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Small Wonders Yorkie Kennels, Delta Junction, Alaska - Jacquelyn Wilder

Jacquelyn Wilder was raised in the Delta Junction area of Interior Alaska in a family that supported themselves by trapping and hunting. Although a very small woman, she can kill, field dress, and preserve a full moose, bear, deer, and any other animal, fish or bird that lives in Alaska, and has done so all her life. From childhood, she has been comfortable with this lifestyle.

Jacquelyn has a disability that sometimes limits her strength, but at 53 years old is still very physically fit and strong, from living the physically demanding subsistence lifestyle. She has a strong love of the Alaska wilderness and prefers to live independently in remote areas. She has developed strong survival instincts, even living for several of her early teen years entirely alone in a tiny forest cabin across the bay from Homer, Alaska, living on what she could pick, shoot, or catch in the sea. When asked how she had accomplished this, she chuckles and says, “Well, I had my gun and a knife, and with those I could get all the food I needed! And I knew how to take care of myself.”

After the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Jacquelyn went to Valdez to volunteer cleaning animals. She was one of the few individuals who could keep the baby sea otters alive. From this experience, Jacquelyn realized that she has a special gift for caring for small and fragile animals.

A few years ago, Jacquelyn purchased several Yorkshire Terriers and a Miniature Poodle and began breeding them. Initially, this was only for pleasure, but eventually she began to sell the puppies. Jacquelyn quickly discovered there is a high demand for both Yorkies and Yorkie Poos, which is a Yorkie-Poodle cross. She has been able to sell all of the puppies from her dogs' litters and often has a waiting list for puppies yet to be born! The parent dogs are registered, and Jacquelyn provides the paperwork for registering the puppies as well.

Her love of life and nature sparkles out of her blue eyes when she begins to talk about her dogs. Her enthusiasm makes a person want one of her dogs even before seeing their pictures. Breeding dogs and having them live with her in her 26 by 26-foot remote Alaskan cabin provides Jacquelyn the love, approval, and reason to live that she says she needs. She calls them her free, ongoing therapy, only partially joking.

Although Jacquelyn has raised puppies on a very limited basis for several years, she has been able to support herself in an extremely thrifty, subsistence lifestyle. Jacquelyn is also realistic about the fact that now that she is in her fifties and has health issues, she needs a more reliable income. She knows that the dogs that she breeds are of high quality and a very popular breed. She is also the only breeder of Yorkies and Yorkie Poos in Interior Alaska.

Jacquelyn was referred to START-UP/Alaska by her counselor at the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Although Fairbanks is 100 miles from away from Delta Junction, it is the closest town, and Jacquelyn often drives there for shopping and medical needs. Her counselor felt the teamwork that START-UP/AK could provide would be beneficial to her business development.

Jacquelyn and her DVR counselor knew of START-UP/Alaska's customized approach to assisting individuals in business start-up. They believed that by customizing her business to her health needs as well as her living preferences, Jacquelyn’s dog breeding business had a great chance of success. In addition, Jacquelyn is determined to succeed and makes sure that she attends all her meetings, either in person, by phone, or the Internet.

Jacquelyn eagerly took several classes offered by the Fairbanks Small Business Development Center. She used the information learned in the classes to write her business plan with the assistance of Pam Sprout, the Fairbanks START-UP/Alaska Facilitator. At first, Jackie had writer’s block! The task of writing the business plan seemed overwhelming, but it was required to receive the funding that she needed to establish a legitimate, organized, and well equipped breeding kennel.

Jacquelyn was referred by Pam Sprout to work with Jackie Stewart, who is the Virtual Business Incubator advisor for START-UP/Alaska. Jackie lives in Juneau, 626 air miles away, so they began working together by telephone. Jacquelyn explained her current business, her ideas for improvement and her lifestyle. Jackie Stewart drafted a beginning plan that Jacquelyn was then able to complete, filling in blanks and adding details. Once she started, Jacquelyn was able to articulate all the details of breeding and operations of her planned kennel, which would include indoor-outdoor runs, a security camera system and equipment and supplies to care for her dogs allowing her to do most of her own veterinarian care.

Jacquelyn agreed to be the first client to try counseling via the Internet and meet with Jackie and Pam on iVocalize. iVocalize is a program available by subscription that uses web cams and microphones allowing the participants to see each other and view the same working documents. As the business plan was developed, Jacquelyn, Jackie, and Pam worked together as if they were in the same room though they were separated by hundreds of miles. They edited, filled in remaining details and drafted financial projections that showed her kennel could bring in a reliable income to sustain Jacquelyn in her chosen lifestyle.

Because Jacquelyn needed more investment in her business than could be provided by DVR alone as a Tier 2 business, Jackie and Pam suggested that she apply for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority’s Microenterprise Grant Program. In January 2009, she was approved for $9,313 from that fund, adding yet another partner to the agencies providing support for Jacquelyn's business. Since Jacquelyn has always been self-sufficient, never asking for help and striving to provide for all her own needs, this was a boon to her and promises to improve the quality of her life dramatically.

With this combined funding, Jacquelyn will be able to purchase high quality enclosed wire dog kennels to separate the litters for safety and privacy. With indoor-outdoor runs and doggie doors cut into her cabin walls, her delicate dogs will have access to outdoors without the dangers of being considered delicious treats by local foxes, wolves, owls or eagles! Nor will they run the risk of being trampled by moose, which currently are real threats when Jacquelyn takes them outdoors for their exercise. Jacquelyn will also purchase a night camera surveillance system to monitor the safety and activity of the dogs even at night from her bed. She will not have to get up every couple of hours to check on the puppies which could wake them. This is especially critical for the tiny newborns. With her new equipment and supplies, Jacquelyn will be able to increase her breeding to meet the market demand and will be able to slowly start adding grooming to her services. Delta Junction does not have a dog grooming business, so she knows there will be demand.

The only veterinarian in Delta Junction works closely with Jacquelyn as a mentor and acknowledges her expertise and high level of care. The veterinarian allows Jacquelyn to observe surgeries and learn basic care that she can provide on her own. She has the support and mentoring services of this vet! Jackie also connected Jacquelyn to a mentor who is an established breeder of small dogs, Becky Stille of Aria’s Friends in Faribault, Minnesota.

Jacquelyn has been an ideal START-UP/Alaska entrepreneur. She is eager to learn and grow professionally. She is hard working, responsible, and dependable about attending meetings and trainings. Jacquelyn is friendly, enthusiastic and most importantly, passionate about her business.

Jacquelyn understands the benefits of working with START-UP/Alaska that has helped her customize her business to fit her own physical abilities and needs. START-UP/AK staff assisted her in writing a business plan and understanding how to operate the business, including financial management and operations, and helped her to find funding for the supplies and equipment that she needs. Jacquelyn is very appreciative of the assistance that she has received, which in turn provides great satisfaction to her START-UP/AK team. Jacquelyn also knows that she will receive ongoing support from START-UP/AK, her mentors and DVR. This is an exciting time as Jacquelyn builds her dream business!

Small Wonders Yorkie Kennels, Delta Junction, Alaska - Jacquelyn Wilder

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