Yes, I made it as a groomer, and have a wonderful job where I can meet so many new people and pets each day. I am grooming an average of eight dogs a day, and loving every minute of it.
The next step in making the dream come true is to open my own grooming shop. This takes a lot
of research and planning. Finding the right location. Deciding to rent or purchase. I feel that a purchase is a better approach for me due to the low financing rates. Commercial or residential property now becomes the focus. Residential is cheaper, but more difficult to get approval for setting up a grooming establishment. I keep searching the listings from Gainesville to Pensacola Florida. When the time is right, there I will find that special spot.
I'm selling home made dog tags, bandanas, bows, photo pendants and pet portraits as I save for the down payment on my new groom shop. I will be adding a drop ship pet tag option for my clients as well. Facebook has applications for fund raisers and I have a fundraiser going to help me establish that down payment. With each 1,000 collected in donations one free pet portrait will be given away. This is a win win for each of us. People love to win, and they like to see others reach their goals.
Groomer Start Up Fundraiser, chance for free portrait
I still think of " Go big, or go home " . I don't want a shed groom room, a garage groom room or a basement, I want a professional setting and a well compensated staff. Top of the line products, beautiful surroundings and a wonderful sign with LED message board. I want the pets to feel loved and secure. A place they want to come back to time and time again.
I feel my cottage style shed is very professional have gotten many compliments on it. It has plenty of room, heat, ac, four windows, ceiling fans both indoor and out and a covered porch for the owners who would like to wait. I've visited many grooming shops in our area and my home based business is a lot nicer. Don't limit yourself, I have several clients that have dogs that don't do well in a regular groom shop, including the higher end ones. People will go out of their way to take their pet to a welcoming and safe environment. The dogs are never placed in a kennel, if appointments overlap I have plenty of room to separate them. Appearance is important I do agree with that but you can do allot without going into debt. I think when people see how well our dogs are taken care of and how clean the salon is and we keep the yard nice as well I think that all adds to the overall feeling of leaving their pets in a safe place. The neighborhood is quiet and we have a privacy fenced yard along with the plus of not being on a busy street as far as safety goes. You are very creative, you can come up with a great salon without going into debt. I have a friend who is a great groomer and has a salon on a busy street and struggles periodically to make the rent. You really need to weigh the pros and cons. I do want to open a nice salon with daycare, boarding etc. But I don't think it's the right time yet. I'm building clientele and trust first.
ReplyDeleteyes, I have seen one beautiful cottage style shed made into a fantastic groom shop in my area, and had thought of that too, but it cannot be done at my house, for there is no traffic on my dead end road and the zoning will not allow it. My husband will never live in a densely populated area, so I have to bring my services to the population. Door to door did not work. My Realtor cannot find a home yet locally that will allow it to be turned into a groom shop. I have seen a few terrible ones too. I've seen nice groom shops and dirty dark groom shops. I wish I could not have to purchase a building - but I have to. Since my home is out of the question. It will be purchase another home, or get in a commercial zone. And yes, that rent is very scary - it is cheaper to own than to pay commercial rent.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment : D