'I want to know where food is made'
CEDAR RAPIDS — Occupational independence is high on Jana Crane’s list of personal priorities.
“I always knew in the back of my mind that I need to be my own boss,” she said. “I put my heart and soul into my work. If I’m going to do something for eight or nine hours a day, I need to be doing it for me and I need to be doing something that makes me happy.”
One thing that makes her happy is caring for pets.
“The animal thing has always been a part of my life,” she said. “Taking care of animals is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Even with a menagerie of pets at home, Crane wanted to do more. About nine years ago, she started walking dogs at the animal shelter. Through this volunteer work, she got involved with local animal rescue organizations and began fostering dogs.
“Rescue is my heart,” she said.
With pet food recalls in the news and wanting to do her best for the animals in her care, Crane found herself spending significant time and energy researching pet food safety and nutrition.
“I want to know where food is made, where it’s packed and what’s in it,” she said.
Last spring, she wasn’t as busy as she wanted to be in her reflexology practice and was looking for something more to do.
Crane opened Food 4 Paws, a holistic pet food and supply store, in September. The shop sells limited-ingredient foods for dogs and cats, nutritional supplements, and American-made as well as locally made pet toys and supplies.
“It just came to me one day that Cedar Rapids needs something like this,” she said. “If you would have told me a year ago that I’d be opening a pet food store, I would have said you were nuts.”
After consulting with her animal rescue friends, who agreed the business would be a benefit to pet owners, she moved forward to develop a business plan with the help of the Kirkwood Small Business Development Center and SCORE.
Crane said her philosophy for the business is to provide healthy, high-quality pet food, treats and supplements from small, family owned and sustainability conscious companies that she knows and trusts.
“I look at the price and the ingredients and do the best for my customers,” she said.
Crane also wants the new store to be a center for community outreach and education. To that end, she has partnered with Last Hope Animal Rescue to hold pet adoption events at the store on the second Saturday of every month.
Her future plans include hosting a variety of educational events, such as cooking classes for those interested in feeding their pets a homemade diet.
AT A GLANCE
Owner: Jana Crane
Business: Food 4 Paws
Address: 4330 Czech Lane, Suite A1, Cedar Rapids
Telephone: (319) 213-2130
Facebook: http://ift.tt/2zDSLIw
Know a business in operation for less than a year that would make an interesting “Ground Floor”? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com
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