We were lucky to catch up with Jackie Kilgore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jackie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?

As a small business owner, I feel having a support system of friends and family is super beneficial. My friends and family help me tremendously both personally and professionally. The best help they provide doesn’t even cost the anything and usually I don’t even have to ask for help.

At home, my workdays can be long so having a support system for the basic needs around the house like cleaning, meals, shopping, errands, etc. goes unrecognized by most everyone but is the largest help of all. The last thing I want to do is cook or household chores after working a sixteen-hour day.

My friends and family support my business on social media by liking and sharing my content and recommending my services to others who are interested in my business’ services. They also attend my community events.

But best of all is their love, support and encouragement of me while I work and build my business. My friends and family are my personal cheerleaders and they would do anything to help me and my business succeed.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always been a pet lover and caretaker. I vividly remember my fifth birthday; my parents decided to add a dog to our family and I decided they gifted me a puppy. Naturally, like any five-year-old, I wanted to name him Happy Birthday. My Dad offered many alternative names, none of which topped the name I chose. I am sure my dad said “so be it” and eventually we settled on Happy Birthday and would call him Hap for short. Hap was my dog and best friend; we did everything together. I fed him, played with him, brushed him, and loved him for many years. He would walk me to the bus stop every morning and wait there for my return every afternoon. He was the best boy and taught me a lot at a very young age about the reward of earning a pet’s trust and love by providing loving care.

As an adult, I found myself working at a wonderful doggie daycare. It was during this time I realized that some dogs who were aging, anxious, don’t like car rides, aren’t dog friendly, etc., may be better served by another option; at-home care. So, I casually started offering at-home pet sitting services and soon found there are many pets, in addition to dogs, and parents who would appreciate at-home service. I care for cats, birds, reptiles, chickens, fish, guinea pigs, and ferrets, and am willing to add more to my list!

I have always dreamt of having lots and lots of pets, and with Paw City Pet Care, that dream has come true. Every pet we care for is part of my family. I know each of them and love each of them. Every day, I look forward to playing with my furry, scaly, and feathery friends and meeting more!

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

In 2019, through a mutual acquaintance, I met the founder of Paw City Pet Care. She was graduating from college and starting her nursing career. As a pet sitter, you grow very fond of your pets and pet parents, as such, she wanted to find someone to carry on her pet care legacy, business, and standard of quality care. We were so happy to have met and only wished we had met years earlier. We both had the same passion, work ethic, and standards. We decided on an agreement to transfer ownership of the business and to work together for a slow transition so we could best serve all pets and parents.

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, it became official and my casual pet sitting now had a name, Paw City Pet Care. The business was slow, nearly non-existent, but I knew this would be the perfect time to get everything organized, do all of the paperwork and slowly meet pet parents. We did a lot of video conference meet and greets and I met a lot of skeptical pets while wearing a mask, keeping my distance, and avoiding touch. It was an interesting time for all of us, pets included.

In time, pet parents started working and traveling and pets needed visits again. Things slowly got back to normal and our services began to grow because of client referrals. Gradually as things picked up, I started to build a team of pet care providers. My Mom was my first team member. It was really hard to take that first leap and trust someone to care for all of our pets; my mom brought me comfort. Today, we are proud to provide top-notch, quality, and reliable care to pets and pet parents with our team of pet sitters and groomers.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Caring for pets is a huge responsibility that must be taken seriously. These aren’t just pets to their parents, they are part of their family, they are loved and spoiled. It is very important to build trust with pet parents and make them feel comfortable with leaving their babies in safe hands. We have built a reputation of trust, care, love, reliability and dependability by always exceeding expectations, being fully transparent and standing by our commitment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Pawcitypetcare.com
• Instagram: @pawcitypetcare
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pawcitypetcare
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/paw-city-pet-care-grand-ledge