Photo: Debbie Safran, owner of Houndstooth, a small pet store in Burlington. Courtesy photo.

by Amanda Kuhnert Debbie Safran adopted her first greyhound over a decade ago and immediately began having trouble finding accessories and apparel that fit her dog’s long, lean shape. Early on, she batted around the idea of opening her own store, where pet owners could find everything for their dogs and cats — even those with unique physiques — under one roof.

“Despite Burlington being so incredibly pet friendly, we didn't have a dedicated pet supply store in the downtown corridor,” she said.

Safran brought her longtime vision to life in the fall of 2019, when she opened Houndstooth, a small pet store on College Street. The pandemic hit just a couple of months later.

“I had to scrap the original vision for the shop early on,” she said. “I had to change my priorities and learn e-commerce and social media marketing much sooner than I anticipated.”

In lieu of the monthly in-person gatherings she had planned to educate pet owners and raise funds for local nonprofits, she started experimenting with Instagram Live events.

“We have had a lot of fun with our spring and winter fashion shows — it’s an opportunity to showcase some of the wearables and the shop’s personality,” she said. “We also do a monthly doggy yoga on IG Live.”

Photo: Debbie Safran, owner of Houndstooth, a small pet store in Burlington. Courtesy photo.

Recalibrating after a Hectic Start

While she focused on pivoting her business model to survive the pandemic, other areas were overlooked. “As a new business owner, operating in a pandemic no less, I knew I was making a lot of mistakes — a lot of expensive mistakes I couldn’t really afford,” Safran said. “I didn’t give myself time to sit down and learn how to properly budget or plan. So I was doing a lot of panic buying.”

Safran reached out to Sarah Kearns, an adviser with the Vermont Small Business Development Center for help with budgeting and managing inventory.

“VtSBDC is helping me figure out what I’m doing right and how I can make subtle improvements that will have a drastic impact on the success of my shop,” she said.

Together, they’re looking for creative ways to move inventory and highlight some of the unique features of Houndstooth.

Kearns also connected Safran with an accountant who is teaching her QuickBooks so she can more easily track her expenditures.

Black Friday, November 25, will mark Houndstooth’s third anniversary. The store offers merchandise for dogs, cats, and pet-loving humans.

For more info: houndstoothvt.com(link is external).