LAURA: Dogs-- they make the day better, they make everything exciting and
help you really appreciate every little moment of life.
New York City is an extremely diverse city and New Yorkers will argue
almost anything morning, noon and night.
But the one thing we can all agree on is we all love dogs.
From coast to coast, it's a mobile dog groomer you love the most.
It's Laura Jayne.
Welcome to Hair of the Dog Mobile Pet Spa.
My name is Laura Jayne Massaro, I'm owner operator of Hair of the Dog
Mobile Pet Spa here in New York, New York.
There are a lot of mobile groomers, far as I know.
I'm the only one operating Monday through Friday in New York City.
I have been in this industry for 20 years, every time I see a dog, I
turn in to a 5-year-old.
It's like... I see a friend.
Being a dog groomer New York City is something super, super special.
My staff is incredible.
I have such great people.
CALEB: Hair of the Dog-- Oh my gosh, it is...
We honestly are just like a big family and it's just fun to do it.
Like it doesn't even feel like work.
SOPHIA: It's just a really cool, like a weird obsessive thing, but it's just
great. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
It doesn't feel like I go to work every day.
I sound like, like I don't know.
I feel like, wow, I really am obsessed with my job.
Almost all of them leave like a totally different dog.
Like they're so happy.
They love having their picture taken.
It's just really cool.
LAURA: I put so much money into what I do.
Have scissors that are hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
We have our blades. We have sprays and combs and conditioning sprays
and we customize all of our treatments, shampoos, conditioners
individually to every dog type.
So we get to turn into a little mad scientist.
Continuing education.
I probably spend about $10,000 annually per employee.
It costs $30,000 a month just to own and operate Hair of the Dog
Mobile Pet Spa. It's expensive to do business in New York City.
I pretty much right from the jump wanted to open up my own business
and I just wanted to wait until the time was right.
In 2015, I was able to launch Hair of the Dog.
I built hair of the dog with a mountain of debt.
For the first year, it was just 100% of everything earned went back
into the company. Everything.
Every single penny, nickel and dime just went back into the company
so I could pay off the magnitude of debt.
So after we got through the first year, we plowed through it all.
And when it was time, we did it again.
And at least the second time of going through the financing, it was
easy, breezy lemon squeezy, but it was a stressful time.
Huffy! Since I've gone mobile, it really just doesn't stop.
CLIENT: Huffy, look we're at Laura's. She's the best groomer in New York.
LAURA: Aww! It blows my mind that it doesn't stop.
Phone is constantly ringing.
If you're one of the people that want something that--
You are just the happiest little dog.
Hi there, buddy. You can come here for a minute.
Can he have a treat? You want to treat?
PASSERBY: Do you just park in different places?
LAURA: Yeah, we basically have everything on a route.
We have some clients that are seniors, disabled.
So we're able to just go there, pick up the dog, coordinate with the
dog walker or doorman or a family member or neighbor, pick up our
pups and bring them and send them back home.
2019 figures with two trucks running and three stylists, we're doing
$350,000 annually. When there was more money to invest in other
things, I reinvested in the company and I expanded.
So I bought another truck, which was approximately $150,000 dollars
to get another truck. I pay myself $72,000 dollars a year annually,
and I just don't need or want more.
Ever since I started off in this industry, there's another one, he's
so cute! That's my bad.
I knew I was gonna see 'em, I was going to see her and I was going
to be like, HI! She's so cute.
Oh, my goodness. Hi, bubby!
If I just reinvest in my company and my brand and what I want to do,
then I can have what I earned with my hands and my staff help me earn
with our hands and invest it into something else amazing for the
city. We might do a store front someday.
We might do a daycare someday.
Every year we pick a project and we'd go ahead and we do it.