101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers: What You Need to Know about Starting and Succeeding in a Pet Business of Your Own
Joseph Nigro: Joe's singular success story unfurled under the vast umbrella of the pet care industry. In 1979, at the age of only 19, he, along with partner Rich Covello, purchased a mom-and-pop pet food and supply store. Located in the New York City borough of Queens, it was aptly named Pet Nosh. At the time, the author was a Fordham University student. His initial career plan, if you could call it that, was to "make a living" out of that one store.In less than three years time, however, Pet Nosh had leased a warehouse and was operating as both a retailer and wholesaler of pet products, keeping pace with the rapidly changing marketplace of the early 1980s. A second Pet Nosh store opened its doors in Yonkers, New York in 1982. This location is widely credited with hosting the first-of-its-kind "Have Your Pet's Picture Taken with Santa Claus," the brainchild of both Joe and his partner.Approached by the Petco Company in 1996, Joe and his partners agreed to sell their Pet Nosh stores to the retail behemoth for $19.1 million. Pet Nosh's final year's sales were $26 million (and projected to surpass $32 million during the year of the acquisition). The deal was officially announced in the spring of 1996.As an independent businessperson in the pet care trade for 17 years, Joe experienced life on both the retail and wholesale frontlines. His work brought him into close contact with groomers, dog trainers, breeders, humane society employees, veterinarians, et al-the denizens of the trade-as the business of pets transformed itself from a sluggish non-entity into an unstoppable juggernaut.Immediately upon the sale of Pet Nosh, the author was hired as a consultant for Petco, specializing in merchandising. His experience in evaluating new pet products-from foods to accessory items-and properly marketing them to maximize their sales.Finding himself semi-retired at the age of 36, Joe is now a small business consultant and personal coach specializing in retailing. He has done consulting work in the pet care trade for such giants as the aforementioned Petco, as well as independent, smaller pet-related businesses (retail pet food and supply stores), specializing, again, in evaluating pet products and properly merchandising them to maximize sales.As a personal coach, the author has advised individuals (salespersons, distributors, and marketers) for such well-known companies as Iams and Nestle. Joe has also dispensed counsel to men and women interested in starting a variety of businesses, including a "pet gymnasium" and the importation of pet products from China.Joe (with Nicholas Nigro) is the author of The Everything Success Book (Adams Media/F+W, 2003).Nicholas Nigro: Nicholas Nigro is a veteran of the pet care business. Wearing a variety of hats in the trade, he labored in every imaginable capacity through all 17 years of independent retail chain Pet Nosh's existence. He actively participated in conceiving innovative store promotions, as the pet owner fast evolved into the pet parent.One highly successful store promotion featured a customer contest. It was headlined: "What's In a Name? A Pet's Name?" It asked patrons to submit brief essays on how their pets got their names. (Why was that dog named "Jif," after a brand of peanut? How'd that parakeet come to be named "Don Ho," after a Polynesian songster?) In fact, the contest generated so much interest and enthusiasm that it spawned an independently published book entitled, A Cat Named Rush Limbaugh, A Dog Named Howard Stern. This short work of pet names and the stories behind them was the brainchild of the author, but credited to the fictitious, cartoonish pseudonym of "Francis Pfaff." Nevertheless, the trailblazing title was reviewed in the November 1997 issue of Cat Fancy magazine, which said: "This book is not only entertaining, it also provides inspiration to the pet owner who is searching for the perfect pet name." (At the time, there were no competing books dealing with this whimsical subject matter. Today there are several titles devoted to pet names and their histories.)After Pet Nosh sold its network of stores to the Petco chain, Nick joined the eBay revolution in its infancy, selling myriad collectibles in cyberspace. This led to his authoring The Everything Collectibles Book (Adams Media/F+W, 2002).With a B.S. in Business Administration from Manhattan College, and membership in the New York chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Honor Society in Economics, Nick subsequently authored The Everything Coaching and Mentoring Book (Adams Media/F+W, 2002). Finally, Nick is the co-author, with brother Joe, of The Everything Success Book (Adams Media/F+W, 2003).