Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Demby.
Hi Erica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve experienced a plethora of challenges throughout my life since birth like being born with a respiratory virus that I still struggle with today. My current mental health challenges stem from my traumatic upbringing. I was raised in a toxic, unsafe environment with my father, a former Marine, who was abusive & struggling with alcoholism. Needless to say, all of it has contributed to the life I choose to live today.
For as long as I can remember my father drank & when he did he was not pleasant to be around. My brother & I had to do military style punishments for minor things like the toilet paper not going the right direction. I grew up being scared to go home from school because I was afraid of what might happen when I got there & even though I had my struggles, school was my getaway because I loved to learn & still do. Throughout elementary & junior high while my parents were still married, my brother & I participated in numerous sports. My brother & I both played basketball, football, & ran track. He also did baseball & I did cheerleading & volleyball. We both were very talented winning countless medals & ribbons from competitions across the United States.
When my parents finally divorced in 2003 my brother & I began our versions of acting out by getting in trouble at school & elsewhere. We justified it as our only means of release of pent up anger, sadness, frustration & other emotions & feelings that weren’t understood nor talked about growing up. We weren’t raised to be disrespectful or to cause trouble & we were both highly intelligent, caring & capable beings; however dealing with so much at such young ages led us to making many mistakes later in life.
I was a trouble maker & a bully in elementary & junior high but my grades remained well above average. I was very social but had moments that were a bit overwhelming & my reactions eventually got me labeled as the angry black girl. I got to a point that I needed to understand what I was going through because I knew I loved being a unique individual but I knew I didn’t want to act out & be as upset & hurt as I was. At the very least I knew I needed a healthier way of expressing my emotions & boundaries. At 13 years old I made the decision to ask my mother if I could go to therapy. Even though much of what I learned then didn’t come in handy until later on, it was one of the best decisions I made because I became more aware of who I was & what I was going through as an adolescent. Unfortunately, I still had some behavioral issues in school & was later transferred from one junior high to another. My mother & I requested this hoping I could finish my junior high days without adding anymore negative marks to my record.
Not long after starting high school, I was expelled during the first semester of my sophomore year. I got into a physical altercation with not only a security guard but also the on-site police officer who arrested me & later took me to the juvenile detention center. I spent the majority of my high school days at the JDC in Lawrence & an out of home placement for troubled teenaged girls in Topeka for a few months. During my time in juvenile custody I managed to excel at my school work by completing several senior courses at 16 years old, therefore allowing me to graduate early in 2009. At 17 years old, someone who I was familiar with tried to kill me. They cut me with a knife on my face & arm, slicing through bone & muscle & I was rushed to the ER to get well over 100 stitches.
By the time I turned 21 in 2012, I accumulated four DUIs & from there a massive domino effect of legal, financial, & personal
consequences began. I spent several months in county jail, I had to complete 10 months of house arrest, attend outpatient rehab & therapy. I lost my driver’s license for the next 12 years. I’ve lost jobs, friends, & the trust of my family. Even more so, I lost myself & what mattered most to me: my peace, my freedom & my personal free will.
It was during many days & months of being incarcerated that I had plenty of opportunities to contemplate & decide what I was & wasn’t willing to do for the betterment of my life moving forward. I knew what I wanted & needed but it was no one’s responsibility to make it happen other than myself. I had no role models in my life whether family or friends. My brother was in prison & my mom was dealing with her own battles that were left behind by my father’s doing. We were all struggling & had no capacity to care for ourselves let alone care for each other.
Several months before my brother came home from prison he had the opportunity to participate in a mentor program for inmates to better prepare them for reintegration into their respective communities. Through the mentorship program my brother met Kofi Boye-Doe who by all accounts helped change my brother’s life. After my brother was released from prison in 2012 he stayed in touch with his mentor & was enrolled into Pinnacle Career Institute as a Massage Therapist. Knowing this I was more than elated to be reunited & to get back to being close siblings but as in every family we had our moments of strife & discord. Regardless, when one of us was in need, we were there for each other with no questions asked.
The following year, while I was still new to working in the grooming industry, I saw an opportunity to introduce my brother to the people I worked for. My brother found his passion & purpose in his commitment to helping others through massage therapy & I truly believed his skills & knowledge could thrive in the environment I was in, or at least work well in conjunction with it. Between my brother & I we were planning big moves. We wanted to have other family members who are talented in their field working with us in one way or another. While I pamper people’s pets my brother would offer massage therapy. My little cousin who is a phenomenal nail artist would pamper the pawrents while they wait, creating a complete care experience for the whole family. Sadly, we’ll never know what could have come of our sibling ventures to take over the world.
I will never forget the day, June 1, 2015, when my mom & I got the call that my brother had passed. At first I couldn’t understand what his girlfriend was telling me. My brain wasn’t comprehending the words “your brother is gone…he’s gone”. In my mind I thought he reached his breaking point & just left without telling someone & just needed time to clear his head. By the time I fully understood what was happening it was then I knew my entire life moving forward was never going to be what I had imagined. My soul will always have an empty space that my one & only big brother could ever fill.
My brother’s passing was tragic yet honorable & in the moments when we were notified they found his body, 8 hours later & miles down the shore, all I wanted to do was tell him how mad I was for him leaving me behind but how utterly proud of him I was as to why. I felt such grief & anguish at the loss of a beautiful soul & an unknown feeling of peace because we could lay his body to rest. The next & last time I would see my big brother would be the day we buried him.
All that I’ve gone through in life has given me courage to explore a passion & fulfill a purpose I never knew existed. I fell in love working with & existing alongside dogs just a few years before my brother’s passing but after he passed, I genuinely began healing. As part of my lifelong healing journey, I am learning to maintain my peace, remain patient & to prioritize my protection. I have found fulfillment in building a business around the well-being of me, my precious dachshund Chuck Norris, & my brother’s sweet pittie, Her Majesty the Queen. Ultimately, my mission is to extend that same care to the pets & pawrents within my Black, Brown & supporting communities.
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?
The challenges my business has faced, outside of my health struggles & day to day operations, include having to hire & fire 4 different bookkeeping services for their lack of professionalism & care for my business. Two of them ghosted me & the others seemed to have no clue how to properly complete simple bookkeeping tasks for a home-based dog grooming business.
Another example is when I hired an individual to complete the flooring throughout my home & they cut corners & caused a chain reaction of safety issues in my living & working spaces. Someone else who I was familiar with said they had experience in drywalling & wanted to help with my repairs. They started & never finished as well as doing things I specifically asked them not to. These experiences left me feeling unsafe & unwilling to trust others & even myself for quite some time. I had to take time to reevaluate how I could be better prepared down the road. My future doesn’t just include my wants & needs, it includes those I intend to have a great impact on. By pushing through these setbacks & navigating them alone, I’ve gained the knowledge & experience I need to guide me moving forward.
As for the other challenges, not being able to find hands-on & more direct guidance on growing & expanding my business to be fully prepared to hire with confidence, for any position necessary. I’ve participated in many business expos, cohorts & leadership programs but have yet to find consistent & reliable support afterwards. It’s like going to school & not finding a job to apply what you’ve learned before being released into the wild world of entrepreneurship. I really want to have employees or Pack Protectors as I want to call them but I don’t feel I have what it takes to handle that level of responsibility. I also need funding to accelerate the necessary changes & upgrades to the working spaces to make room for more employees, equipment & tools, education, training, social media presence, etc. This will allow for improvements on the services I offer for current & new clients as well as creating a better rate of success with the services & products we hope to offer in the very near future.
I’m trying all I can to make sure my business is set up for success allowing it to continue without my direct input especially when it’s time for me to exit. I see myself teaching & guiding others in the ways that have made me successful not only in business but in life as well. It’s important to see familiar faces & hear familiar stories in unfamiliar places. The overwhelming amount of uplifting & positive responses I’ve received for being a Black-woman owned pet care business fuels my soul. In the pet world, creating an environment that’s exclusively inclusive is a MUST to have successful Black & Brown folks thrive in leadership roles at pet industry events or otherwise. It’s of the utmost importance that others with similar backgrounds such as mine feel welcome in any realm of entrepreneurship. Setting others up for success with essential leadership & other important life skills like financial literacy, emotional intelligence, & self-sufficiency will make Pinky’s Precious Pets more than “just a job”. I envision it being the ultimate career goal for some & the ultimate launching pad for others.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Years ago when I first started working in the grooming industry, I wasn’t given an easy pass as I was bathing & drying at least 15-30 dogs per day on commission. The people I worked with were discriminatory on so many levels & there was no teamwork or effort beyond what was asked of my coworkers. I suffered many asthma attacks due to the lack of care from others around me including the owners. Through all of that, I managed somehow to stay focused on what mattered most to me.
When it was finally time to step away from working for others who didn’t value my life, time, & skills as I did, I knew everything moving forward had to be in honor of the life me & my big brother so rightfully deserved. The essence of my business is putting my peace, patience, & protection at the forefront of everything I do. My clients feel more empowered & understand a new level of compassion through our meaningful conversations & my unique way of conducting business. They feel a sense of belonging & safety when confiding in me their concerns & challenges while learning or relearning to bond with their precious pets.
By offering home-salon, house-call, pet sitting, & pick-up/drop-off services for one-on-one or small groups, I’m able to provide a more individualized experience for every precious pet & pawrent. Many of my clients come from stressful, high-volume salons, are new pet pawrents, have financial limitations, or have a busy schedule. Properly structuring my business in a way that I am rightfully booked & not too busy to provide for my clients puts me in a position to adapt & adjust as needed. It continues building trust & loyalty among me, my clients, & the surrounding community. I make it a point to be involved in my local community events to get to know who I’m providing services for & why.
My business is designed to be unique, bold, & innovative through intentional collaborations & milestones allowing me to remain culturally & economically deliberate with generational goals in mind. Starting my business in December 2020 was quite the adventure; however since then I have not only been sober from alcohol since January 2022 but have also graciously had the opportunity to…
1. Be a board member of the former non-profit Black:30 from 2023 – 2024
2. Win $5,000 for the Empower Pitch Competition in 2023
3. Participate in Douglas County CORE Pitch Competition in 2024
4. Complete 2 of 3 KLC leadership programs with Leadership Douglas County in 2024
5. Complete the Ice House Entrepreneurship program in 2024
6. Attend the Groom’d Expo in Atlanta, GA in 2024
7. Attend the Heart of America Grooming Expo in 2024 & 2025
8. Become a member of the Douglas County Community Corrections Advisory Board in 2025
9. Attend Hy-Vee Opportunity Summit at Arrowhead Stadium & so many more business cohorts in surrounding cities
10. Participate in countless other community events such as Juneteenth & massive holiday & cultural events in Lawrence
11. Contribute monthly to the famous Black Brunches in Topeka, Lawrence, & KCK
To say that I am proud of myself doesn’t even come close to the way my entire being feels when I take moments to reflect on & appreciate all that I have been through in life. I’ve learned to embrace my failures & celebrate my wins no matter how small. Without them I would never know the magnitude of the victories that lie ahead.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Finding a community that builds to nurture your vision for all to enjoy, is the life we all deserve. Considering my health issues & how I intend to grow my business; I have to ensure intentional collaborations continue to be intertwined with my operations & aspirations. Finding funding is a high priority because I am the one & only employee & when I am dealing with health issues all work stops & can cause a chain reaction of setbacks.
I am in great need of mentorship especially with learning to run a more profitable & duplicatable business & to be better prepared for hiring, expansion, & my eventual departure. I am looking for skilled individuals who are eager to do something unique with their talents while working alongside our precious pets. I want to create an environment for people who find peace in doing what they love in unknown & unfamiliar spaces.
Within the next 12 – 24 months it’s my goal to revamp Pinky’s Precious Pawdcast & all business socials to better connect with my current clients & extended community. There are plans to have the interior of the home improved to be more pet-friendly as well as the garage to be fully converted into a luxuriant salon & spaw with space for retail. A minimal backyard renovation would allow for an additional enriching & safe space for clients to run around wild & free. In 24 – 48 months I hope to expand services to include on & off-site dog training, enrichment & exercising as well as mobile units for Pawdicures (nails only), Spaw T.r.e.a.t.ments (baths only), & full grooming services.
I’ve lived & created core memories in my home since it was built in 1997 & plan to keep it in the family for as long as possible.
The neighborhood is such a thriving & welcoming environment that’s optimal for growth. I look forward to what’s to come in the following years & for anyone who wants to contribute & invest whether through education, funding, their skilled trade, or other hands on assistance, they’re encouraged to contact me directly by phone, text, or email.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pinkyspreciouspets.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinkyspreciouspets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PinkysPreciousPets
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PinkysPreciousPets
- Other: https://pinkyspreciouspawdcast.buzzsprout.com
