We had the good fortune of connecting with Gray Moore and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Gray, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to provide a business that created quality pet care after all of the horror stories I had heard. I also didn’t feel comfortable leaving my own pets anywhere.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets us apart is that we take the health and safety of the dogs and employees very seriously. This all boils down to how you train the staff. If a company doesn’t have a staff training program, especially in our industry, THINGS WILL happen. The staff must be trained on dog body language, illnesses, play styles, grouping and management in general. We take staff training very seriously at Dog Tired. They undergo more than 40 hours of training from videos as well as hands on, and are tested on their skills.
I made it this far, because I worked HARD 15-17 hour days for a long time. It didn’t come without a price. I missed out on a lot of fun things with family and friends over the years, as I was married to the business. I lived and breathed Dog Tired for 13 years before deciding to bring on a business partner. It definitely effected my romantic relationships, as I worked too much, and put the business first. If I could change things, I would have hired a General Manager sooner, worked with mentors sooner, and spent more time on self growth, along with business growth.
It was never easy. I had obstacles from day one with the fire department, to contractors ripping me off and not showing up, to not properly grouping dogs the right way, because I didn’t know any better at the time. Education is first, so you can keep the dogs and employees safe in all aspects.
I overcame challenges by asking for help from mentors.
Lessons I have learned along the way, trust your gut, don’t rush, learn everything you possibly can about the career before going into it, HAVE MENTORS from day 1, have a goal in place to hire a manager ASAP, to prevent burn out, keep up with self care and vacation, never give up or let anyone tell you no, and work on personal self growth too, so you can be the best manager and person you can be too for your employees. You wont be successful, if you team isn’t happy along with you.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a best friend visiting Charleston, I would take them to the Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island, The Battery/Rainbow Row, The Market downtown, a shark tooth excursion, Shemcreek, Halls Chophouse & Wild Olive to eat, and The Charleston Pour House Wednesday night music or Motown throw down on Sunday with brunch at Sunrise Bistro on Johns Island or Lost Dog Cafe on Folly, Seanachi for homemade cocktails, Krazy Owls to see Jess and Josh in the Nest and for some more live music and dancing. Definitely a day on Folly Beach too with some good food from Woody’s Pizza & Rita’s.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have had MANY MANY mentors over the years. Some are from the industry while others aren’t. I would say Robin Bennett and Susan Briggs from the Dog Gurus, Carmen Rustenbeck of IBPSA, Rusty Griffith a Business, and Vickie Hollingsworth who gave me my first chance at being a REAL manager. Attending conferences is the biggest way I learned as well, and networking with like minded people.
Website: https://www.DogTiredsc.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogtiredcharleston/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dogtiredcharleston/