Hustling for the Hounds: How This Young Entrepreneur Built a Pet Grooming Business from Scratch
Interview
Who are you and what business/side hustle did you start?
Hi. My name is Kimberly, and I am the founder of Capetonian Pets.
Before I started the business I was studying dog psychology. In those 4 years of studying, I wanted start a dog training business, but I haven’t found the confidence yet. So, to start small, I decided to have a pet-sitting business, which I ran on my own for the first month. My friends started helping me pet-sit as I wasn’t able to be in 2 places at once. This was a brilliant idea because I was able give my friends some holiday money and not disappoint clients. And because of my amazing friends who helped take over my bookings, I had the free time to study further. So I decided to use the money I received from pet sitting and from being an extra on a show called One Piece to fund a K9 and feline grooming course.
After a few months of practicals and a year of volunteering as a washer at other parlours, I finally felt ready to start my own parlour. Thankfully, my parents' help and support allowed me to purchase all the equipment needed to start this adventure of mine. They even allowed me to use part of the garage as my parlour, which I am so grateful for!
The pet-sitting business is still up and running and those clients have also become clients for my parlour. My friends are still pet-sitting while I run the grooming part of the business. My plan is to have all your pets needs under 1 “woof” - grooming needs, caring needs, and treats needs of course!
How did you come up with the idea?
Capetonian Pets was a passion project.
Pet-sitting was a way for me to learn the body language of dogs when owners are not around, which circles back to my studies, which focus on the body language and behaviour of dogs. The bonus part about pet sitting was learning how to become independent - cooking and cleaning for myself, and having the responsibility of looking after all the beautiful pets I’ve met.
Honestly, I couldn’t come up with a name, but I realised that we’re in Cape Town, therefore, the pets here are Capetonian, so… Capetonian Pets.
It felt so good to get paid for something I love doing!
What were the very first steps you took to get your business going?
It took 2 years to plan my pet-sitting and grooming business before I actually started. I volunteered for a year at various parlours to get an idea of what their setup looks like and how they run and organize things. I worked as a washer most of the time, meaning I had to wash and dry dogs. I used to just stand and ask permission to watch the other groomers in hopes I’d learn a new skill or they’d take me under their wing.
After all the in-depth planning, you realise that you can’t plan everything and have to go with the flow for the most part. I did a grooming course for about 5 months and finally got my certificate.
My parents helped me buy all my big equipment, but before starting I was buying little things at the time with the money I received during the petsiting, which helped kick start the business. I turned the garage into my parlour and started to do all my friends’ dogs, charging R150 for a full groom. The way I priced my grooms was to be a couple of rands lower than the parlours in my area, to get as much practice as I could.
It felt so good to get paid for something I love doing!
How long did it take to start seeing consistent earnings?
At the start, I made ZERO BUCKS because I did family and friends' dogs for free to gain confidence. After a month, I started charging. I started my prices super cheap, charging only R150 for a small dog. I only offered small and medium dogs in the beginning, but that lasted only 2 weeks before I started getting bookings for big dogs, and decided to provide that as a service as well. In The first month of actually charging people, I made maybe R500. But luckily I still had the pet-sitting business that helped keep the parlour going. I made a couple thousand during the December holiday. After about 7 months of grooming, I upped my prices and added more service options to customers.
Comparing how much I earned in the beginning to now…it’s a big difference. I’m earning 10x more than what I did in the beginning. This is a slow-starting business, especially in winter when you get little to no dogs. Owning a parlour is a seasonal business. I try my best to educate owners on how important grooming is during winter for just basic maintenance, from ear cleaning and brushing your dog’s hair and teeth and keeping the nails short.
My business has only been open for less than a year, so income is pretty inconsistent, but like I said, it’ll always be like that due to it being a seasonal business. The only way to go from 0 to something is to promote yourself and always make your work look good so that people can promote you as well. It’s also important to stay positive in the first 2 years of your business. Things take time to grow, and it takes time to reach your goals!
How did you grow your business?
I posted ads on Facebook groups and made videos of my grooms and started posting them on TikTok and Facebook which helped a lot! It made me stand out! I sent clients videos and photos of how their dogs were doing during the groom, which they appreciated and reposted, so I got clients this way as well.
In the beginning, I just had to learn how to deal with situations as they came, learn from them, and learn how to run everything in a more manageable way. It does get a lot sometimes. I’m the social media manager, the admin lady, the groomer, the boss, etc., I’ve hired my friends to pet sit for me all around Cape Town, but with grooming, if I REALLY need help, my father helps me or I hire someone to wash and blow-dry the dogs which helps so much! And I’m not as tired after the groom and have time to play with the dogs afterward, which is always the best part!
Watching my business grow is such a good feeling, especially with the clients I’ve met along the way who have turned into my friends as well.
What tools and resources do you use to run your business?
I use my phone for everything! From editing to admin work. Everything. I use WhatsApp business which allows me to keep notes on my clients and what I need to know, and I use the apps that come with the iPhone which have a lot of tools to help you run a business.
Grooming books with all the different hairstyles are a must for remembering how to groom dogs correctly. I’m still learning to improve certain haircuts and I’ve spoken to many groomers before and some of them said it took 10 YEARS to achieve their grooming style.
What hurdles have you had to overcome on your entrepreneurial journey?
I used to work for a plant store before I started the dog grooming business and sadly the store closed down. I saw that as a sign to not be afraid and JUST DO IT!!! I was scared to start and nervous about being criticized, but I also wanted customers to feel free to let me know what I needed to change or how they’d like their dogs done. Thankfully I’ve received so many compliments on my grooming and my clients always look happy when they see their furbabies, which makes my day!
The difficult part of my business is time management. If a client is late, all your other grooms will feel a bit rushed, especially being a 1-on-1 groomer. I enjoy that I can be in a peaceful environment with not so many dogs around, which could make other dogs uncomfortable. I try my best to give the dogs a good experience and I take my time so the equipment isn’t as scary.
What lessons have you learned throughout your entrepreneurial journey?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be persistent, not give up easily on things I want, and to hold my head up high. I’ve come across many challenges such as difficult dogs, where I get bitten or the dog is constantly moving, but I always take a step back and take a deep breath in and try to remind myself that this isn’t a spa day for them. This way, I learn each dog's trigger and use alternatives for them. I don’t want anyone’s dog to come to the parlour scared. I want them to be happy to see me.
Spending money on equipment or different products is the biggest risk and learning what company works best for you and talking business over the phone it’s all so scary for the first time.
What advice can you offer to other aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their businesses?
Just do it! It is a lot of work, but with the right mindset and goals and a good support system, you can do whatever you want! The biggest advice I can give is to have patience. LOTS of it. Learn from your mistakes and don’t give up. I know it’s cliche but it’s so true. And also be confident in what you do. People will radiate off that.