Pam with her pups!
Pam with her business partner, Beth Greenberg
The company logo
AT THE TOP
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
PAM AHART
ALL FRIENDS PET CARE
PET CARE SERVICE
Pam Ahart is the co-owner of the pet care service, ALL FRIENDS PET CARE. In their first year, 1998, the company made a six figure profit and continued to grow exponentially. In 2004, the company broke a million dollars in profit. The company is doing so well that it has moved into consulting other pet care businesses to help them grow. Their client list in that area is also growing immensely. It all happened when Pam and her partner, Beth Greenberg, decided to risk it all and dive straight into their passion of taking care of animals.
Lori (Me - LC) - Congratulations, Pam, on your marriage in October.
Pam Ahart (PA) - Thank you! We had a 10 day honeymoon in Jamaica. I put a lot of things on hold for my career. It was worth it and now I am at a point where I can actually focus on my marriage.
LC - You know, you have to be a fire sign!
PA - Yes, I am a Leo. How did you know?
LC - Because your energy is contagious. I can hear the excitement in your voice when you are talking about your career and the path that brought you here. You have a very strong sense of personal strength which you have to have to be an entrepreneur. You are warm and passionate.
PA - Thanks! I really believe in what I do.
LC - What is your education?
PA - I have a major in business and sociology.
LC - Did you know that you would get into the pet care business.
PA - I was undecided for awhile in college. I wanted to be in a profession in which I could use my charisma and I knew I was a "people" person.
LC - You told me that of the jobs that you had after college, there was one that put you on the track that you are on now. I mean, in terms of finding that personal strength to strike out on your own and really make things happen as a business person.
PA - Yes, there is on job that will live within me because of its affect upon me. I worked for the Washington Speakers' Bureau. I was the executive assistant to the owner.
LC - What was the function of this company?
PA - We exclusively represented prominent speakers around the country, such as Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, Mary Lou Rheton. I even met Margaret Thatcher!
LC - Intriguing!
PA - We were the liaison between the speaker and any interested institution or company that wanted them to appear. The business really allowed me to believe in myself, especially since the owner would put me in difficult situations that she knew I could handle, but needed a push to tackle. He believed in me when I didn't believe in me. He is still my mentor to this day.
LC - How did this segue way into the pet care business?
PA - I always loved animals. My best friend and co-owner, Beth Greenberg, and I have been friends for 40 years and we always loved animals. We weren't allowed to have pets like dogs when we were little, but we could have little caged pets when we were young. Now, I have two beautiful rescue dogs.
When we were little, we created a lab of four or five animals: reptiles, gerbils, fish, and anything in a cage. We treated it as our job. We had lab charts to track the animals' well being.
LC - You mentioned that living in Reston, Virginia, which was rated as one of the Top Twenty Places to Live in the United States by CNN (my hometown, too!) had quite an impact on this exploration.
PA - Yes, because we had wonderful nature trails filled with animals. We would collect these animals and put them in our lab. We learned about how to take care of them and to learn about responsibility for other living things. We learned that we loved caring for animals.
LC - So, how did your dream evolve?
PA- Well, it's pretty amazing! It was 1997 and I had a dream about my business. I woke up and thought, "That's it! I am going to start a pet care business!" I read that in New York City is where the whole phenomenon of dog walking businesses happened. I started my journey a week later and Beth jumped on board. We created a name.
LC - So, you started your business success, just like that?
PA - Oh, no! We had to do our research. I believe that you should go for what you want, but become an expert about it. We gathered customers within the companies in which we were still working. Then we joined organizations of like-minded companies, such as Pet Sitters, International.
LC - But you needed more than those customers to reach the financial success you had so early on.
PA - Of course. I had no problem approaching people. And by 1999, I was able to quit my job. I sacrificed by moving back home in order to save money and really get my game plan in place. I reached out to get corporate clients, who work 14 hours a day, and I also reached out to apartment complexes. We reached a six-figure profit. We did pet sitting morning, noon, and night. This is before having a website. We really had an official business plan in our second year of business: we decided on the exact type of services we would provide and our target area.
LC - So, all of this business was done by the two of you?
PA - For awhile, yes. We needed to be sure that we were solid financially before we added more employees. We eventually grew from two to seven to twenty-three to forty to now, eighty pet sitters.
LC- So you follow the plan of growing in small increments. Cautious, yet steady growth.
PA - Yes, that's right. We got hit a little hard, like everyone else, in 2008, due to the country's financial situation. We had clients that were really hit hard. Amazingly, our numbers stayed pretty flat, instead of a sharp decline. In 2011, we started our growth cycle again, about 5% per year. Pets are under the "needs" category, rather than "wants". We established contracts with Sallie Mae, AOL, and other corporate clients. We tapped into pet friendly complexes.
LC - How has your approach changed since you started in 1998?
PA -We are using more social media and we are teaming up with other companies in the industry to give deals to clients. For example, we had "Doggy Yappy Hours" in which we would set - up a table with treats for owners and dogs. I would contract with organic pet food companies. We would have coupons and raffles. I learned that it was easier to work with smaller companies or even deal with Group-On.
LC- So, what's the next phase of your business?
PA- Well, we kept getting calls from other pet companies that wanted their businesses to grow like ours. So, we decided to add consulting to our list of services. We have at least 3-5 consults a week.
LC- That's fantastic! It's a testament to your ingenuity that so many people want you to teach them how to be successful.
Now, what would you say to someone who wants to start their own business?
PA- I would say follow your dreams, but do your research. Just as I did, become an expert in the field you are trying to master and have a definite plan.
LC- Thank you so much, Pam. Congratulations on your success!
