You can’t forget about the pets and pet lovers in your life during the holiday season, and husband-and-wife duo Bob (‘12) and Courtney (‘09) Poore have you covered for all the possible pet presents and people in your life.
While both have undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Bob and Courtney completed their graduate degrees here at UTC while starting a trio of pet-centered Chattanooga-based businesses.
First, Nooga Paws is a one-stop shop for the best nutrition, toys, collars, leashes, beds, supplements, & more for your four-legged family members along with self-service wash stations and a bakery.
Next, Play Wash Pint is a unique dog park where dogs and dog-lovers can come together to play and commune on pet-grade turf that includes a water fountain and covered areas. Inside, there is a self-service wash station and bar.
Last, Play Wash Stay is Chattanooga’s free-range dog daycare, boarding, training and grooming facility that boasts over 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor play space.
The UTC Alumni team asked Courtney about her businesses:
What’s special about your businesses – Nooga Paws, Play Wash Pint and Play Wash Stay?
All of our staff are what makes our businesses special! Our businesses attract passionate, animal-loving people, but it is hard work. We couldn’t do it without our managers and teams, who have undergone various training to ensure our businesses are safe for all of our customers (two—and four-legged!), our stores are stocked, and our workspaces are clean and ready to help our customers.
What did you learn at UTC that helps your business day-to-day?
Bob’s master’s degree concentrated in construction management. This helped our businesses tremendously, as each has gone through various stages of growth. Bob can work with the architects to visualize and verbalize the changes needed and manage the various stages of construction and crews.
After getting my MBA from UTC, I achieved my long-term goal of becoming a CPA. I handle all our businesses’ accounting, payroll & tax needs, which is a daily job. While in graduate school at UTC, I worked full-time and helped Bob start our first business, Nooga Paws. I learned so many skills from this program that help me on a day-to-day basis, like time and project management, team building, innovative thinking and working with others, in addition to necessary business skills like analyzing data, marketing strategies and performance indicators.
What’s the one thing you’d recommend as a holiday gift from your business?
From Nooga Paws, a gift basket with a fun holiday collar, toy and freshly baked treats.
From Play Wash Pint, a gift card for a daily pass and beverage.
From Play Wash Stay, schedule a tour of the facility or an assessment to see if we are a good fit for your dog. If you are already a client, then a gift card to use towards daycare credits, Brain Games (enrichment activities) or a Bath & Blowout so your dog goes home smelling fresh.
Although our businesses are considered Small Businesses, we hope that they make a big impact in our community on a day-to-day basis. Not only does my family live in Chattanooga, but we work, serve and contribute to our local economy and we want to see it flourish.
Courtney Poore (’09)
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