Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in pet care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lyric Russell, Co-Owner of FairyTail Pet Care - Las Vegas, located in Las Vegas, NV, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

FairyTail Pet Care - Las Vegas is the first franchised branch of FairyTail Pet Care, which is the nation's first wedding day pet care company. We are a wedding vendor that works with couples that are wanting to include their furry best friend in their wedding festivities. We coordinate all logistics involved with including pet's in their owners' weddings. These services include planning, roundtrip transportation, attire rentals, constant love and attention from one of our professional pet handlers, assistance with posing for photos, vendor coordination, and including them in your wedding festivities. We know that pets are like family, and so we started this business to ensure that we could provide a service to couples that would offer a hassle-free, once-in-a-lifetime experience of making their wedding day the most special day for both them and their beloved pets!

Tell us about yourself

I am no stranger to the most magical and fairy tale industry - the wedding industry. As a wedding professional for 5+ years, I have gained invaluable experience working as a wedding planner at a top-tier wedding venue in Florida and stumbled upon FairyTail Pet Care while attending the University of Central Florida (where I received a Bachelor's in Event Management). I worked as a FairyTail lead handler for three years before pursuing my animal-loving dreams and becoming a Co-Owner of the Las Vegas branch. As a planner, I saw how much trouble came with including couples' animals in their wedding and decided I wanted to pursue this business full-time as an owner to help couples include their pet. Both my partner, Heba, and I love animals and decided we wanted to follow our passion with this paw-sitive business!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment as business owners is the fact that we get to do what we love to do on a daily basis! We love seeing our couples' faces when we arrive at their wedding with their beloved furry best friend. Plus, nothing beats the joy of making it the clients' pet's best day ever, as well. This service is something magical that will bring happiness to our clients, and we love that we are able to offer this to them.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Business ownership is not for the faint of heart; however, it is worth all of the hardships that come with it. In my opinion, the hardest thing about owning a business is time management and work-life balance. Life is crazy, and there are things happening all the time, so this makes for a very chaotic life. I have learned very quickly that you need to organize your time and balance your business life and personal life. This means creating a way of prioritizing short-term and long-term tasks to ensure you are getting to what's most important, but also not forgetting about the small things that need to be done, as well.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK! I cannot stress enough the importance of making "power partnerships" within your industry. The more people you know, on both a business & professional basis, the larger your network will become. These partnerships not only help with generating leads but also allow you to gain knowledge from others in your industry.
  2. Use all available social media platforms for advertising. The great thing about social media is that it's FREE and user-friendly. Social Media also reaches audiences from all over the world with a click of a button.
  3. When selling your service/product to potential buyers, focus on selling YOU! People are more likely to purchase from you if they like you as a person. There are so many products and services out there, so it's important to stand out from the crowd - and the best way to do that is to simply be yourself! Lead authentically with passion and integrity.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

As advocates and role models of servant leadership, it's especially important for my partner and me to do something of positive influence on the greater community that we serve. In addition to creating special moments for clients, their pets, and their wedding guests, we believe that the magic shouldn't end with the festivities. We are also dedicated to helping shelter animals find their fur-ever homes, which is why we proudly volunteer our time and choose to donate a portion of our proceeds from every FairyTail wedding to local shelters. Since FairyTail Pet Care's establishment in 2015, we have helped include 800+ pets in weddings and donated over $20,000 -- and best believe that we're just getting started!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://fairytailpet.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fairytailpetcarevegas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fairytailpetcare_vegas/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fairytailpetcare_vegas

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.