Owner/CEO's Name & Business's Name
Jacob D'Aniello // DoodyCalls
Year Established
2000
Why is your business unique and what's your pitch?
When nature calls, we answer.
DoodyCalls is the nation's trusted leader in pet waste removal for homeowners and communities, providing professional cleaning services to over 8,000 residential and commercial properties across the United States every week.
Founded in 2000, DoodyCalls takes care of the single-most unpleasant and time consuming aspect of pet ownership -- picking up where pets "drop off."
In January, DoodyCalls was recognized for the second year in a row by Entrepreneur Magazine in their annual Franchise 500 list as the number 1 ranked pet waste removal franchise in the United States.
What led you to start the business?
I graduated from UVA in 1999 and went to work for American Management Systems (now CGI) in the Testing and Financial Statements division. Although I excelled and was quickly promoted to a "Team Lead" position, I often found myself sitting in my cubicle looking for a something a little different...
My future wife, Susan, and I talked about our love of animals, love for the outdoors, their desire for freedom, and a new business idea for a pet waste removal service. Research showed dramatic growth in the pet-care market, and in 2000, both at age 23, we started DoodyCalls in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.
In the beginning, I kept my full-time job and worked on the new business during evenings and weekends. Demand for DoodyCalls grew steadily, and after four years of managing two careers, I took the leap and left AMS to fully pursue this growing venture. We hired employees, purchased trucks and began to advertise heavily.
In 2004, we made the next step toward growing DoodyCalls into a household brand and began franchising the concept. Over the next five years, our venture found traction and expanded across the eastern seaboard and out to the west coast, growing to 49 franchises locations in 22 states in just over 5 years.
Lessons Learned
- One of the greatest lessons we've learned is the importance of maintaining the consistent 'personal touch' customers expect from a service-based business and continuing to exceed their expectations from farther and farther away.
- As we expanded into a large-scale operation with franchises nationwide, our ability to continue providing a "small business" feel became increasingly difficult. We've learned to great care in how we choose new franchise owners. Every single franchise owner we have at DoodyCalls today is a perfect extension of the service and support that Jacob and Susan founded this business with in 2000.