SAN ANTONIO -- Working summer jobs to earn extra cash is a rite of passage for many people when they're young, but one San Antonio boy turned a summer chore into a business.
- Child started a dog washing business
- Called Dogs Land Salon
- Costs between $10 and $15 per dog
Cisco Castaneda, 7, loves to wash dogs with his Nana. But once her dogs were clean, he saw opportunity sitting right outside the front door.
“He was like, ‘Nana, we should start a business and we should wash the neighbor’s dogs.’” -- Joanna Castaneda, Cisco’s mother.
Later that night, he roped his mom into making T-shirts for the family.
“He’s like, ‘Mom, I need you to make me a shirt.’ And I was like, ‘Son, I am in the middle of a shower.’ And he was like, ‘No. I need it right now. My business opens tomorrow,’” said Cisco.
Dogs Land Salon opened the next day. To help generate business, his uncle shared Cisco’s photo on Twitter. Within days, the Tweet had been shared more than 1,000 times and racked up more than 2,000 Likes.
“And I had all these people contacting me online. On Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. They come to us just because of his picture. They’re like ‘Oh he’s so cute, we want him to wash our dog,’” said Castaneda.
Castaneda asks people to send a photo of their dog ahead of their appointment. This helps Cisco feel like he already knows the dogs when they arrive.
“I was kind of nervous at first, but he’s very good with animals. He always has been an animal lover,” said Castaneda.
Cisco charges between $10 and $15 per dog, a far more affordable service compared to the going rate at other dog groomers.
“He’s responsible, he’s only seven. He loves this, he loves animals,” said Castaneda.
The young entrepreneur has big plans for his new revenue stream.
“College and something special,” said Cisco.