Business: Beach for Dogs
Address: 790 Royal St. George Drive, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-576-0446, www.napervilleilpetservice.com
Owner: Steve Holland
Opened: January
What does this business do? “‘Beach’ is actually an acronym for behavioral, educational and coaching help for dogs,” said Tina Sanchez, who manages the business with husband Frank. “We specialize in basic obedience training, leash training, therapy dog training, and we also have day care, boarding and grooming. … We have an indoor and an outdoor play area. After about four or five hours of play, that’s when they come in and get on these mats. They start with the ‘place’ command. It’s kind of like nap time for them; most will fall asleep. (After that) we then do the one-on-one training with each dog in our program. And after that, they all go back and play again until they are picked up.”
What was the impetus for opening this business? “Steve (Holland) was actually in a really bad car accident a while back. His family bought a puppy. The puppy needed to be trained. So they needed to find a place, and all the places they looked at just weren’t up to the standards they were looking for – not clean enough, staff wasn’t friendly or didn’t have the options available for what he wanted to do. So he went out to do it better.”
More Top Picks Best Weighted Blankets For Autism
What is the best thing about being in Naperville? “Just like Wheaton (where the first Beach for Dogs is located), this is a great location. We thought it would be perfect for the Naperville community. The clientele, a lot of people have dogs. We created this fancy place, made it look good to service our customers with the best care and service.”
What is the biggest challenge about being located in Naperville? “I don’t see any challenges at all. It’s been great.”
When is your busiest time of year? “Holidays, for the boarding especially. We offer two types of boarding. We have boarding at our Wheaton location, but you can drop off and pick up your dog here in Naperville and we transport your dog over to Wheaton. And then we also have home boarding option where the dog actually goes home with the owner. He’s got a huge yard.”
What is the most popular service you provide? “Our programs are set up for four weeks long, each training level. So four weeks for basic, four weeks for leash and then four weeks for therapy dog training.”
What is a less popular thing you would recommend? “We do have a VIP program that’s just starting up. (Customers) pay $60 per month that comes out of their account and they get $120 worth of services.”
What service did you offer that you thought would do OK but turned out to be a big success? “Puppy (training). They need basic obedience. Sit, stay, down, you know, the basics. No jumping, no barking. Just the basics. That’s the main reason clients are coming in.”
What is the thing you most like to do? “People that come in with these troubled dogs, with behavioral issues. We fix it for them, and they are amazed. People who come here as their last resort type of thing, and then we correct their dogs issues. They can’t believe its their dog. That’s just always great to see for us, the happiness of dogs and owners.”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “Nothing. I love my job. I love working with dogs. The owners are great.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “Our training. Some people aren’t on board with just being dominant over their dog. They want to go for the treat training. It just doesn’t work for every dog. Every dog is different.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “We are all about the psychology of the dog. Coaching is a big part of the name and what we do because we need to train the dog and also coach the parent. The whole family comes in so everybody is on the same page on what we taught the dog.”
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business? “Go for it. Go for what your dreams are. Research, research, research!”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.