Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Buccheri.
Hi Jamie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Right as high school was coming to an end, my parents were pressing me about my future. They drilled into me that I needed to go to some sort of medical school. Being undecided, I went with it and decided to attend a veterinary technician program. Class was only two days per week and I wanted to do something else with my time that would get my foot in the door in my industry. I found a tiny grooming school in Anaheim that I started attending. I had always fantasized in vet tech school about opening my own practice. I’d spend class time drawing out my business plan and aspirations. Soon enough, working in vet offices became very taxing. Long hours for minimum pay. Even my superiors weren’t at much higher salaries than myself. Then there were the vets putting healthy dogs down to make a quick buck off of euthanasia. School also became very expensive. The vet at one of the offices offered me a grooming job but I would have to purchase all the equipment. So, I did. He had then suddenly changed his mind. What was I going to do with all this equipment? I had an idea to start grooming in my mom’s garage for extra income and at least that way the equipment would go to good use. In the next eight months, my garage salon BLEW UP. I was doing 30 dogs per day. I invited my friends over to come and help here and there. Soon, I had to “hire” them legitimately and it just grew from there. By 2013, I moved into a brick-and-mortar salon and grew even more. Then in 2015, my life changed forever. My five month old son was murdered. I don’t know how I got through that year. I worked seven days per week and I became lazer focused on my business. I got that salon to be profitable and to the point where I could step back. in 2018, I bought another salon and did the same with that one. in 2020 (27 years old) I decided I wanted to have five streams of income. I started converting mobile grooming buses, got licensed, and now have a small dealership. I’ve been making my own shampoo, ear cleaner, and other products for the salon since the beginning, so I commercialized and started an online store for my grooming products. Then I bought two standard poodles, converted part of my house and became a licensed breeder. I also added two more children in there somehow. I’m now 30 and my life is pretty hectic but I manage to stay organized and keep everything running smoothly. I hope you enjoyed my story…
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?
It was anything but smooth. I was 18 with a business and I had no idea what I was doing. There was years of trial and error. Managing 40+ year-olds at that age is a tough battle. Nobody took me seriously at the time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Temecula Pet Salon- We are a higher end salon that does a lot of hand scissoring and show clips. I would say what makes us different is our employees due to my picky hiring process. Also, the fact that I formulate all of our salon’s products
Doggie Spa- We are on the lower end of the pricing for our area but that also means we do a larger volume of dogs daily. Customers here prefer simpler haircuts. Our differences are the “vibe” and the environment we create. I also formulate everything for this salon.
Buccheri motors- is the tiniest dealership in the world. It’s about 50 square feet, but it does the job. I sell mobile grooming units as well as any cars/ trucks I find interesting in auctions. I sell anywhere between 1-3 cars at a time.
Let’s groom- So, pet industry professionals need between 5-10 shampoos in their inventory at once. This is for things like fleas, hypoallergenic, white coat, de-shed, etc. I have created the first of its kind All-in-one product. It contains 7 different shampoos in one. It can be changed by simply diluting it at different levels.
Musical poodles- Licensed standard poodle breeder. 1-4 litters per year.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I always wonder how far I’d be if I had a REAL mentor. I do owe thanks to my parents, teachers, and friends that were apart of the journey. I would also thank some of my digital mentors that I’ve watched over the years like Tony robbins, Jay shetty, les brown, and David Goggins.
