Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Saber.
Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Carin and I have been friends for over 15 years and had always talked about opening a business together. We came across the Three Dog Bakery brand and realized it brought together all of our interests; dogs, baking and community.
We started with our first location in 2018 in Rice Village to be close to where we both live and shop. We then opened our second location in the Heights in 2022.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There’s no such thing as a smooth road in small business! There is no roadmap for opening a small business, even a franchise. There are so many permits and fees you don’t find out about until AFTER you’ve set everything up. These are the little things that diminish the joy of the business. But the BIG things are trying to only focus your energy on the things you can control. We can’t control the economy or trends, we can only control what is within our four (or eight) walls. We want our space to be fun and happy so that people want to spend their time with us, and bring their dogs! We want visiting the bakery to feel like an event and not an errand. We focus on baking and decorating the cutest dog treats in Houston and having the friendliest people!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Three Dog Bakery?
Three Dog Bakery is the World’s First Bakery for Dogs. The first one was in Kansas City and there are about 50 nationwide. Carin and I wanted a business that catered to the dogs of Houston to help them to celebrate everything from birthdays and gotcha days to cancer-free and worm-free days to gender reveals and lost my nuts days! We feel that every day we’re alive is a day to celebrate and whom better to celebrate with than your dog?!? All the treats, cookies and cakes we bake are all natural and with human-grade ingredients. We do not use artificial dyes or preservatives. We can (and do) taste everything we make. We take our brand very seriously, in that we only want to provide the best for your dog, regardless of what that is. We carry a limited amount of food brands, because we believe these are the best options for your dog’s nutrition. The accessories we carry are made in the US, by other small businesses, just like us. Our community is our investment. We want to strengthen the brick & mortar, Mom & Pop, small business market in Houston. There are so many wonderful, unique establishments for people to come out of their homes and interact with their neighbors in. Small Business is the cornerstone of the American Dream and economy.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I wish I had a mentor! I’m also a terrible networker. I’m so tired after working and taking care of the kids, that socializing seems overwhelming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.threedogbakeryhtx.com
- Instagram: @threedogricevillage
- Facebook: @threedogtheheights
- Twitter: Three Dog Bakery – Rice Village
- Youtube: Three Dog Bakery – The Heights
