NEWSMAKERS BREAKFAST | Mark Washburn
May 16. Two dog bites and a game of pickleball were the unexpected sparks that led to two new local businesses, participants learned at the Newsmakers Breakfast April 24 at The Peninsula Club.
Speaking on entrepreneurship, Robin Salzman and John Bradford detailed the quirky inspirations that led each into a fresh career.
For Salzman, Cornelius philanthropist and longtime co-owner of Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, the moment came while playing pickleball with a friend who suggested she launch a pickleball venue.
“This is how it works with entrepreneurs,” Salzman said. “Ideas come from everywhere.”
Intrigued, Salzman was soon examining pickleball sites across the nation for ideas. She created The Serve, now under construction off Chartown Drive.
Plans call for a 60,000-square-foot country club-style facility with 10 indoor and six outdoor courts, four Top Golf simulators, a bar, cafe and community room for events. It is expected to employ about 100.
Bradford, who formerly represented the region in the NC House of Representatives and managed thousands of residential units nationally through Park Avenue Properties, sensed an opportunity when his company got sued because dogs belonging to two tenants – one in Orlando, another in Indianapolis – bit someone.
John R. Bradford III is founder of Mooresville-based PetScreening and a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
In researching the problem, he found that many property managers weren’t even aware that tenants had pets, and there seemed to be no uniform protocols for screening or approving animals.
He launched Petscreening.com in Mooresville in 2017, which provides advisory services to 28,000 residential properties nationally, helping manage their risk and evaluate tenants’ pets and service animals.
“You’d be surprised, for example, how many people don’t have their cats vaccinated because it’s an indoor cat,” said Bradford, who has three pets of his own. “But if it scratches the maintenance man, you’ve got a problem.”
Cornelius developer Drew Thigpen asked about the angst business creators must face when financial headwinds hit.
Toughing it out
Salzman said she and her husband Jack faced the prospect of possible bankruptcy for their dealership during the severe recession of 2008-09.
Robin, Jack Salzman
“We decided, no, we’re not doing that,” she said. “We will find a way to make payroll.”
They dug deep into their savings to keep the enterprise afloat, never missing a payday or laying off any of their 100 employees. But, she said, it was a dark period she remembers as a nightmare.
Bradford said he recalls sitting alone in the office as the only employee for his pet start-up, wondering how it would all turn out. Now Petscreening employs 145, many of whom bring their own dogs to work.
“Even on my worst days,” he said, “it’s still a great day.”
Cornelius Mayor Woody Washam observed community service seemed to be a common trait in successful entrepreneurs.
Salzman said that one of her joys was the community foundation Giving With Grace she and her husband founded in 2022 to further their community philanthropy that started when they owned the dealership. It continues to award grants to local nonprofits and other community causes.
Bradford said he directs charitable energy toward those with Down Syndrome, and even has hired a staffer with the genetic condition. Community service, he said, was a value he learned from his parents and has passed down to his four children.
Petscreening makes 50 grants a year of $1,000 each for a person with Down Syndrome to adopt and care for a pet.
If you start a business, Bradford said, make sure you pick a good name, one that describes the venture’s work. Salzman said that Serve not only played on the dual themes of pickleball and food service, but also referenced the foundation’s community work.
Next up
Brian Wofford, inaugural vice president and facility executive for Atrium Health Lake Norman, will speak May 22 at the Newsmakers Breakfast.
Photos by Jason Benavides
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