Meet Lisa Thayer of Gordy’s Goodies Pet Food and Supplies

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Thayer.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am one of those “crazy” animal lovers. I have had at least one pet my whole life and now have a very big pet family. In my 20’s I began getting involved in animal welfare by volunteering, fostering animals, and spreading the word on important legislation to benefit animals. About eight years ago, I got the job of my dreams. I worked for the Arizona Humane Society for about 4 1/2 years. I started as an Adoption Specialist at one of their retail and adoption locations and quickly moved into management and purchasing. This was a place where people could look at pets available for adoption in a retail setting. Many people have a hard time walking into shelters, so this concept was reaching people who otherwise would not adopt a pet. It also had all the retail needs for the pet and pet parent so it was a one stop shop. By the time I stopped working there, I had a dog family of seven dogs large and small. A couple of years went by where I didn’t work and during this time when I had to purchase something for my pets, I just wasn’t happy with the lack of knowledge and selection of healthy options out there. I started looking at healthier options for my pets and while I was researching that, I also researched what the possible causes of cancer are in pets. I had already lost two dogs to cancer and I am determined not to let that happen to anymore. Then the idea of Gordy’s popped into my head. Gordy was our gentle giant. He was a 110lb Old English Sheepdog and a very big baby! Although he lived until 12 years old, he did get diagnosed with lymphoma and that was ultimately what he died from. I decided that I would use my years of retail experience and knowledge to open a store that could offer the best customer experience along with education for pet parents on the best things they need for their pets. I always say happy pets make happy pet parents. But this was only half of the concept. The other half was to continue working to help the animal rescues in the valley. So I picked a location where we have an enclosed area indoors so local rescues can hold adoption days all year round.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The toughest part about starting a business is the lack of loans available for start-ups. Everyone would tell me I would easily get a loan or grant since I am female and there are tons of loans for small businesses. That wasn’t entirely true. The loans and grants for women entrepreneurs are very specific to certain industries. Pet retail is not one of them. The grants are also very small, and I mean that in the sense that I needed a lot to get going, and they are only offered at certain times of the year. So the more I looked into it, the more I learned that most startups use personal funds. So that is what we did.

As you know, we’re big fans of Gordy’s Goodies Pet Food & Supplies. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
This is our vision statement: “We provide quality dog and cat food products, pet supplements, great toys and walking gear, and exceptional customer service! We are an outlet for the rescues around the valley and host adoption events at our store regularly. We hope to be a big part in our own small way in reducing the homeless pet population here in Arizona. Finally, we have unique pet “classes” to bring your pet, learn something new, and have fun! We are your community pet resource center!”

To specify our vision statement, we specialize in helping pet parents find the best food for their dogs and cats. Our brands are all small family-owned companies. Companies who know their farmers, ranchers, butchers, manufacturers. The important part of this is that we know the sourcing of all their ingredients for their foods. We offer high-quality kibble, canned food, raw and freeze dried raw at great prices. This idea goes through to the merchandise we carry too. We have fun and functional walking gear, strong and effective toys, and delicious treats. Each season we also specialize in apparel for that season. For example beginning in spring, we bring in cooling vests and bandanas for dogs. The summers here can reach 120 degrees and our dogs still need their exercise. This cooling apparel acts as evaporative cooling for them and socks and booties protect their feet on the hot surfaces.

Our customer service is better than any other store in our area. We are passionate about pets and educating pet parents on what the needs are of their pets. We spend time talking with pet parents about nutrition, toys that will help keep them busy and stimulate them, and supplements, such as CBD and all-natural herbal tinctures to help minor ailments.

We have 4-5 local animal rescues who we partner with. Each one gets a Saturday and/or Sunday a month and holds adoption days. The homeless animal population in Maricopa County is one of the highest in the country. It’s important these rescues have a place to get their animals seen and hopefully find their forever homes. We also collect all items of donation which can be used by the rescues to help care for the animals. This includes pet items of course, but also blankets, towels, pillows, bed linens, dog and cat food. We collect monetary donations as well. I disperse all of this equally to each of the rescues each month. From June 1, 2020 to June 1, 2021 there were 233 adoptions through our store and rescues we work with!

Finally, I offer events such as Dog Obedience classes, Halloween Pet Parade, and Holiday Photos with the Grinch!

The obedience classes are offered by a fantastic trainer who I partner with. Foothills Canine Academy, trainer Brenda Dryer. She helps with basic obedience and behavior challenges. Our Halloween Pet Parade is a fun event for pets and pet parents to dress up and win best costume! My store is in a building with five other businesses so we parade into each store and the store owners hand out dog treats so the dogs can trick or treat! And each holiday season we have Mr. Grinch show up, hire a photographer and pets and their families can have their photos taken with the Grinch!

I handpick all the items and brands that I carry and that I am proud of. I work with a great group of people in the rescues and play a small part in helping those pets find homes. For that, I am extremely proud.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Opening your own business which you have passion and experience in will be easy to run it despite any speed bumps. You will also likely already have a network going if you have been in the industry. It was easy and fun to contact people I had worked with before to set up the brands and products I was going to carry. It’s also a great idea to keep those contacts because you may need some favors called in on occasion.

Advertising is essential to grow your business. Advertising on paper, television, or radio is very expensive. I tried a few print media advertisements but with little return. The best was a local community paper called Ahwatukee Foothills News. I ran some coupons that helped a little. The best advertisement was using the paper to write short pieces related to pets to inform the community on how to navigate the pet industry and promote adopting a pet. Many people responded well to these pieces and found us that way. My biggest return on investment has been our Facebook Page. I posted daily for the first nine months being open and 80% of my customer base has come from my Facebook posts. The other 20% has been word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Email: lisa@gordyspetsupplies.com
• Instagram: @gordysgoodies
• Facebook: @gordyspetsupplies