Opening a Wagging Tails franchise helped Hilary Coates become financially independent after going through a divorce

"It has been a pleasure to work with franchisors who are so passionate about the way their franchise should operate," says Hilary

Hilary Coates, a mother of two, described herself quite simply as “housewife” prior to launching her franchise after going through a divorce in April 2014. However, despite having not worked in a professional capacity for over 20 years, the numerous roles that she occupied on Parent Teacher Associations, school committees and Board of Governors provided Hilary with plenty of experience organising communications, managing events and dealing with people. This combined with her love of dogs gave her all the attributes required of a successful franchisee.

“I was going through a divorce and I needed to make myself financially independent and that’s something that is going to happen now which is really pleasing,” says Hilary. “I did a bit of research before I thought about what franchise I wanted to join and I kept coming back to the Wagging Tails website. It ticked all boxes for me, particularly in terms of how the franchise wanted us to work with the dogs. We put the dogs first.

“I have had a variety of pets in my life and dogs have always been my favourite with their capacity for unconditional love. I can still remember the day our family brought home our labrador puppy, William, and I comforted him as he trembled in the corner of our kitchen. I was only six years old!

“Now as the primary owner of a dog myself, I know how much I worry when I have to leave Bandit, so when I heard about Wagging Tails I knew it was a great business to get involved in. They fundamentally understand how important the happiness of dogs is to their owners.

“I really enjoy running the franchise. It’s a different challenge every day. It’s given me a new lease on life, I realise that I can do a lot more than I thought I could.

“It has been a pleasure to work with franchisors who are so passionate about the way their franchise should operate as it encourages me to set high standards for myself, which will only help my business to flourish and grow.”