Through her business Elle Belle, Lauren McCall offers luxury home pet services.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR BUSINESS, ELLE BELLE? I had always loved the idea of working with animals. One day, I was scrolling through a Southlake local Facebook group when I saw a dog mom asking for recommendations for a fabulous pet sitter to take care of her fur babies. I immediately responded to the mom on the post, and some of my connections in Southlake vouched for me. And I got my first client. The very next day, we were up and running with our website!
WHY DID YOU NAME IT ELLE BELLE? This business is a long-term passion project for me. We are not just pet sitters; we are advocates for pet adoption in the community, and we plan to one day offer a brick-and-mortar store with retail, experiences you can have with your dog and opportunities for dogs to be placed for adoption from local shelters. With that in mind, we named the company Elle Belle because we identify as an upscale brand. Elle is ‘she’ in French, and we proudly serve women who want the best service and care for pets.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS? We had our second anniversary in December!
WHAT SERVICES DOES ELLE BELLE OFFER? We currently offer daily dog walking, pet sitting visits, exotic pet sitting, overnight stays and ranch and equine sitting. We are a small, boutique service, and we currently have two employees and over 300 clients across DFW!
WHAT DO YOUR DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES LOOK LIKE? One day I might be doing more office work or working with our nonprofit partners, developing ideas to help the animal welfare world. Other days I might be walking a pair of dogs, training a puppy, handling a snake or brushing horses.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF OPENING ELLE BELLE? The best part of owning your own business is finding like-minded entrepreneurs, specifically women, who support one another. There is so much to be said for women in business empowering one another.
WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A GOOD PET SITTER? Experience with a variety of pets and personalities is what makes a good pet sitter, but what makes a great pet sitter is being a genuinely caring and trustworthy person to animals and their owners.