How can I serve you?
If you're just starting perhaps you've spoken to an architect. Maybe you've met with someone that designs state-of-the-art kennels and can build you the facility of your dreams. Now that doggie daycare has been around for a while, you'll find lots of amazing experts that can help you. What I offer is a bit different. I offer realtime answers, solutions, and feedback to the problems that you face on a day-to-day basis. What made my first few years the most difficult was not having someone that I could count on, someone that could give me clear guidance as to what to do in particular situations. My sister was supportive. She always answered her phone when I called. My parents were amazing too, but they didn't really "get it." My family lived far away and besides that, unless you've been in this industry you just can't understand how difficult it can be. We get to play with dogs all day, right? How stressful can that be? Let me answer that...a lot! Pet owners have high standards. They want their dog to play and have a ball all day but they never want their dog to get a scratch. They want live webcams, little or no breaks for their dog, an immaculate facility, convenient hours, holiday pick-ups (but with no fees), and, of course, they want all of this to be accompanied by outstanding customer service. Dog daycare owners constantly have to find the balance between always making the customer happy and making sure the dogs are truly experiencing an enriching and safe environment. Dog daycare is a business like no other. I'm here to be the mentor to you that I wish I had when I began.
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Staffing is another challenge. Traditional kennels can hire one set of people who interact with the clients and then another set of people who do the care of the pets and the cleaning of the facility. Different skill sets, different personalities, different positions. Daycares have to find all of these qualities in just one person. The daycare attendant must shine at customer service, being able to communicate about a pet's day to a worried owner. They have to be friendly and upbeat, have a knowledge of dog behavior and group play behavior, AND be willing to clean up poop and dog hair from the bottom of the outside fences. That's a tough combination to find. Once you do find that special employee, now you have to keep them around, pay them fairly, actively manage them and most importantly, make sure they have the training they need to be successful playgroup supervisors. With a staff of over 50 employees, I get lots of practice with managing team members.
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Examples of ways I can help
Dreaming of starting a dog daycare? I can help you with the following:
- Give you a realistic picture into what it's like to own a dog daycare (even letting you spend time at our facility to see behind-the-scenes)
- Help give you an idea of the kind of income you can expect to earn in this industry
- Give you direction on calculating your start-up costs
- Serve as your "expert" if needed when approaching banks for start-up loans
- Help you decide whether you should start by renting or buying your facility
- Look at (online) and talk to you about potential rental or purchase properties
- Much more...
Is your dog daycare in the works? I can help you with the following:
- Look at your blueprints or rental space and help you with design and layout
- Give advice on products and companies I've worked what I would recommend
- Tell you the things that are must-have's and what project items can either wait, or would be a waste of money
- Walk you through my facilities showing you layout, products used, and which areas produce the most income
- Evaluate, or help formulate, your logo, "brand", website and all marketing material
- Provide paperwork such as enrollment forms, dog evaluation forms, etc.
- Provide a training plan for new staff
- Much more...
Already own a dog daycare? I can help you with the following:
- Evaluate all promotional materials; logos, your "brand", website, social media, etc.
- Evaluate your training material and suggest changes or provide use of our training materials
- Allow you and your employees to have in-facility training at one of our locations focusing on anything from playgroup management to customer service
- Be a "secrect shopper" and help evaluate where you might need additional customer service training
- Be on-call for daily questions and chats as needed (sample calls below)
- Much more...
Example questions and phone calls from owners already in business:
- "One of my superstar employees doesn't think she should trim pet toenails without being paid more? Should I agree?"
- "I had a dog get injured on a playroom gate, should I pay for the vet expenses to have it looked at?"
- "Should I allow pitbulls in my playgroups?"
- "How can I better prepare my staff for tough client conversations?"
- "At what point do you dismiss a daycare dog?"
- "Help, Department of Agriculture is headed our way for an inspection and I'm nervous."
- "How would you suggest testing a dog for playgroups?"
- "I don't normally allow unneutered males but this one is a show dog and I really like the client, should I bend the rules?"
- "I found a really great groomer, how much should I pay her?"
- "I really think it's time to raise my prices but don't want to make my clients mad. Should I just wait?"
Consulting Packages
Let's Chat Mentor Calls & Packages
$75.00 - $4,000.00
Sometimes all you need is a phone call. Whether you are just beginning to explore the idea of opening a pet care facility, are already in the beginning stages of planning, or even already open, there are times when you need someone you can talk to, ask questions, get advice from, or even vent to when things aren't going quite like you had planned.
As I was growing my business, I didn't have anyone I could turn to. Local people in the industry saw my new business as a threat and didn't want to offer me any advice that might help my business thrive. Not having someone to talk to and seek advice from is one of the main reasons I suffered so many setbacks in my first few years of business. I want to help others not experience those same setbacks by providing a listening ear and years of experience to talk through anything business related with those that might need me.
For single calls, you can choose either a 30 Minute Quick Chat or the Full Length Mentor Call. My goal during the Full Length Mentor Call is to tackle any and all questions without putting a limit on time. However, if we find the call is moving into the second hour and we still have a lot to cover, I may ask you to purchase another call and we can set up a future time to finish the conversation. I am very flexible and will only do this if we both see that we're going to push into the 2-hour mark.
The 6-Month Call Package and the 1-Year Call Package offers unlimited calls and emails for the duration of the package time period.
I am located in EST and will need to plan call times accordingly.
Behind-the-Scenes Tour with Q&A
$550.00
Pawtropolis currently has two locations located within 15 miles of each other in Athens, GA. Pawtropolis "Westside" is 12,000sqft and averages around 75 dogs each day (approximately 125 at max capacity). "Eastside" is 17,000sqft averaging around 115 dogs daily (approximately 175 pets at max capacity). The ability to view an actively working daycare is invaluable. You'll be able to see all the nooks and crannies, helping you gain ideas for your own building layout and potential products to use.
We'll begin the tour at our smaller Westside location then head 17 minutes away to the larger Eastside facility. We'll point out upgrades and changes that were made when we built our second location. After touring both locations, Amanda Crook or Shane Allen will sit down with you for a question and answer session. You can pick their brain on everything you saw in the facilities as well as run some of your ideas by them for feedback.
-We offer these facility tours at the discounted rate of $350 when added onto a Mentor Package.
-We ask that you not take pictures within the facility.
-Though length of time is flexible for the Q & A, we ask that time for that section be limited to no more than 1-hour.
Facility Design & Layout
$600.00 - $950.00
The design of your facility is a huge factor in determining the success of your business. It needs to be designed to maximize capacity, help with efficiently for staff during daily operations, accommodate the needs of the animals, and be visually appealing to pet owners.
I have a great understanding of what aspects of facility design make a huge difference when actually operating a pet care business. To date, I've designed over 15 facilities, 5 of which have completed construction and are in operation.
We will talk through what services you want to offer and what details you'd like to see in your facility. I can work with specific dimensions if you are limited on your building size, help in determining size if you are working with an empty property, or help design a facility that is going into an already built space.
I design using graph paper and pencil. Once we have decided on the final design, I then use pens and markers to make the drawing easier to read and add in plumbing and electrical needs, as well as smaller details like cabinets and shelves.
The plan will be ready to hand over to your architect or your general contractor for them to create official architectural renderings ready for construction.
The price for facility design is discounted for those that already have a Let's Chat Mentor Call 6-Month or 1-Year package.