We were lucky to catch up with Shana Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shana, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I learned my strong sense of work ethic from my mother. When I think of my now 85-year old mother, my mind immediately flashes back to my childhood. It conjures a capable young working woman who, back in the day, could have easily graced the cover of Family Circle Magazine with her adept balancing act of making family life and the demands of her career look like a stylish cakewalk.
Of course, my mind has “photoshopped” that image of my mother over the last several decades. As a working mother myself, I know that working while raising a family is no cakewalk these days. And it certainly wasn’t back then.
If I could go back in time to my youth, I would see a woman who rarely sits down to rest. A woman who works diligently and passionately both at work and at home. A woman whose identity is enhanced largely by her vocation but is certainly not defined by it. A woman who gives her all so that she can do her very best not because it is how she is wired, but because she learned that from her own parents.
Like my mother, I was not born with a strong sense of work ethic. Rather, I learned it from observing her. And wanting to be like her. I can only hope that my two teenage daughters will one day feel the same about me.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m the kind of person who has to feel the impact of what I’m doing. Whether it is at work or at play. I am a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and small business owner.
For most of my adult life, I was a closet entrepreneur. For 25 years I played it safe and worked in employer-based situations. But I never felt truly satisfied in my professional life no matter how much money I made or what company I worked for or what I did. When I finally became an entrepreneur, it all made so much sense.
I finally reached my point. In 2017, with my husband’s blessing, I dusted off the business plan of a beautiful, luxury cat-only hotel that I’d written back in 2011 and began to build what is now Club Cat. My goal was to transform the cat boarding service industry from a second-rate, cage-only boarding model (where cats were never the focus but rather solely a way to generate additional revenue) to a truly luxury cat-care experience for both kitties and cat parents. So that cat parents like me had appealing options for their kitties when they traveled for business and pleasure – something I had never found in all those years no matter where I traveled on business trips across the country.
In March 2019, exactly one year before Covid, Club Cat had its grand opening. We survived the pandemic and have been thriving ever since because we offer a five-star service for cat parents who want the very best for their kitties when they are away from home.
It has become clear since we opened in 2019 that this is a highly underserved market. And based on our experience in Southern California, there is significant demand for Club Cat not just on the west coast, but across the United States and beyond. We literally have customers who travel from cities two-to-three hours away to board their cats with us because they know we will provide the best care possible for their cats. With the help of veterinary professional experts who deeply understand cat behavior and health, we have designed an environment that is optimized to relieve their kitties’ stress and just as equally their own stress caused by being temporarily separated from their kitties.
We believe that the best way to meet the high demand across the country and beyond is to expand through a franchising business model. And in the process, give other zany cat lovers like me the opportunity of a lifetime.
Earlier this year, I formed Club Cat Franchising and in August 2023, we announced that we are seeking cat-loving, business-minded humans to own and operate their very own Club Cat Hotel & Resort for Felines. We are currently speaking with amazing individuals in California and surrounding states who are interested in being on the ground floor of a winning cat care brand that is expanding across the country and beyond. This is a very exciting time for Club Cat!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The singular most essential quality that has impacted my journey is drive. I am someone who has tossed around many ideas over the years. Most of these ideas died before they came to fruition because, ultimately, I was not driven to either pursue or complete them. However, my drive for building and growing Club Cat never faltered. Without my relentless drive to transform the cat boarding space, Club Cat wouldn’t exist.
This isn’t just something I have experienced personally. In observing and studying successful people I both know and admire, whether business owners or artists, it appears that drive has played an impactful role.
I believe one’s drive is the precursor to succeeding in a person’s journey. It’s more important than a skill or a degree of knowledge. Because if you are driven enough to achieve a particular goal, you will figure out what you need succeed. That may mean acquiring additional skills or knowledge that you do not currently possess. It also may mean overcoming obstacles that seem insurmountable at first by being more flexible or patient or strategic. But without that initial drive, your chances of successfully completing a journey that will inevitably be faced with uncertainty, doubt, and challenges is low.
If you have a goal or a vision, one way to assess how driven you are is to identify what resources you need to get from the start line to the finish line. Then, take inventory of what resources you possess and which ones you need to acquire. If after careful consideration what you need to acquire seems impossible, your initial drive may not be enough to sustain you. On the flip side, if after you’ve taken an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses and are confident that you can devise a plan to fill in the gaps necessary to achieve your goal, your drive has a much higher chance of sustenance.
My advice for others who have not yet embarked upon their journey is to first figure out if you are truly driven to pursue the journey before you even start. It is true that there is an element of risk in every decision we make, and we often learn a lot from our failed attempts. However, we should at least try our best to prevent an unnecessary failure by preparing well for the journey ahead.
Ultimately, the journey is yours to take or leave.
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 am seeking business-minded cat enthusiasts who want to make a difference in their lives. I am seeking humans who are tired of the void they experience in their professional lives. Who want much greater flexibility and control over their lives. I am seeking humans who care deeply about cats and genuinely want to provide a five-star customer service experience to cat parents and their kitties while they are away from one another.
I am seeking people who want to be on the ground floor of a winning cat care brand that is expanding across the United States and beyond. Because this is a very underserved market with increasingly high demand.
If you or someone you know is an incredible human who has the necessary drive to own your very own Club Cat Hotel & Resort for Felines, let’s talk!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://clubcatusa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubcatusa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClubCatUSA/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/club-cat/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/club-cat-irvine?osq=club+cat
- Other: https://clubcatfranchising.com/
Image Credits
Mily Cooper Photography Vanessa’s Petography
