Originally loyal customers of Fetch! Pet Care, friends Karen Culley and Danielle Proctor took the leap into business ownership together in 2008 when they bought an existing franchise from an owner who was moving to a different state. Knowing that business ownership can put a strain on friendships, the two work hard to maintain a balance between their business and friendship to ensure they are able to work well together and continue to have fun as friends. Each with a strong background in business, the pair splits responsibilities to ensure all aspects of the business are looked after. Karen has four cats, and Danielle as one dog, one cat and a chinchilla. Q: What were your careers before franchising?
Karen: I worked as a paralegal and corporate manager for a privately owned family investment company for 25 years before accepting an early retirement package and retiring for a year. I now work for a private wealth manager in addition to owning Fetch! Although the clients are definitely a lot different (some with fur, some without), there are many similarities in the areas of customer service and the need to be efficient and organized.
Danielle: I am somewhat of a serial entrepreneur. I had been in the software industry for 12 years when I left to start my own construction company back in 2003. It was around that time that I fell in love with golf, which is how I met Karen, and I started to get into the golfing scene. While golfing I was injured and as a result I began to do Pilates. I liked it so much that I started my own Pilates studio, too — so I own three businesses right now. My philosophy is that I see businesses that are out there and I want to see how I can run them to make them better. I’ve brought that mentality to running Fetch!, where we are purely customer driven rather than focusing on the mentality of being driven by the masses.
Q: How did you decide to start a business together?
Karen: We both discovered Fetch! as clients before we considered buying the franchise. When we heard that the former owner was relocating out of state and was interested in selling her business, we explored the possibilities. As animal lovers, we had always talked about going into business together and doing something that focused on animals, so this seemed like a natural fit and a good opportunity. By purchasing an existing franchise, as opposed to starting a new franchise location, we were able to hit the ground running without having to experience the early growing pains of a new business. Of course, we had to really keep on our toes to make sure our existing clients and sitters were taken care of seamlessly.
Q: What has business been like since you took over?
Karen: We have grown slowly and steadily, relying on the Internet and word-of-mouth, rather than spending a lot of money on print advertising. Because Pittsburgh is such a big city, local advertising in all the areas that we cover proved to be costly. We sometimes see a slowdown in the winter months for obvious reasons, but we have never had any bad months. Last year was our best performance to date, increasing our gross sales by more than 70 percent. We now have more than 40 sitters and we cover the City of Pittsburgh and all points North.
Q: Was there a moment that you knew this was the right move for you?
Danielle: The morning we were leaving for our training in San Francisco, one of Karen’s cats wasn’t feeling well. In fact, she was worried that there was a serious problem. She had to make a decision as to whether to continue to San Francisco or turn around and go home. She called her Fetch! sitter, who promptly took the cat to the emergency room. When our flight landed in California and I turned on my phone, I had a message that my chinchilla had gotten its leg caught in its cage and was also on its way to the emergency room. We both wondered if this was some kind of omen. What it really showed us was how good our pet sitters are and how well equipped they are to handle any situation. They each sat with our animals and saw them through their emergencies. That experience solidified our decision to join Fetch! It drove home the point that our sitters are really our best asset.
Q: What are your expansion or development plans?
Danielle: For this franchise, expansion comes in the form of ZIP codes. We recently bought two more ZIP codes and already have a double territory. We are quickly expanding our coverage to service more people’s pet sitting needs.
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.
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