SAUGATUCK — In the start, washing dogs was a summer time job for Whitney Schmidt, one thing to do earlier than beginning school, the place she deliberate to pursue a profession in dental hygiene.
But when her boss acknowledged she had a knack for grooming, her plans modified.
In 2018, when Schmidt discovered herself unemployed and a brand new mom, she started promoting her new business, The Soapy Dog, on Facebook. Soon sufficient, the telephone was blowing up for the business she was working out of her household home, first in Zeeland, then in West Olive.
“I started doing it two days a week from home, and I was making more money doing that than I was at the salon,” Schmidt stated. “It ended up being a complete blessing and I’ve been doing that ever since.”
She hoped, sometime, to maneuver the business out of her home.
“It was kind of a dream,” Schmidt stated. “It was always one of those things that we were unsure (about), if we could take the leap of faith to now have business expenses on top of our home expenses.”
But eventually, she stumbled on the listing for a space in Saugatuck, used by Top Dog Grooming at 3467 Blue Star Highway.
“We ended up getting our realtor involved and negotiations started happening and it really just worked out to be a great opportunity,” Schmidt stated.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 7, Schmidt will function the business by herself, first underneath Top Dog after which, within the coming months, as The Soapy Dog. Eventually, she’d like to rent extra groomers.
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“I’m super excited to get to know the community,” Schmidt stated. “I know it’s a very close knit community, so I’m excited to be part of that.”
Visit “The Soapy Dog LLC – Dog Grooming” on Facebook to be taught extra.
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at [email protected].
