Clarksville, TN – When Chris Fadely got out of the Army, he took advantage of the post-career guidance that is offered to retirees. He found one business with a clever name that made him laugh. He went home and joked with his wife, “Hey, I’m gonna start a pooper scooper company”.
The idea stuck with him, and now Fadely is the owner of ParaPooper Scoopers, a pet waste removal service in Clarksville.
“I’ve been doing this three years now. September will be my 4th anniversary,” Fadely said. “The business is doing very well. It grew a lot more than I thought it was going to.”
Fadely had a “regular” job, in communications doing AV work for a variety of companies when COVID-19 hit. “Everyone got furloughed,” Fadely said. “I got laid off. After about 6 – 8 months of furlough, I decided to start this little business. By the time they decided to call me back, I had about sixty customers and an employee. So, I had to make a decision. “
Fadely spent twenty years in the Army. His career began in communications as a radio operator. It ended in IT, which Fadely says is the “Army path” these days.
His new business has a mix of residential and commercial clients. “I set up pet waste stations for apartment complexes, HOA’s, etc. Most of my clients are residential, so we work with a lot of elderly folks who can’t pick up after their dogs, people who work a lot and just don’t have the time to take care of them, wives of deployed soldiers, and some folks who just don’t want to do it.
“We offer weekly or every-other-week service. If an area goes too long, it becomes unmanageable with the yards around here, which are usually about 1/4 acre. I offer a discount if someone wants to pay six months or twelve months in advance, but generally there are no contracts. You pay when the work is performed.”
ParaPooper Scoopers isn’t the only game in town, but Fadely has managed to build a successful business over the last few years.
“I’m hoping to eventually expand. I’ve had several calls out of Hopkinsville. I may try to move the business in that direction or towards Nashville. We are getting close to 180 customers. I plan on staying with it and would like to expand in the future.
“I want to continue to grow in Clarksville. I still meet people who say, ‘I didn’t know you were here’. Everybody knows about businesses like lawn care services. Most people don’t realize there are services like ours. It’s not a bad job. I get to meet dogs, and that’s good, and I am my own boss.”
Find out more at www.parapooperscoopers.com on Facebook at ParaPooper Scoopers, or by calling 931.410.0456.
