Kathy Tsai
President Petique
What inspired you to start your business?
My parents, my first dog, my aunt and my love for the environment inspired me to start my business. It all made sense after I graduated college. I’ve always wanted a dog growing up, but my mom was bit by a dog as a little girl and it had traumatized her. Her trauma didn’t stop me from finally getting a dog when I moved out to San Francisco for college. This was also the city where I found a new appreciation for the environment. Needless to say, my mom also fell in love with my dog. My parents had always supported me and gave me the idea to start a pet business because I loved animals so much. After college, my aunt was working at a manufacture in China and took me under her wings. From then, I was inspired to create pet products that were safe for the planet.
What challenges have you faced as a women entrepreneur and how did you overcome them?
A challenge I have faced as a woman entrepreneur is being told I wasn’t going to make it as an entrepreneur. I overcame this challenge by ignoring these comments from certain people or just giving myself space from them. I would focus on what I was passionate about, my purpose, what made me happy and what makes me work hard. Another challenge I have faced as a woman entrepreneur is being too soft or being too hard. The way I’m overcoming this challenge is learning how other powerful women speak and practice what works for me.
What advice would you give to other women entrepreneurs?
An advice I would give to other women entrepreneurs is to create a great support system that will help you drive up in life. Joining groups with empowering women or other women entrepreneurs, from networking groups to Facebook groups will help support your journey.
What women inspire you?
Recently, the women who have inspired me are motivational speaker Rachel Hollis, online business coach Marie Forleo, and another motivational speaker and business coach Allison Maslan. These women are all wise and empowering. They motivate you in a fun way, relatable in a sensitive way, and straight to business.
What do you see as the coolest or most important trend in your industry?
The coolest trend I’ve seen in our industry is technology. People are coming up with clever ways to connect with their pets whether they are at home or away. Another important trend in our industry are environmentally friendly products! Which is what we’re aiming for, to create products that are safe for the animals and the planet.
How do you define success?
Petique, Inc is not only an up-and-coming pet brand. Petique, Inc is also a manufacturer based out of Ontario, California who wholesales, distributes, and has their own e-commerce. Since we distribute our products to other pet stores, we don’t have our own personal pet stop. We have an office and a warehouse with under ten employees. How I define success is when we have a nicely structured team who I can call a power team, where we can help support one another and drive up together as a company. Where we create a nice flow and growth in revenue annually. You also know you made it when you start seeing your brand everywhere and people start naturally talking about it. Where Petique, Inc is the first brand that comes to pet owners mind and they mention you 3-5 times a day! Success to me means Petique, Inc is so nicely structured, my team can run smoothly without me.
If you didn’t sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
I think about this all the time. If I didn’t need sleep to keep a clear mind and healthy life, I would probably get things done three times as fast. For some reason, I think more clearly and work more efficiently at night. This would also fast track the team and me to success. I would do more marketing, event planning, researching, taxes and paperwork.
How do you unwind after a long workday?
Exercising is how I unwind after a long workday and it never fails me. If anything, it will increase my serotonin levels and sets me up for success!
Fill in the blank:
When I face a challenge, I... take a step back, breath, recollect, and weigh out my options.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself… to listen more, be patient and be more mindful.
The one thing I couldn’t live without is… family.
By this time next year, I will… more accomplished and more excited to build Petique, Inc.
The best thing that happened to me last week was… having an ah-ha moment on how to structure our sales team and start scaling big.
To get my creative juices flowing, I… listen to happy music to start mentally motivating myself and thinking positively big about the future!
Petique
Petique, Inc is a women and family owned business who specializes in pet supplies and consumables.
