Women Petpreneurs

Better known as The Oily Groomer, Malissa is the ultimate holistic groomer andI'm always excited to see what she has going on.

Mary interviews one of her favorite veterinarians, Dr. Callie Foley Harris, of Pooch Perfect and The American Rescue Dog Show. Listen as we discuss the importance of representation in the pet industry.

Manessa Donovan graduated from the Florida Institute of Animal Arts in Orlando in 2010. She continued her studies and in 2013 became a “National Certified Master Groomer” through the National Dog Grooming Association of America, NDGAA. Manessa has experience in mobile grooming and in shop grooming. After receiving that certificate she became an instructor at ITA grooming school and worked there until its closing. She is an open level competitor and has won multiple awards including Best Groomed Dog in 2019.

Dawn LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who always seems to have a little pet hair in her keyboard. Her blog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians better understand and care for the special beings they share their lives and homes with. Her cat-products business, Cat in the Box, sells beautiful, well-made, and award-winning products that she designed to meet the biological needs of cats.

Brittany's whole life has been passionate about spending time with animals of all sizes. She loves the outdoors and exploring new places with my pets by my side. I groom dogs on the side along with transporting pets to a low cost clinic. I always strive to find the answers to everything and love to learn new things along the way.

At age 17, Amy attended the Great Lakes Academy Dog Grooming school. She competed in creative styling grooming competitions and won many awards for her creative designs, including the cover of Groomer to Groomer magazine and was even on the morning news with my fallen soldier design. Amy was ranked one of the top 10 groomers in the country on GroomTeam for 6 years, as well as won many awards for her grooming including Best in Show, Best all Around Groomer, Best Scissor Dog Award, and was also nominated twice for Groomer of the Year.

Mary and Angela discuss many things during this podcast, but maybe nothing as important as whether or not you can leash walk your pet snake.

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, MA, ICMG, PGC, CCE is the owner of Love Fur Dogs in Glencoe, Illinois, and was named Best Groomer in Chicagoland by the Chicago Tribune in 2015. Jennifer is an award-winning educator and has been a Master Groomer since 1985. Jennifer is a retired schoolteacher who has dabbled in the dog show world for forty years, where she learned to groom. Jennifer founded the Illinois Professional Pet Groomers Association and is part of the leadership team for NAGA, the National Alliance of Grooming Associations. She is the author of the acclaimed "Groomers Guide To The 15 Coat Types" seminars, and a poster and book of the same name. Her academically rich webinars can be found by visiting her website at www.groomersguide.com.

Mary and River discuss the trajectory for the professional pet industry and options for life after grooming.

Haley has been a groomer for 6 years, working in corporate, a vet hospital, and now a doggie day care. She recently moved from Oklahoma to Washington state and is starting a new career as a Real Estate Agent in Washington, but hopes to keep up with grooming in some capacity, just not full time.

Alex Hammersla has been professionally grooming since 2013 and is an AKC SAFE Certified Groomer. She has experienced many different work environments including corporate, private, within a veterinary clinic, and house call grooming. With all of her varying experiences, Alex has pivoted herself to be an advocate for the everyday groomer. Through the years she worked at Barkleigh Productions, she has emphasized the importance of education and connectivity throughout the grooming industry. Currently, Alex is working on opening up her own high-end grooming salon and she has started to dip her toes into the AKC dog show world.

We talk franchising as Khris is ready to launch the See Spot franchise. Khris's See Spot brand was established in 2012, driven by Khris’ 33 years in pet services, including the grooming industry, her training as a canine behavioralist, and many years of offering grooming education and training industry-wide. She has a number of industry credentials and is an active advocate in trade associations focused on improving the professionalism of the grooming industry. Khris worked with the American Kennel Club (AKC) to develop their Safe Handling course for groomers, and she continues to teach the course periodically as well. Khris served as the Director of Grooming for the World Pet Association- a not for profit headquartered in the Los Angeles, California area- and worked tirelessly to develop and promote programs for groomer education and advancement all across the globe.

Liz Tunstall is a pet groomer of almost 25 years. She is married and has 3 chinchillas and a scruffy mix named Grace. Her love of animals and pursuit and study of them is a testament to the nature vs nurture theory, having grown up without pets for most of her life. A placement in the Northwest Grooming Show Poodle Competition in 2013 led to purchasing The Groom Room, in Veneta. A diagnosis of MS changed her life goals and path. While still grooming, Liz is focusing on ways to stay involved in the industry while performing less physical work. This January, she took the plunge to start marketing Bow-Tie-Ful Bows as a way to engage her creative side and look at ways to bolster the family income while respecting the limitations of progressing illness. While growing the business will be great, the joy of staying connected to the passion is the true allure.

Chanel Owens-Hardin is a second-generation groomer who has been in the industry for over 35 years. She is a mom to 4 beautiful children, one them being special needs and she prides herself on balancing family and a career. Chanel’s mother, Donna Owens, was a member of GroomTeam and bred and showed German Wirehaired Pointers. Growing up surrounded by dogs, Chanel developed a passion for grooming at a very young age. Later she founded and invented PawMat, an anti-fatigue mat specifically designed for grooming. In 2017, PawMat won the Barkleigh Honors “New Product of the Year” Award. Chanel has quickly grown her business using social media, and now PawMat has over 13,000 followers on Instagram.

An animal lover from a very young age, Carol worked with horses from her early teens through her thirties, including race horses and three day eventers. In 1982 she saw an advertisement for Pedigree Career Institute in Lynn MA, attended, and fell in love with grooming cats and dogs. She’s been involved in the pet industry since then in various capacities, including grooming in and owning a busy suburban shop, working as a product expert for PetEdge, teaching seminars and training dogs. She certified as a Master Groomer with NDGAA in 1990 and as a Certified Pet Dog Trainer in 2007. Carol currently resides in rural Maine and grooms a few clients and continues to write for Pet Business Magazine and still learns more about animals all the time.

Brittany is currently a groomer in Puyallup Washington who specializes in Hand-stripping and Social Media Marketing and Networking. Brittany is currently a Zolitta ambassador. She is certified in Non-Sporting & Terriers, and a Division C competitive groomer. She hopes her knowledge and advice can bring confidence to your social media posts and salons.

Mary and Meg discuss Meg's Plan B for remaining in the pet industry without the back breaking work of grooming. Let us introduce you to Elevation Media Management, where Meg takes something off of your plate and let you concentrate on your business.

Mary interviews mother-daughter dynamic duo grooming partners Daryl Conner and Rachel Goff, as they work from there home based shop raising the 3rd generation of groomer.

Kristie Reisenweaver is a Second Generation Groomer and a successful Owner Handler Breeder of Pointers. The Captain of the PetSmart Competition GroomTeam, Kristie has revolutionized what Life at PetSmart looks like for stylists across the company, launching many continting education programs and incentives. Kristie finished 9th overall in GroomTeam USA points for the year 2021 and won a Best in Show at SuperZoo with her Scottie. Her goals include continuing to teach and inspire future groomers, and to finish first in the handstrip category, which will earn her a place on GroomTeam USA at the world’s level.

Behringer House Consulting began in 2007 as a real estate consulting business. The primary purpose was to assist the sellers and agents to accelerate the sale of houses through shifting the energy and promoting properties to make them more available to prospective buyers.Over the years this same approach has expanded to include clearing and energizing places and events for best outcomes. This may include job interviews, presentations, auditions, academic and professional exams, including trade shows and professional conferences.Most recently, BHC has been guided to clear financial pathways that better the planet. Libby is an intuitive healer. She works remotely to move energy in a way that allows positive things to happen. Contact information:Behringer House Consulting 773-230-5987Behringer.house@gmail.com