I’ve got a dream.
Not a little dream. Not a wouldn’t it be nice if… kind of dream.
A HUGE dream.
One that could change the direction of Charlie and Boo, open up a whole new chapter for my business, and give me the opportunity to build something that excites me, challenges me and allows both my business and me to truly thrive and flourish in 2027.
And right now, I’m keeping it a secret.
Well, mostly! 😉
What I can tell you is that this dream is big, it’s exciting, it’s a little bit terrifying, and it’s going to take a big financial investment to make it happen.
But here’s the thing.
I can’t shake the feeling that this is something I HAVE to do.
When a dream becomes something you can’t ignore
I think there comes a point in life when you have to stop asking yourself whether something is possible and start asking yourself what you are prepared to do to make it happen.
For me, this is that moment.
Charlie and Boo is my business, my passion and something I’ve spent years building. Every product, every customer, every order, every dog treat sold from one of my little honesty huts represents another small piece of the bigger picture.
But I’ve got bigger ambitions for this business.
I can see where I want to take it. I can picture the opportunities, the possibilities and the direction I want to head in. I can see the potential for something bigger than what I’m doing today.
And the more I think about it, the more I realise that if I want Charlie and Boo to grow into the business I know it can become, I need to be brave enough to take the next step.
Not just the comfortable steps. Not just the ones that feel safe or don’t require me to stretch myself.
The BIG steps.
The ones that make your stomach flip a little because you know they’re going to demand more of you than anything you’ve done before.
Because what is the point of having a dream if you never give yourself the chance to achieve it?
And honestly, the thought of looking back and asking myself “what if?” is far more uncomfortable than the thought of trying and discovering just how much I can achieve.
The uncomfortable truth about chasing a big dream
Let’s be honest. It’s all very well talking about following your dreams, being brave and believing in yourself.
But dreams cost money.
And when you’re running a small business, every financial decision matters.
This isn’t a little investment that I can casually squeeze into the business and hope for the best. It’s a huge financial stretch for Charlie and Boo, and I don’t take that lightly.
There’s a real responsibility that comes with putting money into your business, especially when you’re the person who has to make it work.
I need to prove to myself that this investment is worth making. I need to give Charlie and Boo the opportunity to move in the direction I’ve been dreaming about, and I need to approach this next chapter with ambition, determination and a sensible plan.
There are no guarantees. No magic formula. No promise that every decision will work out exactly as I hope.
But I do know that standing still isn’t going to get me where I want to be either.
Sometimes growing a business means being willing to invest in its future before you can see the full results.
It means having faith in your vision, doing the work, learning along the way and being prepared to adapt when things don’t go to plan.
It also means being honest about the challenges, rather than pretending that building a business is always exciting, effortless and full of wins.
So that’s what I’m doing.
I’m sharing the journey, not just the highlight reel.
29.07% of the way there… and counting!
Right now, I’m working towards a financial target that will help turn this dream into reality.
And as I write this, I’m sitting at 29.07% of my target.
Read that again.
29.07%.
I’m not at the halfway point yet. There’s still a considerable amount of money to raise, and I know there will be days when the finish line feels a long way away.
But do you know what?
I’m nearly a third of the way there.
That percentage represents progress. It represents the work I’ve already put in, the decisions I’ve made and every little step that’s brought me closer to the goal.
It reminds me that this isn’t just an idea floating around in my head anymore. I’m actively working towards making it happen.
And that’s something worth celebrating.
I’m going to keep documenting this journey, sharing the progress, the little wins, the challenges and the moments when I have to dig a little deeper and remind myself why I started.
I want to be able to look back one day and see how far I’ve come.
Not just financially, but personally, too.
Because I have a feeling this journey is going to teach me a lot about business, courage, resilience and what happens when you finally decide to back yourself.
And when the time comes to reveal exactly what I’ve been working towards, I want to know I’ve given it everything I’ve got.
This is about more than money
Of course, the financial target is important. It’s the practical part of making the dream happen.
But underneath all of that, there’s something much bigger.
I want to build a business that reflects the direction I want my life to take. A business that grows, creates opportunities and gives me the freedom to explore what else might be possible.
I don’t want to spend my time simply maintaining what I’ve already built if I know there’s potential to do more.
I want to keep learning. Keep growing. Keep challenging myself.
I want to create something I’m proud of, something that has room to evolve and something that gives Charlie and Boo a really exciting future.
And I want to prove to myself that I can have a big ambition, make a plan, work towards it and give myself a genuine chance of achieving it.
Because our dreams don’t have an expiry date.
We don’t suddenly stop being ambitious because we’ve reached a certain age, because life has become busy or because taking a risk feels more daunting than it once did.
If anything, I think there’s something incredibly powerful about knowing what you want and deciding that you’re going to give it a go.
This is my opportunity to do exactly that.
Building my secret dream, one dog treat at a time
If you’ve followed Charlie and Boo for a while, you’ll know that this business is built around dogs, community and a genuine love for what I do.
From the products we offer to the natural dog treats I’m introducing to more and more dogs, every part of the journey matters to me.
And now, behind the scenes, there’s another part of the story unfolding.
I’m working towards something bigger.
Every sale, every new opportunity, every order and every small step forward helps me build the foundations for what’s coming next.
That’s why I’ve been sharing little glimpses of my journey and documenting the progress towards my financial target.
I’m not ready to reveal the whole plan just yet. Some things are worth keeping close until the right moment arrives.
But I can tell you this: I’m determined to make it happen.
There will be more updates, more milestones and, hopefully, plenty of reasons to celebrate along the way.
And when I finally get to share the big reveal, I hope you’ll feel a little bit of the excitement that I’ve been carrying around with me throughout this process.
Because you’ll have been part of the journey, too.
What if it actually works?
We spend so much time thinking about what could go wrong.
What if it doesn’t work? What if the investment is too much? What if I can’t make it happen?
Those are fair questions, and I’m certainly not ignoring the practical realities of taking a big step in business.
But lately, I’ve been asking myself a different question.
What if it works?
What if this is the investment that helps take Charlie and Boo in the direction I’ve been imagining?
What if 2027 becomes the year everything starts to come together in a way I can only picture right now?
What if all those little steps, all those decisions and all those moments of pushing myself beyond what’s comfortable lead to something wonderful?
I don’t know exactly how the story will unfold.
But I do know that I want to give it a chance.
And I know that I would rather look back knowing I had the courage to try than spend years wondering whether I could have made it happen.
That’s what this dream means to me.
It’s about ambition, belief, hard work and being willing to step outside the familiar to create something new.
It’s about backing myself and giving my business the opportunity to grow into what I believe it can be.
And it’s about remembering that sometimes, the most important thing we can do is simply begin.
Come along for the journey
So, here we are.
29.07% of the way towards my financial target, a big dream tucked away behind the scenes, and a determination to make 2027 a really exciting year for Charlie and Boo.
There’s still a way to go, and I’m under no illusion that it will all be easy.
But I’m doing it.
I’m taking the steps, putting in the work and building towards something that means an awful lot to me.
I’ll keep sharing the journey here, along with updates on the business, the progress we’re making and the little milestones that bring the bigger picture closer.
For now, the big secret stays a secret.
But the dream? The dream is very much alive.
And I’m going to keep working towards it, one dog treat at a time.
Because sometimes, you have to be brave enough to chase the thing you can’t stop thinking about.
And for me, this is one of those times.
Here’s to the dream, the journey and everything that might be waiting on the other side of taking that leap.
Let’s see what we can make happen in 2027. ❤️
Building my secret dream, one dog treat at a time.