Business moving at a steady clip
By DAWNE LEIKER
"There's not a day that I don't laugh."
Bunnie Bowen, owner of Fur is Flying Professional Pet Grooming, illustrated her point as she chuckled at the comical expression of a half-groomed shih tzu fidgeting on her lap.
Bowen, who moved to Hays five years ago, opened the business Dec. 7. The demand for her services was so great that even before the shop was functional, a cocker spaniel owner approached her to clip the dog's nails. Since it appeared obvious to her the dog really needed it, she clipped his nails in the parking lot.
After spending 18 years, most of it on the road, selling jewelry products to major department stores, Bowen transitioned to owning her own business to make an intentional lifestyle change.
Her typical week prior to opening the store included flying to New York each Tuesday, spending two days working in the city, then flying back to Hays on Friday.
Watching trends in corporate consolidation, Bowen anticipated within a few years her company would ask her to relocate to New York.
The travel schedule was "getting a little crazy," said Bowen, a native of Omaha, Neb., so she decided to combine her love of animals with her expertise in business and open her own pet grooming shop.
She saw a need for pet groomers in the Hays area, as she had often had to call her groomer seven weeks in advance to get an appointment for her golden retriever.
Before committing to her career change, Bowen spent two days shadowing her dog's groomer to experience the business firsthand. Then after researching nine grooming schools throughout the United States, Bowen settled on a school in Colorado Springs, Colo.
It was there she came up with the name for her shop, while watching two Akitas being groomed. She thought "the fur is really flying." The phrase just planted itself in her head.
A five-year member of the Hays Golden Retriever club, Bowen has had many referrals from that group.
She continues to meet new people each day and give them hints on how to care for their pets between groomings.
"They're (her clientele) the kind of people that take their pets to the vet for annual visits and get their Hays city tags. They are concerned about their pet and want to do the right thing," she said.
Pet owners have been stopping by her store since its opening, just to "check it out," Bowen said. Referrals "have been unbelievable."
The biggest challenge for Bowen so far, though, has been adjusting to the economics of working for herself, with no company-provided benefits.
Also, grooming pets can be "physically taxing" she said. She schedules only one or two big dogs a day. Some dogs, such as poodles, are very time-intensive, taking up to four hours to groom.
Bowen said the business is already profitable and all the details have fallen into place easier than she had anticipated. After only two months, she has recouped all her initial investments except her education costs.
Services available at Fur is Flying include: all inclusive grooming, BBN-bath, brush and nails, FURminator shed-less treatment, self-service wash, de-skunking, tooth brushing and toenail painting.
Bowen's Web site, furisflying.com, provides a comprehensive list of services and gives her a "leg up" on her competition who have no web presence. Today's pet owners seek much of their information online, so having a Web site is very important to Bowen.
It's apparent Bowen is adjusting to her lifestyle change with enthusiasm. Glancing at her golden retriever puppy curled up at her feet, she said,
"To be able to bring your dog to work every day, I mean ... how awesome is that?"