The Canine Resort & Daycare SBDC Success Story

With help from business advisor Anjelina Torres, Kathryne was developing her business plan to start a new business when, in an interesting twist of fate, she learned that Kelly’s Kennels was up for sale. This presented Kathryne with an opportunity to buy an existing and established business. With the help of her SBDC Advisor, Kathryne gained a great deal of knowledge about buying a business and adjusted her business plan to focus on purchasing the existing kennel. Kathryne was able to take her business plan to a local lender and secure an SBA loan to buy the business. The Canine Resort & Daycare opened on May 26, 2023, offering boarding, grooming, and daycare services for dogs.

After a full year operating, the Canine Resort and Daycare was ready to expand their facility and services. They worked with business advisor James Leavelle on entering the 2024 San Angelo Business Plan Competition. With business booming, they needed to expand their facility to add a new dog park, upgrade current kennels, runs and gates, and remodel their pool area with a goal to rent out the space for private parties. By listening to their customers, they realized that there was a population in San Angelo that could not access their services because they either could not drive or were too busy to drop off their dogs to daycare. This prompted them to offer a new service – pick up and drop off! To support this goal, they want to purchase a canine minibus, which would enable the business to pick up and drop off pups, allowing them to enjoy all the services offered by the business while supporting those who have been seeking this value-added service. After making it through both phases in the competition, Kathryne and her business partners won 3rd place in the competition and a $20,000 grant. 

“They helped me a lot with the organizing of the business plan for my business and gave great advice for my startup!” 

Kathryne Herrera