Friday, January 27, 2012

Franchisee Profile: Peggy Kennedy of Los Angeles, CA

Name:  Peggy Kennedy
Opening Date: March 2006
Brand:   Fetch! Pet Care


After spending numerous years in the retail management and financial industries, local business owner Peggy Kennedy realized that she needed a career she was passionate about. After taking a two month leave of absence to intern at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT, Peggy finally realized where her heart belonged – with animals. Leaving the retail management and financial industries for good, Peggy moved to LA from Boston in order to pursue her new found passion. After being employed as a pet sitter with Fetch! Pet Care, the nation's largest and most trusted franchisor for professional pet sitting and dog walking services, she finally decided to open her own business.

Q: Where are you from?
A: Although I was in Boston for 14 years, I’m originally from Rochester, NY. I moved to Boston to attend college and fell in love with the city. In fact, I would still be there if I could.

Q: What was your career before franchising?
A: Before I got into franchising, I was involved in the retail management industry and financial industry. I began selling industrial equipment for a small family owned business in MA, but wasn’t thrilled with my career. From there, I got into the financial world and worked for Capital One for six to seven years. However, I became antsy and couldn’t stand being confined in the office anymore. In search of another career, I took a two month leave of absence to intern at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT to see if I wanted to work with animals. Although I loved it, the location was very remote and not a place where my husband could sustain his career. Shortly after my internship finished, my husband and I decided to move to LA, which was much more appropriate for him. We’ve been here since 2005.

Q: How did you learn about the brand?
A:  I learned about the Fetch! Pet Care brand from the existing location in west LA. I worked with that location as a sitter and finally decided to open my own pet sitting business!

Q: What was appealing to you about joining a franchise system?
A: The most appealing aspect of joining a franchise system for me was the fact that everything was already in place. I didn’t have the time or money to invest in my own business, so the turnkey operations aspect was also attractive.

Q: With regard to your previous experience, what skills do you feel helped you in your business?
A: While in the industrial equipment sales industry and financial industry, I was able to gain a lot of customer service experience. As a result, I’ve become successful at diffusing situations and giving customers what they need. In addition to customer service skills, I was also able to gain administrative operation skills which have helped me become extremely organized. By becoming organized in my professional career, I’m able to work more quickly and efficiently.  

Q: What makes your business different?
A: I believe my business’s communication skills set us apart from others. As a business, we try to respond to every voicemail and email within an hour in order to acknowledge our customers in an appreciative manner. By doing so, we keep an open flow of communication. It’s what makes or breaks our business.

Q: How does your business connect with the community?
A: Our biggest contribution to the community is my involvement with the local Animal Rescue. I also do some free walks myself and try to donate my time and money.

Q: Are there any prominent industry trends that you are experiencing right now?
A: The industry has seemed to follow the economy. For instance, I grew significantly from 2006 until 2008. By the time September 2008 came around, I noticed our business slowly declining. Our business kept declining in 2009, but we managed to get by. By 2010, we started to see the industry slowly picking up. Now, in 2011, business has gone bonkers. I’m not sure if more people have found a need for mid-day walks, or if people are taking more vacations, but it seems as though people are back to traveling.

ABOUT FETCH! PET CARE
Fetch! Pet Care was founded in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002 by Paul Mann, who wanted his pets to remain in his home instead of kenneling them while he traveled. Finding no professional company suitable to the task, Mann started his own firm with the goal of providing as-needed, reliable, and loving care to pets of all kinds. Today, there are more than 3,000 Fetch! professionals operating in 1,500 U.S. communities. FETCH! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Comprised of pet lovers turned business owners, each independently and locally owned Fetch! focuses on taking the stress out of finding a sitter and adding convenience to customer’s lives by doing all of the legwork for them. Fetch! matches you and your pets with the most qualified, experienced pet professional possible. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Fetch! Pet Care featured on WGN Midday News

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured on WGN Midday News in Chicago. Fetch! Pet Care franchisees Carolyn and Greg Alonso brought four dogs along with them to demonstrate four different exercises that people can do with their pets as part of the show's Midday Fix segment. The couple spoke with news anchor Dina Bair at length about the benefits of exercising with your pet and just how easy it is to do. Click here to watch the entire segment.

WGN Midday Fix Segment



Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Fetch! Pet Care featured on Denver's CBS4 Morning News

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in a segment on Denver's CBS4 Morning News! The segment featured Felicia Quintana, Fetch! Pet Care owner in Denver, who discussed tips that pet owners need to know when the temperature drops. Felicia demonstrated a few tips by bringing her dog in-studio to show how to fit them for jackets to conserve body heat and talked about the importance of using pet-safe alternatives to snow-melting chemicals. This segment is a great way for viewers to ensure that their pets are happy and healthy during the winter months. Click here to view the video or watch it below.
 

Friday, January 13, 2012

Franchisee Profile: Chris Pulliam of Fort Worth, Texas

Fetch! Pet Care – Chris Pulliam
Franchisee Since: 2007

Q: What was your career before franchising?
A:  Before franchising with Fetch! Pet Care, I was working for a company that trains commercial truck drivers. My wife and I wanted to look into a business where I could keep my job and the benefits that they provided my family. I wasn’t ready to venture out on my own with a business.

Q: What was appealing to you about joining a franchise system?
A: My family has been always been entrepreneurs. My great grandfather started a swimming pool business which has been in the family for years. Swimming pools weren’t something that interested me so out of college I began thinking about the pet care industry and opportunities to start a business in that field. After my wife and I got married and had children, we were looking for something that we could do that would still allow me to keep a full time job. Going back to the pet care industry, I found Fetch! and decided it was an affordable opportunity in a field that I cared about.

Q: Regarding your previous experience, which skills do you feel helped you in your business?
A:  I think my previous experience managing people has really helped me. I have 8 contracted employees and I have had to be very selective with who I hire. You must have good pet sitters to run a successful business and be able to trust them. You have to have a good relationship with them so they can provide the best customer service.

Q: Why did you choose to enter the pet care industry?
A: We chose to enter into the pet care industry because we love pets! The people that use Fetch! are the type of clientele that hold their pets in high esteem, and since I have always had an interest in this field, it seemed like a natural fit that I would help care for other people’s animals.

Q: What makes your business different?
A:  Most pet companies are one person operations. We have many different pet sitters so no matter what you are going to get a qualified and trusted sitter from us. We will never have to turn a pet away because we are prepared to handle many different clients.

ABOUT FETCH! PET CARE
Fetch! Pet Care was founded in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002 by Paul Mann, who wanted his pets to remain in his home instead of kenneling them while he traveled. Finding no professional company suitable to the task, Mann started his own firm with the goal of providing as-needed, reliable, and loving care to pets of all kinds. Today, there are more than 3,000 Fetch! professionals operating in 1,500 U.S. communities. FETCH! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Comprised of pet lovers turned business owners, each independently and locally owned Fetch! focuses on taking the stress out of finding a sitter and adding convenience to customer’s lives by doing all of the legwork for them. Fetch! matches you and your pets with the most qualified, experienced pet professional possible. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com

Friday, January 6, 2012

Franchisee Profile: Libby Mitchell of Dallas, TX


Name:  Libby Mitchell
Opening Date: May 2009
Brand:   Fetch! Pet Care
Location: Dallas, TX

Q: Where are you from?
A: I am originally from New Jersey but went to college in Massachusetts before I began working for the Forest Service.   I worked in a variety of different fields from computers to finance and moved to Texas 13 years ago.

Q: What was your career before franchising?
A: I received my degree in biology and worked for several companies before I decided personality-wise that I was better suited to working for myself.  I actually opened a small independent film business in 2002 and we do work on feature film, short films, and industrial work. 

Q: Why did you decide to open your own business?
A: I was very interested in running and managing a company. Corporate jobs do not offer a lot of freedom, so I wanted to do something that would allow me to use my ideas and personality. I have experience as an entrepreneur from owning my production company and have a love for animals, so I wanted to explore my options with a business that could combine the two.

Q: When choosing a franchise, what was appealing to you about Fetch! Pet Care?
A: I was looking at franchises on MSN and Fetch! kept coming up as a successful and thriving franchise business. I decided to look into it and met with Fetch! executives in May 2009. The ground work was already laid out and the name alone has a great reputation. Although no business is completely recession proof, it was clear they are expanding at a steady rate. I have worked with rescue animals since I was a teenage and have several rescue dogs living with us and also take care of my mom who lives with us.  I needed a business which focused on the well-being and care of others and something I knew I would enjoy.

Q: With regard to your previous experience, what skills do you feel helped you in your business?
A: I worked with a woman who owned five businesses and I was her operations manager charged with keeping everything on track. I own a small production company as well, so I have a lot of experience when it comes to managing and running a company.

From my experience as a leader, I have a good sense of how to encourage everyone to work as a team and for a common goal, which, in this case, are happy clients and pets!

Q: What makes your business different?
A: The sitters and I really connect with the clients, and they are very appreciative and loyal. All of our sitters are pet  first aid trained in case of an emergency; they know what to do and how to handle an urgent situation. Everyone that works with me is happy and upbeat. What is most important to me is are  sitters who can work with animals and understand people because those are the two most important qualifications in our line of work.

Q: How does your business connect with the community?
A: We reach out to the community in a variety of ways. We handle from different angles  from attending events to social networking such as posting on blogs. We work with adoptions and non-profit pet organizations, such as Garland Pawsibilities, Linens for Animals, and Richardson Animalluv.

Q: What are some of your achievements (professionally or personally) that you think will help you along the way in your business?
A: I set goals every year, and I do my best to achieve them every year.  I may not make it right on the time period I want, but they do happen.  I think it is important to set goals because I always have the motivation to work harder and make my business the best it can be.

Q: What are your expansion or development plans?
A: I would probably like to expand in the future. I’m really interested in Allen and McKinney (Texas), so I plan to put out some feelers and see what happens.

Fetch! Pet Care was founded in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002 by Paul Mann, who wanted his pets to remain in his home instead of kenneling them while he traveled. Finding no professional company suitable to the task, Mann started his own firm with the goal of providing as-needed, reliable, and loving care to pets of all kinds. Today, there are more than 3,000 Fetch! professionals operating in 1,500 U.S. communities. FETCH! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Comprised of pet lovers turned business owners, each independently and locally owned Fetch! focuses on taking the stress out of finding a sitter and adding convenience to customer’s lives by doing all of the legwork for them. Fetch! matches you and your pets with the most qualified, experienced pet professional possible. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com
 
Web Analytics