From Wall Street to a pet grooming franchise

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Stacey Fousse

While many were negatively effected by the collapse of the mortgage industry and bank bailouts, the crisis has led some to discover a brand new career - franchising.

Among the people who have moved from Wall Street to franchising is Eric Diaz, who worked for Merrill Lynch prior to the recession. Diaz, who had a bad feeling about the future of the housing market, decided to focus his attention on what few would have ever expected - a pet grooming franchise, according to an article in Entrepreneur magazine. For Diaz, owning a franchise was a nice change of pace from the high-pressure world of Wall Street, and he enjoys working with his four-legged friends.

"My job at Merrill Lynch was very, very rewarding financially and personally," Diaz said in an interview with the magazine. "I did it for 20 years. But so far, I love dealing with doggies equally."

Among the most popular pet grooming franchises is Aussie Pet Mobile. The franchise was recently ranked the No. 1 franchise in the Pet Category by Entrepreneur magazine.