We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vanessa Buschek a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
I always say that “if you don’t have haters, you’re doing something wrong”. Living by this is what helps me persist and remain hopeful towards the growth of my business. So many people I encounter don’t take Fur Pals seriously; they often mock me when I mention that I’m building a pet care business. That’s how I know I need to keep going. They make it seem as though I can’t go anywhere with a business that’s being started from the ground up that involves “playing with pets all day”. When you find something you love to do, though, you can absolutely take it into any direction you want to go. So I don’t let the haters stop me, if anything they’re my motivation.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Hey everyone, I recently turned my casual side hobby taking care of people’s pets into a growing business and I’m loving every moment! I started Fur Pals Pet Care from my apartment in the Northside of Pittsburgh in order to make some extra cash and socialize my lonely single (at the time) cat. This was back in the summer of 2022 and I’ve since started growing our clientele, set up an independent booking system, added two previous clients to my family, and hired our first team member! I went independent in April of 2024 which is about 7 months from the time I’m writing this. If I can see such rapid growth in such a short time period I wonder what can happen if I remain consistent for 5 more years… even just 1 more! I know that patience and faith will take me so far. The next milestone I hope to hit is to purchase a home to turn into a kitty hotel! This is much like what I have been doing from my apartment but this will be a dedicated space. Not only will we be helping local pets but my goal is to have the space double as free housing for our caregivers assigned to the Fur Home. I also like to donate a portion of proceeds when we can to local animal welfare organizations to help the less privileged fur babies. I hope to be able to start donating monthly and to get Fur Pals involved in the community outside of client relationships. I’m so excited for all that can be done with something I originally started for fun.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
To start a pet care business you absolutely must be nurturing. You can’t possibly get far with a business like this if you don’t have it in you to take care of other beings. Taking care of animals is the nature of this business and it must come naturally to you. You also have to be patient. Obtaining and keeping clients can be very difficult. One month can be extremely busy then the next two months are slow. I have to stay collected through the cycles. Lastly, I feel that being adaptable is so important. When growing a business from scratch, or growing one at all, so many things can and WILL go wrong or not your way. You have to be able to avoid debilitating frustration and go with the flow. Despite my growth thus far, things have not been going as planned and I’m okay with it! I’m still grateful for our growth even if it came with a few hurdles.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would absolutely love to collaborate with all sorts of pet businesses! Once I have the foundation of Fur Pals steadier, I absolutely want to start working with pet supply shops, pet food brands, pet clothing brands, and anyone we can! I currently partner with my local pet shelter, Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh, to walk the dogs when I interview candidates! We’ve met some of the sweetest dogs. It’s such a wonderful exchange and I hope to find more partnerships like this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.furpalspetcare.pet
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/furpalspetcare/
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