Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Mock-Mason.
Sara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always had a strong connection with animals of all kinds and nature.
My journey in the Animal Welfare field began while I was in college as I volunteered at a local shelter walking the dogs in their care.
My employment at the local shelter transitioned to working in the Veterinary field and becoming a Veterinary Assistant. It was from there that I took a position to help out a small grooming business and had no idea that I was about to dive head first into the most challenging, yet rewarding, metamorphosis.
That evolution began 15 years ago and remains unceasing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If I hadn’t taken risks, made mistakes, faced challenges or driven home from work in silence while questioning my life’s decisions, I wouldn’t have grown and this season of life would be vastly different. One cannot evolve if they have never had to overcome challenges just as one cannot truly know joy if they have never felt sadness.
The physical side of being a Pet Stylist isn’t always easy or pretty. We get injured, we sustain repetitive motion injuries over time that turn into chronic pain, the four-legged clients on our tables aren’t always as enthusiastic about the beautifying process as we are and many of them are larger than we are.
We find ourselves in continual problem solving mode which leads us to the emotional side of being a Pet Stylist. In order to continue our livelihood and care for the clients we become so very attached to, we have to make difficult decisions in order to protect our bodies and our mental health. When we’re faced with the challenges of these decisions, it affects our whole being. It affects our pride when we can no longer do what we could (and probably shouldn’t have) when we first started out-the long hours, the extra large breeds, working until we drop.
As a Pet Stylist and a business owner, my most persistent struggle has been finding balance. I’m always juggling the business, the finances, the scheduling, our home and our pet’s needs. I’ve seemingly forgotten how to relax, breathe or simply sit down for a minute.
Pet Stylists are some of those most compassionate workaholics out there. We get to know our clients, their pets and their families. We chit chat, we get updates on the kiddos and updates on Fluffy’s most recent shenanigans. We also navigate a lot. We hurt when Fluffy hurts. We see the signs of aging in Fluffy and we are concerned about keeping him as comfortable and as safe as possible while in our care. We experience sadness and loss when it’s time for Fluffy to leave us and we can experience these feelings multiple times in a day in addition to ensuring that our business practices, Stylists and the quality of our services are setting an example for the standards of care we want to see more of in our own industry and fellow professionals.
I established Fluff My Life Mobile Grooming in 2020 and as if embarking on a small business journey wasn’t enough of a risk, the timing made everything that much more unpredictable. My goal was to “just keep swimming” and so I did. I’m happy I did.
I took this risk because I witnessed practices and standards I was unhappy with. I knew that if I wanted these aspects of our industry to change, I needed to be able to operate with the freedom to provide grooming services that hold themselves to a higher standard of safety, care and quality.
I surround myself with like-minded professionals who also practice the changes they wish to see in the industry and joined the Regulatory Affairs committee of the Texas Professional Pet Groomer’s Association (TPPGA) so I can be an active part of setting grooming industry standards in the state of Texas in an unregulated industry.
Our clients and their pets deserve higher standards. We, as professionals, deserve higher standards and we are the only way change happens.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I established Fluff My Life Mobile Grooming in 2020 as a way to provide premium, all inclusive pet grooming services at the client’s residence.
We are a small, stylist-owned business and utilitize two Sprinter vans that have been professionally converted into self contained grooming salons.
My employee and I pride ourselves on offering compassionate care to all of our pet clients. Safety, the pet’s comfort and the quality of our professional services are our highest priorities. We do not overbook ourselves so our client’s pets receive one on one attention as we focus on quality over quantity. We invest heavily in our continuing education and certifications from breed standard grooming to proper skin and coat care as we wish to be an active part of raising the standards of the grooming industry.
We are active members of the Texas Professional Pet Groomer’s Association where we network with like minded professionals who wish to be the change we would like to see in our industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
This sounds completely cliche, and I may have rolled my eyes when I heard this in the past by well-meaning individuals, but everything does happen when and how it is supposed to happen.
Of course, you have to do the scary thing and put yourself out there first but when you do, some of the most unexpected and amazing things start falling into place in ways you couldn’t have predicted.
No small business owner is an island. We are all part of a village in some way surrounded by our families, our clientele, supportive friends, professional peers and mentors, our employees and anyone else we meet along our journey. All of those relationships are incredibly valuable. They are all in our lives for a reason and precisely when we need them to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.fluffmylife.biz
- Instagram: Xfluffmylifex
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluffitmobile
