Milo’s Café Grand Opening: A Dog Friendly Restaurant where Dog Lovers Meet to Eat!

Tomorrow, March 12^{th, 2011} is the Grand opening of a new business establishment in Lake Forest, CA (26771 Rancho Parklway).  I am excited about this new restaurant because it is “completely dog friendly”.  I have 3 dogs and a cat that I love very much.  Milo’s Café has a patio with 2 dog pens that owners can bring their dogs while they dine on healthy “people food”. 

I will be there for their Grand Opening representing Life’s Abundance Premium Pet Food and supervising the dogs in the pens.  I am exciting about my upcoming events and sharing Life’s Abundance with pet lovers and supporting the organizations that provide love and care for them!

Upcoming Events:

March 12, 2011:  Grand Opening of Milo’s Café Dog Friendly Restaurant - Pet Area Volunteer & Life’s Abundance, Lake Forest, CA

Milo’s Café: www.miloscafe.com

Life’s Abundance: http://www.mypetzshoponline.com/

The following is a recent OC Register article:

Article: Full Article & pictures:  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sellman-290775-milo-dog.html?pic=1

Milo's Café, dog-friendly eatery, 

to open 

March 12, 2011

LAKE FOREST - For the last three months, Scott Sellman has been putting in 16-hour days to turn the 5,000-square-foot former Fuddruckers on Rancho Parkway into his dream, a dog-friendly restaurant named Milo's Café.

The red Fuddruckers carpet is now porcelain wood-like tile, and the orange walls have been painted beige and black. The restaurant has a simple, bold look with a roomy feel. There's a dog bone-shaped bar that seats eight and six 50-inch flat screen TVs. Andy Warhol dog art hangs on the wall, mixed in with personal photos Sellman's dogs, Jake and Milo, the 2-year-old shar pei-bulldog mix whose mug graces the signage.

Milo's, said Sellman, is based on healthy food, charitable events and a pet-friendly environment. There are two doggie play areas on the outside patio. It is set to open March 12. Sellman, a Lake Forest resident, has sunk about $200,000 into remodeling the eatery, which he calls the first of its kind in South County.

"(People) come by with their dogs and can't wait for it to open," Sellman, 42, said. "In no other business I've been involved in have I ever had so much community support."

Selllman came up with the idea for his dog-friendly restaurant when he got Milo and Jake, a pug. He calls dogs the "great ambassadors" of friendships between people. What he's most hopeful for is Milo's becoming a place for like-minded people who will help animal charities.

When Sellman first proposed his café idea to the city, it was for a spot off Muirlands Boulevard and Ridge Route Drive in a center under construction. Sellman asked the city to approve a variance to allow for the dog play area patios,but officials denied his request because there wouldn't be sufficient distance between the patios and the intersection.

In addition, nearby residents voiced concerns over potential noise, odor and public safetyissues. The old Fuddruckers spot now home to Milo's Café is in a large commercial center across from Etnies Skate Park.

Sellman's happier with the new spot, he said, because it's double the space of the initial location and the patio already existed.

Several animal charities and nonprofit groups have signed up as regulars, including Barks of Love, Coastal German Shepherd Rescue,Orange County Bulldog Rescue, Desperate Paws and Friends of Lake Forest Animals. Events at the restaurant will include adoption fairs, fundraisers, and possible veterinary clinics, Sellman said. Dog trainers, groomers and other such businesses also will be welcome to promote their efforts.

Mike Pedersen, a former chef at the Riveria Country Club, the House of Blues and the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui, will run the restaurant and kitchen. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner items prepared with an eye toward healthy eating, locally grown produce and free-range meat and poultry, Sellman said.

Sellman's favorite is Milo's signature salad, which includes grilled chicken breast, mango, papaya, seasonal berries, sliced almonds and a light vinaigrette. Another favorite is the turkey burger with vegan cheese, sprouts, hummus and tomatoes.

California wines like Mutt Lynch and Cupcake Vineyard will be available. The bar will also serve Belgian Boutique beers along with Stella Artois and Drop Top Lager.

Why do I do what I do? My so called life as an Entrepreneur

Why do I do what I do?  

My so called life as an Entrepreneur

Part 1: March 9, 2011

I am embarking on my adventure in blogging with the inaugural edition of my new blog, Mypetzshoponline.  The first topic of my blog is: Why do I do what I do?  My so called life as an Entrepreneur.  The blog posting is as much a rhetorical question as it is an attempt to answer this question for myself and my family.  My intention is to write about my busy life, entrepreneurship, pet care, pet nutrition, helping abused/neglected pets & strays, helpful tips and tricks, family life, shopping, traveling and saving money.  I hope you enjoy reading it and will share with your friends and family.

I am a wife, a mom, a full time professional in the Aerospace industry, an entrepreneur (at least trying to be).  My life is quite busy, I work full time and I have internet businesses, tend my home children, family & pets.  I wish I had more free time, but I thrive on the challenge and desire to be successful and live a fulfilling life.

I work hard on a daily basis to try to make my business ventures work.  I don’t know what the outcome will be in the future, but I am willing to give it my all for the near future.  I know that my persistence and hard work will eventually pay off.  I know my family thinks I’m crazy and feels that I’m not really doing anything—but they don’t understand my work!  It takes a lot of behind the scenes action to make any business thrive!  It is definitely a challenge when your business is also your part time job.  I go from my day job to my “fun” job immediately after work.  I end up spending about 15 hours a day on the computer.  It’s exhausting but I love it!

I have always had a dream to fulfill my destiny and become an entrepreneur.  Perhaps this strong sense of business acumen came from my dad.  I have always looked up to him and his success in the business world.  Unfortunately in 1983, in my senior year the most inconceivable thing happened I lost my dad, my hero, my mentor in an instant.  It was only the beginning of my senior year of school on September 15th when my dad died suddenly of a massive heart attack at only 41 years old.   In the year that my dad died he was just beginning to really shine in the business world and was promoted to VP of sales for his employer.  We were starting to see some of the rewards that his success was bringing to the family that year.  There was a new car and a family trip was planned for that coming summer when I graduated from high school.  But on that September day all of the family dreams were dashed and my brother and I were forced to live the rest of our lives without our family’s provider, our dad.  I know this was especially hard on my mom living her life without her husband and family provider.  I was young and I had a whole future ahead of me.  I went to college after high school and graduated in four years with a BSBA degree from Chapman University with a major in Marketing.  

I married my high school sweetheart the summer after I graduated from college and began my career of working for someone else.  I have continually worked full-time in various industries and positions since 1988.  Even after the birth of my two daughters I continued to work full time.  So many times I wished that I could do something else that would allow me to make an income and still be able to spend more time with my family.  In 2004, we took a leap of faith and purchased a franchise and were going to risk everything to have our own business.  Although we ended up getting out of the franchise agreement in 2005 after due diligence proved that the costs seemed to outweigh the proposed profit margins.  Since that time I have continually been of potential business ideas. 

In the summer of 2009 I began cleaning out my daughter’s triple closet.  Instead of giving away all of the designer and expensive and barely used clothing, I decided to start selling on Ebay.  I quickly came to the realization that anything can sell if you match up the right item with a buyer!  I was amazed at the random items that sold.  From there my Ebay store: KayMarShopz was born.  I began selling whatever I could get my hands on: new items, upscale rescale items.  I shopped at thrift stores, estate sales and even retail looking for any hard to find, designer brand or unique items that I could sell.

 I launched my first internet store in January 2010.  The biggest problem in having an ecommerce web store is marketing your site or Search Engine Optimization.  I am still struggling with this concept on how to get the site published and out in the world or worldwide web.  I don’t have a big budget for the SEO aspect, so getting sales is an issue.  It seems people are finding my site from all over the world, but they are not necessarily buying. I keep asking myself and searching for answers on “How can I get more qualified leads and targeted traffic?”

Through my constant quest to find an internet business that actually made money, I created a second store called: My Petz Shop Online that sold a large variety of pet supplies.  Again, I found that the competition was too great and this business did not take off. 

It was not until the third quarter of 2010 that I decided I should go with an established Network Marketing Company that I could leverage a track record and proven marketing system.  I ended up choosing two companies that I became a representative for. 

Stay tuned for the next edition Part 2 of Why do I do what I do?  My so called life as an Entrepreneur to find out about the businesses that I am so passionate about!

http://www.mypetzshoponline.com/