Meet Dede Smith of Soggy Paws Grooming Boutique

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dede Smith.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started grooming almost 11 years ago. Prior to my grooming career I was a Corporate Travel Agent for 13 years for a few of the major travel companies. I’d have different accounts even at one time being responsible for the travel of 750 corporate lawyers’ thru-out the Continental US and Canada. The stress of that environment was wearing on me. It had gotten to the point where it would be less painful to just set myself on fire than to go to work every day. I started researching other careers. I always loved animals, particularly dogs. I found Great Lakes Academy of Pet Styling in Lockport IL, where I was trained by award winning groomers Jeanne Mulcahy, Ryan Mulcahy and Valerie Partyinski. I still worked my corporate job during the day and went to dog grooming school 2 nights a week and all day on Saturdays. It took me a year to finish the basic training. I hadn’t a clue as to what I was getting myself into. It wasn’t easy. I wanted to quit by the end of my 1st month. Loving dogs is the easy part, learning how to properly handle them, use clippers and scissors on a live animal that’s a different story. Its take patience and diligence.

Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. I think that the toughest part of my journey was getting people to believe in me as much if not more than I believed in myself. The looks my family and friends gave me when I told them I was going to quit my corporate job to be a dog groomer. The looks were priceless! I’ve never been one to follow the mainstream. My mother always said in order to get me to do something, just tell me that I can’t or not to do it. This was no different. I enjoy a challenge, I enjoy being the underdog. I love to prove people wrong. After I completed grooming school my intent was to continue to work my full time job, save those pay checks and start my own business. As fate would have it, on June 24th, 2009 my entire department was let go. Fortunately, I was working part-time at a little grooming salon on the south-west side. I transitioned to grooming full time immediately. Years later I would be hired by Soggy Paws South Loop as Head Groomer. After working there for 3 years my boss came to me in August 2015 and told me that I probably needed to start looking for a new job because he was closing that location at the end of the year. I thought about it overnight and asked him what it would take for me to purchase the grooming business. It wasn’t easy to get everything in order in such a short amount of time in order to be up and running by January 2016, but with blood, sweat, lots of tears and faith it happened . The hardest part about being your own boss is that often times you ONLY have you to depend on. It’s a curse and a blessing.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Soggy Paws Grooming Boutique story. Tell us more about the business.
Soggy Paws Grooming Boutique is known for the level of customer service that we give. That’s where it starts. The bottom line is that we care. It’s so much more than giving pretty haircuts, we care about the comfort and overall well-being of each dog that passes thru our door. We also educate our clients. We offer all natural spa treatments. What sets up apart from others groomers is that we are certified in hand stripping, color application, pet aesthetician, Pet C.P.R and First Aid and we are in the process of becoming an A.K.C. Certified Grooming Salon. That’s a HUGE deal! There aren’t too many dog grooming salons that can say their A.K.C. Certified. We also get our clients in and out! We take in a limited about of clients a day. We can get most breeds fully groomed in about 2 hours. People love that about us. We don’t over-book. Your appointment time is your appointment time. We dedicate that time to your dog only! We believe in continuing education, it doesn’t matter if we’ve been grooming for two years or twenty. You can always learn something new. We strive to stay on top of the latest grooming trends, styles, skin irritations and zoonotic disease. We offer online booking and we’re open two Sundays a month. Dede is also an active member of the National Dog Groomers Association of America and the Illinois of Professional Pet Groomers Association.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1609 S. Halsted Chicago IL 60608
• Website: www.spgroomingboutique.com
• Phone: 312-285-2226
• Email: soggypawsgroom@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/soggypawsgroomingboutique/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/SoggyPawsGroomingBoutique/
• Twitter: twitter.com/SoggyPawsSloop
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/soggy-paws-grooming-boutique-chicago

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Facebook – Soggy Paws Grooming Boutique

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