One Year Married. Two Kids. Two Dogs. One Growing Business... How Did We Get Here?
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On the 25th of June, Ryan and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.
A whole year.
If you'd stood beside us on our wedding day and told us everything that would happen over the next twelve months, I think my only response would have been...
"How did we do that?"
Because somehow, in the space of a single year, we've welcomed our beautiful son Vinnie into the world, watched Evelyn become the most loving big sister, juggled two wonderfully chaotic dogs, continued growing Riva's Pups, broken business records we never imagined possible, and somehow managed to keep all the plates spinning (most of the time!).
It's been exciting, exhausting, emotional, stressful, rewarding and completely unforgettable.
Surviving, Not Thriving...
If I'm completely honest, pregnancy wasn't kind to me.
Trying to run a growing business, work part-time and be the mum I wanted to be to a four-year-old whilst feeling constantly sick and completely drained was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
There were days I genuinely felt like I was failing everyone.
Evelyn was going through one of those classic four-year-old phases where every day seemed to come with a new challenge, I had zero energy, and there were moments when everything simply felt like too much.
There were days when I genuinely felt like giving up.
Running a small business doesn't stop because you're exhausted. Orders still need packing, stock still needs organising, customers still need replying to and events still happen, whether you've slept or not.
There were countless moments where I wondered whether Riva's Pups could keep going.
Thankfully, Ryan never let me believe it couldn't.
He picked up every bit of slack without (Much!) complaint, keeping everything moving while I simply tried to get through each day.
Looking back now, I'm most proud of him.
From losing my job to building something of our own
Many of you already know why Rivaspups exists.
Back in 2024, I had to walk away from my job - unfairly.
Suddenly our future, our finances and our security were being decided by someone else, and with a little girl to provide for, it was terrifying.
I promised myself I never wanted to be in that position again.
I wanted to build something that belonged to our family.
Something that nobody could take away.
And if I was going to build a business, what better place to start than with my second love after Ryan and Evelyn... our wonderful Riva.
That little idea has slowly grown into something we honestly couldn't have imagined.
Then came Vinnie...
As if running a business wasn't enough, May brought our biggest adventure yet.
Our little boy.
Vinnie.
What still makes me laugh is the timing.
Five days before my planned C-section, we attended Haldon Bark, where we had our biggest event ever, taking an incredible £697 in a single day.
We came home buzzing.
Then it was straight back to packing orders & hospital bags simultaneously.
When we checked into the ward on the Friday morning, I genuinely thought we'd be home by Saturday. we were home within 24 hours with Evelyn after an emergency c-section
Ryan would do deliveries on Monday.
Simple.
Except life had other ideas.
We were readmitted to hospital on Sunday due to a few complications and concerns.
Cue day-three hormones, absolutely no sleep, tears, stress and wondering how on earth we were going to keep everything running.
Meanwhile, customers had been placing orders all weekend.
Somehow...
Ryan still managed to get every single order delivered on Monday.
If that's not teamwork, I don't know what is.
We took three days off...
Well...
Sort of.
These days you'll often find me feeding Vinnie with one arm while answering customer enquiries with the other.
Thankfully I draw the line at replying to emails during the 3am feeds—I'm fairly sure nobody wants a sleep-deprived message from me at that hour!
Sleep deprivation has definitely had its moments though.
We proudly wrote up a brand-new menu board advertising our...
"CHIKEN" food.
Not one of us noticed.
Two dogs meet one tiny human
People kept asking how Riva and Willow would react to bringing a newborn home.
I'll never forget it.
My mum had been looking after them while we were in hospital.
I walked outside expecting the usual chaos.
Willow, as expected, was absolutely bonkers.
Riva charged towards me too...
...then stopped.
She took one sniff.
It was honestly like someone had pressed an off switch.
She instantly became calm, floppy and just wanted cuddles.
It was the strangest thing I've ever seen.
She stayed like that for almost a week.
Now she's back to her usual self, although every now and then she'll gently nudge Vinnie's rocker as if she's checking everything's okay.
Somehow... Riva's Pups kept growing
This is probably the bit I'm proudest of.
Despite everything life threw at us this year, Riva's Pups has continued growing beyond anything we imagined.
This year we've celebrated:
- Over 1,000 customer online orders
- 42.34% returning customers
- £11,860 in online sales
- £3,400 in subscriptions
- £4,300 in event sales
- More than 4,200 website visits
- A fantastic 5.95% website conversion rate
- Our biggest ever month in May with over £2,200 in sales
- Our biggest event ever at Haldon Bark
- Over £1,647 saved by customers through discounts and offers
Even writing those numbers feels surreal.
The biggest surprise?
Our record month happened during the very month Vinnie arrived.
I genuinely still don't know how.
The food I'm most proud of
People often ask what product means the most to me.
Without hesitation...
Our own Riva's Pups cold-pressed dog food.
Yes, our natural dog treats keep us busy, and we've loved introducing new favourites like cow ears, filled bones, biltong-wrapped tails, camel skin rolls and goat skin plates.
But our cold-pressed dog food has always been my baby.
We created it because we wanted to offer dogs a nutritious, natural alternative made with carefully selected ingredients. Cold-pressed dog food is gently prepared at lower temperatures to help retain more of the natural goodness of the ingredients, making it an excellent option for many dogs and a great choice for owners looking for premium dog food without unnecessary fillers.
Supporting Riva's Pups also means supporting a growing family while feeding your own family dogs the best natural food and treats you can.
That means everything to us.
Alongside our food, we've continued expanding our range of natural dog treats, healthy chews, accessories and grooming products so we can help owners find everything they need in one place.
More than customers
The thing that surprises me most isn't actually the sales.
It's the people.
The messages asking how I am.
The emails checking on the baby.
The texts simply making sure we're okay.
Our customers probably don't realise just how much those messages mean during the chaos.
When someone places an order with Riva's Pups, they're not supporting a huge corporation.
They're supporting a woman-owned, family-run business where every parcel is packed by people who genuinely care.
When your order arrives, I hope it feels like you've become part of our family.
Because that's exactly how we see you.
We're still learning every day
Running a business definitely doesn't come with an instruction manual.
We've ordered products that didn't sell.
We've damaged stock.
We've forgotten stock rotation.
We've made mistakes.
Every setback has taught us something.
Every lesson has made us a little bit better.
That's how small businesses grow.
Looking forward
If the last twelve months have taught us anything, it's that life never slows down—but somehow everything always works out.
The dream?
To keep growing.
To keep meeting more wonderful dogs at events.
To welcome even more families to Riva's Pups.
To continue developing our own range of premium dog food, natural dog treats and accessories.
And maybe, just maybe...
Add one or two more things to our plate.
Although perhaps not just yet!
Thank you
Whether you've ordered once or one hundred times...
Whether you've met us at an event...
Whether you've recommended us to a friend...
Or whether you've simply followed our journey from the beginning...
Thank you.
This year has taught me that I'm stronger than I think.
It has reminded me that family always comes first, but if you can somehow make both family life and your dreams work together, then it's worth giving everything you've got.
Riva's Pups has never just been about selling dog food.
It's about building something our children can be proud of.
It's about helping dogs live healthier, happier lives through natural dog food, premium cold-pressed nutrition, wholesome treats and carefully chosen accessories.
Most importantly, it's about building a community that feels like family.
From the bottom of our hearts...
Thank you for being part of ours.
Here's to whatever the next chapter brings.
