Why Quality Service and Supporting Employees Matters, with Maria Erna
Maria Erna:
Why would you hire the best, and then go in and tell them how to do their job? It just makes no sense to me. So I vet them, so that I have a top-notch staff, and I give them my vision of the company. And if they buy into it and it's their passion to groom, then we want them on board, and then I let them do their job
Dusty Weis:
Greetings innovators, and welcome to Back of the Napkin, where we explore big journeys in the world of small business, with the personalities who make it happen.
Stephanie Davis:
This is where small business leaders can hear about the unique ideas that have launched successful enterprises across America, and meet entrepreneurs who aren't afraid to think differently. And it's brought to you by SurePayroll, where small business is their business. I'm Stephanie Davis from the SurePayroll team.
Dusty Weis:
And I'm Dusty Weis, a small business owner from the Midwest, and we are excited because we have a really interesting one lined up for you today. On today's episode, we're going to be talking to Maria Erna, who has a portfolio full of different business ventures, but most recently spends her time delivering a holistic spa experience to some four-legged furry clients.
Stephanie Davis:
I have said many times that I wish I lived closer to WaG so I could send my dog for some top-notch pampering. But before we hear Maria's story, we'd love it if you took a moment and subscribed to Back of the Napkin in your favorite podcast app. We'll be releasing our season one episodes over the next few weeks, and we don't want you to miss any of them, so take a moment to hit that subscribe button.
Dusty Weis:
And if you enjoy the show, you can do us a huge favor and leave us a five star rating, maybe, or even leave us a review, tell us what you liked, and you might just be helping another entrepreneur like you find the bolt of inspiration that they need. And if you can't get enough of the small business content, including payroll tips and tricks, be sure to check out the SurePayroll blog or get updates on SurePayroll's channels.
Stephanie Davis:
Dusty, is there any chance you know how wonderful a spa experience can be? Or do you have any special four-legged friends in your life?
Dusty Weis:
Well, this might shock you Steph, but I'm... not very familiar with the spa experience myself. In fact, there's a long period of time in my life where I was sure that SPA was an acronym for something, although I wasn't really sure what it was. But as far as four-legged friends go, I love dogs. I grew up with dogs, and they really are the best friends that a person can have. Our current dog is a rescue mutt. His name is Hobey Baker Dog Washburn Weis-Scholcoff, a complicated animal, deserves a complicated name. But as far as spa experiences go, I'm a little ashamed to admit that he probably hasn't had a bath in two and a half years. What about you? Are you a spa frequenter?
Stephanie Davis:
I do enjoy my spa moments, they're very soothing. And I understand how much that the spa experience can mean to the little furry friends in our life, which leads us into the great story that Maria has to share. Maria Erna is the owner of WaG Grooming Salon and Spa in Salem, New Hampshire. Maria understands the small business life well, as she spent a consultant for many years and has experienced guiding other small business owners to success. She has an impressive resume and can now add commercial star to it, as WaG was just featured in the latest SurePayroll national commercial. I've also chatted with Maria before, when we featured her business on the SurePayroll blog.
Dusty Weis:
While Maria has a strong understanding of small business owners and their needs, she also has a deep knowledge of her clients. Inspired by her own challenges with finding quality grooming services for her dogs, she wanted a grooming salon that was a soothing, holistic experience to every dog that came in. So Maria, thanks for joining us today on Back of the Napkin.
Maria Erna:
Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.
Stephanie Davis:
Maria, you started WaG because of your experiences taking your dogs to big box chains for grooming. Can you explain a little more about this and what the experiences could be like for the people who may not know what all goes into dog grooming?
Maria Erna:
It's quite interesting. I've been interested in this industry forever. I grew up with dogs and we started with German shepherds at a very young age. And as I got older, I decided more to go the rescue route. And I would rescue these pets and you kind of don't know their history, so you want a good experience for them, because you don't know what their triggers are, things like that. So I was going out and going to different grooming places, while I would have to travel for work, possibly, board them, and I learned a lot.
Maria Erna:
Different states have different rules. Some States you do not have to have any credentials to be a groomer. You all could decide tomorrow to get out of this world, and print business cards and say, you're a groomer, or watch a YouTube tutorial and decide you're a groomer.
Maria Erna:
And what's sad about that is there's so much that goes into it. The anatomy of the dog, the behavior of the dog, the personalities, every dog has a different personality. And as I mentioned, if it's a rescue, you don't know the situation it came from and what could possibly make it nervous.
Maria Erna:
My little Diesel dog, the black one up here behind me, he came from a really violent situation that I had rescued him from. And so, if you went to pet anywhere near his lower backside, around his tail, his hips, he would growl and go to bite you. So that right there started my path, and I was going to different salons, and there's great groomers everywhere. I want to preface with that, great groomers everywhere, and many have apprenticed and become great groomers. And then, they've done the additional work to learn about personality and learn about anatomy and all of these things.
Maria Erna:
But there are other groomers that just do that. They watch the tutorial and then they go open a shop. They have no mentor there, and dogs get hurt all the way through the worst and the unthinkable. And it's happened at big box as well as small places. And granted, accidents can happen anywhere. You don't know about underlying conditions, especially with like a senior pet or if there was something wrong inside. So accidents can happen. But when you're working with them with very sharp instruments, scissors and clippers, you really need to know about the body of the dog, so that you can give them a quality groom and keep them safe as possible. And our premise is holistic and safe.
Dusty Weis:
A lot of wisdom in that, I think that the saying in the world of dogs is there's no such thing as a bad dog, just bad dog owners. And you could probably extend that out to say bad dog groomers and bad dog petters. But dogs are living creatures. They have their own attitudes. They have their own experiences that shaped the way that they interact with the world. And I know from experience that just trimming my own dog's nails is a bit of an ordeal. He starts shaking, and he is just the sweetest, gentlest, big old 75 pound dog that you ever met in your life. But the closest he has ever come to taking a swing at me is when I'm trying to trim his nails, and getting him into the vet's office is another thing entirely. Because it's unfamiliar, there are weird smells, and there is that, they can sense that something weird is going on. And so, it sounds like your business model is predicated on just minimizing the triggers that could set off these dogs. Essentially, allowing them to be the good dogs that we know and love.
Maria Erna:
And that's a very valid point. Think about it, when people go to the vet, there's many different reasons. They could be going in for the first exam. They could be going in for shots. They could be going into be spayed or neutered, or they could be at the end of life going in for a hospice or a situation where they're going to be euthanized. And you've got the energy of the humans, the people that have those dogs, so you've got this mix of emotions, and animals are very in tuned to that. And some people might think this is [inaudible 00:07:23] or what, but I'll tell you from experience, and I watch it and see it every day, and I've learned so much from my amazing groomers. People come in with their dog that are very nervous. They're like helicopter moms, we have helicopter dog moms.
Maria Erna:
"Oh, I don't want to leave it. I don't want to do this." Well, your animals feed off that energy, so if you're calm and relaxed, they're going to be calm and relaxed. They sense you. If anybody's ever watched Dog Whisperer episodes, there's some valid points that are brought out in those shows. The dogs really do feed off of you. So when the mom's coming in or the dad or whomever, and they're nervous, because they don't want to leave their dog, and they don't know what's going to happen. The dog now is shaking. And I'll tell you what, we'll take the dog over, they leave, the next thing you know, the dogs running around happy. And the other thing is we make them know that this is going to be a comfortable, relaxing experience. And we always put the humanity and the safety over the vanity.
Maria Erna:
We're not going to do anything that is going to hurt them, or they get so freaked out that they're just going to have a panic attack. Or dogs are prone to seizures, when they get super nervous, they can throw up, they can go to the bathroom. There's a lot of different things that go on. So when the owner leaves and we make them relax, but we also maintain a level of command to let them know where alpha this isn't playtime.
Maria Erna:
So people at home you're going to do their nails. They're pulling away. "No, no, Randy," "Rudy," whatever your dog's name is, you're pulling on the pod back and forth. And now they think it's playtime and you're doing, "No, no, no, no." That's play. We're very firm, what's your dog's name? Oh, your dog's name's Dusty. "Dusty, no." And we let them know we're in charge.
Maria Erna:
So if you think about those things, it really plays into it. And I'll give you one example on the nail trim. We had a client in that used to take her dog to the vet every four to six weeks and pay over a $100 to have the dog sedated, general anesthesia, puts asleep to have the nails trimmed. So slight fortune over the year. And she's like, "No one can try my dog's nails." I'm like, "Let us try." And I have my resident dog whisperer, who's amazing. I've got... Like I said, I can't speak highly enough about my staff because they are just rock stars. But Heather took that dog in the back. She's just got this way with them, pet them, made them relaxed, and trimmed those nails. And the owner came back and said, "Well, the dog made a liar out of me."
Maria Erna:
"No, we just gave it a different experience." And don't forget when you take them to the vet for treatments, nail trims, things like that, if they've got neutered or spayed there, they already know that something else might be going down. And we didn't even do... We're set up like very rustic, so it's more like a homey feel. We don't have those stainless steel tubs. I had tubs custom built through this company that does these specific grooming tubs. So it's more like a bathtub at home, but it's got steps so they can get in. So it's just a whole different change and feel for them, so that we can put off the right energy and work with them. And all my girls are on board with fear-free grooming practices, AKC safe standards, there's actually courses and certifications you can go for and get that my girl's have.
Stephanie Davis:
So you've done so much research just in understanding the dogs and your products and everything. And I remember when we first talked, you explained to me the research that went into launching your business, so it was set up for success. And I was blown away, because you're like, "I looked at foot traffic. I looked at what was happening in the Plaza I was thinking of opening in. I looked at the salaries of people around and what the income levels were." And I was blown away that that much planning went into it. Why is research like that so important? And why should small business owners be thinking about that?
Maria Erna:
Well, it goes back to the basics of business. There's got to be a demand for the product that you're putting out there, the old supply and demand. And economics is just a huge part of your business. For example, if you set up an ice cube store in the middle of the most remote part of Alaska that's already got an abundance of ice everywhere for free, your chances of succeeding aren't going to work, especially if there's nobody to see your business. So I looked everywhere and I have a background in business consulting and real estate. So I have a little bit of an advantage there. And my business consulting focuses on business development and marketing, and now more so on social media marketing. So understanding real estate, the old saying, "Location, location, location" is so important.
Maria Erna:
So we're on a main road, and the traffic study... I was fortunate that I have a friend that opened a restaurant about six miles up the road and had done the traffic study, and when I was talking to her about it, she volunteered some of the information. So I realized that we had 180,000 cars a week going by this Plaza that I'm going to be in. And the Plaza set back a little bit and there's not a great marquee sign due to the town ordinances, so we don't have this big blazing billboard. We have a small marquee sign and there was probably 20 businesses in there, so you have these little placards on the sign. But I'm situated between a small little restaurant that does take out now, it's like pizza, sandwiches and they focus on Lebanese type food, and then around the backside is an ice cream shop, that's homemade ice cream. And all summer long, on Monday nights, they do a classic car show in the parking lot.
Maria Erna:
So it's an L-shaped Plaza. So I now am able to draw from the pizza place. I'm able to draw from the ice cream shop all summer and the car show people. A lot of people that are into cars have their dogs, and it just worked out well for us to pick out this Plaza. And I had to look at where the other grooming shop situated, cause you don't want to cannibalize. So I looked and there was no other grooming salon within a three mile radius. I would have to drive forever to get my dogs groomed. So it just all came together. And I drove through the parking lot one day, and it just so happened that the for lease sign went up, and I went and met with the landlord and we liked each other. We hit it off and he made me a great deal.
Maria Erna:
And he trusted me, because I had never run this type of business before. I've run businesses, but nothing like this. And he gave me a chance. So the planning is what's important, because opening any business is a risk, but if you can eliminate as many of the unknowns, it's going to make a difference. So look for traffic, look for where your next groomer is or whatever you're going to open. It would have been stupid of me to open an ice cream shop where I am, because that ice cream shop around the corner already has all the business. So I would either put him out of business, if I was that much better, or I would have no chance of succeeding if my ice cream was the same or any less than his, because he's been there. And thank God for non-compete clauses, when you're looking at your leases.
Maria Erna:
There's a hair salon in our Plaza as well, and I'll tell you what, that works really well, because they're a higher end hair salon. And then we have Edward Jones, so we've got financial planners coming in, and an insurance agency, a big brand insurance agency. So with all of that combined, people drop their dogs off and go get their hair done, and then pick their dogs up. It worked out well. So look at what you're doing. If you're doing a retail product, find a place that has a need for it. Look how far you're going for a good service, and then look at who else is doing it in your area.
Dusty Weis:
Maria, I've got to ask about the name WaG, big W, small A, big G, and maybe I'm hung up on acronyms today, but is that an acronym for something?
Maria Erna:
Wash and groom. So that's where it-
Dusty Weis:
There we go.
Maria Erna:
... started, wash and groom, because we had a self-service wash or you could go with full-service grooming. And now I like to tell my girls that stands for... We use the word wicked in New Hampshire, so if you're from new England, the word wicked is an adjective. Something can be wicked big or wicked small. It means a lot of something, so we now use the acronym for wicked awesome groomers, because they are wicked awesome.
Stephanie Davis:
So speaking of your wicked awesome groomers, you have an awesome relationship with your staff and it's a physically demanding job, because, like you said, they could be doing dogs that are four times their size. So you ensure that they have the resources in place, like access to chiropractors, and you're also not a groomer yourself. So you fully trust them to do what they need to do and know that they'll do the right thing. How important is that when you're running a business, that relationship with your staff and just trusting them to do their thing?
Maria Erna:
It's probably the most important factor in your business, because why would you hire the best and then go in and tell them how to do their job? It just makes no sense to me. So I vet them, so that I have a top notch staff. They are trained in pet CPR and pet first aid, and when we discuss... Whether they found us or we found them, I give them my vision of the company, and if they buy into it, and it's their passion to groom, then we want them on board, and then I let them do their job. I'm not a grimmer. I don't want to be a groomer. I want a place where I can take my dogs. And it actually gives me an advantage, because when I go in, I see the entire shop from a consumer's perspective. I don't see it through the groomer's eyes.
Maria Erna:
So it's a perfect blend, because I might come in and say, "Why are you doing that? You shouldn't be doing that." And then, they'll explain to me that there was a very valid reason why they're doing something a certain way. Like I was famous when we first opened, I would come in and people would come in with these amazing dogs, I'm like, "Oh my God, you're so cute. I want to kiss your face." And I'd lay on the floor and I'd make out with them. And it was just... it was insane. And I love animals so much.
Maria Erna:
The groomers were ready to choke me. They were like, "Maria, you got the dogs all worked up and now we have to try and give them a relaxing groom. Now they think it's play time. You just broke rule number one."
Maria Erna:
So it was something I learned. So now when people come in, I have to be a lot more reserved. As much as I want to like be all over that dog, I have to keep it very calm and let them do their job. So it's a level of mutual respect. And when we first opened, I had some opposition, my top groom and grooming director is Sarah Morris. She's incredible. She's been at it for 20 years. She's been in management roles. She actually competed nationally on an Animal Planet show called Groomer Has It, and beat out thousands of groomers to make it to LA, to live in the house, and then worked her way up till I think the top eight slot. And she's just fabulous.
Maria Erna:
So when she started, we went back and forth with some differences and worked through them, but she didn't believe we were going to be as busy as we were, when we first opened. No grooming shop does that. And within about a couple of weeks, she was full. She thought she was going to work part-time in the beginning, and she ended up being full. We hired the next groomer... So we opened in February, we brought in the next person in April, the next person in, I think, May or June of that year, and we're booked out anywhere from three to six weeks. And so we're fortunate, but they had to trust me on the business side and I trust them. And it there's, again, to just use sayings that are out there, "If you take care of them, they'll take care of your business." So just hire the best that you can get, and don't micromanage them. They don't want me to come in and go, "Why are you doing it that way?" I might not understand. I'm not a groomer, so they have at it.
Maria Erna:
And my job is to provide them the resources they need, give them all of the tools. So I have state-of-the-art equipment. I actually... The fourth groomer I hired, we're up to six now, and I still have my original team. The fourth one, I hired didn't want to be a groomer, because she had scoliosis so bad and she was grooming, but had to get out of it. She's now phasing back into grooming, because of the equipment we have. So whatever they need, they get, whatever they want for products to make the groom easier, and have those dogs look amazing and smell great when they come out, I will get them. And I just provide them the tools they need, the resources they need, and the respect that they deserve because they invested in themselves.
Maria Erna:
And I just need to back up and let them do it. I'll come in and nitpick, because there's dog hair on the floor, which they remind me every day, there's "a grooming salon. We cut hair. There's going to be dog hair on the floor." I'm a neat freak. What can I say?
Dusty Weis:
You touch on something there that I've heard before. In fact, it's one of the founding principles at 3M, the multi-billion dollar global corporation that makes everything from adhesives to Post-it notes. But one of the founders there, a fellow by the name of William McKnight, like to run around and say, "Hire good people and then leave them alone." As a means of just driving home that if you've invested in having the right people, you don't need to tell them how to do their jobs, unless they're way out there doing something goofy. So it sounds like you put a lot of effort into supporting and retaining your people. How does your employee retention stack up to your peer salons in the area?
Maria Erna:
I think we're all equal as far as that goes. I will tell you there is a shortage of groomers in the country. It took me two years to get to the point of where I am right now. And I need to hire more groomers in order to satisfy the demand. So there are other grooming shops popping up a little bit closer to where I am now. Finding groomers is difficult, so if you're looking to get into the grooming career, I recommend it highly. If you love animals. And as I say with anything, don't do it for the money, do it because you love it and the money will come. And if you do what you love, you're not... How does the Sam Adams guy say it, he says, "You'll never work a day in your life." These girls... I had a conversation with my newest groomer last night, because we're talking about some diversity for the company, and other ways I want to grow it.
Maria Erna:
And I was asking her if she had some interest in doing some other things, as well as grooming. And she's so passionate about it. And she was so excited to find a home where we don't breed any competitive culture there. Everyone works together. People give up their clients to newer groomers, because we know, I'm going to just generate more." So if a client has a request, you get to stay with your groomer, but if you can't make it in the time slots that they have available, we always offer other groomers out there and I try to maintain levels. So we have three on a very senior level, and then three on an intermediate level that are learning from those three senior groomers. And so we schedule dogs accordingly and cat's based on that. So as far as retaining the staff, I just provide them with an environment, I give them what they need, and we have monthly meetings, which I think communication is one of the biggest things, as far as keeping your staff happy.
Maria Erna:
And it goes back to that respect, hear them. I very rarely will go in and dictate a policy. I go in with a challenge, something I don't like or something someone else told me, they didn't like, and I open it up to the group. How are we going to handle this? How do you want to fix this situation? What makes sense for everybody? And I'm grateful that we have an amazing staff and I'm very grateful to our grooming director, Sarah, in her ability to vet the most qualified, talented people, or people with the most potential that have started in it and need to be brought to the next level, and may not be in a place where they can get there.
Dusty Weis:
Well, there have been some great management insights in the first part of this conversation. And, of course, you have a lot of other experience in small business. And so we would like to pick your brain a little bit about some of those insights as well. We're going to continue our conversation with Maria in just a moment. But first we have some updates to share from the SurePayroll bulletin.
Stephanie Davis:
This is SurePayroll's Back of the Napkin podcast, where entrepreneurs share stories of their big journeys and small business. I'm Stephanie Davis.
Dusty Weis:
And I'm Dusty Weis, and we're talking to Maria Erna, a luxury grooming and dog spa owner in New Hampshire. Maria, it's time for a quick, fast, five. Five quick questions to get to know you better, and the first one I'm going to ask you, what was the first job that you ever had?
Maria Erna:
My first job? Oh, we grew up really poor, and there was a hair salon around the corner. So I was about 12 years old, and I went in and asked them to do anything and they let me sweep floors and wash shampoo capes. I think I got a quarter, 25 cents a cape, and I would bring that money home and save it.
Dusty Weis:
At 12 years old.
Maria Erna:
Yes.
Dusty Weis:
That's impressive.
Maria Erna:
Yes.
Stephanie Davis:
I love TV. It's a great way to pass all of the time indoors, is there anything that you have right now as a current TV show binge?
Maria Erna:
I'm not a TV person. I love music. So usually the music is on, the radio is on. I turned it off, because you guys probably made me. But I binged watch Ray Donovan for awhile, which I thought was a really cool show. And other than that, I don't know. I'm just consumed with news lately, because it's insane.
Dusty Weis:
Well, there's been a lot of it.
Maria Erna:
But yeah, I'm not... If I don't have to put on the TV, I won't.
Dusty Weis:
All right. So watching the news, and it's snack time, you go sweet or savory?
Maria Erna:
Savory all the way. I'm not a sweets person. Give me a roast and a hunk mashed potatoes.
Dusty Weis:
Now you're staring down the barrel of a long workday and you got to get hyped up, what track are you putting on your headphones?
Maria Erna:
Oh gosh.
Dusty Weis:
The pump up song, the epic walkout music. What have you got?
Maria Erna:
The epic walkout music is probably going to be Bad Religion, Godsmack is probably my walkout and my workout music.
Stephanie Davis:
What's your favorite vacation spot?
Maria Erna:
Any place warm with a beach. I am from New England, we're going into winter. I am not a winter girl at all. I lived in Georgia for about 25 years and it was the best time of my life. And I can't wait to get back there and spread WaG down there, but anywhere warm and a beach.
Dusty Weis:
Speaking of your time in Georgia, prior to being a dog salon owner, you spent a lot of time consulting other small business owners in a variety of industries. Tell us a little bit about your career path, leading up to where you are now.
Maria Erna:
I started in New England in retail, for retail store chains. And one of the best educations I got very early on was us Sears Roebuck. And they had a sign over the door, customer satisfaction. It was so long ago now, late '70s, early '80s, but satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. It was customer satisfaction was their number one mantra there. And so I learned a lot from them. I learned a lot about retail. I learned a lot about inventory, profit and loss statements for your department, whether the children's department was doing better than the hardware department, and things like that, and that kind of set my path.
Maria Erna:
And then after I got out of school, a retailer had called me to come work for them, so I did that. Then I started college and they didn't like that. They wanted me to come back, so I actually left school. I was going to school for accounting and went to work for one of these big retailers, which really launched everything. We were just coming into the age where they were doing bar coding. It was just... Before that was called OCR, optical character readers, and technology was taking the forefront. We had old manual cash registers and I took a liking to technology. And then I ended up becoming a trainer and moving into the technology arena. And from there, they started putting me out as a consultant for them. And I decided to just go on my own. And I did that for a while until a really big company brought me into start up a business development marketing department. And that was what moved me to Atlanta. And I spent many years for that company, and then use that knowledge and expertise to share with other organizations out there.
Maria Erna:
So my consulting history is just a little different than a typical consulting firm, because I would actually get hired by the company as an independent contractor, but be an acting executive within their organization, so that I could dive in-
Dusty Weis:
Interesting.
Maria Erna:
... and see how everything worked, and give them inside information, and then come up with a plan for them. And it wasn't always getting rid of the employees. A lot of times they would defer to that, "Oh, this person isn't working out." A lot of times it was that person wasn't the right match for the job you hired them for. Let's interview them and see where they would be happy and where they'll thrive and what their strengths are, and let's reallocate your staff and your resources. And then let's see what we can automate to save the company money. So, that's how I tied all that technology in.
Maria Erna:
And, and I got a great experience there, because I had clients in technology. I had clients in communications. I had clients in hospitality, restaurants. I was... Just got a little bit of a taste of everything. And it was easy to go in because marketing is marketing, whether you're selling software or you're selling pizza, the supply and demand rule applies, and when you're good, you never have to worry about the competition. You got to make sure you have a quality product. And it doesn't matter what that product is, because, again, those principles apply in the very... Radio and what you're doing a podcast, you have to have a consumer for it. And there's a lot of room for content, right now, and people love it and they absorb it. So you just got to create that powerful product that people want. And once you know that that demand is there and if there's not a demand, you can make a demand for it, niche markets, and then give the supply.
Dusty Weis:
As long as it is quality and original, you'll always find a market for it. I tend to agree with that.
Stephanie Davis:
So even with all of your experiences helping other small business owners and all of the knowledge you had, when you opened WaG, were there any surprises that popped up that surprised you about being a small business owner?
Maria Erna:
I think the biggest surprise for me... I'm extremely self critical. I surround myself in great people and learn from them. I've done it my whole life and the team I brought in was great. I'm still surprised every day. And so grateful that our client base received us so well into the community. And whenever we get a review, I'm humbled and surprised.
Maria Erna:
And I have a few very dear people to me that tell me, "I never doubted you. I knew it was going to be great. You're behind it. You're a go getter." But that's, to me, the biggest thing and the most humbling thing is to see these people that are so grateful for the services we provide. And they're so happy with how we send their puppies home or their cats home. I think... A million stories in my head, as I'm even saying this, just something that someone told me the other day about their cat and it just makes me feel so good. So I am totally surprised at how well we were received and how well we're doing. And I don't know why I should be because I hired the best to do it, but to see it, is definitely surprising.
Dusty Weis:
Talking to small business and entrepreneurs as we have, I'm struck that there's sort of two different schools of thought. There are the people that always sort of knew that they wanted to own a business and run a business, and were just looking for the right idea. And then, there are people, like me, who never had any interest in running a business, until they saw that niche, and they saw that opportunity and they got to thinking, "You know what? Maybe I can do something here." Which school do you fall under? Did you always know you wanted to own a business?
Maria Erna:
I did.
Dusty Weis:
Or did you kind of discover?
Maria Erna:
I did. I'll tell you a funny story about it. So when I was very young and you guys might not be young enough to remember this, but Jerry Lewis, this famous comedian, used to run, on Labor Day weekend, the Jerry Lewis Telethon, and he would raise money for children with Muscular Dystrophy. My mom worked in the medical field. She was in radiology. And I always knew a lot about that industry, because of my mom and her sister, my aunt, who's a nurse. So every year when that telethon would happen, you could send away for a little kit and hold your own little Muscular Dystrophy carnival, and raised money to send it in. And I used to love watching that ticker go up. So and early on, I learned about fundraising and getting donations. So I would call the local soda place here, we actually had a Pepsi plant.
Maria Erna:
I know Georgia's all Coca-Cola. We had a Pepsi plant nearby. I called them up. They donated cans of Pepsi. I called the ice place. They donated ice. I called the food place. They donated pizzas and I would set up little games, little almost like cornhole and things like that. And kids would come in and they would pay to play each game and pay to buy this stuff. And now we take all this money and I would write my little check that was probably a $100, and send it in. And I was so proud to do it. And my mom would help me. I would sit with those envelopes.
Maria Erna:
So it started very young from wanting to be in control, definitely type A personality. But here's where the opposition comes in, and what you just brought up is so valid, we grew up extremely poor, which is so ironic, that I'd want to give, and we had nothing. We didn't have food. My mom worked crazy shift in the emergency room. We didn't have heat at times. We'd open the oven and lay by it, because it was a gas stove, and we had a coal boiler downstairs and we had nothing. So there was always this split thing in me where I wanted to work for somebody else, because it was a sure paycheck, but I wanted to control my own destiny. And I think a lot of people think like that, like how do you give up the sure paycheck?
Maria Erna:
And so I always wanted to own my own. And then, I'll tell you a little later in life, there was a show on called Dynasty, and Joan Collins used to sit at this big glass desk in her fancy outfits, and I never knew what she did on that show. I have no idea what a company did, but I used to look at the TV and tell my mom, "I want that job. That's the job I want. I don't know what she does, but I want to sit at a desk with nice clothes." And I just always wanted more right from having nothing, and I still don't know what she did on that show, what her position was, what company did or whatever.
Maria Erna:
So I found a way to blend the two. And now more than ever, here's my advice to people, is you can keep your day job, you can keep your solid paycheck, but because of social media and because of technology... Look what we're doing right now. We're all in different places across the country, and we're working together. You can collaborate. You have the means and social media is free. If nothing else, invest in yourself, learn how to do a Facebook page, learn how to do a YouTube video or whatever's out there for resources. They're free, sign up for that account. You can actually start a side hustle right now, and work at it and build it into something great.
Maria Erna:
And do something that you love, because if you're passionate about it... I think you can tell, look how excited I get talking about my dogs. I can get just excited talking about food and real estate too. I'll tell you those two things are my other passions, but you can do it. You can do it and believe in yourself and surround yourself with people that believe in you. Because if you're around successful people, how can you not be successful? They'll give you guidance. And the only mistake I see that people make is not listening to them when they give you advice, because you don't like what they had to tell you. And that's where you can hurt yourself.
Dusty Weis:
In addition to joining us on the podcast and serving as the face of SurePayroll in a new national spot that's airing.
Maria Erna:
So exciting for that. Thank you so much for that opportunity Stephanie.
Stephanie Davis:
Of course, thank you.
Maria Erna:
And the team at Sure-
Dusty Weis:
But you are also a SurePayroll customers.
Maria Erna:
I am.
Dusty Weis:
So how did you find us? And what do you like about SurePayroll services?
Maria Erna:
I like everything about it. When I researched... By the way, as Stephanie mentioned, I do a lot of due diligence. I looked at all of the companies out there. Some of the companies were just too big for us, which SurePayroll's parent company is too big for us, so the price point didn't work for me. And other companies didn't offer what we needed. And I made a couple of phone calls, got a great sales rep on the phone that explained to me, everything, answered all of my questions, and I went with it for two reasons. The flexibility of it. I can run it from my phone. There's a phone app and it's secure. I can run it from my laptop, if I'm at the office. I can do it from a friend's house, if I know what my login is. And I did it because it was affordable for a small business like mine, and it's so easy to use.
Maria Erna:
If you're not tech savvy, it's so simple to log in, set up a new employee. And the flexibility part, I have employees that work on commission, I have employees that work hourly, I have employees that are salaried, and then I have all of them working on gratuity basis, because gratuity is a big part of the grooming. So they might get a commission... The groomers are all on commission based in gratuity. So I can go in and I can easily put in different commission rates for them, different gratuities, put in hourly for this other person that answers my phones, and it's not burdensome. I can do it very quickly. And I like the tools it gives my employees. They can log in and look at their paycheck stub. If they're applying for a home loan, they can download their paycheck history.
Maria Erna:
It's like... I can't say enough about it. And the people are just great to work with. You make a phone call and everything's online. I can do it on my schedule. They're there after hours. They're there on Saturday mornings, if I have a question. It's just, it's great. I want people to know I was not paid to do the commercial. I'm not being paid to do this. I wasn't paid to do the blog. I talk about them, because they're one of the people I recommend to all of my clients that I still consult for. And I think I'm up to what, five or six people I got now on it.
Stephanie Davis:
You're killing it, it's wonderful.
Dusty Weis:
Oh, there you go.
Maria Erna:
I know, I just keep... I push it out there. When you're... If you've got under a 100 employees, and you're not using Payroll, you're paying too much and you're doing too much work. I don't need a... I don't need anything to do my payroll. It takes me five minutes, and you can do it up to 5 o'clock on Wednesday, and your people will still get paid that Friday. You can do payroll within less than 48 hours and they get paid. It's magic .
Stephanie Davis:
Wow, Maria, you are so passionate about your business, you are so insanely motivated, and you always have great ideas. Do you have any ideas to expand WaG or anything that you might want to try next?
Maria Erna:
We definitely want to expand WaG. A little of it is a confidential at this point, because I don't want anybody else to take our ideas-
Stephanie Davis:
That's fair.
Maria Erna:
... but we want to add some stuff to our portfolio of things we do. One of the things we do right now, when a new pup comes in, if they're willing, we get some really great pictures of them. So if you go onto our Facebook page, you can go through just 100s and 100s of photos. Sometimes they're not so cooperative, but when I expand, I'd like to be able to add a photography studio, and take some of these pictures, put them on canvas, and make another income stream there, where people can purchase them. Because I've got two groomers that are also photographers. So everybody's kind of got their hobby or something else they've studied or actually worked at in a different life.
Maria Erna:
So that's one of the things. I'd definitely like to add a couple of more locations, and I truly in my heart want to franchise and bring this model out to the world. But I'm so nervous about controlling the quality of the product that we deliver, and I don't know how franchisees do it. And if there's a franchisee out there that can give me some advice, I'll take it all day long, because I definitely want to do that. But we have one big one coming and it means more payroll, but I can't talk about it just yet. I have to wait until after the first of the year, but I'm excited about it.
Dusty Weis:
Well, we can't wait to hear about it. And certainly if anybody is capable of franchising out, yet, still maintaining the integrity of her brand, it's going to be you Maria. Maria Erna, owner of WaG Grooming Salon, and Spa, thank you for joining us on the Back of the Napkin podcast.
Maria Erna:
Thank you, it was a pleasure.
Stephanie Davis:
So Dusty, what do you think, are you more intrigued by this dog day spa experience?
Dusty Weis:
Well, I don't doubt that Hobey would enjoy a trip to one of Maria's spas. Now I just have to get to the point where I can justify pampering my own dog, when I don't get pampered. Maybe I'll have to go get these cuticles examined, and pamper myself as well.
Stephanie Davis:
I think that's a great first step.
Dusty Weis:
Well, I will keep you updated as that process proceeds, if it proceeds. But that is all that we have for this episode of Back of the Napkin, where we explore the big journeys in the world of small business, with the personalities who make it happen.
Stephanie Davis:
Please make sure that you're subscribed in your favorite podcast app, and if you enjoyed the show, leave us a five-star rating or even a review. We would love to hear from you about any ideas you have for small business owners, who we should be featuring on our show .
Dusty Weis:
Back of the Napkin is brought to you by SurePayroll, from easy online payroll to 401k support and award-winning customer service. SurePayroll has been serving the payroll and business needs of small businesses for more than 20 years. Learn more at shorepayroll.com and get one month free as a new customer.
Stephanie Davis:
Here on Back of the Napkin, our executive producer is my boss, SurePayroll's Carey Straetz, co-producers are Kevin Aubrey, Ashley Peterson, and Dave Papa, and our production partners are Podcamp Media.
Dusty Weis:
Where we provide brand and podcast production services for businesses. Our editor and producer is Larry Kilgore the third. So thanks for tuning in to Back of the Napkin, I'm Dusty Weis.
Stephanie Davis:
And I'm Stephanie Davis.
