MELBOURNE - She left Pompeii with a marketing degree and a string of closed doors ahead of her. Today, Miriam Fiorenza runs one of the most sought-after dog walking services in Melbourne ’s Stonnington area — and has just received an award given to just one per cent of Australian businesses in her field.

It ’s a success that crept up almost quietly, built on a genuine love of animals and that particularly Italian brand of determination that has a way of turning setbacks into opportunities.

Miriam, who is approaching 35, describes the birth of Mimi Pet Land as something of a personal act of defiance. “I couldn’t find work in marketing after graduating, and it was really getting to me,” she says. “At a certain point I thought: nobody will give me a chance? Fine — I ’ll create one myself.”

From there, the idea took shape: why not turn the experience she had built up as a dog-sitter into something entirely her own? For five years she had worked through a pet care app, but the steep commissions and the feeling of being tied to a platform pushed her to strike out on her own. “I asked myself: why not become the app myself — without actually building one?”

And so Mimi Pet Land was born — built from scratch, day by day, without investors or shortcuts. Miriam handled everything herself: registering the business, building the website, running Google Ads campaigns, managing social media. “I worked day and night for two weeks to get the website up,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to hire a developer, so I just taught myself.”

The rest came down to drive and creativity. In the parks of South Yarra, Toorak and Prahran, she would show up wearing branded T-shirts and handing out bags of dog treats tucked with her business cards. QR codes appeared beside dog-friendly water fountains, linking straight to her site. It was grassroots marketing — but it worked, amplified by glowing reviews and word of mouth.

“I didn’t even realise how much the business was growing,” she admits. “I kept getting calls every day, even after I ’d stopped advertising.” Then came the unexpected recognition: the Best Dog Walker of Stonnington 2026 award, based on customer reviews, service consistency and professional standards. “I have a police check, CPR training, business insurance. I always wanted to do things properly — and credentials really matter here.”

Behind the success, though, lies a passion that began long before Australia. Miriam grew up surrounded by animals: her mother breeds Persian and Ragdoll cats, and their home was never without pets. “For my first birthday, they gave me a puppy who lived with me for over 18 years,” she recalls warmly.

Today, Mimi Pet Land has built a large and loyal client base in just two years — and shows no signs of slowing down. To young Italians who have just arrived in Australia and are growing disheartened by the job hunt, Miriam has a message worth hearing: “If you have a passion or you ’re good at something, don ’t let closed doors stop you. In Australia, turning an idea into a real opportunity is often far simpler than you ’d think.”