Meet Maria Conneway | Owner/Operator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Conneway and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, what do you attribute your success to?
Being a pet salon in 2023 is tough. The pet grooming industry is not regulated in any way and anyone can apply for a business license and hang a sign in a garage window. In order to stand out, we approached things differently and aspired to build a business that catered to the client,, the animal and the groomer equally. Each is equally important and if there is not balance, then their is chaos and things get overlooked, resulting in injuries or bad service.

With these three things in mind, we first realized that without conformity and consistency in the outcome of the groom, we have nothing. We discovered we must provide each of our groomers the same, high quality equipment that we would demand for ourselves. We outfitted each of our 8 stations with the best in the business from clippers, dryers all the way down to products and accessories. We separated our stations into 4 rooms, with 2 station per room to allow for a more controlled and quiet atmosphere. We then added in a safety station with a computer, phone, safety equipment such as muzzles, harnesses, and ear protection for the convenience and assistance of the groomers. With each of our groomers on a level playing field, we have less injuries, less issues and more consistent outcome of beautiful grooms and happy pets. We then supplied uniforms, name tags and lockers that are located in a breakroom with a stocked kitchen. Happy employees show up and treat the clients better, so it is imperative they are treated well.

After this we considered the owners. We built a beautiful lobby, provided a gourmet coffee/latte bar with snacks and comfortable seating to watch their pet on a 55 inch screen tv from our camera set up. The idea is comfort and transparency. We want owners to feel comfortable dropping off their pets and if they are coming from a distance, having a place to rest and wait while their pet is being catered to by their groomer. The owner can observe the step by step process as we work on one client per appointment time. We offer tours of our salon and explain the processes in detail to any owner who is interested.

At check out they are given a beautiful accessory for the pets collar and a cookie treat from our bakery of choice for their pet. We try to make the whole experience from beginning to end, pleasurable and stress free. New clients are given a beautiful pocket folder full of information about our salon, policy and procedure, tips and tricks, referral program info, discount program info and dental info are also included, along with recommended pet sitters, vets and whatnot. We also offer owners of SR or special needs dogs to stay with a trained groomer and assist with the groom in anyway they deem necessary. This is a one on one service in a quiet setting to relieve stress on both the owner and the pet.

We provide 4 customer service staff which is uncommon in many pet salons. Most places have the groomers second as reception and phone calls often have a long wait time. Checking in and out is much smoother and our salon stays pristine with cleanliness from having staff constantly doing laundry, keeping coffee bar stocked and stray hair at bay. All in all I believe we have created a one of a kind pet salon and hope to encourage our industry to continue to change and heighten the level of care for all pets across the nation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
TenderCare started in February 2012 in a garage setting. When the pet supply store I worked at closed after 2 years, I was able to purchase the equipment and rent a very small garage space and start my own business. I worked in that garage setting with special needs dogs and owners, one on one for 4 years. I built my business working with the dogs no other groomers wanted to tackle and the owners other salons could not accommodate due to restrictions of not having owners in their premises.

In 2015, I moved to a store front of 750 sq feet. It was at that time my business exploded. I had to hire an assistant quickly but still could not keep up with demand, so I sat down and figured out how to attract a good groomer. I outfitted a station and hired my first groomer. By the end of 2016 it was obvious we needed more space and we expanded into the unit next to us for an additional 750 sq feet, doubling our size. I added a tub, 3 stations, and a drying room. We hired groomers and hours and soon we had 8 groomers and were open 7 days a week including 3 nights a week.

2021 we had the opportunity to build our dream salon. Through trial and error we found what worked best and rented a 3200 sq foot space that was an old dental office. It was perfect with the separate rooms, lobby and breakroom. We started renovations and opened in July 2022. My own personal challenge has been understanding employee/personal relationships and being a leader instead of a manager. I have studied, taken classes and learned from experience and feel I am a much better leader than I used to be. Because of this and setting key people in place, I have been able to step away from actual grooming and can focus on my salon and building our brand.

I have had many personal challenges with my physical health. I have a bone disease that has caused me to have 11 major surgeries in 8 years starting 2015 to 2023. Several joint replacements and hand surgeries, neck fusion, arthritis repairs and more. Its been a struggle but between my staff and my clients and everyone’s patience with me, I have healed and am in a position to no longer groom.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Here in Fort Myers, my favorite places are of course, the beach! FMB is iconic and an amazing place to visit but we limit our time there since Hurricane Ian and the damage it caused. I hope to be able to spend more time there as things get safer and the beaches have less debris. Other than that we have the Broadway Palms theater and Barbara B Mann plus a fun day trip down to Naples for shopping and lunch spots.

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 allot much of my vision and success to the wonderful program SCORE. This is a free business mentoring program through the SBA and their input and assistance has been invaluable. We could not have achieved what we have without the support of my family, especially my husband, mother and aunt. My husband is our chief “fixit guy and has been vital to our success in safety protocol and equipment. He has emotionally supported me through the had days, the tough decisions and the scary moments when we were not sure what our outcome would be. My mother deals with me each and every day when I call her with updates and ideas. She has edited papers for me, helped with content and just been there when things were hard. My Aunt Lenore flew from Oregon to Florida THREE times to assist with our new salons decorating, finish work, color choices, painting, scraping doors and so much more. I honestly had no idea what could be done to an old rented unit until my aunt taught me how to refinish doors and how to pick color concepts. These three have been amazing. I have one key employee who has been with me for 5 years who never hesitates to step up and assist where needed, roll up her sleeves and get dirty. Crystal has been my lifeline on a daily basis with our salon and I couldn’t do without her.

Website: www.tendercarebymaria.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenderCareDogGroomingByMaria

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tendercare-pet-salon-and-day-spa-fort-myers