Public Accountant and Pet Lover Steps Into Entrepreneurship With Houston Pet Wants Franchise

With owning several dogs and cats, Dylan Hodge has proven his commitment to keeping the animals in his life happy and healthy. As the owner of a new Houston Pet Wants franchise, which offers health and wellness solutions for pets, he will soon empower fellow members of the Houston community to treat their pets just as well.

Before pursuing franchising, Hodge worked in public accounting. After experiencing several franchise portfolios throughout this career, he knew he was interested in the business model and began considering just which brand would be his perfect fit. When he found Pet Wants, everything fell into place, and he finally had the opportunity to “stop trading time for money” and build something of his own. Now, he plans to open his first Pet Wants in Houston this June.

1851 Franchise spoke with Hodge to learn more about his journey to franchising and goals for the future.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Hodge: Before this, I was in public accounting. I got my undergraduate and Master’s from Texas Tech and went straight into a public account auditing role. From there, I niched into real estate and franchise portfolios. It was mostly in the hospitality and restaurant space, but I had seen a lot of franchise portfolios.

I kind of always knew that I wanted to go into franchising early on, so that’s why I took the career path I did. I got that exposure and experience across a lot of different industries, and I saw that retail really spoke to me. I found Pet Wants, specifically, through a family friend and it just made sense.

I own four dogs and five cats, so this fulfills something I always wanted to do — working in franchising systems — while uniting my professional passion with my love of pets. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Hodge: Franchising gives you the keys to success. You have the support team behind you, so you aren’t going in blind. They already know what will make a store successful and what won’t, and that’s key. Starting a retail business on my own would’ve been a lot harder than starting my Pet Wants with a team. 

I think people should know the value of that team. It’s still relatively early in my growth with Pet Wants, but there are already so many things that I would not have thought of on my own.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Hodge: The willingness to grow and desire to constantly improve that exists among everyone at the brand was very inspiring. It’s clear they want to continue to build, and that’s actually what motivated me to sign for three territories initially. That spoke to me a lot. They’re not looking to just hold on to what they already have and not put a ton of effort into it, and neither am I.

Houston is a community of people who want to do right by their pets, and that speaks a lot to the Pet Wants brand. I’m excited to get launched and start to meet that demand.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Hodge: We plan to just take it day-by-day and keep growing and expanding beyond the Houston area to expand the reach of Pet Wants and build a truly successful business.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Hodge: My love of pets. Everyone says it, but I put my money where my mouth is. Two of my dogs are rescues. One, we found on the median on I-45, and we were sitting there with traffic flying by on both sides trying to get him into the car. Our most recent has a heartbreaking story; she was abandoned in South Dallas and nobody wanted to claim her. She was such a great dog, it was hard not to say yes. That’s probably the most unique piece of my story as it relates to this journey with Pet Wants.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Hodge: Your choice to invest has to be about your belief in the brand and the people behind it. You can fall in love with the brand, but you need to consider what the franchisors have. What is their energy? That spoke a lot to what Pet Wants offered in a more holistic way.

ABOUT PET WANTS:

Pet Wants is a pet health and wellness company that strives to improve the nutrition, health, vitality, and well-being of pets. Founded in 2010, the brand’s specially crafted, private-label pet food formulas are made in small batches with fresh, natural ingredients complete with vitamins and minerals for a complete and balanced diet in every bowl, all made in the USA. Pet Wants has set a new standard in what you should expect in your pet food through their 140+ locations across the United States. To learn more about Pet Wants, visit https://www.petwants.com/ or follow Pet Wants on LinkedIn, @petwantsusa on Facebook, @petwants on Twitter and Instagram.