"Hi, my name is Reg Stulberg."
" And I'm Dawn Stulberg."

Our business is Furs Made Fabulous and we also have Regina's Number One Academy Of Pet Grooming. First of all, Furs Made Fabulous has been in operation since 1984, so we have operated this business for about thirteen years. Regina's Number One Academy has been in existence for two years and we felt that the need for that was to keep the cost of your grooming down.


[Decision To Enter This Occupation:]

Our main priority with the business, why we decided to start it, was because the both of us, for one thing, we wanted to work together. We wanted to work at home and we both had a liking for animals and there was a need for this type of occupation within the city at the time. It was quite limited as far as people established in this field. There were not all that many and the skills and the type of work that was being done was basically all the same. There was not an understanding that different pets needed different styles.

What basically made us open the business for ourselves, opposed to working for anybody else, was the fact that the two of us could stay at home and raise our kids together. That way, we figured if we worked together and stayed together as a family, we would end up bringing this up to be where we would just make a go at it.

[Skills & Abilities:]

Well, number one is you have to enjoy the public. The public is the main thing. You must enjoy working with the public, have good interaction skills with the public and get along. Basically, what you need is a happy, even disposition and enjoy what you are doing.

Team skills are very important in a field like this because we do not work on one animal at a time. We work as a team. One may dry it, one may bath it, and one may clip it. The reason being is different dogs like different people and if you can work together as a team, everything seems to go happier and faster. If you are having a hard time on something you can pass the work to somebody else and still get the job done to the perfection it should be.

I think a positive attitude is important in every aspect of your life, not just your job. That is just what makes the world go round. Dawn and I have always looked at life to have a positive attitude. By keeping a positive attitude, you have a more even disposition. You enjoy everything more. You like getting up in the morning. It has just been our philosophy and belief all along. It is better to be happy and keep on a positive track than to dwell on anything negative. Negativity just keeps you behind.

[Change & Adaptability:]

I feel it is very important to adapt to change because with change, especially in the forms of technology and such, you can actually cut your work down shorter. You are learning the different skills or different methods in the job performance that you do. Again it produces shortcuts to save you time which enables you to do a better job and produce more. Change is educational for anybody. If you do not change, you do not learn. If you change, and it is just an everyday thing, I do not think a person really thinks about changing. It just happens.

We started as an in-home business. We operated that there until our last child entered school. From there, we moved it out commercially because we wanted to expand into the field of teaching and also wanted to see what it was like to be out in the commercial, just for a change itself. Those are basically the changes that we relatively see. Other than that, everything is kept pretty much steady within the city.

[Most Challenging Aspects:]

The problems from day to day that you may have to work with or solve regard satisfying your client. A customer may come in and have a specific plan or look that they would like for their dog. A lot of the times we can obtain this, although sometimes we cannot either because of the age of the dog, the time involved that it may have to stand there and take the grooming, or it could be the condition of the coat of the dog. Whatever [it may be], we try to satisfy them to the best that we can, according to what they are bringing us. On the other hand, we can also assure them that the next time, if be, we can accommodate them accordingly.

A lot of people do not really understand what grooming is. They figure you take your dog in, you get your dog bathed, and you get your dog cut. Really, it is an art form. You come in and you design the dog form according to how the dog looks. Some people like the dog to look like the breed itself. Others like it to look like a character off of a cartoon. It depends on the customer, but those are some of the problems.

Other problems we might have are if you have an animal that is very afraid to be worked on, then we have to take our time. We have to find specific personalities within the people that are working that may work better with the dog so the dog is at ease. So really, our only day-to-day problems may be comforting the animal while in our care and assuring the customer that this is done to the fullest extent of what we are capable of doing.

[Education & Training:]

The first thing [you need] would be to have your training. Secondly, you need your people skills. Third, would be your experience.

I feel that training is very important for the simple fact that in this type of profession, which I chose it for as well (not just the fact that I like animals), is there is such a big area to learn. Not all the dogs are done the same so you must know all the different breeds, and must know how to apply the different methods to finish them. So that was number one - the training. And without the proper training, it would be very [hard to] achieve these looks. You could hurt some animals and they could also be hurt by improper training as well.
People skills. You must make your people feel comfortable when they bring their pet to you. You must be able to deal with the public on a fast basis. You can not put a lot of time into the public because you need it to do your work.
The experience. Well, experience comes with learning. So if you have your training, do well in your people skills, your experience will develop very fast for you.

[Hours of Work:]

Yes, our day is longer here, being the owners and that. We are here to start our day out and we are here to close the day out too. Then, of course, you have to look after your shop. You have the cleaning aspects. It is a longer day for the owner as a rule.

[Most Satisfying Aspect:]

The most satisfying part of the business is seeing the people happy and their pets leaving happy.

[Advice for opening a business:]

I would suggest that first (number one) whatever they are going to open up, they must whole-heartedly enjoy what they are choosing. They must enjoy what they are going to do.

Secondly, you must put out your best at all times. Even though there are shortcuts in any trade or any business you can do, make sure these shortcuts are justifiable and it does not cut back on your quality or your manner in which you are conducting your business - because word of mouth is a good advertiser. It can also take you down just as fast.