Last year on Father’s Day I wrote about my dad, and the influence he had on me as a small business owner. But I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the father of my children, my husband, Christophe Beaurpere, when I acknowledge Dingo’s success story, because were it not for Chris, I very well could still be boarding dogs out of my 800 square foot house in Swampscott – a side hustle that provided the foundation for what Dingo’s would become. Whether it was because he was growing tired of the rotating packs of dogs checking in and out of our house, or because he envisioned something “bigger” for me (truthfully I think it was a bit of both), he encouraged me to find find a commercial location that would allow us more of a work-life balance (or a separation from my work was more like it).
Ten years later and I still rely on Chris’s sage advice when it comes to creating policy and trouble-shooting issues. With a Master’s in Public Planning and a background working in state government, higher education, and (recently) large private industry, he has helped me see the big picture for my small company many times over.
While you will likely never see or hear from him, his presence is felt in the ways I have tried to replicate his professionalism and poise no matter the adversity (and given he works in crisis management – he deals with many adversities!).
Thus far I have saluted my dog (Dingo), my dad (Lucky), and my mom (our bus driver) on this public platform; I guess it was about time I saluted my husband!
