We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Jenkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea , thanks for joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

When I first started my business I expected everyone I know to bring their fur babies to me. Well a few supported my business, I had more support from strangers than from friends.I would become disappointed expecting them to support. Now I don’t ask friends (my family brings their fur babies to me lol ) to support and it’s ok.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Andrea Jenkins, owner of Jazzy Pawz By Andrea, a cage free dog spa. My salon is located in Atlanta, in Inman Park. We offer facial scrubs, massages, handscissoring, and more. We are strictly by appointment only and require rabies and bordetella vaccines, being that we are cage free. The fur babies are only groomed one on one, and that’s why we require appointments. I’ve always had a love for all animals. I’ve always grown up with dogs and cats, although my mother was allergic to both! As a young child, I wished to become a veterinarian, but always felt I couldn’t handle the passings of pets. In 2013, my mother passed unexpectedly and I was working as a hotel front desk agent and a bottle service waitress. I then decided to follow my passion… working with animals. I was self taught and opened Jazzy Pawz By Andrea in April 2014. I’ was featured on HBO Max Haute Dog Ep. 9., awarded Best of Georgia 2021 and 2022 & Best of Atlanta 2018, 2021, 2022. &2023. I am in a partnership to establish Jazzy Pawz Pet Care Suites for pet care professionals, which will give them the opportunity to conduct their businesses without the high overhead costs in an individual suite. I want to continue to train people to groom and properly care for the fur babies, while establishing a very rewarding career.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

To be honest, I worked two jobs. I worked as a hotel front desk agent then petsmart for a short while… all while being a bottle service waitress

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

During covid, we had to ensure everyone would stay safe during drop off and pick up. PPE was difficult at times to get and we could no longer open our doors for pet parents to come in and sit. I had to change the layout of the salon to ensure the proper distance between each other while grooming.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jazzypawz.com
• Instagram: @jazzypawzbyandreallc
• Facebook: jazzypawzbyandreallc

Image Credits
Myself