I started Natural Pet Choice, an online health store for dogs and cats, nearly three years ago. I have no idea where all that time went except to say it took everything I had: energy, money and ultimately my health.

It also took a fair amount of money from friends and family too which I will never feel alright about.

Looking back on it now I can’t believe I was mad enough to do it.  I knew nothing about the pet trade, running a business or how websites worked.  You’d think it was a recipe for disaster, which to a larger extent it was, although it turned out to be a massive learning curve. But actually, what’s emerged from all the chaos and heartache in the end is going to be good I think, and hopefully profitable in the end.

When I started up, back in 2007, I read a blog post written by an entrepeneur which said, in no uncertain terms, that there is only reality in business and if you shut your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears and sing a happy tune instead of facing up to the harsh realities of running your business you’ll be out on your ear faster than you can say ‘stock take’.

The problem for me was, I thought I was facing reality. That blog really stuck with me, but telling myself I had the business under control, when I definitely didn’t plus the lack of experience, a minor arrogance issue and trying to run before I could walk, led ultimately to me shutting up shop last October probably 12 months after I should have done.  But I couldn’t face up to the failure and continued to flog it to death no matter who was telling me it was over; friends, family, accountant.  I had been running a hobby on borrowed time, not a business on hard facts.

I’ve never known anything like it, when I ceased trading there was nothing left in me.  I went to see my GP and burst into tears.  He was fantastic.  I had gone back to work in January 2009 (at a real job, as well as running Natural Pet Choice) so he was able to sign me off for a while. After that I pretty much took to my bed for two months, very depressed and scared, really scared that I would never be able to work again, that I would lose my home, along with my marbles, incapable to stop it, utterly exhausted.

You know when you have jetlag, you’re so tired you feel sick, wavy lines appear in front of your eyes and you can’t keep your eyes open past 2.00pm?

That was me for the first two weeks.  I’d sleep for 12 hours, get up, assume the position on the sofa (my friend aptly calls it the recovery position) to watch Homes Under The Hammer (when you’re looking forward to that and you’ve got it recording just in case you oversleep you know it’s serious) followed by a double bill of How Clean is Your House, toast, a nap on the sofa, more toast with a smidge of Marmite for the variety and the vitamins, then bed for another 12 hours to sleep like a log.  Everything had to just stop still for a while, and when I look back on November and December it’s a quiet room, with low lights on, warm and cosy with a big warm bed and absolutely, positively, definitely no stress or self inflicted pressure.  And lots and lots of tea and toast.

Gradually I came out of it.  Homes Under The Hammer lost it’s appeal and my dulled brain began twitching with ideas again.  As they say, every cloud, and all that.  Two months later, not only is my house now gleaming purely on elbow grease and distilled vinegar, thanks to Kim and Aggie, but I’ve lost a dress size and I’m wearing jeans I’d long given up hope for (which I managed to slip into on Christmas Eve ‘Happy Christmas to me! Happy Christmas to me!’ etc.)

That’s when I got Myitchydog up and running.  On reflection, while on my sofa communing with a cat, I realised that I’d learned a phenomenal amount; about business, the web, my customers, the pet trade and realised there was a niche I wanted to fit into.  There is money to be made in them thar hills so I decided to go right back to basics and start again as a sole trader, with no debt.

Not only that but I’d prided myself on customer service, customers I had come to like very much.  The emails of support for me, and Natural Pet Choice, were touching and encouraging.  So I started from scratch.

Find out next week how Kate set up a new internet business based on what she had learnt from these experiences…