If you’re an animal lover toying with the idea of building your own dog grooming business, this is a must-read. Pet grooming offers the ideal self-employment opportunity for several reasons:
- You do not need a large business space; you can equip a garage, sun porch or outbuilding to suit your needs. In fact, you don’t necessarily need a building at all. Some of the most successful groomers offer mobile grooming services.
- With the pet business booming, there’s a growing demand for pet groomers Groomers in large cities and rural areas alike are often booked weeks out and can’t take on new clients. Talented, certified dog groomers are a hot commodity!
- While there is equipment to buy in order to start your own grooming business, compared to many businesses the initial start-up costs are not overwhelming.
- Dog grooming offers the possibility of growth. As you experience more and more demand for your services, you may choose to add staff, expand to a bigger location, and/or offer new services, such as boarding or doggy day care.
Building a Successful Dog Grooming Business
The idea of being the boss of a six-figure business is enticing, but taking the leap from a 9-5 job to business ownership can be scary. There’s financial risk; lots of regulations and licensing hoops to jump through; equipment to source; and the daunting task of getting your name out there and building a loyal clientele. However, with a solid business plan and the determination to succeed, dog grooming could fulfill your dream of independence.
Dog Groomer Certification
Of course, before any of this can happen, you should earn a dog grooming certificate. Today’s savvy pet owners won’t trust their fur babies to just anyone; they’re looking for fully trained, certified groomers.
You might be surprised that you can learn how to become a dog groomer through an online course. However, dog grooming schools like Animal Behavior College offer hybrid programs that pair a comprehensive online curriculum with the opportunity for real world experiences with a local professional. ABC includes a comprehensive business building component in their program.
Groomer education is not a one-and-done thing, at least not if you want to stay current. It’s worth taking additional training so that you can offer specialized services, such as pet massage or mud treatments. Upselling high end, trendy products and services can increase profits and attract clients looking to really pamper their pooches.
Licensing and Regulations for Dog Groomers
A big advantage of dog grooming is that there are not a lot of confusing, tedious licensing requirements to navigate. Unfortunately that is also something that hinders the quality of groomers too. There is no national grooming license. Check with your state or province as well as your local government to determine what business licensing is required to start and/or maintain a pet grooming business. Liability insurance may be required by state or local governments, but even if it isn’t, liability insurance is something your business should have. Your local Chamber of Commerce can be a good source of information, or at least point you in the right direction.
Forming a limited liability corporation (LLC) is highly recommended and will be necessary to protect your financial interests if you bring in a partner. An LLC reduces your personal liability for company debts and offers tax benefits.
Things to Consider When Starting Your Grooming Business
When starting a grooming business, you will find the more affordable option is to convert a space in your home rather than renting a storefront location. Even more economical is starting a mobile grooming service. An added bonus: clients welcome the convenience.
If you are converting an existing space, such as a garage, into a grooming salon, before you do anything check your local planning and zoning regulations to learn what is required of home-based businesses (or if they are even allowed where you live).
Outfitting your grooming operation will require proper plumbing, and ventilation. As far as equipment goes, you will need at minimum a specialized tub for bathing dogs, a grooming table, a professional pet groomer’s dryer, and a few kennels or enclosures. A variety of grooming tools is also necessary.
It’s best practice to set up a comfortable reception area for pet owners as well as a convenient work space for yourself. The more professional and inviting your business is, the better.
Putting Together a Business Plan
Once you’ve done your homework on local requirements and decided on whether to operate out of a brick and mortar space or be a mobile groomer, it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty of making a business plan.
A business plan maps out your strategy and should include several things.
Financial projection is a huge factor. You can’t just hope for the best; you need to put projected expenses and income down on paper and see how things stack up to know whether your business can be expected to sustain itself.
How many pets can you groom in a day? What is the pricing structure for your services for your area? What upselling opportunities are there to increase profits? What are the known expenses? Do you have a contingency fund to cover unexpected expenses, such as equipment replacement or repairs?
Part of the plan should include a marketing strategy. How are you going to let people know you’re open for business? What sort of advertising budget can you afford? Who will design your website?
Getting the Word Out Without Breaking the Bank
Getting the word out, building excitement for your brand and attracting customers are key to starting strong. It can be a job unto itself! Creating a professional, appealing website is a must. Maintaining a strong social media presence offers free hype but requires diligence.
You may not have a big ad budget, but local social media pages or groups are often looking for content and would love to share a photo of your ribbon cutting–or even write an article about the new groomer in town!
If you have an active Chamber of Commerce, it might be worth your time to join. The best chambers actively offer events, promote member businesses and offer a bit of credibility.
Hopefully, once you’re up and running, word of mouth can bring a steady stream of clients to your door!
Growing Your Business
As with any profession, dog groomers should keep up with trends and incorporate state of the art tools and techniques, such as microbubbles or AI-enabled functions like 3D modeling to project what different kinds of trims would look like.
The array of services offered to pet owners these days goes way beyond your basic groom. Think blueberry facials, ozone spa baths, and “pawdicures.” By not staying up to date and upselling additional services, you leave money on the table.
At some point, you may find you have more clients than you know what to do with. At that juncture, it might be time to think about expanding to a bigger location and adding staff.
Ultimately, though, it’s your choice to keep serving your loyal clientele or take the plunge, create a revised business plan, and grow!
Dog Grooming Gives you Choices
There are so many avenues of possibility when you have a dog grooming certificate and a dream of owning your own business.
Part of the beauty of dog grooming is the number of options that can be tailored to your dreams. If you dream of someday owning THE spa everyone wants to bring their pups to, create a plan with that as your ultimate goal and map out how to get there. It won’t happen tomorrow but someday!
If your idea is to buy and outfit a mobile grooming van or transform your garage and be your own boss, that’s great, too! There’s plenty of money to be made for motivated independent pet groomers.
Earning your grooming certificate can set you apart from other groomers in your area.
So don’t just sit around dreaming of what could be; find a qualified grooming school and start planning to make it so.
