2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

36 Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Most Compassionate Cattery Owner (UK): Rachel Bland achel Bland proudly runs The Cat Whiskers, the multi-award- winning boarding cattery in the heart of the Bedfordshire countryside. “We are a luxury brand cattery!” she states. “I have formed a professional team with solid procedures and ethical values and have forged long-term close relationships with local vets to continue our unrivaled reputation.” Clients come from all walks of life to use Rachel’s services. “Our clients are looking for someone they can trust, where their cats will be cared for at the highest standard and they have peace of mind when they are away. We offer them all of this and more with great customer service to match.” Rachel explains how the entirety of business started with an article she had seen in the NFU magazine about setting up a cattery. “Having experience of project planning, management and development meant I was able to build the cattery easily and we sailed through the planning process with our first residents arriving in May 2006. Today I am still at the forefront of the business, but I now employ staff to help me as we continue to grow and develop.” The image of what people might expect as a cattery owner has changed over the years. Rachel states, “When I started CW, many catteries were owned by women. These women were generally known as ‘crazy cat ladies.’ I wanted to portray a more modern brand within the industry and change people’s ideas on the image of women who run boarding establishments.” However, Rachel faced her fair share of challenges when starting the business. “The sector has become more difficult to get into if you want R to start from scratch. Costs are on the increase for building, planning seems to be more difficult but above all else, it is licensing that has changed. With the advent of the Animal Welfare Regulations 2018, this has become a professional business development that meets recognized standards and raises the profile of animal welfare and the people that work in the sector. You need to be a lot stronger to enter the industry now, especially if you want to succeed.” With all the hard work building a reputation and gaining recognition, Rachel tells us, “Now that my business is so well established, I look on helping at the highest level with shaping the future of the industry. Having a seat at the DEFRA table and being recognized by the leading animal organizations in the UK has been one of my biggest achievements, being the voice of the boarding sector and representing women and men in the same industry across the UK. “As a woman in this environment, you need to be strong, professional as well as having plenty of resolve,” she continues. “It’s not an easy ride starting your own business as you need to be dedicated, resilient, motivated, and hard-working. You must believe in yourself and prove you can do it, regardless of being a woman.” On the success of her business, Rachel attributes a lot of it to her staff, stating, “All my staff are women and girls and I want all of them to succeed in all that they do, even if that means I give them the experiences and training they need to go on and develop their careers in a wider animal sector. I have developed an extensive training and development program for all new starters and have ongoing CPD for all staff to keep them up to date on current issues and learning. I regularly take on college and veterinary students for work experience and give them the necessary training to meet their course objectives as well as provide advice and procedural documents to the Pet Industry Federation for their members to use, most of whom are women also running their catteries.” Recently, Rachel has expressed interest in starting a new blog site in tandem with an information hub for cat owners and practical information for anyone wishing to start a cattery. She will likely launch the site before the end of 2021. “I feel the cattery is established and successful and it’s time to just deviate slightly and offer my experience in the sector through another medium. Writing is something I have wanted to do for a long time, hence my desire to start a new blog, but I need to learn more if I am to progress further. My goal is to train to take my writing to the next level and it will be a new chapter in my career.” Rachel Bland, owner and recent award winner of Most Compassionate Cattery Owner UK, established The Cats Whiskers in 2006 after working as a Chartered Surveyor for 12 years. Using her expertise in building, she project managed the build and development of the business, empowered by the self-belief that she could create a professional cattery she would be proud of. Today, its clear she has proven herself right. Jul21127 Company Name: The Cats Whiskers Contact Name: Rachel Bland Web Address: www.thecatswhiskers.net