Business & Tech
She'll Spoil Your Pets in Suwanee
Brianna Brown makes a business out of what we love to do, coddling our animals.
The 2011-12 American Pet Products Association (APPA) national pet owners survey reports that 62% of U.S. households own a pet. That's about 73 million homes. The APPA also expects consumer pet industry spending to surpass $50 billion in 2011 despite the economic conditions affecting other industries.
At the heart of all these big numbers are service providers like Brianna Brown, founder and owner of Spoiled Paws of Suwanee. She serves pet owners on an individual basis to help them provide a warm home for their pets.
Spoiled Paws is a full-service, in-home pet-sitting business. Many pet owners choose to board their pets while they are away, while others choose to keep their pets in the familiar surroundings of their home. Brown's service provides individualized care for home pet sitting such as exercise, play time, feeding, and delivery of prescription medication.
Brown didn't start her business from a formal plan. You might say the business found her. She purchased her first dog in 2000 and signed up for an obedience class. The obedience class covered some agility skills and it became apparent that her dog excelled in this area. One thing led to another, and Brown soon found herself traveling to competitions with her dog.
With travel playing such a large part of her life, she wanted to start a business that allowed her the flexibility to be at home with her pets and to travel for competitions if needed. An out-of-town friend of Brown talked to her about a petting sitting business that inspired her to start one in the Suwanee area. So in 2002 Brown founded Spoiled Paws.
She advertised in community newsletters, festival booths, and through networking to grow the business. After about 12 months she had enough business to quit her job and focus fully with the new business.
Brown picked the business name after thinking about the question “What’s most important to people and their animals?” Brown smiles when she answers that, “They like them spoiled.” For the company logo she wanted to include a variety of pets because she offers services for more than dogs and cats. So she had a design artist create something with a dog, cat, and fish. Although now she wishes she had put a bird in it.
Some clients will hire Brown to work during the middle of the day while they are at work. Others use her services while they are on vacation or out of town on business travel.
A typical day for Brown can go from 6am to 11pm. Her work time includes holidays and weekends, as these are peak holiday and travel times for her clients.
In her words, “I work a lot when other people don't.” Brown does not guarantee specific times with clients because of scheduling logistics. Typically, cats are visited once a day and dogs between two and four times a day. Most visits are early in morning, midafternoon, and later at night.
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She tries to base her schedule on location to make travel logistics easier. Clients can use the Spoiled Paws Internet site to log in and schedule visits. Brown requests a 48-hour notice so that she can make her schedule in advance.
Brown completes an interview with each new client so that she can meet the family and the pet(s). This is an important aspect of her business because it allows her to customize the service provided for each client’s needs. Information discovered in the interview is kept with the client profile online. This includes things such as medicine, food, and diet requirements.
Brown is also an active teacher of behavior and agility training classes at a location off Jimmy Carter Boulevard for a non-profit organization. She is available for private training on request.
What has she learned along the way? “In this business you have to show clients that you care about their animals,” Brown says. “Get to know the clients' animals. If you don't pay attention to what they need you can miss important details. Also, you need to know the clients too. It's not a hard job but requires attention to detail.“
For more information on Brianna Brown and Spoiled Paws, visit her sites:
