Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Avino.
Chelsea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve loved dogs since before I could even walk. I started off working in various animal related jobs (pet store, veterinary/boarding facility, and a pet sitting company) at a young age before following my dream of becoming a dog groomer. About five years ago, I began working as a dog bather in a couple of different grooming facilities, learning tips and tricks from the groomers I was working for at the time. Eventually, after a lot of practice and self-teaching, I began working professionally as a groomer. Fast forward to this year, 2017, I opened my home based grooming business and haven’t looked back since. I absolutely love what I do and love my furry clients.
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’m very fortunate to say that overall I’ve had a fairly smooth transition into my career of dog grooming and now running my own business. A somewhat minor obstacle I’ve had to overcome was building my own self confidence in what I do over the years. Going into business ownership is a big deal and sometimes I would worry about the “what-ifs.” (What if my business doesn’t grow? What if people don’t like the idea of being home based? Etc.) Luckily, these “what-ifs” haven’t been an issue and I’m extremely happy with where I’m at right now. My clients are amazing and business is growing.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Paws on Sherwood is a home-based dog grooming business located in Downers Grove. I specialize in what I like to call “cute, but practical” haircuts. What this means is, I don’t necessarily do show cuts that you see on the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, but instead create cute styles that are easily maintained and recommend proper grooming schedules/routines to my clients in order to keep their dogs looking their best.
I also offer full de-shedding packages for the short to medium hair breeds (for example: Labradors) that tend to shed heavily during the warmer seasons of the year. Nothing is more satisfying than a room full of hair that’s just come off a heavily shedding dog!
I’m most proud of my company for providing such a personal, one-on-one experience for every client and dog that comes in. On an average day, there are only one or two dogs in the salon at a time, so it’s always a much quieter experience than a high volume storefront grooming salon. This is especially helpful for anxious pets. It’s so nice to meet new people and their dogs and share my passion with them by sending them out with a beautiful, fresh groom.
Being home based allows me to give people a much different experience compared to most of the large chain stores and storefront groom shops. Like I mentioned before, everyone gets a more one-on-one experience, specially tailored to their needs. It’s nice to have the opportunity to chat face-to-face with all my clients and know them by name, rather than having dogs just sent my way from a reception desk.
Something else my company does different from most other groom shops or corporate chains is include the use of high quality shampoos specialized to the specific pet in every groom package. For example, all shedding dogs will be bathed in “Furminator” brand shampoo and conditioning treatment, dogs with sensitive skin will be bathed in oatmeal shampoo, or white dogs, such as Malteses, will be bathed in whitening shampoo. These shampoos are used at no extra charge to the owners. All groom packages also come standard with an oatmeal based “blueberry facial.”
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always known as the “animal lover” by my peers. I was a quiet kid and still remain a bit shy to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pawsonsherwood.com
- Phone: 630-779-8175
- Email: pawsonsherwood@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawsonsherwood/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pawsonsherwood
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