We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natasha Herdman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natasha below.
Hi Natasha, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I started a nonprofit workforce training program for homeless and at-risk adults by pairing a social need with a market need– pet grooming. Our organization is a two-generational approach to break the cycle of poverty that all started because my mom needed more groomers and I worked in a homeless shelter.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
About 12 years ago I started working with homeless families and learned that so many people couldn’t get work due to criminal records, lack of education, or lack of job history. Moms that could find employment were stuck working second shift leaving the 6 year old at home to babysit the 2 year old. I helped others into jobs only to learn that they lost all of their welfare supports within weeks of becoming employed. They quit their jobs to go back on welfare so their kids would have food and shelter.
Most of the adults I worked with were abused and neglected as children, they ended up raising themselves on the streets and in and out of group homes. They dropped out of high school, got pregnant as teens, sold drugs and their bodies to survive. Sometimes becoming addicted to those drugs. Every night I drove home from work devasted because I could see their kids on the same path. One of those nights my mom called. She wanted me to put an ad in the paper for a groomer and she said I will take any warm body who walks through the door and train them.
That was the light bulb moment for me…My mom made good money, when we were young she flexed her schedule around our school schedule, the demand for groomers was so high that even she would consider hiring someone with a felony on their record.
After some research in the pet industry, I enrolled in graduate school and spent two years studying generational poverty and nonprofit management. In 2016 we opened our doors and this is how our program works.
When a mom enters our program, we begin assessing her individual needs. Does she have housing, childcare, mental help support, Dental? Legal, can she see well enough to cut hair or does she need glasses? We work with 90 partners in KC to stabilize mom so she can be in class for 40 hours a week for 6 months. All of these services exist in Kansas City but they are not coordinated. Our case managers start connecting these resources for our students with our partner agencies and 211. When mom is stabilized enough to learn, she moves into phase II.
Phase II is 644 hours of hands on dog grooming. We put social workers on the grooming room floor so when Sally walks in with strangle marks on her neck from the night before our social workers can address her safety needs without her needing to miss a full day of class. If mom is out of food she can visit our on site food pantry stocked by Harvesters. Homeless and have three kids? No problem, we have a family residence designed for single mothers.
When Sally graduates from the grooming school she enters phase three – the bridge program. We call it this because it is a bridge over the benefits cliff. This is where she starts making money and starts losing government benefits. We ask her to trust us and hang in there. We provide and connect her to emergency assistance until she is able to support her family on her own. We coach her through buying a more reliable car, finding permanent housing, and saving for a rainy day. After two years she has completed our program but she has our support for life.
This program has been an experiment, and this is what we have seen so far…
Kids were removed from foster care and reunited with their parents.
Graduates started opening up their own grooming businesses.
Parents became proud role models for their kids.
We have a 100% job placement rate.
Average starting FT salary $43,000
Our highest earner made over $95,000
73% came off welfare, post two years of graduating our program, and became self-sustaining
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I spent three years getting rejected for funding to start Pawsperity and my self esteem was at an all time low. I was at a bar working on other funding strategies when an older guy at the table next to me kept buying me drinks. I finally said, “Thanks, but I am trying to get some work done.” He said maybe we can help. By that time, I had learned the quickest way to scare someone away is to ask them for money, so I told him I was raising money to start a nonprofit. He said, “you should talk to my buddy “Sam” and pointed to his friend who was minding his own business surrounded by his drunk friends. It turns out “Sam” had a foundation and a lot of contacts. “Sam” was also a little tipsy and started telling me names of people I should talk to. I wrote them all down, went home and googled them and then called them. I said, “My friend Sam said I should buy you lunch and get your advice on my new project.” They met with me and weeks later I get a call from Sam and all he said was, “well played, meet me at the bar”. I asked him for $5,000. He said “hell no, I’m not giving you a dime, you have no idea what you are doing.” But, he hired someone to teach me how to fundraise. I opened my nonprofit a year later and now 8 years later, Sam still mentors me.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
It was mid December, and we were supposed to open the grooming school on Jan. 15th but I didn’t have any grooming equipment or funding to pay for grooming instructors. My board told me to tell the students class would be delayed until we had money. I officed out of a church at the time that was helping me get started and was there on a Monday when they were closed. Normally there were not deliveries on Mondays but that Monday a dozen large boxes showed up and they were all addressed to me. I started opening them and found box after box full of the grooming equipment we needed to open. I started crying, I had no idea this was coming. About 8 months prior to that I had written a cold letter to the President of Andis and listed everything I needed. I never got a response, like with many cold calls and letters that went out so I assumed it was a “no”. I deemed the generous donation a Christmas miracle and was fired up — I raised $30,000 in the next two weeks and we open on Jan. 16.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pawsperity.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawsperitykc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pawsperitykc/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pawsperity
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pawsperity
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pawsperity-grooming-salon-kansas-city