Sam Heggie worked in PR & Communications for over 25 years before turning her hand to cat sitting – a result of her love of cats, in particular older felines. Since launching her The Cat Butler business in Thame in July 2023 Sam has already made back 65% of her investment and is loving her new career!
In this case study:
Introduction
Your name and age: Sam Heggie (50)
Name of your The Cat Butler Territory? The Cat Butler Thame
When did you buy your Cat Butler business? July 2023
How long did it take you to break even (make back your franchise fee): 3 months
What did you do before you owned your The Cat Butler business? Public Relations
How many staff do you employ? 4 (as of October 2024)
Q: Why did you decide to make a career change from Public Relations?
A: I thoroughly enjoyed working in PR for over 25 years. Having started my own small business in 2016, I was able to offer my skills and know-how as a professional service to a range of clients, with a focus on non-profits/charities, which I’ve always had a passion for – and still very much do. Indeed, I have adopted three charities with my new franchise business: The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, Four Paws Rescue and Aylesbury Cat Rescue so I will be doing some fundraising throughout the year to help raise much-needed funds.
In terms of why I moved on from public relations, it was just time for me to hang the PR hat up and take on another business challenge; something that I knew I would very much enjoy.
Q: What made you think about caring for cats?
A: I was brought up with an entire menagerie of pets as a child. We had 5 cats: Spotty, Sweep, Tiger, Apollo Ballmerino (yes, he was a Pedigree, the “special one”!) and Panther, as well as two dogs! So, I guess you could say I had a FUR-ling something like my new business might be coming at some point in the future!
In 2021, during the pandemic my family and I adopted a domestic short hair from a Blue Cross rehoming centre. I remember going on the website each week to look at the cats available for adoption and kept seeing him (Patch) still listed on there, as no one wanted to take him on, probably because of his age (he was 14 at the time, now 16) and because he has several medical conditions.
Since adopting Patch, he’s become a huge part of the family, and it got me thinking about older cats specifically, or those with medical conditions, and how (if they could talk) they might tell us that they don’t want to leave their home when their hoomans go away on holiday or for work.
Patch also absolutely hates getting into his pet carrier to head to the vet (who is lovely by the way!) so I can only imagine what he would be like going to somewhere like a cattery or a cat hotel. This just wouldn’t be for him, hence why I decided I wanted a change of direction to offer a local cat sitting / cat care service in my area for kitties who simply are happier at home and that’s where they prefer to be.
After a career in PR, Sam found her true calling as a The Cat Butler franchisee in Thame—now she spends her days giving cats the VIP treatment they deserve!
Q: Why did you decide to buy a The Cat Butler franchise rather than set up on your own?
A: Being honest, I did look into setting up a business myself as I already have my own PR business so I’m used to being the boss, but when I looked at the pros and cons (and I did a lot of research by the way!), the time commitment, investment, not to mention creating the brand from scratch so the logo, website, images, graphics, templates, stationery, plus all the admin that goes with it.
I decided a franchise with The Cat Butler was the PURRFECT option for me and would save me a considerable amount of time. It was all set up and ready-to-go – SIMPLY FURBULOUS! And the great thing is, I do still feel like the boss, it’s my franchise after all.
Q: How was the support setting up your The Cat Butler franchise?
A: Second to none. I think the level of support was truly surprising; from little things to bigger things, and everything in between. Advice, tips, one-to-one’s, first aid training, fellow franchisee support, check in emails, Zooms and calls – oh, and a friendly WhatsApp group where we all get to share our love of kitties!
I really didn’t know what to expect but it has been nothing short of amazing, so my sincere thanks to the entire team (and it’s a small team too!)
Q: Tell us about the training to become a Cat Butler
A: Following several conversations with Sandra (the franchisor) in the run up to launching the franchise, there was an initial first ‘in person meet’ workshop as I call it, with four other franchisees coming on board at the same time as me (shout out to Helen M, Kirsty, Jo & Claire!). We were given an in-depth session introducing the brand, what makes The Cat Butler what it is, what makes it unique, and how it stands out from the crowd, then a detailed look at client communication from taking an initial enquiry to booking in that all-important client meeting, and then a general overview of the Pet Portal System (PPS) that we use to upload all our client data and information and communicate with them.
I also attended a brilliant pet first aid training course which I thoroughly enjoyed. I think it’s so important to be up to date with first aid training as you never know what’s around the corner, do you? Having done the course, I’d now be confident to do CPR if it was ever needed and to deal with cuts or wounds with a bandage. Administering regular insulin injections and other medication to my client’s cats is not a problem now either.
After this initial franchise training, I then shadowed my fellow ‘border buddy’, Oxford franchisee, Mark Mentiply, who gave me a great insight into what a Cat Butler must do on every visit, and of course I got to meet some gorgeous cats along the way too! Mark was super helpful and a real inspiration.
Sam has built up a thriving Cat Butler business in Thame and surrounding areas, and now she’s scaling her team to bring even more purr-fect care to local cats!
Q What has the support been like since you finished your training and returned home to set up your business?
A: I can honestly say that every member of The Cat Butler team is there for you if you need to chat through anything, share cat visit stories, advice, tips, issues, concerns, and just be supportive and encouraging. I’m very lucky to be part of a business with a fantastic bunch of people.
Q: Two months in, how is your business going? Are you busy? Are you making money?
A: YES, is the answer! I thought it might take me a while to get the business and name out there as although the brand is established, it wasn’t in my area, so these things can take time – errr how wrong was I! I had two enquiries before I had even launched, then from week 1, I had bookings in and worked continuously over the summer holidays, which was wonderful. I truly hit the ground running!
I’ve worked out that I’ve reached 65% of my franchise set up fee already so will have made the full fee back by the end of October 2023 at this rate, WOOHOO!
Q: What advice would you give to anyone thinking of buying a The Cat Butler Franchise?
A: I don’t like to state the obvious, and it is another well-known brand’s tagline, but JUST DO IT. I promise you will not regret it. If anyone is interested, I’d be more than happy to have an informal chat once you’ve decided it’s the right direction for you.
My parting gift:
I’m absolutely loving it. If you love cats and want to run your own business, then this is most definitely for you!