Today we’d like to introduce you to Caraline Brockman.
Caraline, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My home was always full of animals when I was a child. I had many different types of pets from cats and dogs to hermit crabs, hamsters, turtles, birds, fish and various amphibians. Growing up with animals and in such a pet friendly environment definitely helped foster my love of animals from an early age.
In my early 20s, I was a coaching competitive figure skating and also nannying part time in NYC. One day, a lady asked me if I would be interested in nannying for her blind Italian Greyhound that required a lot of specialized care due to all of her medical needs. Intrigued, I set up an initial meeting with her and began to pet sit for her on weekday evenings or whenever she had to go out of town. Eventually, she started encouraging me to start my own pet care company stating that there were many people in NYC that could use my services. After a few of these conversations and some additional research, I decided to follow her advice and opened up Cara Care NY.
Almost immediately after starting my company, I became overwhelmed with the demand for our pet sitting and dog walking services. Slowly, I began to build an experienced team of pet care specialists. After four very successful years of serving our clients in NYC, I decided to transition my company to Chicago, which is where we are in operation today under the name Cara Care.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think whenever you are an entrepreneur, you are going to run into obstacles and challenges. However, I prefer to look at them more as lessons and opportunities for growth. I can say without a doubt that my business has been one of my greatest teachers. It has taught me life skills such as determination, leadership, and time management. In addition, it has given me the opportunity to learn more about branding, marketing, social media management, and other business related tasks.
Aside from the day to day struggles, I would have to say that one of my greatest challenges has been transitioning my company from one state to another. However, I would also say that it has been one of my greatest accomplishments, and I am so proud of where my company is today.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Cara Care Pet Care story. Tell us more about the business.
Cara Care provides in-home pet care for all companion animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish, and small animals throughout Chicago. Some of the services that we offer include dog walking, pet sitting and specialized care for pets that have medical conditions. All of our services are completely customized to the pets’ individual needs and provided in their own home, which helps reduce the travel trauma and stress that they might otherwise experience by having to travel to a boarding facility or kennel.
We specialize in working with special needs pets including those with separation anxiety, epilepsy, diabetes, FIV and other medical conditions. We are also able to administer various types of medications including pills, eye drops, ointments, injections and syringes.
Because we work with so many different types of animals in so many unique situations, continuing education has always been a top priority of mine. I am certified in Pet First Aid through the American Red Cross and certified as a Professional Pet Sitter through Pet Sitters International. Additionally, I regularly attend 1-2 pet industry conferences each year. I think that continuing education is crucial and something that pet owners should definitely ask about when they are looking to hire a pet sitter or dog walker.
One thing that set us apart is that our services are completely customized, individualized and all-inclusive, which means we don’t charge extras for mornings, evenings, weekends, extra pets or medication administration. This was very important to me because as a pet owner myself, I know that each pet is an unique individual and may not do well with just one standard visit in the middle of the day.
Additionally, we offer an easy to use online portal for all of our clients. Our clients are able to use this secure system to view their schedule, request visits, update their pet’s information, and pay invoices 24/7. Clients are also able to use it to view journal updates, which we send after each visit with notes about how the pets are doing and lots of pictures!
I am most proud of the fact that we have been able to help hundreds of pet owners go to work and on vacation without having to worry about their pets’ care. The peace of mind that we are able to provide to both the pets and their owners is what motivates us on a daily basis. I am also very proud of some of the recognition that we have received over the years for our pet care services including the “2015 Best of Thumbtack” and “2016 People Love Us on Yelp” awards.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t know that I necessarily consider myself to have good or bad luck when it comes to my life, but looking back on my business over the past five years, there have definitely been some events that occurred that one could see as fortunate. Perhaps one of the most fortunate things to have happened for my business was having the blind Italian Greyhound as my first client because without her owner encouraging me to start a business, I never would have started Cara Care.
One of the most fortunate things to happen overall, however, would have to be my experience volunteering at the Cayman Islands Humane Society in 2014. Not only was I able to learn so much about the dog culture on the islands and help so many animals in need, I also met my now four year old rescue pup, Cayman. I can remember the first moment I saw her like it was yesterday. She was sitting outside in a dirt pen completely covered in ticks, fleas and mosquitos because the shelter was overcrowded. Immediately, I asked if I could foster her for an overnight, and she ended up never having to go back to the shelter. Instead, I extended my trip by three months just to get her healthy and stable enough to fly back to the states. Once she was here, she had to undergo additional treatments for heartworm disease. Going through all of her medical procedures, treatments and surgeries as a pet parent has definitely given me another perspective as a business owner and has had a large influence over how I run and operate my company today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caracare.com
- Phone: (872) 903-3337
- Email: info@caracare.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/CaraCareLLC
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/CaraCareLLC
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/CaraCareLLC
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cara-care-chicago
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