Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian and Colleen Mclachlan.
Brian and Colleen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We were working in Corporate America after college, got married, and a week after our honeymoon, got a dog. We were living in Los Angeles at the time, and our busy careers and brutal traffic didn’t leave much by the way of dog care for our sweet Golden Retriever puppy, Sadie. We decided to enroll her in a daycare while we were at work, and after some time with her there, we thought, this would be an excellent way for us to escape the rat race and try our own business. For three years, we researched the business, while planning our escape from LA back to Chicago where we both were from. In 2006, we sold our house in LA, and moved back with our eyes on opening Doggie Depot. We opened in Downers Grove with 5,000 square feet, and expanded the business in 2008, 2011, 2016 and now again in 2017. The business will have 39,000 square feet of space when this latest expansion is complete in August, comprised of three separate buildings on the same block in Downtown Downers Grove.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has generally been somewhat smooth, with some tough spots along the way. For one, a husband and wife working together in a 24/7 business had its challenges. We were able to split our time at the business when we had kids, and one of us is home, and one at work, and then we trade spots. This helped us in many ways, and enabled us to care for the kids while also working full time.
Learning the ropes for managing an expanding staff has been challenging as well. We currently have 37 employees, and there’s a lot that goes with managing a staff of that size, that we didn’t have 10 years ago when we had zero employees and worked 7 days a week.
Doggie Depot – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Doggie Depot offers Doggie Daycare, overnight Boarding, Training classes and grooming through another business in town. We are known for our many accolades over the years, including the Best Suburban dog boarding facility in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Our customers can also count on seeing one of Colleen or Brian on every visit, as we do work at the facility 6 days a week still.
I am most proud of our outstanding word of mouth and reputation in the area. It is not uncommon for someone who is new to town to post on the local message board like NextDoor, “Where should I take my dog?” The responses will often be “Doggie Depot” repeatedly. The fact that people some that know us, and some that don’t, will recommend us on these forums by the 20’s and 30’s of responses, makes us proud.
I think we are set apart by a few key areas 1) we are owner operated all the time. Many facilities have an owner that is not involved in the day to day, dog to dog part of the business. 2) We have large facilities that are well maintained. 3) We were the first in our area to offer a luxury boarding option like our hotel room suites.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We always say that success hits us in the back of the head. We have found that making the right decision every time, even if that is not the proper “business” decision, money-wise, leads to success. So many times we have had a dog destroy something in our facility, and while the industry standards indicate that the dog’s owner pays for it, and it is commonplace for facilities to require that. We have found that it is better for both us and the client to absorb that cost, and make the client into a super-fan,
Success comes in little chunks. You leave your dog here for the week, and we define success as that dog going home happy and healthy after a great week. If we can do that 100 times a week all summer long, that is a very successful summer.
Pricing:
- Daycare rates $24-$30 per day, depending on how often you come
- Boarding rates $42-$46 per night, inclusive of daycare
- Boarding in a suite $65 per night, inclusive of daycare
Contact Info:
- Address: 635 Rogers Street
Downers Grove, IL
60515 - Website: www.doggiedepot.com
- Phone: 630-969-7529
- Email: info@doggiedepot.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/doggiedepotinc
Image Credit:
Amy Tripple Photography on the family photo
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