Meet Jennifer O’Herron of A Girl With Scales

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer O’Herron.

Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a child my father traveled a lot for work so when he was home he was very hands on with us kids. We’d go on pontoon boats and catch turtles and frogs and release them. I just loved all animals and growing up we had everything from frogs to bunnies to dogs and cats….you name it. At the age of 24 I started a cleaning business which I still own. I was at client’s house one day telling her about some of my reptiles and she suggested I should take them to birthday parties. I thought oh that would be fun. I did some research and got my LLC. My father loved the idea so much he said he would go to a couple of my events to help me out. Five yrs later my dad has never missed an event. Word of mouth got around and I’m doing libraries, festivals, camps, schools, daycares, etc. I’ve been in the news, it’s been so much more than I imagined.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I guess the biggest challenge is trying to run 2 businesses by yourself. I went to school at the University of Akron and always wanted to be a business owner. Another challenge was trying to find a way to keep my exotic reptiles safe during winter months doing events.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
A Girl With Scales is an educational and entertainment experience with my very own pets that I bring to venues and let everyone get hands on experience with. I’ve never been to a competitor’s show so I don’t know what to compare myself to lol. I know what the crowds tell me. I know that I make sure everyone gets to pet every single animal I bring. No one gets left out. I heard parents tell me how they went to other competitor’s shows and their child was so excited to go to see “their snake” and got skipped over. That will never happen with me. I also offer different packages especially for birthday parties where kids can win trivia prizes and get loot bags. I try to make the parties the most fun I can for the kids! I am most proud of being a woman owned business that started during covid. I want readers to know that though I created this business, these are my pets and are taken care of as such. I love my reptiles like I do my dogs, down to the last frog. They’re my family I share with the community.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love hearing people tell me they’ve never touched a reptile but loved my presentation so much they just had to pet at least one. I’m breaking someone’s fear of the unknown. Most didn’t know why they were scared they were just unfamiliar with how great these animals really are. Parents who tell me their special needs child would never touch animals and I was their first experience petting one… Makes my entire month! I just love seeing people of all ages happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.agirlwithscales.com
• Instagram: @agirlwithscales_
• Facebook: A Girl With Scales