Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Finnegan.
Colleen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2006 I was 26 years old and I suddenly went through what some people call a “quarter-life crises”. I had graduated from college a few years earlier and had spent the time following trying to get an entry level job in my chosen field of study. Once I finally got there I wasn’t sure if it was the place for me. I just didn’t have the passion that I assumed I would. It was such a confusing time. I had very little confidence in myself and my burgeoning career. The distraction of school and actually looking for a job was gone and this was it.
Six months earlier I had moved from Boston to NYC for career opportunities and was away from my family, my boyfriend and the majority of my friends so I had very few distractions from my thoughts and I forced myself to make some tough decisions. Believe it or not, the fantastic movie “Office Space” helped shape my future. There’s a line in it that asks, if you were wealthy and didn’t have to work, what would you do with your time? At that age I really felt like I was still finding out who I was but one thing I knew was that I loved animals It seemed like a pretty safe bet that if I could work with animals I’d really enjoy what I was doing. The career possibilities that involve animals are pretty small and when I thought of grooming I thought, “Yeah, I think I could do that”.
After a difficult phone call to my parents (they were NOT excited about my decision) I left New York and headed to their home on the Cape and spent the next year living in my childhood bedroom and apprenticing under a groomer down there. I was making very little money but I was doing something that came so naturally to me that it just didn’t feel like work. I truly loved what I was doing.
Fast forward four years to 2011. I was back living in Somerville and while working full time as a receptionist at a hospital and grooming part time on the weekends I made the decision that I was going to start my own mobile grooming business. I really had a vision of what I wanted a grooming experience to be for a pet and an owner and I was incredibly confident I could make it happen. I took advantage of the free counselling services that the SBA in Boston offered and took an entrepreneurship course at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and bouncing ideas off of established business people and completing a business plan really convinced me that I could do this. The fantasy was slowly becoming more and more reachable.
In February of 2012 I did one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I gave my safe, comfortable, dependable office job my four week notice. In March I was on my own. My first couple of months of being on my own were not easy and I was freaking out. There were lots of tears and doubts and I had to embarrassingly borrow money to get by but after about four months things were really settling into place. The business was receiving fantastic word of mouth and wonderful Yelp reviews and by the winter of 2012 I was fully booked. 5 years later I can’t believe how successful this business has become. I am not one to toot my own horn but I am so incredibly proud of it.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been relatively smooth, but of course not perfect. Learning how to budget cannot be overstated. When you don’t get a steady employer paycheck you can’t depend on them to take care of your retirement, health, taxes, etc. These are expenses that you want to figure into your Business Plan so they don’t come as a shock when it’s time to pay them. Go through your Business Plan with an accountant and they can help you estimate what your quarterly taxes are going to look like for your first year. I unfortunately did not do this and when I went to an accountant after what I thought was a very successful first year of business it turned out that I had to give a large chunk of that money to the IRS. It was heartbreaking, but a huge lesson.
Another lesson I’ve had to learn is to take time off. It’s so tempting to just work every day because you no longer get sick days or vacation days and if you’re not working there’s no income coming in. But it’s so easy to get burnt out. Taking at least one day a week will honestly reset you and you and your clients will be better for it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Ride & Groom is a mobile grooming vehicle. It is a customized van that is basically a tiny grooming salon on wheels. I go to clients homes, bring their dog into the van and give them a complete groom in about an hour. It is equipped with electricity, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and top of the line grooming equipment.
What’s appealing about this sort of business is the one on one attention I’m able to give people’s pets. These are people’s “babies” and they know what their dogs experience will be when they hand them over to me. They’re not always assured of that at salons.
Something that I’m incredibly proud of with this business is the positive reputation that has grown around it over the years. It’s really the thing that was easiest about the whole thing. I genuinely love working with dogs and putting owners at ease. It’s just something that came naturally and I’m so glad that people have responded to it.
Something else that came naturally to me that I actually wasn’t expecting is just being a business owner. It turns out I’m not too bad at it and I really enjoy it! Not everyone will enjoy punching numbers and ordering supplies and making reports and all that but if you’re passionate about the reason you’re doing it really is a pleasure.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Boston proper is actually not the easiest place for a mobile business. The parking for a vehicle like mine is next to impossible. But I service many cities and towns surrounding it and barring any giant snowstorms it’s a wonderful area to be in. I have a lot of clients that don’t have cars and a business like mine is incredibly helpful to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.therideandgroom.com
- Phone: 617-909-3533
- Email: colleen@therideandgroom.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/therideandgroom
- Facebook: facebook.com/therideandgroom
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/the-ride-and-groom-mobile-dog-spa-somerville-2
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
