Hello again, everyone! First off, I would like to thank all of you for your support. I have loads of e-mails every week from all my loyal readers here from The Post-Journal!

As I was thinking about what to write about for all of you today, there is one question many of you are asking that I haven’t covered yet. And, I have been debating on whether I should write an article on this our not. The topic … my journey to where I am now.

To be honest, my journey has been full of twists, turns, and a lot of road bumps! It certainly hasn’t been an easy ride. I have had to work non-stop with no breaks … and have a powerhouse of ambition … to get here.

Where to Begin?

I suppose I will start by saying, I graduated high school when I was 16. I also started college at Jamestown Community College at 16 and had graduated with my first Associates Degree 3 semesters later.

Attending Cornell University had always been a dream of mine- as I always knew I wanted to be involved in the veterinary industry and they’re the top of the top for this. I worked hard racking up volunteer hours, had an honors-level GPA, and guess what?! I was ACCEPTED! What an honor that was … I couldn’t believe I had just been accepted to an ivy-league university.

I attended Cornell University in the Pre-Vet program for a semester before transferring to SUNY Fredonia. I had been meeting continuously with the College of Veterinary Sciences at Cornell and had been informed the likelihood of getting accepted to their vet school was high. But, shortly following this, I decided to go a different route.

I attended SUNY Fredonia earning my bachelor’s in biology at age 20. Following the completion of my bachelor’s program, I applied at JCC to be an Instructor with the Continuing Ed Department. To my surprise, at only 20 years old, I was hired. At 23, I began teaching in the Department of Biology with JCC. And yes, I am still teaching there today. No matter where I go in my career, I will always have a special place in my heart for all my students (and for those of you reading this — I miss all my previous students — please get ahold of me and give me an update on how you’re doing if you haven’t already)!

Skip ahead a bit, at 24 years old, I had completed my doctorate. I had always dreamt of this day–and there it was. I had completed my college career! Now what?

How Did I Become a

Canine Behaviorist?

In 2011, I started a consulting business, but I still had some learning to do. A lot of learning to do, actually. Although I had completed my education, I still wasn’t sure how to run a business successfully. Running a company is easier said than done. That’s for sure. I decided to stop running that business and continue teaching.

That was the start of where I am today. A relatively slow start … but still a start. In 2012, I started working with the CEO of Walmart. I was finally able to gain experience with writing, additional teaching experience, course development experience, and this was the first CEO I had worked with! Needless to say, I was a bit nervous to talk to a CEO at this point.

From there, I worked with many universities, rescue organizations, and I was still doing quite a bit of low-pay or pro bono work. Seventy-five percent of my time was spent earning an income — and 25 percent was spent working for free.

It’s critical to note here, if you truly want experience in a field, the best way to gain the experience is to volunteer your time. You can search for volunteer opportunities or look for an internship of some sort to add to your resume.

Once I Gained the Experience …

I now have over 12,000 documented volunteer hours in the fields of canine behavior, canine wellness, canine nutrition, higher education, copywriting, course development, and several other fields.

The volunteer experience played a huge part in what brought me to where I am today.

Once I gained this experience (while still teaching at JCC and starting a new Professor position with Kaplan University), I wanted to get back to my dream of owning my own company. I wanted to own a company working with dogs. I decided I would open a company rehabilitating dogs who had been abused or neglected in the past to prevent them from being euthanized or re-homed–and offering boarding services to clients.

When I first opened, I was unsure if the company would be successful. But, I certainly wanted to try.

I decided my company would be 100 percent virtual — making it even less likely to be successful. Or, so I thought. But, I was hoping my extensive education, experience, and passion, would drive the organization forward.

That’s another part of being successful — take risks! Take a lot of risks! Fail often. Learn from your failures. And, push any boundaries out of the way.

There are many times in the life of a successful person where you’ll be exhausted, burnt out, and ready to quit. But, you won’t, if you truly want your dream to come true.

It certainly helps to have a why, too! WHY do you want this so badly? And, this doesn’t have to just be opening a company, but this applies to being successful in general.

My ‘why’ is my family. I have a husband I love more than words could ever explain, and together we have two beautiful little boys who are my entire heart and soul. My ‘why’ is and will always be them. I work hard to provide them with a life that’s unimaginable. And, that’s a huge part of why I am so thankful for all of you.

I am only successful with the support from my readers. From my supporters. From you. You have provided an incredible life for my family- and I can’t thank you enough.

What I Do Now

I now work with CEO’s all over the world. And, I talk to hundreds on a first-name basis. Who would have ever thought I would get to this point in my life … in my career.

When I first started my company, I worked primarily hands-on with dogs. That’s what I had always done. I have thousands upon thousands of hours working with dogs in one field or another (health, veterinary, behavior, etc).

These days, my company has several departments with my ‘hands-on’ department being smaller than the rest. I have an Education Department with several contracts from professional dog behavior organizations and pet insurance companies. I have a Boarding Department, which is now only open to my regular clients (and completely full until further notice). But, by far my largest department is the ‘Writing/Editing/Journalism’ Department.

As I talked with all these CEO’s, they informed me with my education and experience, I really should be writing. That’s why, if you’re a follower on any of my websites, you’ll see I publish hundreds of articles.

Several organizations (who are my clients) you may be familiar with include Rover.com, PetFirst.com, DogTV, PetPremium, PetFirst, and of course I write for the Jamestown Post-Journal. The others I am not able to disclose due to confidentiality purposes.

I have also published two books; one with Barnes & Noble, and the other is available with Amazon.

I love writing- so this transition has been extremely easy for me.

My articles, and books, have now been advertised on Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC (along with many smaller news sources).

What’s My Next Step?

I am so proud of how far my company has come. I am beyond thrilled to be sharing information with all of you here with The Post-Journal. I adore all my clients, readers, followers, and employees.

I will never truly be ‘where I want to be.’ I will continuously search for new opportunities; for new experiences to improve my company and be on top of the game at all times.

Family First … ALWAYS

Here’s an important point I can’t emphasize enough though. And, if this is the only thing you take away from this column today, I will be more than happy. Do not get too caught up in success that you miss out on your family.

Family is by far the most important part of life. Cherish your family. If your child asks to cuddle, take that break to cuddle. If your husband or wife wants to spend a little extra time with you that day- take that time. Your work will still be there waiting for you when you return.

More Questions?

There’s so much more to tell you. So many more roadblocks. So many more opportunities. There’s just so much more to the story. But, unfortunately, that’s all the space I have for today.

If you want a more detailed look at my journey, take a look at my resume on AmberLDrake.org to see where I’ve been. I also recently hired a Web designer to put together a portfolio of sorts, so readers can read articles I have written from various publications. It’s not quite finished, but feel free to look at TheAmberDrake.org.

Of course, you can contact me any time with questions, too!

Until next time!