Why Jason and Steven Parker Are Maintaining Their Hands-On Approach to Operations as K9 Resorts Continues to Expand

When children are told by their parents that they can’t get a dog, most of them move on to another pet. But that was far from the case for Jason and Steven Parker, who used that decision as fuel for their now rapidly growing franchise concept, K9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel.

K9 Resorts first started as a neighborhood dog walking business when the Parker brothers were just teenagers. But as word spread of their services, they realized that they had the opportunity to turn their after-school venture into something that could thrive in the long run. After stumbling upon the luxury pet care industry through one of their clients and discovering that demand in the industry was climbing, they decided to launch what is now known as K9 Resorts.

Since its founding in 2005, the brand has caught the attention of consumers and business owners alike. Frequently recognized as one of the top luxury pet facilities in both New Jersey and the entire nation, the Parker brothers knew that they needed to expand their concept beyond one corporate location. But it wasn’t until they started looking into the realities of exclusive corporate growth that they realized they needed to turn to another business model for help.

“From the very beginning, we knew that we wanted to have multiple locations. We just weren’t sure how we wanted to make it happen. But we ultimately decided that franchising was a way for us to accelerate our growth at a much faster pace than we’d be able to manage on our own,” said Jason. “Franchising has allowed us to grow with the help of other local owners while still running our own corporate locations. It’s created a best of both worlds scenario, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision.”

K9 Resorts officially launched its franchising opportunity in 2010, which is when Jason and Steven learned first-hand about the benefits that the business model brings to the table. However, they didn’t want to expand too quickly to the point where they couldn’t keep up. That’s why the Parker brothers decided to remain selective with their franchising partners, first focusing their efforts on growing close to home.

Even though limiting their expansion for a few years was tough, Jason says it has ultimately positioned them for even more success going forward.

“During the first five years that we decided to franchise, we really focused on growing the K9 Resorts brand in our region. That meant that we had to turn people down who were interested in opening up their own location outside of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. But even though that was incredibly difficult at the time, we’re in a much better position now,” said Jason. “Through our private equity investment, we’ve been able to build out our infrastructure to support our growth beyond the East Coast. And now, we’re successfully spreading into new areas across the country like Texas, Colorado and California. There’s no doubt that our nationwide expansion efforts were worth the wait.”

Despite Jason and Steven’s decision to franchise, the co-founders and co-CEOs behind K9 Resorts are still very active in the brand’s day-to-day operations. In addition to meeting with vendors and prospective franchisees, both of the Parker brothers make an active effort to visit K9 Resorts’ locations that are under construction to ensure that things are running smoothly. Jason and Steven also both enjoy getting out of the office to meet with existing franchisees and visit their stores. By making personal visits to locations and overseeing operations, the Parkers are making it known to every member of their system that they’re invested in the long-term success of the brand. And according to them, that’s not a trend that’s going away any time soon.

“Jason and I are still incredibly involved in the day-to-day operations of our business. Even though our role now is to primarily oversee what’s happening, it was just a few years ago that we were in the trenches making everything move forward ourselves. Our passion for that isn’t going away—we genuinely love what we do,” said Steven. “We want to be involved across all levels of our organization. Going forward, we plan to keep the hands-on approach to growth that’s gotten K9 Resorts this far.”