With a degree in animal science and a lifelong love of dogs, Michelle Pennarola knew she always wanted to work with animals. What she didn’t anticipate was launching her new dog walking and boarding business, Happy Hound Philly, just as a global pandemic was taking hold. With a focus on safety, some smart SEO (search engine optimization), and the software to stay organized, however, she has made it work.
Long before COVID, safety was really important to Michelle and was always going to be core to how she runs her business. “Clients need to feel that it is safe when I am in their homes and that their pets feel safe with me, so they can feel comfortable leaving their pets in our care.”
That level of comfort and trust starts on day one with a detailed meet and greet process and continues with lots of ongoing communication. “I want to make sure I know everything possible about the pet so there aren’t surprises. It means I probably stay longer than the average business, but it is really important to me to get to know everything.”
Growing The Business
In the beginning, one of the big questions was how to get new clients for Happy Hound. She started by building a beautiful website on Wix, but she needed help figuring out how to turn pretty pictures and words into results, so she hired a consultant to help her create a blogging strategy.
“I worked with Rachel from Tell Your Tails, who helped me get organized by mapping out blog topics that people would be searching for and putting together a schedule of posts. That way Google can see that my site is very active and I can provide my clients and potential clients with useful information about caring for their pets.”
In addition, Michelle’s volunteering has led to new clients. “Another nice source of clients has been through working with Philadelphia Animal Care and Control, Philly's open-intake animal shelter. I am affiliated with them on social media and people see our interactions, which has led to them reaching out to me.
Getting Organized
In the early days of Happy Hound, Michelle was trying to manage all of her clients, appointments, and billing using her notebook and phone calendar, which left her feeling a bit frazzled. She was constantly worried she was missing something, so she decided to look for software that was easy to use and would reduce her stress level.
“PetPocketbook frees up a lot of my time because clients are booking on their own and I just approve or decline their requests. And now everything is in one place which is a huge organizational boost - and I love organization - so that has been exciting! It really feels like I now have an assistant in the back end keeping everything going, which I really appreciate.”
Michelle has even built PetPocketbook into her contracts, requiring her clients to use it. “I want to make sure they see all of my report cards, have access to all of the same information I do, and can easily pay and request appointments online.”
Now that Michelle has all of her tools and strategies in place, we’re excited to see where she takes Happy Hound in the future!