A 28-year-old techie in New York City has turned his love for dogs into a thriving “luxury” side hustle that now earns him more than $6,000 (around ₹5,71,000) a month and brings in “north of six figures” annually.
In an interview with People Magazine, Coby Goodhart said that he balances his full-time engineering job with running Goodhart Dog Co., a premium dog-walking and pet-care service operating across Lower Manhattan. While many people struggle to maintain work-life balance with one job, Goodhart said that he intentionally built his growing business around his demanding tech schedule.
“Goodhart Dog Co. is something I’ve built completely around that schedule,” he told the outlet, explaining that he handles walks “in the mornings, on my lunch break, evenings and weekends.”
Goodhart said that he moved to New York City in 2023. At the time, he realised that he wanted to spend more time around animals. He initially began casually walking dogs in his neighbourhood before officially launching Goodhart Dog Co. in 2025.
Managing 9-to-5 with side hustle
The techie said that his days begin early with morning walks before heading to his engineering job. He squeezes in additional walks during lunch breaks and returns to clients in the evenings after work. To manage the workload, he said that he has also hired and trained another dog walker who handles midday walks while he is at his day job.
“It’s a lot, but I genuinely love it,” Goodhart said, adding, “The goal is to grow it to the point where it becomes my full-time focus.”
The 28-year-old told the outlet that his company currently serves clients throughout Lower Manhattan, with the team walking anywhere between 10 and 20 dogs a day. He said that much of his business growth comes through word of mouth.
“When you do great work in a small area, people talk,” he said, adding that he also hands out business cards to doormen and residents while maintaining a strong social media presence.
Challenges of dog walking
Goodhart has positioned the business as a “luxury” service rather than a standard dog-walking operation. “I’m not trying to be everything to everyone,” he explained. He also shared that while he is making over $6,000 a month through his side hustle, he also loves spending time with the dogs. “There’s something grounding about spending time with animals that just want to move, explore and be with you,” he said.
“In a neighbourhood like Lower Manhattan, where people are busy and high-stress, being the person who takes great care of their dog means a lot to clients,” Goodhart added.
However, he admitted that the job has its challenges too. “Rain, heat, cold; the dogs still need their walks,” he said, joking that “early mornings in January are humbling.”
Talking about profits, Goodhart said that his dog walking business “brings in north of six figures.” “Pricing varies by client; factors like location, dog size, behavior and schedule all play into it. It’s a luxury service, so I price accordingly and make sure every client feels that in the experience,” he shared.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Goodhart is an Engineering Consultant at RER Solutions Inc. The University of Maryland graduate manages multi-million-dollar loan applications for clean energy projects with the Department of Energy, and collaborates with C-suite executives and cross-functional teams to ensure project funding and execution.
