12 Oct 2022

Career changes are not uncommon in the ever-dynamic local market, but when Mogomotsi Samuel (26) quit his job as a waiter and photographer in 2021, his friends and family were shocked by what path he opted for: pet care!.

The Jackalas II native said upon completion of BGCSE at Naledi Senior Secondary School, he enrolled for a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science at the University of Botswana, which he is yet to complete.

Mr Samuel revealed that at the age of 18, he worked for different companies and ultimately opened a media company that took pictures for different restaurants, before becoming a waiter.

He said working for a certain company that sold Brazilian shoes introduced him to the art of selling and interacting with a lot of customers.

His passion for photography was also harnessed there and he then also ventured into waitressing, albeit on a part-time basis.

Mr Samuel said his entrepreneurship spirit then kicked in two years ago and he ventured into poultry and later dog breeding.

He however said dog breeding was not a serious money spinner and he made huge losses, hence the decision to branch into the dog grooming business, from whence Nasha Kennels was born, last year.

“I have had dogs for my whole life.

 I grew up with them till this day, so I started dog grooming and it was going well,” he reveals. Mr Samuel says within two months, he got his first assistant upon noticing that a lot of people were interested in his services

Initially, he said, he would go door to door taking pictures, editing and uploading them to his Facebook page for free, to create more awareness about their services.

As it was expected, he said this marketing gimmick took a bite off his profits, but insists it had to be done and it ultimately paid off as the business started getting a lot of clients, resulting in the hiring of a third pair of hands.

He says with business now on the up and up, he introduced contracts, where one opted to have their dog groomed once or twice a week or maybe every week for the whole month, and they would get a 10 per cent discount and a free dog walk.

Mr Samuel said this  was a winning formula as more and more customers started calling and showing interest in their services.

He revealed that as part of scaling-up, they introduced vet services, where they collected the dogs and handed them to a veterinarian contracted to the company and only charged the service fee at the vet, transport and handling.

As a way forward, Mr Samuel  said he  planned to enrol for a veterinary services course.

Talking about  their services , he said they had grown and they were getting calls from as far as Maun, Francistown and Lobatse, to name but a few, from people who just like what they see on their Facebook page.

Mr Samuel said dog grooming was an everyday job, so the more clients, the better.

He added that the grooming work has not stopped him from taking pictures and advertising and so they were getting the right customers who see a dog as a companion.

“We will soon introduce pet sitting at Oodi so that when people travel, they can leave their dogs with us.

These are the same people who have been working with us,” he says, adding if all goes well, Nasha Kennels will ultimately go into dog accessories.

Mr Samuel sees the business producing dog belts, increasing dog walking, and then later incorporating dog shampoos and conditioners.

He however says though the business was progressing well, the finances part, which included record keeping and maintaining a clean balance sheet was a challenge.

He however says an opportunity, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana’s Future Makers entrepreneurial programme, has presented itself.

He  enrolled in the programme, which he said gave him exposure to a lot of best practices, which spell a clear path of where he is headed as a business person.

Mr Samuel said  implementing what he was taught makes it easier for him to stand out, revealing that recognition-wise the business was sitting at plus 10,000 followers on Facebook.

As to who can start the dog grooming business, he said provided they have the correct value it only called for committed to serve the dog and the client.

The winning formula according to Mr Samuel  was centered on the experience that the Nasha Kennels employees give out, not just dog washing.

He said the experience involvesd checking the state of the toes, nails, and ears, and then the first soak, which is a dip bathe, where they hand pick ticks, fleas, and mites, and then the second soak, which includes a shampoo and conditioner, before the intense process of trimming, cutting, and cleaning all areas.

For more enhanced services and to boost their sales, Mr Samuel said they also offer home fumigation to protect dogs against mites and ticks, among others.

The t intention is getting more people involved and raising awareness that a dog also deserves some level of hygiene, as it has feelings.

He sealed the conversation by saying that, “60 per cent of known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals, and 75 per cent of new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.” ENDS