Ep 5: The Pawfect Groom- Niles Pet Salon and Resort

Step into the world of professional pet care with Melissa Fike, owner of Niles Pet Salon and Resort, as she reveals the unexpected path that led her from medical school aspirations to becoming a passionate pet groomer and business owner for over a decade.

What began as a simple part-time job during college transformed into a 25-year career when Melissa discovered her natural talent and deep connection with animals. After years traveling the country training others in corporate grooming, she made the pivotal decision to prioritize family and launch her own business. Today, her salon offers comprehensive services including all-breed dog and cat grooming, doggy daycare, and overnight boarding.

Melissa dispels common misconceptions about pet grooming, emphasizing that it requires extraordinary patience, technical skill, and emotional intelligence. "These dogs aren't dogs really," she explains. "They're family members, they're people's children, and they can't tell you what they want." This philosophy shapes her entire business approach, from targeting pet owners who treat their animals as family to hiring staff who share her unwavering passion for animal care.

When not at the salon, this energetic entrepreneur embraces life through dirt biking, snowboarding, and quality time with her three children. Her resilient approach to life's challenges mirrors her business philosophy: find learning opportunities in difficult situations and always move forward with positivity. Watch your pets playing throughout the day via their active Facebook pages, where Melissa regularly posts videos and educational content about proper pet care. Experience the difference that genuine passion makes at Niles Pet Salon and Resort, where your beloved pet receives the exceptional care they deserve.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Stacey Willis.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a groomer,because one might be closer than
you think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
melissa Fike, with Niles PetSalon and Resort.
Melissa, welcome, how are you?

Speaker 3 (00:34):
I'm wonderful thanks for having me today.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Absolutely.
We are so excited to learnabout your business, so let's
just jump right in and tell usall about your company.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, I have been grooming personally for over 25
years now and my business hasbeen up and going for a little
over 10.
We started off small, justgrooming dogs, and now we have
elevated to a new level.
We are doing doggy daycare andovernight boarding, along with
all breed dog and cat grooming.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
How did this start?
How did you get into thisbusiness?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I kind of got into it on accident.
I was going to college forsomething completely different.
I wanted to be in the medicalfield, needed a part time job
and I started working withanimals and I got an opportunity
with a large corporation tolearn how to groom dogs.
I had such a passion and drivefor it that in a short amount of
time I moved myself up theladder and I started training

(01:33):
for this corporate company.
And I was training so much thatI was gone six months out of
the year traveling all over theplace training and teaching
people how to groom.
I wanted to have a family and Irealized that that kind of
lifestyle was not going to workand be conductive to having a
family.
So I left the corporate worldand opened my own little
business, and I haven't beenhappier.

(01:56):
It's everything that I couldever have dreamed.
I've wanted it to be.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
So what are some of maybe the myths or
misconceptions about what you doin your industry that people
might have.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
It's a really easy thing to do, and it's really not
.
It takes a special person towork with animals.
You have to have a lot ofpatience and a lot of love for
what you do.
These dogs aren't dogs really.
They're family members, they'repeople's children, and now
they're people's children thatcan't tell you what they want
and how they feel.
So now you have to try tofigure that out.
And you have to also keep acustomer happy by making that

(02:46):
dog exactly how they want itgroomed and keep it beautiful
for them.
So there's a lot that goes intoit that people don't realize.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
So who would you say is your target customer and how
do you market to them?

Speaker 3 (03:01):
So my, my target customer is there.
They they love their petsunconditionally, like a family
member.
They want to keep their dogbeautiful all the time.
They want to keep their dog ona regimen of grooming Um, and we
don't want to be like the shavedown house where, like you
bring your dog once or twice ayear and we just shave it down

(03:21):
for you.
We want to be the total packagewhere you can get your dog
scrims like you would do yourown hair on a schedule six,
seven, eight weeks, somewhere onthat line.
We also target the people whoyou know maybe you're working a
lot and you don't want your dogsto sit at home alone all day
while you're working.
We want to target those peoplebecause now you could drop your
dog off to us and they can comeplay for the day and be

(03:44):
entertained and run off thatenergy while you're at work all
day for our Doggy DaycareProgram.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
So what do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Oh gosh, my personal life.
Yeah, what do you do for fun?
I'm very, very active.
I have three young kids and wehave a lot of fun.
I love riding dirt bikes.
That's probably my number onepassion is being on my dirt bike
in the summertime and in thewinter I snowboard, but we like

(04:16):
to go to the beach and swim andwhatever we can do.
You know I'm always off runningwith my kids every opportunity
I have, because they really werethe fuel for my life and
everything I've kind of done.
I've surrounded around them.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
So let's switch gears just a little bit.
Can you describe a hardship orlife challenge that you overcame
, that made you stronger?
Does anything come to mind?

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Oh, good grief, so many things.
I mean.
Life is about challenges andovercoming challenges.
Right, I feel like this goodold saying what doesn't kill you
makes you stronger is is sorelevant in so many ways, and
you have to have a head spacethat's strong and you have to be
able to persevere and goforward.

(05:06):
I can't.
There's so many things thathave happened in my life.
I've I've lost loved ones.
Of course, we've all lost lovedones and, um, you've seen so
much pain in the world, amongstyour friends and things that
have happened that you overcome,that you look forward, you try
to stay positive.
My biggest thing that I can saythat I've always done is I try
to find the good in everything,Even the worst situations.

(05:28):
I look back and try to reflectof okay, this was a learning
experience, what can I take fromthis to make this positive?
What can I take from this togrow from this and move forward?
And that's the biggest lifelesson you can take from
anything negative that's everhappened in your life.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
And Melissa tell our listeners one thing they should
remember about Niles Pet Salonand Resort.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
I think the one thing that you should know is I have
built this baby it's been mybaby from the beginning till now
, and my goal has always beenthe care for your pets, you know
, wanting to strive for givingyou and your pet the experience
they deserve to have.
You know my love, my passionthat I have for animals, the

(06:18):
people that I hire and put inplace into that salon and that
daycare facility.
I'm looking for them to havethat same attitude, that same
love for animals that I have.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
How can our listeners learn more about your business?
How can they find Niles PetSalon and Resort?

Speaker 3 (06:37):
your business.
How can they find Niles PetSalon and Resort?
We post daily on Facebook.
We actually have two Facebookpages.
One is geared just for thegrooming side of things.
I separated them because wepost every day for our doggy
daycare and boarding customers.
We have a lot of videos andfeeds that go up every day so
that when you're at work you canclick on the Niles Petets Lawn
Doggy Daycare and Pet Boardingpage and watch the dogs playing

(07:00):
and see the experiences they'rehaving while you're at work.
And then I have a Niles PetsLawn page just for grooming and
you could just go on there andsee the quality of the grooms
that are coming through, and Iput some educational stuff and
try to teach people aboutgrooming too.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
That's great, okay, well, melissa, I appreciate you
being on the show and we wishyou the absolute very best
moving forward.

Speaker 3 (07:25):
Well, thanks.
I'm glad I had the opportunityto sit and chat with you.
Stacey, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPYoungstowncom.
That's GNPYoungstowncom, orcall 330-355-3122.