Today we’d like to introduce you to Britain-Michel.
Hi Britain-Michel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Let me start out by saying, Thank you for reaching out to me. I recently started writing a book and sharing my story has been somewhat therapeutic. You have been so patient with me and my hectic schedule. So, I greatly appreciate this experience, Camilia. Well, my first name is Britain-Michel, and I am ready to share.
Wow! Where do I begin? Let’s talk about the day I found my dog. I had just come from carni’val and I was covered in dried up mud from head to toe. The day was so fun, and the group I was with wanted food before a night of even more fun and dancing. Outside of a Caribbean restaurant, a woman had a litter of puppies playing in front of her home for sale. I simply went to give the puppies some cuddles. All the puppies were high energy, except for one. She waddled up to me with her big, beautiful eyes, gave me a dog kiss-lick on my hand, and waddled away to go lay down. I-WANT-HER! That was the start of a beautiful journey into the dog world. I’ve experienced animals in the past, but this one was mine. Nyla-Marie, 8-week-old bullypit, which is like a pocket pitbull in case you were wondering. I have been loving her ever since, which isn’t even a drop in the bucket to how she has been loving me.
I had recently purchased a home and relocated back to Baltimore, MD from Dallas, TX. I was kicking ass in Corporate America as a Project Manager for Hewlett Packard that allowed me to WFH. I was working from home before WFH was a “thing”. With the time freedom and new lease on life, I wanted more.
I was born in southern Maryland to an Americanized Carribean family on a military base. By the time I started grade school I was on another base in Grand Forks, North Dakota and was snowboarding before I rode a bike. Years later when we suddenly moved to Southeast DC, and I was physically fighting for my life every other day, simply because I “spoke proper” and comments like “she think she cute” would lead to a rumble. Little did they know, this cute smile, quiet demeanor, and small frame came with hands rated E for Everybody. Middle school and High School were no different. Pretty much dealing with insecure mean girl cliques every day, all day. Education was a HIGH PRIORITY in our home, so I just knew to get my education and go. Long story short, that is exactly what I did.
After graduating from the illustrious Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland as an Electrical & Computer Science Engineer, my academic performance, along with my 3-summer internships in the California Silicon Valley area, and 2 patented publications of my innovative inventions with Hewlett Packard landed me a full-time position as a Network Engineer with HP in Plano, Texas. Baby, I was OUT before the ink dried on my degree!
Texas was a whole rodeo! I loved the hot days, happy hours, pool parties – a total vibe. Years of moving up the corporate ladder, leading multi-million-dollar contracts, gaining high level sales experience, and closing deals was exciting. But I was missing something. I thought it was love and family. So, when the opportunity presented itself to relocate, I took it, to be closer to family and find love. HUGE MISTAKE! Never make a decision based on emotions. Now in life, I will always tell people to follow their dreams and goals instead of family and love. Sorry, not sorry.
It’s now 2013 and I’m back in Baltimore, MD with my new home, working from home, and a new dog. Like I said, I wanted more. I started traveling the world and diving deeper into my entrepreneurial spirit instead of the typical “seeking a relationship” route. I put my head down and I went into a grind mode. I was caring for other people’s dogs, started selling travel memberships, launched a small boutique, became a solar sales rep, did door-to-door sales for local solar farms, became a Lyft shared-ride driver, was an overnight IT server repair for on-site contractors and much more. All while being an HP Project Manager for my team in Texas and Malaysia. The grind was real, and I was getting to it by any means necessary. Then everything changed.
Life comes at you fast when you are released from your corporate job because of a clash with male leadership, navigating my finances in midst of a lawsuit, finding out your health is in a severe decline when you no longer have health insurance, and everyone around you has a secret animosity towards you for whatever reason they made up in their mind. They haven’t actually told you anything, they just treat you terribly.
I am not perfect at all, but I am honest and upfront. And I own my sh*t. Somethings got to give.
I prayed.
In the beginning of 2019, I prayed to God to save me, heal me, heal my body, mind, spirit and soul. Get rid of those who are not FOR me, show me who they are, expose everything. Allow me to see. Protect me from enemies seen and unseen. Place people in my life who love me, grant me true friendships and spiritual bonds with like-minded humans, who are FOR ME, and I can be FOR THEM. Guide me financially, put me in the position to win, provide me financial increase and abundance for generations to come, show me how to build a community, help me to build up your nation in Jesus’ name.
My Lord God in heaven answered.
My eyes were opened to the people around me. All 2019, people were showing me who they were, left and right, loud and clear. I had quantity, but not quality. I had bodies around me, but not the hearts & souls. I was pouring into others, while no one was pouring into me. People wanted me around for who they thought I was and what I could do for them, but not actually a friend. Not a friend in sight. And I was to blame. Every mistake and every decision, I take full accountability for what I allowed.
I had to get strict about ME. I had to invest in me.
This is definitely the summarized version of my story which I will shed light on in my book, as of now self-titled, “Britain-Michel”. These are all things that led me to where I am today. One bold journey to who I am today. My Animal Care Service business, PUPPAWS, was birthed from all these challenges and decisions, even my mistakes mattered. The key to success and what success looks like for you, is to cut everything loose! In business, figure out what is a Business Need and do that. Offer solutions and packages that will ease the burdens of those around you. 2020 was the year of increase and discovery for me in my business as I made those strict decisions. FREE YOURSELF! FORGIVE YOURSELF! AND FIND YOURSELF AGAIN! Discipline of diet, exercise, and fasting changes everything inside your body and mind for the better. Consistent daily actions aligned with your ONE ultimate goal – no plan B! Tangible actions, every. single. day. NO DISTRACTIONS! NO EXCUSES! Get up! And get it done.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Has it been a smooth road as a black nerdy awkward strong-willed opinionated woman with a mind of her own? Yes and No.
Smooth road – No, because trauma is real. Trauma can bury you where you stand if you let it. Rape, Racism, Sexism. How do you escape trauma like that?
Let’s keep this part somewhat light, because I can get deep. The Animal Care Industry is full of gatekeeping. I am stepping into a space that I am not particularly wanted in. I have had a competitor company, that rhymes with “Dover”, try to sabotage my business by sending phony clients my way. This caused me major issues and fake negative reviews, that led to a more than $9000 loss in one month. Once I made the connections and adjustments to filter out the business attacks, I bounced back better than ever. You can really have enemies seen and unseen. Nobody really talks about the unseen. I had no idea, I was “stealing away” profits from “Dover”. In my mind, I was just offering THE BEST SOLUTIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY, and apparently that can be a threat.
Another example of a business struggle has been securing a large enough business loan and location for my business to expand. I have been trying to secure a proper business loan and warehouse for a solid 3-4 years now. The bank manager wants to see 50% of the asking price in my bank account. HUH? You want me to have $250,000-$500,000 cash right now? Before the loan? Why? Or how a seller changes the deal once they find out that I am a black woman during the walk-through. Now all of a sudden, the seller no longer wants to sell, only rent to me at some ridiculously high rate. Why? An unwashed white man can get a million-dollar business loan with a stick of gum, but I have to come to the table with everything. Why?
We all know why. And still, even with this “struggle” I have to be better. I will make a way.
Has it been a smooth road – Yes, because of who came before me and what they have gone through to get me here. My struggles do not even compare to the path where the baton was handed off to me. I am THANKFUL, of how my parents provided the absolute best atmosphere for me to grow and thrive. I was granted the safe space to be black. To be nerdy. To be awkward. I am GRATEFUL, of how my grandparents paved the dirt road to allow this little black girl to run on a smooth track, with shoes, because they were surely barefoot running on rocks. My sheer existence on this earth is a miracle. Mindset is everything. So, when I think of that, I am proud. And I have a lot of work to do.
We’ve been impressed with PUPPAWS, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
PUPPAWS is my baby. PUPPAWS is Nyla-Marie. It’s my creation of the life I want my dog and her pup pals to live and exist in a happy puppy world. PupPaws in my Animal Care Service business in the greater Baltimore area. We service the entire DMV – DC, Maryland and Virginia area and have been in business for over 10+ years. We’ll be reaching 15 in a couple years now that I think about it
We offer every service you can think of, like:
• Dog Overnight Boarding
• Doggy Daycare
• Dog Walking
• Dog Spa Bath
• Dog Grooming
• Basic Training
• Cat Overnight Boarding
• Animal Apparel
• Dog Mom, Dog Dad Apparel
• Homemade Dog Treats
• Homemade Dog Creams (healthy skin, coat)
• Small Animal Overnight Care (rabbits and hamsters)
• Mobile Pick up/Drop off Services
and so much more!
And now since 2024, We have partnered with and are affiliated with the Bruno Project Rescue, Inc. Registered in MD as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, led by Blake Ulrich from Washington DC, that allows us to provide Foster Care and Adoption services for dogs and cats to lead them to their forever homes.
PupPaws is my passion project. I have so many things that will bloom from this little idea of thinking I can. I want PupPaws to be a place for the community. This will provide jobs for the youth and animal lovers alike. I will have a place for the community to volunteer and showcase vendor events with live music. Let me take this time to shoutout my IC Animal Care Techs who help me care for these beautiful fur babies when their schedule allows for helping hands, Brycen-Mikyle, Jennifer, Louis, Jessica, Kevin, “Luigi”, and most importantly Julia Brown. They have sacrificed their time and energy to assist me in every way possible. I am proud that I can bring the right people along with me, it truly takes a team. That has been my dream, to uplift the next person, and bring even more willing participants along. To build a thriving community, where everybody can win. And that’s with PupPaws!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Yes. Download Our App! PUPPAWS 🐾
Yep, YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. This is huge for us! When I said I invested in myself I meant it. PupPaws Animal Care Service, has launched its very own Mobile App available NOW in your app store.
Share with friends and family to earn you credits toward future bookings
This is not only to share my vision, but also to inspire all those who need the push. Invest in yourself. Invest in your business. YOU are the brand.
DOWNLOAD OUR APP TODAY!
🐾 PupPaws
My last nugget to the readers is to be a joy to work with. No matter what level you’re at right now, make that human connection with the people around you. Bring the joy into the room. You may just be that spark to set this world on fire.
Feel free to connect with me on a personal level
@britainmichel.corp (IG)
www.britainmichel.com
Thank You!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.puppaws.co
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/puppaws.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puppaws
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@puppawsco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/puppawsco
