Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Hunter.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been a groomer basically since I got out of high school and having my own grooming company was always an aspiration of mine. My husband and I finally made it happen when we started Wet Noses in June/August 2015 with a shoestring budget and completely empty bank accounts. We both 26 years old and had a 7 month old daughter, so things were very hectic. We spent a lot of time getting our website up and did everything we could to start getting customers. It was slow for a few month – I didn’t pay myself for any work that I did, Allan and I both had jobs and neither of us took money from the business. Every dime we made went back into the company.
Mobile grooming vans are very expensive (around $86k+ depending on options) and we couldn’t afford that so we had a “less than stellar” van, but thanks to Allan and his best friend working days, nights and weekends to make sure it stayed running, we were able to keep going until we purchased our brand new vans we have today.
For about 6 months we hobbled along, still growing slightly month after month until about month 7 when all the sudden the phone started ringing off of the hook and we started to see real growth. Month 6 to 7 we saw about a 200% increase and we have kept growing month after month ever since.
When you have a genuine love for what you do and a passion for the work/service you’re providing, it absolutely translates into your businesses success.
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?
It has been very bumpy and we’ve been very lucky to have friends to help us. We didn’t have family to ask for money, we didn’t have great credit and we felt rather alone when we started. We knew that there was no falling back or safety net if something happened/we couldn’t afford a repair or anything. I actually think some of our friends & relatives thought it was a fool’s errand to open our business.
The biggest problem with having a small budget was that we had to settle for a grooming van that was passed its glory day and the lady who sold it to us concealed a ton of problems and issues with it. I recall on one of the first days of grooming, the van stalled at the toll booth and there was angry people behind me honking, I was all by myself and quite a bit freaked out. In mobile grooming, the van IS the business, so if the van isn’t working, there’s no money. If the van needs a repair in the morning that will take a while, I have to call 6-8 people and reschedule appointments.
We all look back now and laugh and shake our heads about the number of issues we had before we finally became successful and any issues we had, we had to overcome with excellent customer service and the level of work we provided.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Wet Noses Mobile Grooming – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We provide mobile dog grooming, which is less stressful on the dog and the owner. The dog isn’t in a cage for hours, it is more sanitary and way easier on the dog. You, nor your pet ever have to leave the house. We have everything we need on board the van from power, to water and electricity and lighting.
We’re very proud at the level of service we provide and it shows in our reviews, we have 86 reviews on our Facebook currently and 100% of them are 5-stars
We’re set apart by a few ways – 1.) We’re very much interested in technology, we had one of the first online booking schedulers in the area (until we started taking TOO many appointments and the system got flooded, which is a good thing). We have a great website where current/potential customers can read reviews, take a “tour” of the vans, read about the groomers and overall become more comfortable and familiar with their grooming experience. We also take credit cards via company iPads, send out auto-reminders and keep in touch with emails. A surprising amount of other dog groomers aren’t aware of or don’t put in the immense amount of time it takes to keep everything up to date and well oiled. There’s no “5PM – the workday is over for us” and often times I’ll find my husband researching companies / methods to help us and our clients even at 11:30 at night.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have LOTS of big ideas for the future. We’re greatly looking forward to our continued work with dog rescues and charities such as the Animal House Foundation. We’d like to expand further into the Northshore and we even have some out of state expansion ideas in the works. Everything we’re focused on doing moving forward is to provide pets with a better quality of service and in many cases, quality of life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wetnosesgrooming.com
- Phone: 847-345-5246
- Email: wetnosesgrooming@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wetnosesgrooming
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
