Parkwood resident slowly grooming her pet-friendly business

Kristine Johnson, a Parkwood resident, is no stranger to hard work. She currently works two jobs: one a sales job for Verizon in Exton and the other as a part-time dog groomer from a dog salon she currently runs from her house, Pampered Pups Grooming Salon.

 

“The goal is to get it so I can do this full-time and get a storefront somewhere,” she said.

When coming back from her day job, Johnson takes clients during the nights or the weekends, making for little free time. But she’s determined to build her client base and follow her dream.

“When I first started, I just told all of my friends. And they started telling all their friends and so on. Right now, I have about 60 clients. If I want to be doing this full-time I need about 500,” she said. “I’ve always loved animals. I have two dogs and a cat [that] I own and I volunteer at Animal Control. I have two foster kittens from there that I’m working on getting homes for right now. I would always take my dogs to the groomers and think, ‘I’d really love to do this.'”

So she decided to go get training and, in March of this year, began taking on her first clients.

“Some of them ask for medical advice, which I don’t give because I’m not a vet,” she said, “But for the most part, the owners come in and we talk about the dog so I can get to know them and their behaviors.”

One of the benefits of having a small business such as a dog grooming salon is that Johnson is able to get to know her clients much more intimately.

“It seems like there is a need for small groomers in the area, as for the most part the only options in the Far Northeast are the chains like Petco and Petsmart,” she said.

Read the rest on our partner site, Philadelphia Neighborhoods.

 

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