“Entrepreneurs each have their own specific reason for having gone into business. My own reason has been my dog, McGuire,” says Anna-Maria Ranieri, owner of Pampered Pets of Westmount. The young entrepreneur started her own salon following a bad experience with a groomer. “McGuire had been poorly welcomed, treated with very little respect, and that made me lose trust in pet grooming salons,” Anna-Maria recalls. “With time, I realized that if I had that experience, I was probably not alone, and that the only way to put my trust into a groomer was to be that groomer myself.”
Anna-Maria decided to get certified as a grooming professional and started Pampered Pets of Westmount in 2003. “I was barely 21 when I started my business. When I got started, my directing guideline was to treat other people’s dogs as I would want mine treated: with lots of respect, patience and professionalism," she says. "That’s what enabled me to succeed in this industry, let alone as a young entrepreneur.”
