Pet Business Interview – BloomingTails Dog Boutique

Today we have a new interview with Carol Schwed from BloomingTails Dog Boutique. Carol creates custom dog apparel and accessories and also has a range of designer ready wear. Here is how Carol describes her family:

“We are a multi dog family, as we became actively involved in puppymill rescue. I foster for several rescue groups and accordingly, our numbers have grown. We tend to keep the more damaged cases that are puppymill rescues who would have a hard time fitting into a normal family situation. However, our dogs give us more than we give them. They are the focus of our lives and would not have it any other way. My husband is retired and I am semi-retired so we have time to pursue what we like and for me, that is my dogs and my business. I have made some great friends through my volunteering with rescue groups and they became life long friends”

1. What type of pet business do you run?
Custom Dog Clothing Boutique

2. How long have you been in the pet business?
3 years

3. Why did you choose to start a pet business?
Bloomingtails was born out of my frustration in finding well made clothing for toy breed dogs that actually fit them. I ordered and discarded many dog clothing items and finally decided I could do a better job myself in fitting toy and small breed dogs. Through trial and error I created patterns for small dog clothing in the correct proportions for toy breeds. We have now grown to the point of getting closer to being a one stop shop in that we also now carry designer lines of clothing of the higher end dog clothing available in the market. The industry has improved in its recognition of the differences in toy breed dogs and you can now find well made dog clothing in ranges from a 1 lb dog to a 100 lb dog. We specialize in small and toy breeds. With our custom line, our niche is the toy and small breed from 1 lb to 15 lbs.

4. What advice would you give someone about to launch a new pet care business?
Research, research, research. There is a lot of competition today in the pet industry and you need something that makes you unique from the thousands of pet boutiques in the market. You need to know what your target market is and what your niche is.

5. What has been the greatest challenge in growing your business?
As I am an internet based business, getting ranked and showing up in the search engines is the greatest challenge by far. I naively thought you could put up your website and people would find you. I did that and sat back and waited, and waited, and waited. Through much diligence on my part, we now are becoming a presence in the marketplace.

6. What are the pros and cons of your profession?
The pet industry continues to grow by leap and bounds so the demand is there for good quality products. The down side is that there are many pet related businesses that are competing for business. As with any upstart business, there are not enough hours in the day to do it all and it is time consuming and all absorbing at first. A business plan is an essential requirement if you are going to be successful at launching your business. Another down side is that with a home based business, you never get away from it so you have to be somewhat disciplined in deliniating some personal and family time.

7. What daily tasks do you enjoy most? We pride ourselves on our customer service which we feel sets us apart. We know our clients well, their likes and dislikes, what their sizes are, etc and designing products with them in mind is challenging and rewarding and the part I enjoy the most. We keep in regular contact with our clients and our association with them in the most rewarding. I consider them part of our extended family. I also enjoy finding new and unusual products to add to our site.

8. If you could have done anything differently what would it have been? I would have taken more web design courses sooner. There are several free interenet based SEO courses that provide a wealth of information. Also I would have started out with a marketing strategy firmly in place rather than done it on a “learn as you go basis:.

9. Did you have a mentor or business coach? If so, how did they help you? I had a mentor who is actually a competitor of sorts, she helped me with everything to finding wholesale supplies to web design. She even spent her time calling me to help me set up my website and was always there when I ran into a glitch out of my lack of knowledge about website design. People in the pet business are pretty people and pet oriented and helpful…I continue to “pay it forward” by assisting other people I meet on the forums and groups with starting their business.

10. What form(s) of marketing have you found the most effective in reaching pet owners?
Network, network, network. I belong to several breed specific forums and chat groups. Linking with other pet related (but non-competitive) websites is also useful. I do not have a big advertising budget but I do utilize one advertisement on The Pampered Puppy on a montly basis.

11. Do you offer clients incentives for giving referrals?
No but I do offer discounts to forum members. I also donate a portion of sales to rescue groups that have a link to us on their site with a link back to my site.

12. At what stage of your business growth did you choose to take on help?
As we do custom made dog clothing, when it got to the point where I realized I had a decision to make in terms of where I wanted to take Bloomingtails, it became a question of whether I sat down and made the outfits or spent time promoting the business. At that point I hired two people to sew for me. This freed me up to work on the creative end in designing new outfits and to spend time promoting the business.

13. Did you choose to use employees or independent contractors? Why?
I use independent contractors for several reasons, ie, I am a home based internet only business and did not want someone having to come to my house every day and it is common in the sewing industry to use piece work rates and the work is sporadic in terms of items are custom ordered so I would not have work to keep someone busy on a set schedule.

14. What have you found is the best way to find new staff members? I live in an area that was once the glove making capital in the leather industry. People here grew up learning how to sew. I do occasionally advertise for a home sewer in the local newspapers.

15. What have you done to differentiate your business from your local competitors?
N/A – Internet based. As far as competitors in general, we think our customer service sets us apart.

Thank you for sharing your business experience Carol! Please visit her site www.BloomingTailsDogBoutique.com to view her great range of designer dog wear.  You can also meet Carol at The Pet Business Forum if you would like more information about her business.