Making house calls: Businesses on wheels service suburbanites in the home
Teresa Denis of Western Springs recently started working part time and is making the transition into a full-time position. So being able to have her golden retriever, Roxie, groomed at home through a mobile service has been a godsend.
"I can't see it working any other way," Denis said. "Because Roxie is a long-haired dog, we get her done every five weeks, and it would be really difficult to find time to do that given my schedule.
"Weekends are more sacred than they used to be, and there are more demands on your time," she added. "So it would be difficult to readjust your itinerary to spend a whole day taking care of grooming."
Before turning to Kelly's Waggin' Wheels, Denis wasted most of an afternoon having to travel 15 minutes each way to a land-based office and waiting around for the pick-up call.
"And if you take your pet into a large grooming area, they're in contact with other animals and can pick up germs with that exposure," she said. "Now, I'm comfortable leaving a key for Kelly and having her handle the grooming when we're all running around."
She's joined legions of American turning to mobile businesses to cut down on the number of items on the to-do list. Here are some that service the Chicago suburbs:
1. Name Kelly's Waggin' Wheels, pet grooming
Services: Warm massage bath, shampoo and conditioning (including medicated products if applicable), warm-air fluff dry, nail trim/file/polish, ear cleaning, anal glands expressed, breed-specific haircut, bows or bandanas, cologne, dematting, flea and tick treatment, skunk bath, teeth brushing/breath spray, shedless treatments; referrals available for dog training, pooper scoopers and vets.
Area served: Primarily Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Darien, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Hinsdale, Naperville, Oak Brook, Plainfield, Westmont, Wheaton, Willowbrook and Woodridge; other locations upon request
Prices$40-$45 with upgrade options plus $20 convenience fee for the first pet and $10 per additional animal; dependent on breed and coat condition.
Life on the road: "It's less stress on the pet. Grooming can be a stressful time - it's loud, noisy, lots of activity," owner Kelly Margalus said. "Pets are calmer knowing they're just outside their home. They can actually see their house out the window or door of our van.
"There aren't any cages, no struggling to get a skittish animal into a carrier and no separation anxiety," she added. "And since it's just myself and one other groomer, the pets get to know us and are more trusting."
*The Waggin' Wheels workstation is set up in a converted utility van. A generator powers everything, and a water heater accommodates the tub area. The table is bolted to the floor, and the cabinets and storage units are kept shut with heavy-duty magnets. Blades and clippers are securely attached to the wall.
"We can give customized care while we're parked in the street or driveway at home or work," Margalus said.
Contact: (630) 408-9247, www.wagwheels.com
2. Name My Mobile Spa
Services: Everything from facials to massages
Area served: DuPage, Cook and Kane counties; based in Bartlett
Prices: $15 one-hour, interactive sampler spa, $95 for 60-minute facial or $110 for 75-minute one, $125 microderm and age-defying facial, $125 chemical peel or Vitamin C facial, $15 facial line reversal, $10 facial lift or eye-firming treatment, $15 lip renewal, $50 total eye revival, $35 skin discoloration treatment, $30 eyebrow wax, $15 lip or chin wax, $25 underarm wax, $40 and up bikini wax, $40 lower or upper leg wax, $50 chest or back wax, $25 and up manicure, $40 and up pedicure, $90 for 60-minute traditional Swedish massage, $110 hot-stone massage, $100 aromatherapy massage; service within a 50-mile radius is complimentary, and there's a $50 service fee per team member coming out for locations within a 50-75 mile radius.
Life on the road: "For busy moms or workers, we have a sampling of our services with products and instruction that will allow you to duplicate the experience on your own," owner and consultant Gloria Lorusso said. "It's a semi-private, pampering experience with an elegant ambiance we set up. This is a turning point for a lot of women in terms of affordability and time because most of us don't have four hours in a day to go sit at a spa. This is on their schedule."
Most at-home sessions are designed for groups of four to eight, although there are exceptions. And the products and other goodies are easy enough to lug around.
"We have these kits in bags stocked with robes, towels, warm, fuzzy socks, applicators - it's down to a science," Lorusso said. "We created a cookie-cutter system, so it's pretty hands-free."
From a business standpoint, she said she bypasses overhead costs like insurance and rent that a day spa incurs.
Contact: (630) 816-9854
3. Name Classic Cuisine Personal Chef Service
Services: In-home cooking
Area served: Chicagoland including Burr Ridge, Oak Brook, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville and St. Charles
Price: $325 plus the cost of food (usually $75-$150) for a basic meal package, which includes four portions of five different entrees with side dishes
Life on the road: "I provide meals for professionals, single parents, seniors - anyone too busy or mobility-limited to be scrambling in the kitchen," owner Sue Curtin said. "I shop for the food and bring over my own pots and pans and knives. Having me in the home is great for some people who might be craving that social contact or for people who like to watch so they can learn techniques. And there's the nice benefit of the house smelling like a home-cooked meal."
She discusses dietary restrictions, food allergies and tastes with clients and then comes up with a menu that accommodates Atkins diets, low-sodium mandates or Swiss steak requirements.
"In the interviewing process, we discuss what vegetables or starches they like and how many times a week they want chicken versus beef," Curtin said. "It's really custom-made because you might like Mexican but hate cilantro, so I adjust the recipe. It's not like I'm making 20 meatloaves and freezing them, so the food is much better than Stouffer's."
She usually goes to the grocery store the same day she commandeers the client's kitchen and preps what she can before the trek. Once in someone's home, Curtin packages each meal with heating instructions and cleans up the space.
"If you look at it economically, you're trying to cook for yourself, you don't have time, you throw the food in the garbage and you're wasting money," she said. "For the same price of going to a restaurant, you don't have to haul the kids out and you can eat on your own time."
Contact: (847) 318-9523, www.ccchef.com
4. Name Noah's Ark Animal and Bella Bee Workshops
Services: Fluff-and-stuff teddy bear and beauty self-esteem parties
Area served: Most areas in the state including Bartlett, Carol Stream, Roselle, Downers Grove, Westmont, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Naperville, Warrenville, West Chicago, Burr Ridge, La Grange, Hanover Park and Geneva
Price: Up to individual workshop leaders, but animals usually range between $10 and $20; choose from 40 animals and 50 outfits
Life on the road: "You can take two or three kids in a minivan to the mall and try to do the jewelry or glitter make-up shops," said Peter Kriescher, executive vice president of sales. "It's difficult, if not impossible, to do that with large groups if you're going to a location like Chuck E. Cheese. So our premise is to come to you - parties, Girl Scouts, daycares, libraries, ice cream shops..."
The business is efficient because there aren't any electric, gas or building costs, although Kriescher said it can be a challenge to market the service. But once kids participate, word spreads fast among parents.
"We're much cheaper than our fixed-site competitors," he said. "The kids love the warm, fuzzy, interactive experience of bringing a bear to life.
"We say 'Oh my gosh! The animals are starting to moan and groan! Turn them over and give them a hug and kiss and tell them you're almost ready to play!'" Kriescher added.
Contact: (866) 484-6624, www.noahsarkworkshop.com
5. Name Hair to There Inc.
Services: Salon-style hair care, beauty treatments
Area served: DuPage, Cook and Kane counties
Prices: $10 shampoo and conditioning treatment, $40 adult cut (price matches child's age with purchase of an adult cut), $35 salon finish/style, $10 beards and mustaches, $85 and up color, $125 and up highlights, $85 and up soft-conditioning perms from body to spiral, $35 manicure, $65 and up pedicure, $60 formal up-dos. Minimum service of $35 per house call; no additional fees for at-home service.
Life on the road: "Our market segments include family, executive, the medically challenged," said owner Mary Margaret Skalecki, an Elmhurst resident. "Moms, dads, kids, homebound seniors, the disabled. Convenience is a huge part of it, but people also find it very comforting and spoiling to get that one-on-one attention without waiting for a stylist to finish with a previous appointment.
"So I go help Robert, a retired real estate agent in Berwyn, and then Shirley in Naperville, who wants a shampoo and set, and then it's off to Lois in Glen Ellyn," she laughed. "I'm putting on about 1,000 miles on my car a month."
Skalecki said she only needs hot and cold water and a tabletop to perform most salon services.
"I'm quite adaptable to any work environment, so I'll figure something out for any space in front of me. I'll use a spray bottle to wet the hair if there are mobility issues with someone," she added. "But I usually use a tray that sits in the sink to give them that salon feel during the treatment."
The beautician transports all of her equipment and supplies in special luggage bags including perm rods, rollers, coloring kits and dryer bonnets.
Skalecki swears the mobile hair care business was her calling.
"I was 5 and watching my mom as an Avon lady. I asked her where the traveling hair dresser was, and she said 'There's no such thing,' so I said 'Well, there will be,'" she said. "I drew further inspiration from my grandma when I'd go to the salon with her. I asked her 'What's going to happen when you can't walk to the salon anymore?' When she got older, she was my first client."
Contact: (708) 921-1523