Success Stories

Fit 'N' Furry

Grant and Marci Garl

Being committed to continuous learning and improvement has helped Grant and Marci Garl overcome significant business obstacles and grow their pet resort to successful exit. But becoming successful was a bumpy ride.

Formerly in the heating and air-conditioning business, the Garls decided to enter the pet resort industry instead of retiring. They were well positioned with expertise to turn a 17,000 sq ft warehouse building into a high-quality, full-service pet care facility with plenty of space for dogs and cats and state of the art ventilation.

“I’m a very results-oriented person,” Grant says. “I like to look back at the end of the day and see I accomplished something. I’ve always worked with my hands and created things or fixed things, or adjusted things so they were more suitable and productive for not only myself but for the people around me, both in our home and in our businesses.”
Having attended a pet industry conference, the Garls and their daughter researched and set about planning the build out and launch of the business at an ideal location right off a freeway. Their pet resort – Fit ‘N’ Furry – was the first certified green building project in Petaluma and attracted a lot of great publicity and positive attention from environmentally conscious pet owners. But around two to three years in, the Garls realized they were in trouble. Having opened in April 2007, the business was launching at what would turn out to be the beginnings of the Great Recession.

“We had people coming in the doors, but it was not a roaring success,” Grant says. “Pet care is so seasonal, and we had way more staff than clients at that stage.” Charging flat rates for all-inclusive dog boarding and daycare had seemed like a good idea and were what many in the industry did at the time. But for the Garls’ situation, it was not working. They were in a dangerous financial squeeze. “It almost took us under, because we had risked a lot, invested a lot and borrowed a lot, as well as putting in our own blood, sweat and tears. After two to three years, it was like we were circling the drain.”
As their finances dwindled, Marci received an email for a pet resort business webinar by a well-known industry consultant and decided to attend. Grant was initially not interested – he didn’t want to add consulting fees to their financial burden. However, the consultant followed up with some key business advice and an offer they couldn’t refuse – a results-based money back guarantee. Marci and Grant signed up and over the next few years, learned valuable pet resort industry insights particularly in marketing and revenue development which started to turn things around. “They helped us develop additional revenue streams, and learn how to market and position ourselves properly, competitive pricing, and so forth, because there are numerous pet care facilities throughout Petaluma, and also greater Sonoma County, where we’re located.”

They found that offering a low nightly lodging rate and bundling different activities into packages became very attractive for pet owners to choose what was best for their pet, and split one revenue stream into two, Marci recalls. Along with other great ideas, regular pet industry-specific advice and owner coaching from their consultant, Fit ‘N Furry flourished.

ABOUT THE BUSINESS

Location: Petaluma, CA
Started in 2007
Owned for 17 years
Services provided: Boarding, Daycare, Training, Bathing
1 building, 17,000+SF on ~2.5 acres
169 enclosures with 225+ dog capacity
35+ full and part-time staff

Able to house 200 pets overnight, with an additional 50 in daycare only, the business was in full swing by 2011, with profits flowing in and growth to the bottom line. In 2012, their business consultant introduced them to Teija Heikkila, of PET|VET M&A, Sales & Advisory (formerly National Kennel Sales), and the Garls decided to get a business valuation. “The valuation showed us where our business was strong, where it was weaker, and what we could do to improve.” Over the next few years, it grew into a high trust business and coaching relationship that would lead the Garls to a very successful sale. “Teija would meet with us monthly and compare our performance metrics from the previous month or the same period the year before and give us suggestions on how to improve,” Grant says. “She helped us build and build and build.
We got a better understanding of how to be business owners from a financial perspective. We were good with the ‘hands on’ pet care part but both parts of running a business need to be in balance.” In early 2023, the couple received advice from Teija that they were in a strong financial position if they wanted to sell, and that market conditions were in their favor. However, selling was not an overnight decision for the Garls. In fact, Grant says he loves working so much, he plans to work until he is 100!

“We could have stayed longer than 18 years. We had created this pet care facility, and it had a life of its own. I just enjoyed seeing the staff, and Marci and I run the place and serve people and pets with excellence. That was our motto and our mission. But I thought, ‘Hey, I don’t have to work 8 hours a day every day for the rest of my life, but I can still work some every day.”

The Garls agreed to test the market and were amazed to get four offers just a month after being listed. The due diligence started, and the deal was on track to close end of September, just before the couple were to take a significant anniversary trip to Europe in October. However, the buyers overly complicated the due diligence process and dragged their feet, causing the Garls to walk away from the deal.

But just weeks after they returned from vacation, Teija approached them with a highly qualified buyer who was previously unavailable due to another transaction and said they might be very competitive with an offer. “This buyer turned out better in the long run,” Grant says. “The price was almost as good but more importantly, they took care of our employees a whole lot better than the first buyer was going to. Our staff were like our family. This buyer was very staff oriented and better understood our business model.” After a much smoother second round of due diligence, the Garls successfully closed in February 2024.

“Teija and her team were incredible all the way through,” Grant says. “They were with us every day, by phone, by email, and zoom meetings. We never felt like we couldn’t reach out to them. There was a constant stream of back-and-forth communication with all of the due diligence needed. Teija is very knowledgeable about the industry. She was able to explain what was going on from the buyer’s perspective as well as our own. She gave us a roadmap and always dealt with us with the utmost integrity.” “She was never pushy. She always said, ‘Here are the facts but you guys are the final decision-makers.’ That meant a lot to us. As Marci says, we have known her a long time and had a high level of trust from her work with us on the key metrics and building the bottom line.”
The Garls are now enjoying traveling and visits with family while they work on their next financial learning curve – how to invest the results of their successful PET|VET exit.