Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Teressa Doaty-Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Teressa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?
Customers are the focus and core of our company. We ensure to thank them every visit and communicate frequently our appreciation. Aside from verbal thanks, we express our gratitude for them being a part of our pack by sending birthday cards to their homes, congratulations card when they expand their families, sympathy cards when they lose Paws or a family member, etc. We celebrate and we grieve with them. The intention is to ensure they know we are there with and for them for questions, support and whatever it is they may need on their journey.
The occasion we make the most deal out of is Christmas. We have given clients custom mugs, puzzles, treats and paw print ornaments. It is always fun to see them open the gift and completely melt when they see their Paws on it. I recall also the time we gifted a onesie with the Paws picture all over it for his new baby human sister. They always get excited for our gifts and thank us, but really, the thanks is to them. 
Teressa, 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?
My name is Teressa Johnson and I am the Canine Executive Officer of Max & Alayna’s Paws Play, Ltd. We are downtown Cleveland’s first and #1 doggie daycare, boarding and grooming facility. We opened in August of 2018 with the goal of bringing intimate services that are top quality to a community that was largely underserved. We would open, put our best foot forward and bring an unmatched experience to the community. we’ve done just that.
The road to 5-Years has not been smooth or without difficulty. We’ve experienced many ups and downs in staffing, marketing, funding and not to mention that pandemic in the middle of our time open. We have faced some scary times and the resilience created who we are as a company and who I would become as a leader. I am so proud that we’ve always been fortunate to have exactly what we needed when we needed it. At times we had 5 dogs per day, 10 dogs and as of lately 30-35 dogs and I can honestly say the times we were slower were just as meaningful as it gave me the opportunity to really fine tune our offerings and products.
From the beginning we set out to create an experience for our clients. When they walk in it smells clean, they see bright colors that are mood altering and hear tunes that set the energy of the day. We plan and host events throughout the year to engage the Paws in various ways that allows them to think, sniff, and let their fur down even more. The events usually entail a keepsake for the clients to take home (craft or picture).
We have always been a company of integrity, safety and downright fun. We do the right thing when no one is watching and treat each Paws as if they were our own. In our first year we were nominated for Cleveland Scene’s Best of Pet Related Services and I was awarded Progressive Entrepreneur by Smart Women Business in 2020. Anyone looking for reliable, compassionate and top of the line care for their Paws, they should look no further than Paws Play. 
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Leadership is a privilege and an honor. People do not get to work for us, we have the benefit of having people who constantly show up for us and that should be acknowledged. The truth is, people can find many more jobs and much faster than we can start, grow and scale a business. That being said, it boggles me when managers or CEO’s actually believe people should simply be grateful for their jobs and they should not be grateful for them.
For the first four and a half years of owning and operating Paws Play, I also worked a full-time corporate job. What this has done was force me to lead and grow a team that would be self-sufficient and I had to relinquish responsibility and trust to them. Over time I would be more and less involved at times depending on the need but I always kept the importance of the team being united, strong and empowered at the forefront.
Snacks in the break room are nice but do you know that someone on your team may be food insecure? Talk to your team, encourage them to talk to you. Thank them- both genuinely and often. Finding out what makes them tick, what they are good at, what their opportunities of improvement are and help them to do more of what they love. That will provide them a sense of enthusiasm and ultimately boost morale. 
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
How do you fund a dream with little resources? Pie in the sky aspirations and money to barely scratch the surface. I prayed on a lot of it and used the resources around me. The first organization I visited was Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI). They were very helpful with information and informed me they were for business owners who could not obtain funding through a traditional bank. I thought with a solid business plan, great credit and education that I should not have an issue with a traditional bank. I learned that Huntington Bank is the #1 lender for SBA loans so I submitted my first application with them. After a few weeks, I was denied. They decided I did not have enough collateral or experience. I was okay with this and I stand by the quote by B. Smith, “Stand on a mountain of no’s for one yes.” I was prepared to not be told yes immediately and pressed on.
This led me to the City of Cleveland. They had many products to help small business owners start up or grow. I reached out to them and they were very helpful. They offer a low interest
loan for all of the equipment, supplies, and professional services I would need to begin. However, they would only serve as gap funding. In that, I went back to ECDI to provide the working capital and other start up money. Together ECDI and the City of Cleveland made up the total cost of the Paws Play project. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pawsplaycle.com
- Instagram: pawsplaycle
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pawsplaycle
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pawsplaycle
- Twitter: pawsplaycle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pawsplay193