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

Lori, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My story into starting Pawsitively Max & Maggie begins with a pittie-mix named Max. Don’t get me wrong Maggie, Mo, Duchess, Dory, Shadow, Mardi, Sammy, Beck & Gizmo all have a special place in my heart but there is something about this Max dog. He hogs the bed, barks at you if you’re sitting in his spot on the couch, hears you chopping carrots from two floors away and has more toys & accessories than most dogs & cats combined. But – it’s because of him and my obsession with buying him stuff that this new and exciting adventure has begun.

While searching for an independently owned pet business, I stumbled upon one in Ohio that gave a portion of their proceeds to the local shelters & rescues. The “Give Back” part of this small business stuck in my mind so a search for other like-minded places commenced. The more I found, the more I saw a need for one place, an umbrella of sorts, where all of these great products and small businesses can be organized! I have worked hard to find exceptional products who have the same values. They are mom and pop shops, women owned, veteran owned, handmade, and most importantly, they give back to animal organizations in their respective areas. We all want to help in our way and by creating Pawsitively Max & Maggie, more help is going where it is needed.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

This quote resonated with me –

“If your schedule is full but your soul is not, the problem may not be that there’s too much on your plate, but what you’re filling your plate with in the first place.”

I have been a successful sports producer in the television industry for almost 30 years and won numerous awards. I’m married, have two adult children and volunteer with several organizations so my schedule is always packed. I’ve had dogs & cats my whole life and realized I wanted to do something that involved helping animals. So I started doing research.

In the last 10 years the pet market has increased every year and grown from $51billion to more than $123billion but in that same time period between 4 & 6 million animals enter shelters each year. The more research I did, the more I found all of these small businesses who wanted to give back and help by giving to area shelters, rescues etc.

Not everyone has extra money in their budget to donate but if you have a pet, dog &/or cat, you’re going to buy collars, leashes, toys, treats etc. Pawsitively Max & Maggie is a way to give back while also buying the things you would buy in the first place. I see this as a great one-two punch…supporting small businesses while also supporting animal organizations.

We are online & a pop-up pet boutique and donate a portion of our monthly profits to a different animal organization each month.

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

Like many people, the pandemic had a profound effect upon my life. November of 2019 my mom passed away from cancer. I was barely out of that fog when the world shut down. Both of my college age kids moved back home, and all of my sports television work dried up. I wasn’t sure what was next for me but knew that my mom & dad always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I knew I wanted to help animals but I didn’t want to jump into something without doing research. The television work came back slowly but my desire to pursue my dream of helping animals continued and Pawsitively Max & Maggie finally came to fruition.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I created a website to sell the products I carry. I have felt as though this was the best way for our company to do what we want our mission is. Many of our products are not offered on large platforms either. While more people may see the products if they are on a platform like Amazon but I prefer to keep it small versus making the already rich, richer.

Contact Info:

• Website: pawsitivelymaxmaggie.com
• Instagram: @pawsitivelymaxandmaggie
• Facebook: Pawsitively Max and Maggie
• Other: e-mail [email protected]