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One Year in Er\u00e4keskus\u2014 From Plans to Reality<\/h1>\n

On October 1, 2025, we acquired Er\u00e4keskus.<\/p>\n

That means: A whole year has actually already gone by.<\/p>\n

I have no idea how this could have happened. On the one hand, it feels like we’ve only just gotten started; on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been doing this for ten years.<\/p>\n

In any case, I still remember those first few days pretty well.<\/p>\n

On September 30, we had taken our things to Er\u00e4keskus. After all, we wanted to get started right away the next morning.<\/p>\n

And that’s exactly what we did.<\/p>\n

Just a little different than I expected.<\/p>\n

We cleaned.<\/p>\n

And cleaned.<\/p>\n

And I cleaned up a little bit more.<\/p>\n

It felt like we spent the entire first few weeks just cleaning.<\/p>\n

That’s not quite how we imagined the start would go. \ud83d\ude05<\/p>\n

The start was\u2026 let’s just say it was a bit bumpy<\/h2>\n

The next little shock came as early as the first week.<\/p>\n

One of our employees decided within about ten minutes to pack his things and leave.<\/p>\n

On Day 3 \u2026<\/p>\n

So there we were.<\/p>\n

I just took over the job, I already have about a million things on my mind, and suddenly I’m short one employee.<\/p>\n

That was quite a blow at the time. What we fortunately didn’t know then was that, shortly afterward, we would have a really great fall and winter team.<\/p>\n

And then fall training finally got underway.<\/p>\n

There were four of us. We had never seen many of the dogs during training, so we were in for a surprise or two.<\/p>\n

But we’d been looking forward to it for a long time, and when I think back on it today, what stands out most is just how much we laughed.<\/p>\n

Of course, there were also plenty of situations where things didn’t go quite according to plan.<\/p>\n

Once, we were traveling with two large dog teams about 15 kilometers from Er\u00e4keskus when two logging trucks completely blocked the road.<\/p>\n

For about 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

If we’d been driving, it wouldn’t have mattered much.<\/p>\n

With two large dog teams that want to keep going, things get a little more interesting. There was no way to turn back\u2014that would have meant a much, much, much too long detour.<\/p>\n

So we waited.<\/p>\n

By the way, that was actually pretty good exercise for the dogs.<\/p>\n

And eventually, things moved forward.<\/p>\n

That could actually be the motto for our first year:<\/p>\n

Somehow, things just keep going.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And suddenly, it was winter<\/h2>\n

Our first winter season was an insane amount of work.<\/p>\n

Of course, I knew that already. I’ve worked with sled dogs and in the tourism industry long enough to know that winter doesn’t mean spending two hours in the morning driving through the snow with a few huskies and then sitting back to enjoy a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

Although Antti had never worked a season at a place like that before, he handled it brilliantly.<\/p>\n

Still, it’s a different story when everything suddenly falls on you.<\/p>\n

The dogs. Training. Tours. Guests. Staff. Guesthouse. Food. Reservations. Shopping. Cars. Equipment. Bills. Bureaucracy\u2014lots and lots of bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

And about 400 other things that you didn’t realize before had to be someone’s responsibility.<\/p>\n

Now it’s us.<\/p>\n

Great.<\/p>\n

But when I think back on our first winter today, work isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.<\/p>\n

I’m thinking about our guests.<\/p>\n

We had so many incredibly wonderful people here. We ate together, talked, laughed, and sometimes stayed up late into the evening.<\/p>\n

Some people come to Er\u00e4keskus as guests for a week, and when it’s time to say goodbye, it feels as if we’ve known each other for much longer.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, a tear or two was shed.<\/p>\n

That’s definitely one of the things we love about this life.<\/p>\n

And speaking of goodbyes\u2014they’re never easy.<\/p>\n

Deep friendships have also formed within our team, and saying goodbye has always been difficult. That makes us all the more happy that many members of the winter team have already returned to Er\u00e4keskus.<\/p>\n

And from the looks of it, this won’t be the last time, either.<\/p>\n

It won’t work without the right people<\/h2>\n

But the past year has also shown us just how dependent a business like this is on the people who work with you.<\/p>\n

Especially in the summer, there were usually just the three of us. For quite a while, Antti and I were even here all by ourselves.<\/p>\n

And, of course, there were disappointments.<\/p>\n

If someone confirms their availability and then backs out at the last minute, it’s not just a minor inconvenience for the schedule.<\/p>\n

The dogs are still there, though.<\/p>\n

They still need to be fed and cared for. Guests still need to be looked after. The work doesn’t just disappear because someone is suddenly missing.<\/p>\n

That’s a topic I’d like to write about in more detail at some point.<\/p>\n

At the same time, we’ve actually experienced exactly the opposite.<\/p>\n

People who just help.<\/p>\n

People who think for themselves and roll up their sleeves to help out.<\/p>\n

People you can count on.<\/p>\n

And a team where work isn’t just work.<\/p>\n

It’s important to us that we don’t just work side by side here and then everyone goes off to their own room.<\/p>\n

We eat together almost every day, whether we have guests or not. We cook, grill, chat, laugh, and sometimes even have a beer together.<\/p>\n

Of course, we get on each other’s nerves sometimes, too.<\/p>\n

We live AND work together.<\/p>\n

Anything else would probably be a little strange.<\/p>\n

But that’s exactly the kind of camaraderie we want to have here.<\/p>\n

And we also received an incredible amount of support from a completely different source during this first year.<\/p>\n

Time and again, we received important information from people we least expected. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who provided us with helpful information during and shortly after the takeover\u2014or who was even there in person to support us.<\/p>\n

And then 16 puppies arrived<\/h2>\n

Since our first year apparently wasn’t eventful enough, we also had two litters over the summer.<\/p>\n

Eight puppies each.<\/p>\n

SIXTEEN.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By comparison: The previous year, there were a total of eight litters, also with two litters each.<\/p>\n

We’ve spent an incredible amount of time with the little ones, and it’s a privilege to watch them grow.<\/p>\n

Of course, 16 puppies also mean 16 little mouths that believe, as a general rule, that everything is edible. And if it\u2019s not edible, you can at least try to see if you can nibble on it.<\/p>\n

It was exhausting and wonderful\u2014and definitely never boring.<\/p>\n

But honestly: 16 puppies won’t fit into a few paragraphs.<\/p>\n

The little monsters are getting their own blog post.<\/p>\n

Not everything this year was wonderful<\/h2>\n

That’s just as much a part of it.<\/p>\n

As wonderful as it is to work with dogs, it can also be just as hard on you.<\/p>\n

Polo tore his cruciate ligament.<\/p>\n

This was followed by surgery, rehabilitation, follow-up appointments, and, by now, a total of just under 5,000 euros in veterinary bills.<\/p>\n

Eight weeks of intensive care later, fortunately, all the results from his final examination and follow-up X-ray at the hospital were good. We\u2019re not quite done yet, though\u2014we\u2019re still working on building up his muscles.<\/p>\n

Polo will also get its own segment.<\/p>\n

And then there was Pan.<\/p>\n

Even now, when I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes.<\/p>\n

That little guy took a piece of my heart with him.<\/p>\n

I don’t really want to write any more about it here.<\/p>\n

A year with so many dogs isn’t just about training, puppies, and nice walks.<\/p>\n

It also means worries, trips to the vet, difficult decisions, many sleepless nights, and sometimes even saying goodbye.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that’s just part of it.<\/p>\n

Is this how we imagined it all would be?<\/h2>\n

No.<\/p>\n

But I also don’t think you can really prepare yourself for a first year like that.<\/p>\n

We’ve learned an incredible amount.<\/p>\n

About tourism. About employees. About accounting and Finnish bureaucracy. About broken things and how to somehow get them working again.<\/p>\n

We could probably write a whole book by now about all the machines, equipment, and vehicles that have kept us busy since the takeover.<\/p>\n

There’s even a running gag about it here now:<\/p>\n

There wasn’t actually a single piece of equipment we took over that simply did what it was supposed to do.<\/p>\n

And above all, we’ve learned how many different jobs you can have at the same time, even though your employment contract should really just say \u201centrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n

You’re a musher, dog caretaker, cook, waiter, housekeeper, receptionist, mechanic, janitor, guide, driver, buyer, marketing specialist, office worker, and sometimes a counselor.<\/p>\n

Sometimes all of it happens on the same day.<\/p>\n

We’ve made mistakes.<\/p>\n

We tried a few things and then changed them back.<\/p>\n

We improvised.<\/p>\n

There were days when we had no idea how we were going to get everything done.<\/p>\n

And then, somehow, we managed to pull it off\u2014and still had a lot of fun along the way.<\/p>\n

We have a saying here:<\/p>\n

We do what we do best\u2014and make the most of what we have.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And somehow, that’s exactly what became our motto.<\/p>\n

A year later<\/h2>\n

Our to-do list isn’t really getting any shorter. We’re adding new items to it faster than we can check off the old ones.<\/p>\n

It feels like we have 100 projects, and right now we have no idea where to fit them all in.<\/p>\n

But Er\u00e4keskus feels different today than it did a year ago.<\/p>\n

At first, it still felt a little strange.<\/p>\n

We were here, we worked here, we were responsible for everything\u2014but even so, it took a while before it really felt like our home and our business.<\/p>\n

And now \u2026<\/p>\n

Now it feels like it’s ours.<\/p>\n

To our dogs, our guests, and the people who live and work here with us. To evenings spent together around the table, long days at the kennel, far too many ideas, and all the things that have changed over the past year.<\/p>\n

Things are still far from the way we’d like them to be. But it feels like home now.<\/p>\n

If I could say something today to Bianca from October 1, 2025, it would probably be:<\/p>\n

Don’t always make such a big deal out of things. You’ll be just fine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And maybe one more thing:<\/p>\n

There are far more wonderful and helpful people out there than you think.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s probably one of the most wonderful insights we’ve gained from our first year.<\/p>\n

So what now?<\/h2>\n

Now we’re starting year number two.<\/p>\n

And since there’s always something going on here anyway, we’re launching this blog at the same time.<\/p>\n

In the future, I’d like to share a little more about what life at Er\u00e4keskus is really like.<\/p>\n

About our dogs. About training. About puppies and senior dogs. About our guests and our team. About life in North Karelia. About the good times\u2014and also about the things that don\u2019t quite go as planned.<\/p>\n

And sometimes it might just be the story of a dog or a special experience.<\/p>\n

There’s no set schedule for when a new article will be published. There’s just too much going on here for that.<\/p>\n

But one thing is certain: the next one is sure to come.<\/p>\n

In any case, after this first year, we have more than enough material for that.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing where we\u2019ll be another year from now. What\u2019s changed. Which of our seemingly 100 projects we\u2019ve actually managed to complete. How our young dogs are developing. What will become of our 16 little monsters. What people we\u2019ll get to meet, and which stories will end up turning out completely differently than we expected.<\/p>\n

On to our second year. We’re looking forward to it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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