Name: Scarlett Dalton
Title: President
Company: Camp Bow Wow
No. of units: 12 Camp Bow Wow
Age: 54
Family: Husband Jason and 3 adult children
Years in franchising: 15
Years in current position: 15
Scarlett Dalton might’ve been destined to own and operate a business in the pet care industry. Her love for animals developed in childhood when she tried to find homes for stray dogs she found wandering the streets.
Dalton says she didn’t realize she could turn that passion into a career until she worked as a veterinary technician. Her father owned a manufacturing company. With his tutelage and encouragement, she dove into building a pet care business about 20 years ago.
She operated a mobile pet grooming company and handled all aspects of the business. Her first vehicle was an old postal van that she purchased and retrofitted with a company logo. She worked the business for three years, and then it was time for an unexpected change.
On her way to Cozumel with her husband, Jason, Dalton saw an ad in an airline publication for a franchise opportunity with Camp Bow Wow. She was familiar with basic animal boarding services but didn’t know the full possibilities of doggy daycare. She returned from the trip and called about the opportunity. Discovery day wasn’t far away.
It took several years to open the business and become profitable during a recession, but Dalton and her husband had faith that their first location in Covington, Louisiana, would be successful. They ran that unit for eight years before expanding to 12 locations across seven states.
While she oversees franchise operations, her husband manages the finances and acquisition of new locations. The pair won Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine’s MVP Influencer Award for Husband & Wife Team in 2023.
Though she loves fulfilling her passion for providing care for dogs, Dalton says it comes with a deep sense of responsibility. She encourages team members to love each dog as though it’s one of their own.
“We work in a very personal business in which customer service is the top priority,” Dalton says. “Many people view their dogs like their own children. If a restaurant messes up an order, they can fix the meal again. We can’t mess anything up when it comes to people’s pets.”
After being intricately involved in the operations of the first franchise location, Dalton has taken a step back and delegated as the business has grown. She credits her talented and dedicated team as well as the director of operations, who oversees all camps. Dalton focuses on processes and operations for each location and serves as a resource for other Camp Bow Wow franchisees.
“I love to give advice and help other people throughout the system,” she says. “It is not a competition, and it is important for everyone to be successful. We are definitely Camp Bow Wow’s biggest cheerleaders. We love having a family atmosphere with our employees and customers. And who doesn’t love working with dogs all day long?”
PERSONAL
First job: I worked for several years as a veterinarian technician while in college.
Formative influences/events: I always had a passion for dogs. When I walked home from school as a kid, I would magically bring dogs home with me. After several times taking the dogs back, my parents said they needed to get me a dog. This passion led me to find a field in which I could spend time with animals.
Key accomplishments: Growing a startup mobile grooming company into a multimillion-dollar family business while proactively advancing the need for luxury pet care, innovating with technology, emphasizing the well-being of the pets, and having a commitment to the community. These elements created a successful, forward-thinking dog care business that caters to the evolving needs of both pets and their owners.
Biggest current challenge: Along with the normal staffing issues, changing consumer behaviors, evolving regulations, and staying on top of technological advancements in and around our industry.
Next big goal: To grow to 20 locations in markets that we currently serve through building from the ground up and acquiring of existing locations.
First turning point in your career: Opening our first Camp Bow Wow in 2009 and hitting profitability. That proved to me that we could operate a successful, profitable business.
Best business decision: To go all in on my dream of being a small business owner. When I started my mobile grooming business, it was just me doing everything.
Hardest lesson learned: When I realized that my short-term focus on daily tasks led to neglecting long-term growth strategies. It became painfully obvious as we grew that I needed to spend more time building systems, setting up processes, planning for scalability, and focusing on aspects outside of my comfort zone of operating one location. My second hardest lesson was to let go and not take every ebb and flow of that one location personally.
Work week: Technically, I never stop, but I will pause to recharge and take a well-earned vacation. The beauty of what I do is summed up with a quote from Harvey Mackay: “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
Exercise/workout: Who has time for this? However, I do live in downtown New Orleans and walk everywhere when possible.
Best advice you ever got: Your team is your most valuable asset. Surround yourself with talented, motivated people who complement your skills. A business is only as strong as the people behind it.
What’s your passion in business? Building a culture based on customer service. You get to know customers like they are family, and they trust us with their dogs like their children. Our employees are also just like family, and we strive to build a loving, trusting environment. I am also passionate about working with the dogs.
How do you balance life and work? I take time here and there to enjoy where I am and what I am doing. I don’t have it planned out for the most part, and I remain flexible to enjoy life and work any chance I get.
Guilty pleasure: Designer clothes and shoes.
Favorite book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
Favorite movie: The 2002 film, “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
What do most people not know about you? That I hate the beach.
Pet peeve: Not following through on promises and, of course, lying.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A veterinarian. I have a huge heart for animals.
Last vacation: A bicycle trip from Spokane, Washington, through Idaho to Montana in July.
Person you’d most like to have lunch with: My late father.
MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: Focus on customer satisfaction. Dogs mean so much to their owners that we constantly need to stay on top of our game.
Management method or style: I use a hybrid of many management styles that are tweaked based on my team’s experience and skill level, the task at hand, goals, and/or specific challenges.
Greatest challenge: To be able to understand the needs of my team and adjust accordingly. We have 12 locations that span from Albuquerque to Tampa, so it can be challenging to stay on top of what is going on at each location. That’s why I get to know the team and rely on them for anything. A few years after opening our first location, we hired Jessica Blackwell as our president of operations. She knows everything we do inside and out.
How do others describe you? Passionate. I am the biggest cheerleader for the Camp Bow Wow brand. People throughout the system can call me day or night, and I will help them with whatever they need. There is something wrong with me—I just love what I do so much!
Have you ever been in a mentor-mentee relationship? What did you learn? Yes. My father owned a furniture manufacturing company, and I learned about running a business from him. I have served as a mentor for Jessica Blackwell, our president of operations. I learned that I don’t have all the answers, and I’m always open to listening and learning something new.
One thing you’re looking to do better: Work on my exit strategy. Even though we know it is coming, it is not something we’ve tackled because it is still down the road.
How you give your team room to innovate and experiment: I provide direction but also empower my employees to make decisions on their own when possible.
How close are you to operations? Currently, I’m about two levels removed. I review the performance, and if necessary, I dive into the operations to provide answers to a location’s performance.
What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor? Correct branding, maintaining standards, accountability, and national marketing. They should empower franchisees to innovate and establish a strong community of owners who share ideas.
What you need from vendors: They need to better understand my day-to-day needs and find ways to help solve them while respecting my time. There are not enough products and services specifically made for our industry, so we develop much of what we need internally.
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy? How? Yes, we have returned to doing what made our brand successful from the onset. This includes grassroots marketing, community events, and customer engagement rather than focusing heavily on PPC and social media marketing, etc. We still do it all but focus more on the local marketing in the cities we serve.
How is social media affecting your business? It’s a love/hate relationship that leans toward the side of hate. Good news can travel fast, but bad news travels faster. Staying on top of social media is definitely a crucial aspect of our business from advertising to reviews.
In what ways are you using technology (like AI) to manage your business? We are still figuring this out, but one area we’ve used this technology is in marketing campaigns specifically designed to target our top customers and the other businesses they frequently use.
How do you hire and fire? We hire employees specific to our industry. They must be pet owners and treat them like family. We then train and groom the best employees to take on more customer-facing responsibilities. We try our best to promote from within while being quick to fire those who don’t uphold our standards.
How do you train and retain? We have an online training course to start with our basic brand standards and operations. Once that is complete, training is mostly hands-on. When we find good employees, we bring them into the customer-facing aspects of the business and help them develop relationships with staff and customers.
How do you deal with problem employees? We try to give as much guidance as possible to those who may be having problems. We work collaboratively, and team members will often work with that individual to figure out a solution.
Fastest way into your doghouse: Not following through on an action. If I ask someone to do something, I expect them to do it. I won’t ask anyone to do anything I won’t do myself.
BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: $11.4 million.
2025 goals: To surpass $15 million in sales.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? Currently through additional locations and year-over-year sales of existing ones.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in five years? 10 years? To have three new ground-up locations and five acquisitions over the next five years. By 10 years, I will be planning my exit.
Do you have brands in different segments? Why/why not? No, not now. I feel we understand our market, and it takes all our time and energy. Learning a new industry isn’t in the cards unless it is a strategic partnership or an outside investment.
How is the economy in your region(s) affecting you, your employees, your customers? It has been tough. People have less disposable income, costs are higher, and we’re finding ourselves marketing more to existing customers than to new ones.
Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? Yes, but it’s coming from new locations and not year-over-year sales growth from existing locations. Due to high costs of fuel, moving closer to our customer base and reducing their travel has been the biggest driver in our market.
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? We have localized our efforts in the community directly attached to our business rather than targeting customers in a foreign zip code. Our business has become more granular in that way.
How do you forecast for your business? We base it off previous years, industry trends, and marketing reports specific to our business.
What are the best sources for capital expansion? Local banks after we have established our business. SBA was our best option starting out.
Experience with private equity, local banks, national banks, other institutions? Why/why not? I’ve never had experience with private equity, but local banks have been the best once you establish yourself as a business owner in the market. National banks are fine, but you just don’t get the personal experience every small business owner needs.
What are you doing to take care of your employees? We treat them like family. Once they build their relationships with us and the business, we begin investing in them with events, such as team meetings and special events.
How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? It is definitely a challenge. Technology helps with training and retaining the best employees and buying into the philosophy that sometimes fewer employees are better from an efficiency perspective.
What laws and regulations are affecting your business, and how are you dealing with them? Minimum wage increases, regulation, and tax changes all seem to be never-ending issues. I rely on my lawyer, accountant, insurance agents, bookkeepers, and bankers to keep me on the right side of ever-changing regulations. These people also become like family, and finding the right one helps tremendously with the burdens of business ownership.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? In addition to the usual promotions and pay increases, top performers are brought into the inner circle where their opinions and ideas are broadcast throughout our business. They see the payoff of their hard work and are challenged to do, grow, learn, and take on additional responsibilities.
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? This is a work in progress. Our plan would probably leave the business to our children and Jessica Blackwell. If that doesn’t happen, we would likely do an equity purchase for the business.
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