Community & Business
25 April, 2023
Pampering pets leads to national recognition
A LOCAL man who travels the Far North pampering people’s pets for as little as $20 has been named a finalist in the highly prestigious Australian Small Business Champion Awards due to be held in Sydney on 29 April.
Jason Drury bought Tablelands Mobile Pet Services in December of 2019 and has been grooming pets of all shapes and sizes across the Tablelands and further afield ever since.
The ex-hospitality worker was fed up with his industry and decided he needed to start making money for himself, not for someone else, so when the opportunity arose to purchase Tablelands Mobile Pet Services he jumped at the chance.
A regular client of the service previously, Jason knew what he was getting into and became a fully qualified pet groomer after completing an online course.
“I used to work in hospitality and I got sick and tired of dealing with hospitality people and drunks, I wanted something for myself not just lining someone else’s pock-ets,” he said.
Jason makes a point to not just service the local area and does trips to areas like Croydon, Georgetown, Normanton and more to groom pets.
He does not restrict himself to typical household pets such as cats and dogs and has previously groomed goats and even alpacas.
“If it fits in a hydrobath, I can do it,” he said.
Despite taking over the business just a few years ago, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Like many small business owners Jason struggled through Covid and all manner of obstacles before he successfully made it out the other side.
Feeling a sense of great relief and gratification with what he had accomplished, Jason decided to enter the Australian Small Business Champion Awards on a whim and after a bit of liquid confidence.
“I honestly believed that I wouldn’t even get a look in,” he said.
Jason was blown away when he received the email listing his business as a finalist for the Pet Groomer category and spent close to four hours with his wife questioning how a “small business in Far North Queensland get picked for this award”.
“I’ve been put up for the business awards through the local council twice and a customer of mine put me up for a Telstra award but I really didn’t get through those,” he said.
“I am one of 12 pet groomers across Australia that have been picked to go down as a finalist for the business awards.”
Jason feels honoured to be named as a finalist for the awards and even if he doesn’t bring it home on the night, still feels recognised for all his years of hard work.
“To be nominated as a finalist reaffirms that all my hard work and sacrifice hasn’t been in vain and I could get an award to help me keep pushing and going forward – it proves that what I am doing is working,” he said.
“One thing I can say about being in business is that if you love what you are doing and customers can see it, you will always have business and you will always have money.
“That is one thing I know from myself going from hospitality to this, is that I am a lot happier and I have a lot more fun.”
This year’s Australian Small Business Champion Awards will be held at Australia’s second largest casino, The Star in Sydney on 29 April.
