Mans Best Friends John Mullins' poochies prove that coffee and canines can make a profitable mix.
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John Mullins knows that a dog is a man's best friend, exceptwhen Spot refuses to stand still for his bath. That's whentempers soar and soap suds fly, as the shaggy, four-legged pupshakes excess water all over his owner. To put an end to this messyand often frustrating ritual, Mullins offers a combinationself-service pet wash and espresso bar called Poochies in SanDiego.
Pet owners pay $7 to be outfitted with waist-high tubs full oftemperature-controlled water, massaging mitts, grooming shampoo,fresh towels and rubber aprons to keep dry. Attendants areavailable to offer washing tips and clean up after the bath iscompleted.
"With their owners, dogs feel more secure and are muchcalmer when they're bathed. Some dogs even take their bathslying down," says Mullins, a former veterinary technician, whoopened Poochies in 1993. Owners feel calmer, too. As their pets dryin the automated dog dryer, they can relax at the espresso bar orgo next door to Poochies' pet-supply shop, where they can buyshampoo, creme rinses, colognes and other pet products.
Mullins didn't wait for customers to come barking at hisdoor. He distributed door hangers, ran ads on the back ofgrocery-store receipts and in local newspapers, and paid for spacein the San Diego Tribune to announce free pet washes duringthe Christmas holidays. His frequent-user program keeps pets--andtheir owners--coming back. After the fifth wash and ninth cup ofcoffee, the next of each is free. To stay in touch, Mullins hasintroduced a customer newsletter, "Poochies Press," whichis mailed to some 2,500 four-legged patrons each month.
"You have to be diverse in the methods you choose to reachyour customers. They're not all watching the same televisionshow or reading the same publications," Mullins says."Select an advertising medium like a door hanger or newsletterto fill in where you think there might be gaps in reaching somecustomers."
Before opening, a major planning hurdle was separating the petwash and espresso bar to satisfy local health ordinances. "Weprobably went through three sets of blueprints," recallsMullins. "It's a difficult concept to logistically puttogether." In the end, a partition with a door and glasswindow was built between the two areas.
An important component of Mullins' success was thoroughresearch of his market. "You need to look at location,suppliers, vendors, competition, customer base, and the amount ofmoney you'll need to start your business. We boot-strapped agreat deal in the early days. If you can plan more and better atthe beginning, it will help relieve future stress andproblems," says Mullins, who's seen his initial $25,000investment grow into a 2,000-square-foot business with 21employees, grossing over $20,000 a month. His goal is to open fivenew stores by the year 2000.
Mullins is pleased with Poochies' success, which has alreadydrawn the attention of the Wall Street Journal, "CBSThis Morning" and "Inside Edition." "You hopeyou do the right things," he says, "and get the payoff inthe end."
The next time Sacramento, California, small-business writerCarla Goodman visits San Diego, she's planning to take alongher Alaskan huskie, Blanca, for a wash-and-dry.
Contact Source
Poochies, 6030 Santo Rd., Ste. F, San Diego, CA 92124,(619) 541-2525.
