Today we’d like to introduce you to Iesha White.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started right at home. I’ve groomed my own dog that I got at 16 years old. One day I was working at a dog daycare and we needed someone to trim nails and do baths so I volunteered to do them. Then I went to a local pet salon in 2011 and I became grooming apprentice. Learning all of the basics. Like most groomers I thought I needed a license to groom dogs and I couldn’t afford schooling so I found that petsmart pays for grooming academy so I applied to petsmart, started as a cashier since they weren’t hiring for a groomer and one day one of their groomers walked out whilei was at the register and they asked me if I’d like to help out in the salon and from there I finished the grooming academy and began grooming dogs. But unfortunately for me, I was in a very racist salon. I could feel the hatred I could feel the energy. I even heard one of my coworkers telling one of the clients that she does not want an “n” word grooming her dog. I told the manager, but the manager immediately started with the coworker, defending her. After that day, the entire salon turned up the heat on trying to get me removed. So one day I was bathing one of my dogs and I had a client at the front. One of the girls came to the back and told me she was staying with my dog while I checked in a client which I thought was really nice at the time until when I went back to relieve her from my dog, the next day, the store manager brought me in the back and told me that I left a dog in the tub alone. I’m sure you could understand how baffled I was. And without even allowing me to explain myself, the manager fired me. At the time I was petrified because I had just got my first apartment. And because of this, I lost my apartment and I was homeless for a few months. After this, I try to apply everywhere. I’ve tried to apply to so many different. Mom and pop shops, but all of them kept telling me the same thing, “we don’t have anyone who worked at PetSmart or incorporate” or because you only worked at PetSmart you don’t have enough experience. And I kept thinking to myself how can I get more experience if no one will give me a chance to gain more experience. The little did they know PetSMart was just away for me to get a certificate I already had the skill of grooming under my belt. Before grooming, I was a makeup artist, and I was attending beauty school. I realized I hated here so my mom sent me to makeup school which I was really good at and I still do very good make up to this day. My original dream was to be a fashion designer, so I always had an offer for detail. I always had an eye for style and I study many areas when I was younger that shaped me into the groomer, I am today, such as symmetry, textile, balance, looking at something with a naked eye, and then with precision. But still, no one would give me a chance and so even though I didn’t want to, I ended up having to apply to get another corporate salon at Petco. And once I got to Petco, I started thriving. Even though I still had a coworker there who hated the fact that I wasn’t grooming as long as she was at the time, but I was gaining more clients. All of the negativity taught me that I was someone to watch out for. For a while, it did diminish my spirit and it did make me question myself, but the people around me who loved me taught me that being good at something always comes with people who will view you as a threat. And so even though I’ve had a challenging walk in this industry, trying to make a name for myself I was determined to succeed I was determined to push forward. And don’t get me wrong. I’ve failed so many times I’ve left the industry multiple times and then came back less than a year later. I’ve opened businesses and failed. I’ve even opened my own salon and had to close it. I’ve trained as a mobile groomer I trained with celebrity groomers I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on webinars m, seminars, and one on ones to learn from the biggest names like Anna Stowell, house of wolves dog grooming, Arisa the dog groomer, groom gays, plush by Sarah, dogs by Logan, Gabriel Feitosa Grooming and so many more. My favorite grooming style is Korean I love Asian fusion I’ve learned from a few Korean groomers as well and I have taken what they have taught me and applied to what I do today their style of grooming is unique it’s beautiful. It’s cute. It makes the dogs look so much more adorable than they already are like. How can I even be possible? But I realize in my small town of Baltimore that’s really known for violence and food. I didn’t want to show that we are super talented. We have so many good singers and actors and dancers and writers and musicians. The list goes on and then when it comes to dog grooming, there wasn’t at the time that I started my social media, any well-known dog groomers in Baltimore that I knew of outside of the Mom pop shop. I started it as an apprentice. And I felt like the rest of the grooming industry did not want to give me a seat at the table, so I started my socials. I allow my personality to shine so that I can make my own and that lane is still being paid and carved as we speak and I will not stop until I am able to bring more groomers like me along the way. Fast-forward 15 years later, I have two beautiful children. I have a husband and I have a brand that is incredible. I love everything about branding fun fact I’m a brand manager at my church and that’s the fun part of business to me. I know most people don’t like that stuff of business like some people just want to groom, but I really do love the marketing. I really do love the graphic designs. I taught myself so much along the way I even taught myself how to use Adobe in design to create magazines. I’m fluent in Canva so much shoulder I do digital and graphic design designs for multiple businesses, including my own. The best part is even though I’m grooming dogs for a living the thing I love the most about what I do I touch people’s hearts and make them feel special. I look for ways to make people feel good about themselves. I look for ways to make people feel better about their day. The biggest thing about all of my reviews is how I treat my clients. My groom speak for themselves. But I feel like good customer service is just surface level, but being able to treat people the way they deserve to be treated that cannot be taught at any school and it cannot be paid for. I’ve built a very loyal clientele. They have followed me through the years through multiple multiple multiple locations. I will not give up on them and I will not stop until Hauspups is a nationwide brand. We’re going far beyond dog grooming. Are going to make sure the dogs and their pet parents feel like royalty think Ralph Lauren NYC meets Coco Chanel but for dogs. And I saw starting right here in my hometown Baltimore because I want everyone to know that Baltimore has more to offer than what they even realize. Especially in the black community.
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?
A lot of the struggles were just how I was treated in this industry, especially being a black female groomer. It’s been hard for me to get loans grants, sponsorships, investors, and even some clients until they saw my work I really had to prove myself and I’m still proving myself cause I don’t truly feel like I made it yet. I have 27,000 followers on TikTok, but I still want to grow and growing has been the hardest challenge to say the least. Constantly failing getting up again, but what I’m learning is there is someone who needs to see that it is possible to make it and be successful if you didn’t start from the top.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a professional dog groomer, but I call myself a professional dog stylist. I like the word stylist more because that’s truly what I do. I style the dog from head to tail. I take care of the dog skin, their nails, their coat and I educate their parents on how they can work with me so that the pets can have the best skin and coat possible. A specialize in Asian fusion and teddy bear trims. I really love making dogs look all fluffy and cute. Almost proud of my journey. It’s still going and I’m still here at one point I didn’t think that would be. I thought I would throw in a towel for everything but I’m still here. I’m still thriving with my clients and I’m also most proud of the relationship relationships I built with my clients. They are not a sign to me. They are real people with real lIves, and some of them are my friends. Some of them have became real friends. I have some celebrity clients that are incredible and I treat them like the human being. They deserve to be treated like. I think with sesame part is my ability to show the journey. I’m not afraid to show that I fail multiple times. I’m not the type of person that uses my struggle or anything else as an excuse to mistreat people. Provide exceptional service at a reasonable price. And I’m constantly and I’m talking daily growing and learning new skills and learning new ways to enhance what I already know.
How do you think about happiness?
My family they keep me going. I love thrifting. I love anything vintage. Those things makes me happy things that are timeless and classy, and elegant. Make me truly happy. That’s honestly how I carry myself even with my clients. The dogs make me happy as well. They’re always so full of personality.
Pricing:
- The Maintenance Groom starting at 70
- The heritage groom starting at 90
- The curly architecture starting at 100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Hauspups.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ieshathedoggroomer
- Other: https://TikTok.com/ieshathedoggroomer
