We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Jenkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2014, I decided I wanted to become a dog groomer, but I quickly realized there was no real pathway into the industry. No one wanted to train me, there were no mentorships, and there was no structured program for people who loved animals and wanted to build a career. I had to figure it out on my own. As I built my skills and eventually opened Jazzy Pawz on Atlanta’s BeltLine, I saw the same kind of gap from the customer side. Pet parents were struggling to find groomers they could trust. Many salons felt rushed, stressful, and impersonal. Dogs were spending hours in cages, and groomers often had little training or support. Clients told me their fur babies would come home anxious and stressed. After coming to Jazzy Pawz, they’d come home calm and happy.
That made me realize I wasn’t just building a grooming business, I was solving two problems at once. I wanted to create a better experience for pets and pet parents through calm, cagefree, one on one care. At the same time, I wanted to create the pathway into the industry that I never had.
That is how Jazzy Pawz evolved into more than a salon. Today it is a pet wellness and workforce hub that includes grooming, retail, salon suites, and a U.S. Department of Labor registered apprenticeship program to train the next generation of groomers.
What excited me most was the idea that I could build something that truly did not exist; a business that helps both people and pets live better lives.

Andrea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Andrea Jenkins, and I am the Founder and President of Jazzy Pawz Pet Care Suites, an Atlanta based pet wellness and workforce development company. I have been grooming since 2014, after the passing of my mother, and what started as a personal passion eventually became my life’s work. When I first decided to become a dog groomer, I quickly discovered there was no real pathway into the industry. No one wanted to train me, and there were very few opportunities for mentorship. I had to build my own path, studying under top groomers and eventually becoming the only groomer in Georgia certified in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
In 2016, I opened Jazzy Pawz on Atlanta’s BeltLine with a vision of creating a different kind of pet care experience. Today, Jazzy Pawz is much more than a grooming salon. We provide cage free, one on one enrichment grooming, curated pet retail, salon suites for pet care professionals, and one of the first U.S. Department of Labor registered dog grooming apprenticeship programs in Georgia.
What sets us apart is that we focus on both the pet and the person behind the pet. Many pet parents are frustrated by rushed, stressful grooming experiences where dogs spend hours in cages and are treated like part of an assembly line. At Jazzy Pawz, we take the opposite approach. We create a calm, personalized, wellness centered experience where each dog receives individual attention, enrichment, and care.
We also solve another major problem in the industry: the shortage of skilled, well trained groomers. Through our apprenticeship program, we are creating the pathway that I wish had existed when I started. We train and mentor future groomers while giving them real world experience and career opportunities.
I am most proud that Jazzy Pawz has grown into a business with purpose. We are not only helping dogs and pet parents, we are helping people build careers, confidence, and futures. Over the years, I have been honored to be featured on television, recognized as one of Atlanta’s top groomers, and build a business that has become known for quality, trust, and innovation.
The main thing I want people to know is that Jazzy Pawz is not just a pet business. It is a movement to change the way pet care is delivered and to create more opportunities for the next generation of pet professionals.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe my reputation was built by doing things differently and consistently delivering an experience people could trust. From the beginning, I focused on creating a calm, cagefree, one on one environment because I saw that many dogs were coming home stressed from traditional grooming salons.
I also invested heavily in education and training. I became the only groomer in Georgia certified in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand, and I have spent years studying advanced grooming techniques and pet behavior. That allowed me to provide a higher level of care and results than many clients had experienced before.
Most importantly, I built my business around relationships. Many of my clients have been with me for years. They know I truly care about their dogs and treat them like family. So that helped spread my reputation through word of mouth.
Over time, that reputation has grown through referrals, social media, community involvement, television features, and by staying true to what makes Jazzy Pawz different: personalized care, trust, and purpose.

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

One of the biggest pivots in my business came when I realized I could no longer build Jazzy Pawz by doing everything myself.
For years, I was the groomer, the scheduler, the cleaner, the marketer, and the person every client wanted. I believed that if I wasn’t personally grooming every dog, the business would suffer. That belief helped me build Jazzy Pawz, but eventually it also became the thing holding it back.
As demand grew, I found myself exhausted, overbooked, and working nonstop. I had to unlearn the idea that being needed in every part of the business meant I was successful. Real growth meant creating something bigger than myself.
So I made a difficult pivot. Instead of only focusing on grooming, I began building a business that could create opportunities for others. I expanded Jazzy Pawz into more than a salon.. a pet care hub with suite rentals, a registered apprenticeship program, & retail,
That transition was scary. Clients were used to me. I worried people would think I was stepping away. But I learned that pivoting doesn’t mean giving up on what you built it means evolving it.
Today, my goal is no longer just to groom more dogs. It’s to create a business that changes lives: for pet parents, for future groomers, and for the community. The lesson I had to unlearn was that I had to do everything alone. My resilience came from choosing to grow, even when it meant letting go of the version of the business that felt comfortable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jazzypawz.com
• Instagram: @jazzypawzbyandrea
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-jenkins-b02ba3b0?trk=contact-info

Image Credits

Seneca Jenkins