Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amari Strange. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amari, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Everyone knows how busy animal shelters across the country are- at least, they think they know.
Animals shelters are packed. There’s so many dogs (and other pets), and many of them are shutting down mentally. Many of them aren’t getting the attention and exercise they desperately need and deserve.
To help with this issue, I’ve started partnering with animal shelters to go in and run the shelter pups on my off time. I’m only one person, but I run as many pups as I can when I’m there.

Amari, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi there! I’m Amari. Over the years, I’ve held many roles, but I always find my way back to working with animals—especially dogs. I’ve been a pet sitter, shelter tech, dog trainer, groomer, and now, a dog gym owner.

Currently, I split my time between dog grooming and running my business. My goal is to grow my business enough to make it my full-time focus.

How did it all start? I can’t take full credit. There was someone in my area running a similar business model, but she was preparing to sell it to someone out of town. I saw an opportunity—not just because it sounded fun, but also to continue serving the clients she had built up locally.

My business helps dogs with high energy, reactivity, aggression, or other challenges get the physical and mental stimulation they need—all from the comfort and safety of their own home. I’m especially proud that I’m able to volunteer time at local shelters to run the dogs there. Many of them are cooped up for long periods, and you can see how much it means to them to have an outlet for their energy and emotions.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I had originally bought the bus that I’ve converted to a mobile dog gym, I knew there were going to be some issues. Little did I know, those issues would set me back about 6 months worth of time.
I had some issues getting the bus emissions ready, so I started looking for a mechanic. Almost everywhere I called said they wouldn’t look at it. The couple places that said they wouldn’t gave me different diagnoses and solutions. I paid two different mechanics for different solutions and my problem was still persistent.
I struggled with this for months. On top of that, because of where I’m located, I can’t get it registered without an emissions certificate, which means it wasn’t legal to drive.
I kept calling places and eventually found a mechanic that was able to fix it in two weeks (thank god!)
I don’t think I would have bought the bus if I had known what a headache it was going to be just to get it past emissions, but I’m very thankful to be past it now.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Consistent messaging. Whether manual or automated, a lot of clients want to hear from you. They won’t say that to you, but having the business reach out to them is a great way to say “hey! We’re thinking about you and your pup(s)”. It lets them know I care and is also a great reminder to rebook.
I love automated texting for this. I find sending a text immediately after a session and approximately 1-2 weeks after a session (depending on how frequently they book) to be ideal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.k95kutah.com/
• Instagram: K95K_utah

Image Credits

All photos taken by Amari Strange