Kate Kirk embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in 2020, when circumstances aligned to allow her to realise her passion and launch a mobile dog grooming business - right in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, four years on, ‘Pawfection’ is going from strength to strength. Here, Kate shares her words of advice and lessons learnt along the way.

Hi Kate, tell us about your business and what you do…

I started my own business in July 2020, I am a mobile dog groomer and my business is called Pawfection.

What made you decide to start your own business?

I was made redundant in May 2020 and took this as an opportunity to do something I was really passionate about. I therefore embarked upon a dog grooming course and spent the next 6 months practicing on as many of my friends and family’s dogs as I could.

I also sourced the van which was then fitted out to become a mobile dog grooming salon. I launched my business in October 2020 and my first two clients were two very cute Westies and that was the start of a very exciting and challenging change in direction. I have been very fortunate as there is a huge demand for dog groomers and my diary is always full which is a very lucky position to be in.

What have been the biggest challenges you've faced on your business journey and how did you overcome them?

There have been quite a few challenges, the biggest was probably the van broke down in a dramatic fashion while in the garage in the UK whilst being fitted out, I therefore had to find a truck who could transport the van up to the steam packet to bring across, this was all during the time of the COVID pandemic so it made it significantly more difficult. However, with a lot of determination and luck I found someone and we managed to get the van across to the Isle of Man.

What advice would you give to someone else considering turning their passion into a business?

I would definitely say go for it, you only live once.

However, you need to be prepared that there will be a lot of ups and downs and it does take a lot of determination and work to keep all the plates spinning, but when you are doing something that is your passion it certainly makes it a lot easier.

Where can people find out more about you?

I have a page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pawfection13 where you can find all the information and contact details for my business.

Five minutes with… Kate Kirk

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