At his grooming salon in San Diego, anything is possible: Bernedoodles become giraffes and poodles become Pokémon.
The salon brought in about $1.2 million last year, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Feitosa earned another $125,500 in 2022 for brand deals and sponsorships. "I thought, 'Wow, this lady gets to play with dogs all day and make money?'" he says. "I just got obsessed." In San Diego, Feitosa got a part-time job as a dog groomer for a small salon with a pet boutique and bakery in the front.Several months later, Feitosa's boss approached him with a deal: She would sell him her grooming business, which included all of the equipment in the shop, as well as her client list, for about $40,000. He would also have to pay the $1,100 monthly rent for the space.
The salon shut down for two months at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but was deemed an essential business and allowed to re-open in May 2020.