In 2011, Evan Smith left a career in which he had to make difficult, uneasy decisions. “As a Medicaid gatekeeper, I kind of held a lot in my hands negotiating prices and making approvals, and knew one day it could be my own mom’s case. It hit home.” Now Smith ends his evenings with the peaceful knowledge he’s helped people and their pets.
Name: Evan Smith
Occupation: Pet store owner
Neighborhood: Hazel Dell
Business name: Canine Utopia, 1503 N.E. 78th St., 360-737-7881; www.k9utopia.com and on Facebook
Age: 35
Educational/professional background: I received my degree in the dental field; I worked for 11 years in the marketing field and was the chief operations officer of two large dental chains. Before opening the pet store, I was the director of hospital contracting for a national health insurance company, where I negotiated reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid contracts. I left my job in January 2011 and opened the store in June after taking small business classes and forming my business plan. It wasn’t hard to make the decision to open the store. I’ve been a pet lover for the greater part of my life.
How you got started in your business: In 2010, I adopted a cute little dog. I quickly figured out that little pug, Hera, had allergies to just about everything I tried giving him. After lots of research, I found out what I could feed him without it causing a reaction. At that time, I still lived in Portland, so getting what I needed wasn’t a problem. When I moved to Vancouver, I quickly noticed that getting the food I needed for now two dogs with allergies was way more expensive. After chatting with a few of the store owners I was buying my dog’s food and treats from, I figured out I was paying a premium to get the food at my new local pet store. For a while, I drove into Portland to get what I needed but the traffic getting over there was crazy and took away time I could be spending with my dogs. So in 2011, with some loans and a ton of support from my partner, family and friends, I opened Canine Utopia so everyone in Vancouver could have access to better pet food at a fair price.