Aussie Pet Mobile Grooming pets isn't for the birds--at least not if you're the boss.

When he worked for Boeing, Raj Singh didn't build airplanes, and as an Aussie Pet Mobile franchisee, he isn't grooming dogs. "I don't think my customers would like that," explains Singh, who actually has a management background.

So why is this Yorba Linda, California, entrepreneur running a mobile pet grooming franchise? Like many business owners, Singh saw Aussie Pet Mobile as an opportunity to gain business experience and spend more time with his family. While working at Boeing, Singh earned his master's degree and created a business concept. He quit working for the aerospace company, hoping to fulfill his entrepreneurial dreams.

At the time, though, the risk was too great, so Singh started looking at other options. Running a franchise seemed safer, and he knew it would give him experience operating his own business. Since opening the franchise last year, Singh has become involved with a fitness company and hopes to someday have at least part ownership of three or four businesses.

For now, operating his homebased Aussie Pet Mobile franchise, which includes two full-time groomers, is enough for Singh. "I drop my boys off at 8 and pick them up at 2:30, and I volunteer in their classes," he says. "I felt it was important to be around my kids rather than be in the corporate world and [have] them not know who I am."