BUSINESS

from The Foothills Focus - Zone 2 - 7.14.2021

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Pet Butler does the dog owners’ dirty work

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Foothills Focus Staff Writer

Pet Butler has expanded its franchise and its plans are to keep growing. Cesar Jimenez has only been a franchise owner for a few months, but he has already witnessed the growth of dog waste services. Pet Butler prides itself on being “No. 1 in the No. 2 business” and offers more than a simple scooping service for its clients’ pets. “We’re a professional business doing the dirty business,” Jimenez said. Owning a Pet Butler franchise was a natural fit for Jimenez and his wife, Rachel. As the owners of three dogs, they realized they spent a lot of time picking up after their animals. “My wife and I are both from the east coast and when we first moved here, we realized that the poop out here petrifies so we had to go out to our yard multiple times a week to scoop it,” Jimenez said. While visiting his parents in Georgia, Jimenez saw something that intrigued him. He saw another pet waste removal company’s truck driving around the neighborhood and thought that it could be an interesting business venture. Jimenez looked into this concept. He then received a letter in the mail from Pet Butler stating it had opportunities to own a franchise. Cesar and Rachel jumped at the opportunity. “We got into this because it’s in the pet industry, which is something we both enjoy,” Jimenez said. Jimenez said he also believes his franchise best exemplifies the direction modern businesses are heading. “We believe that the future of business is in something that provides a service, a convenience or time back to do what you would like to do,” Jimenez said. Once the franchise was purchased, Jimenez wanted to take it to the next level. “With the expanding real estate market and the increase in pet ownership during the pandemic, we thought this would be a good opportunity to buy into this business and take it to the next level,” Jimenez said. Jimenez’s three trucks cover the Valley north of the Salt River and has techs. They service about 75 residences a day, five days a week, and have more than 300 clients. Jimenez still wants to see his franchise grow. See BUTLER page 18

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BUTLER from page 17

“We want to grow the territory as much as possible when it comes to the commercial and residential scooping services,” Jimenez said. “Our goal is to make this as convenient as possible for the pet owner.” Jimenez sends his techs into clients’ yards with pockets full of treats and says they play with dogs and give them belly rubs, which increases job and client satisfaction. The techs do not just scoop up pet waste, Pet Butler also places an enzyme-based odor eliminator on yard surfaces monthly. The product is pet friendly and has a citrus-like scent that works best on harder surfaces like artificial turf and concrete. For clients who have trouble removing waste stains from their patios or harder surfaces, Pet Butler will spray and scrub them as well. Pet Butler also disposes of all waste offsite, so clients do not have to worry about their garbage cans being filled with more waste. The service provides customers with the peace of mind of knowing that all tools are disinfected with a kennel cleaner that eliminates the five major pet diseases. “We train all of our techs to make sure that they are doing every step through the process,” Jimenez said. Clients can schedule appointments by calling Pet Butler directly and can sometimes book an appointment within a week of their call. “We can sometimes service customers within the same week of their call, depending on what day they call in and how long it’s been since they’ve serviced their yard.” Jimenez said. Jimenez does ask that clients keep their yards neat as it makes his techs’ job easier and allows waste to be spotted easier. “If you want excellent service, maintaining your yard is the best way to get the best service,” Jimenez said. He is expecting to see more customers book his techs this summer as temperatures continue to rise and people leave their homes more often. “Right now is when people really start seeing the benefit of a service like ours,” Jimenez said.

Pet Butler’s newest franchise owner, Cesar Jimenez, puts customer service first. (Photo courtesy of

Lana Simon)

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Help rescue homeless neighbors from the deadly desert heat

Give now to provide water and other lifesaving essentials

YES! I want to provide lifesaving water, meals, and essential care to those who are hurting and homeless in the sweltering heat this summer. Enclosed is my gift:

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Amount $ _________ My check is enclosed I’d like to pay by credit card Card type __________ Card number__________________________________________________ Exp. ___________ CVV Code ____________ My phone number ( ______ ) _______________________________________________________ Email address ____________________________________________________________________ Name __________________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________________________

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | JULY 14, 2021

Feel the ‘Red Effect’ with new infrared fitness studio

BY ANNIKA TOMLIN Foothills Focus Staff Writer

Brittany Wise loved the Michigan-based Red Effect Infrared Fitness company so much that when she prepared to move west, she opened one in the Shops of Norterra. “I was a member of the Red Effect group fitness in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I fell in love with the product while walking in and having options of classes to take and I felt comfortable as a community,” Wise said. “It didn’t feel like I didn’t belong, it just felt like a family.” Wise and her family moved into the Fireside Norterra community and opened Red Effect in the Shops of Norterra on Jan. 6 — the day before her birthday. What sets Red Effect apart from other fitness studios is the infrared technology that is used during every class and in the personal saunas. “All of our classes and all of our workouts are under infrared, which helps with recovery and anti-aging,” Wise said. “A lot of our members would like the option to burn an extra 100 calories per class with infrared and really just taking advantage of that.” Infrared is a colorless light that “warms the core” making it possible to burn extra calories while working out in a room set at “78 to 79 degrees.” Red Effect uses red lights in its fitness room “because it’s fun,” according to Wise. “We offer hour-long interval training classes with heart rate monitoring,” Wise said. “We have barre studio-type classes and we also have yoga classes — five different types of yoga. Then we also have the personal infrared saunas.” Membership is available on a monthly basis without a commitment. Memberships start at $99 per month for eight sessions a month to $159 per month for unlimited interval training, barre, yoga and infrared saunas. “A lot of people take a sauna after class to help with recovery,” Wise said. See FITNESS page 20

FITNESS from page 19

“A lot of people will take saunas in lieu of classes just to burn a few extra hundred calories or if it’s a recovery day for them they’ll just go to the sauna. “For the hour-long classes, the first 28 minutes or so are spent on the treadmill and the last half of the class is spent on the water rower and doing the synergy floor work,” she said. Red Effect is similar to Orangetheory Fitness, but the Norterra facility has additional weights, battle ropes and other fitness equipment that can be used during the interval classes, according to Wise. Most of the saunas are on the second floor. Members can use them when needed. “It’s a three-person sauna but only one person is there at a time,” Wise said. “It just gives them plenty of space if they want to do meditation or yoga or just stretch out. They all have Bluetooth so that people can listen to their favorite playlists (podcasts or watch Netflix),” she said. Each sauna includes a “sanctuary box” that houses members’ technology likeiPadstowatchTV showsor guided The hour-long interval training classes are done under infrared lights to help burn extra calories while

people workout. (Photo courtesy of Brittany Wise)

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We Offer Military Discounts meditations in the sauna. Because Red Effect opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, sanitation is a priority for the fitness studio. “We don’t know a world before COVID so for us we had to sanitize after every class,” Wise said. “Now we know we don’t need to do all of that, but we still probably do more hand cleaning than other studios did pre-COVID, but that’s only because, to us, that’s the only thing we know and it’s natural for us.” Members are required to wipe down their equipment after use and employees take the time to mop and further disinfect the room after a class. Classes are available at 100% capacity and just last month the studio stopped “staggering treadmills” to help socially distance the members during class. After receiving community feedback that members felt “OK being closer together,” Wise made the switch. “As an owner, I love seeing and meeting everybody every day,” Wise said. “I like seeing how they grow. We have people who go from walkers to runners to people who swore they would never be able to do a barre class and now they are doing three or four a week. I love just seeing them every week.”

Close to home

As new Norterra residents, Wise sees it as “a blessing and a curse” working within 6 minutes from her house. However, she thoroughly enjoys being a part of the community that will host donation drives that will be “directly affecting my kids,” according to Wise. “This is our community, and we couldn’t think of a better spot to open,” Wise said. “We love our neighbors. A lot of the other small businesses in the Shops of Norterra are owned by (our neighbors), they live here too. It’s been a real joy getting to meet the other owners in the community in the shops.”