FARGO — Oakley, a 7-year-old Australian Shepherd, may look like a whip-smart herding dog, but he may have the heart of a Kardashian.
When owner Hayley Wall told Oakley she was going to have a “spa day,” the shepherd immediately perked up. Then she pulled up by the door, barking enthusiastically and wagging her tail, when groomer Ariel Kreikamp rolled into the driveway in her Spiffy Clips Mobile Pet Grooming Van. come.
“She really likes it,” Wahl said.
This was a welcome change in behavior since Oakley had previously been extremely nervous about grooming appointments and wouldn't let groomers touch his nails.
But Oakley seems to prefer the one-on-one attention and privacy of mobile grooming to crowded salons.
“Dogs that come here are treated badly at regular salons, but here they're fine,” said Claykamp, 32, who started grooming 11 years ago, in a calm tone. “They just get overstimulated in the salon, and this is exactly what they need.”
Kreilkamp seems to be doing well with her mobile grooming service. This seems to be both less stressful for some pets and more convenient for owners.
“It's a great service for elderly people and mothers who can't get out much,” Kreikamp said.
Maybe that's how Spiffy Clips has been able to attract 200 “super-loyal” customers around Fargo-Moorhead in the two-and-a-half years since Kreilkamp launched the business.
Wall, a married mother of 2-year-old twins and a busy job who lives in West Fargo, is grateful she doesn't have to shuttle Oakley to and from appointments.
Contribution / Haley Wall
When Wahl realized that her old dog groomer would no longer work, she began looking online for someone who could provide mobile services.
When she read positive reviews about Spiffy Clips, she reached out to Kreilkamp. “I never really looked back,” she said. “Ariel is amazing. She is very professional and treats her Oakley like her own dog.”
Mobile vs. physical store debate
A lifelong animal lover, Claykamp was born in Valley City and moved to South Carolina with his family at an early age. She thought she wanted to work with animals someday, so she enrolled in college to study biology. As a way to earn money through her college, she also trained to be a groomer at a chain pet store in Bluffton, South Carolina.
Eventually, she quit college and started grooming full time. Because she realized it was the perfect calling for her.
David Samson/The Forum
That was 11 years ago. Kleikamp returned to the area in 2020 with the desire to start her own grooming business.
Kleikamp had wanted to become a mobile groomer for a long time and contacted the North Dakota Small Business Center to see if it was the smartest move. The experts there helped her create a business plan and compare the pros and cons of a mobile her business versus a brick-and-mortar store.
Kleikamp has learned that the downside of mobile operations is maintenance. But the advantage was its flexibility. “You can choose where you want to work,” she said. “If I decide to move, I can take my entire business with me.”
She also discovered Wag'N Tails Mobile Conversions, a company in Granger, Indiana that specializes in manufacturing grooming vans and veterinary care vans of all sizes.
She ordered the company's most popular model, the DynaGroom, for $98,000. Then she waited six months for the company to build and winterize her 22-foot-long Ford Transit van.
Once he got the van, Kreikamp didn't have to do much marketing to attract customers. She's parked in busy areas like grocery store parking lots, and curious pet owners can't miss her white car decorated with bubbles, a happy dog, and the Spiffy Clips phone number. did.
Finding customers may not have been difficult, but Kreikamp still had to overcome the learning curve of a salon on wheels.
David Samson/The Forum
“It takes a lot of trial and error,” she said. “The first six months were really tough. We had to figure out how the van worked and how to keep it from running out of water.”
Now, she can shampoo, condition and rinse five to six dogs a day in her van's 50-gallon water tank.
The van stays warm even at -15 degrees
She moves effortlessly around the compactly appointed van, seemingly with nothing more than a few steps or arm's length away.
David Samson/The Forum
The stainless steel grooming table automatically raises and lowers with a foot pedal.
A ramp extends from the table to a raised stainless steel grooming tub in the back of the van, so Kleikamp doesn't have to lift all the dogs.
There's an overhead cupboard for grooming supplies and a long hose for blow-drying your dog.
There's also a small desk for paperwork, a switch to turn on the generator if you need heat or air, and a roof vent in case the van gets too hot or humid.
David Samson/The Forum
Due to the tight space, drying with a hairdryer can be very noisy, so Kreikamp wears headphones and gives her dog a happy hoodie (a cloth tube that slips over the dog's head to protect its ears). I gave it.
“It looks a little funny, but it's really effective,” Kreikamp said. “Especially when there's a canine flu going around, we give all the dogs a new one so they don't pass anything on. We haven't seen it yet, but we don't stand a chance.”
David Samson/The Forum
One factor that dog owners don't have to worry about is the cold. Kleikamp usually leaves the ceiling vents open so that the heater and hot water quickly warm up the small space.
“The question I get asked a lot is, ‘Is it warm enough?’” she laughs. “I'm wearing short sleeves.”
Even when the outside temperature is -15 degrees Celsius, the van remains consistently warm. If the mercury drops further, she would ask owners to postpone appointments or bring their dogs to the heated store in Moorhead where the van is kept, “just to be on the safe side.”
It's spacious, but not “St.” Bernard Roomy'
Although DynaGroom is efficient and compact, it also has limitations.
First, she's busy enough to hire another groomer, but she just doesn't have the space.
For another, Kreikamp learned early on that vans weren't made for extra-large dogs. “When I first started raising St. Bernards, I kept them here and they could barely fit in the bathtub. That was a mistake,” she recalled with a laugh.
Currently, she is limiting herself to customers weighing 50 pounds or less and only accepting customers in the Fargo and Moorhead areas. She also grooms regular cat clients, but she is not taking on new clients.
Although Kleikamp is already busy, she maintains a waiting list for future clients. Her rates start around $110 for a small dog like a Shih Tzu and go up to $130 for a medium sized golden retriever. The price is also influenced by factors such as coat condition and temperament.
“I don’t have any dogs that bite anymore, so that’s kind of nice,” she said.
With business booming, one might wonder if she would want to invest in a larger vehicle for Wag'N Tails, such as a bus or an RV.
“If I get anything else, I might get a second one,” she said. “But that is far in the future.”
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