Small Business Saturday: Mom Nicole
Westchester mom of four, Nicole Goudey-Rigger from Briarcliff runs Pets A Go Go. Her four kids are made up of two sets of Boy/Girl Twins, how awesome! She started back in 2005 with her company and rebranded as Pets a Go Go in August 2008. What is Pets A Go-Go? Read on to find out more about Nicole’s business, her family and how she manages it all.
How did the idea come about? I saw a real need for a pet care business that had the personal touch that was desired but also the redundancy and accountability that other industries were expected to have. We were the first and continued to be one of the only companies that provide full-time, background checked and drug tested W2 employees all of whom drive a GPS tracked vehicle.
What is special about your business? We provide regularly scheduled as well as emergency services for our clients from 7 am until 10pm, 365 days a year. About two and a half years ago, we opened our first cage-free facility in Briarcliff Manor. This expanded our green mission by providing an organic and/or toxic free facility utilizing all natural materials. Our philosophy is unique in that we are 100 percent cage-free. We also staff 24/7/365 so no furbaby is ever left in our facility alone.
How do you manage having your own business and motherhood? It’s a juggling act. You have to have a lot of support in this business because of our operating hours. I have a wonderfully supportive husband and we do have wonderful live-in au pairs when I cannot work from home.
Walk us through a typical day: Mornings are crazy busy since all four of my kids get on the same elementary school bus. After they leave, it is time to catch up with my staff and get any additions/cancellations conveyed. After a few meetings, some billing responsibilities, interviews for new staff and getting to play with my furry clients, it’s time to be mom again until the evening hours when I return to work mode for the next day’s schedule.
If you had to give one piece of advice to a mom wanting to start her own business, what would it be? Start as soon as possible and follow your heart. There’s very little us multi-tasking, ambitious moms cannot accomplish. And don’t be too hard on yourself. You can do it all but not in the same 10 minute timespan.
Share info about your business:
Pets a Go Go™ is the service provider of choice for more than 2,000+* pet parents (and their furbabies) in Westchester County, New York as well as Southern Fairfield County, Connecticut. Pets a Go Go™ offers in-home pet sitting, private or group dog walking and running, private or group on- or off-leash hikes as well as expert training, grooming and several options for cage free daytime or overnight care (your home, our home or our 24 hour facility!) as well as much, much more.
At Pets a Go Go™, we pride ourselves on the dedication and diligence of each one of our staff members. Whether it is washing delicate little puppy paws after a salty winter walk or microwaving the vegetables for sensitive little geriatric teeth, it’s simply what we do. Let’s face it…anyone can walk a dog but it is in our details that we really differentiate ourselves. We invite you to check our references, we believe you’ll find them glowing. We invite you to ask others about our reputation, it’s how we’ve built our business. One extremely satisfied customer at a time, hundreds of times over. All of our employees are pet parents themselves; and as such, we are simply ‘pet people.’ We’re the people who save box turtles from storm drains and wouldn’t think of killing a field mouse who was hiding out in our basements for the winter. Over time, our clients have educated us more than we’ve educated them. They’ve told us that we are utterly unique in our professionalism, our flexibility and our dedication.
We pride ourselves on the peace of mind we give pet parents when they close the door or get on a plane that their furbabies will be in the best of hands. Over the course of the twelve years we have been in business, we have successfully completed more than 500,000 visits…an accomplishment for any organization. But while that is an impressive number, our goal is to make each and every Pets a Go Go™ client feel like they are our only client. Every contact with us should be safe, fun and rewarding (for your furry child) and stress-free (for you). To this end, we offer a national toll-free number to reach our offices during business hours, email reservations, paperless (email) billing and credit card processing as well as daily email or SMS/MMS text options.**
As we’re sure you can already tell, we are not your average pet care service! We are a locally owned and operated business who doesn’t view your pet simply as a number or a dollar sign. We know and respect that your pet is as much a part of your family as our pets are part of ours! Our clients entrust us with the comfort and care of their most prized belongings: their homes and their furry family members. And in return, we offer them our undivided attention and dedication by working each day to provide the most high-quality, professional and caring service available. We know that our clients give their pets 100 percent of their love, time and respect…why should you expect your pet care provider to offer them anything less? *As of January 1, 2015. ** A nominal fee applies.
Store: Pets a Go Go is headquartered at 589 North State Road, Briarcliff Manor NY. www.petsagogo.com; Pets a Go Go can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.
Contact: 914-458-4181 Voice: 888-4PETGOGO (4738464) Toll Free; Fax: 866-941-5955 and Email: thepawsquad@petsagogo.com
