
Image from Chilly Dogs