SAGE Advice

A Glowing Testimonial of the Groomers Helper
February 24, 2012 | Author Chuck

We recently received this testimonial via an email and would like to thank Jennifer Schwall for taking the time time to write it. By the way, if anyone is looking for a groomer in Longmont, Colorado here is her info:

BUSINESS: Widdle Waskles Grooming
WEBSITE: www.widdlewasklesgrooming.com
EMAIL: widdlewasklesgrooming@gmail.com
PHONE: (720) 309-8976

Here is her testimonial:

Hi there, I would like to start by saying…YOU ARE AMAZING!! Because of your product pets everywhere are getting better care in a salon. I have been a factory groomer (grooming LOTS of dogs in a small shop in little time)! For many years we used muzzles, e-collars, tranquilizers, 5 people to handle one dog and NOTHING is as humane and safe as your product!

I recently opened my own shop to MAKE A CHANGE. I am privately grooming 1 family at a time NO cages, NO muzzles, No tranquilizers, NO OTHER HELP, – I WORK ALONE! I do ALL sizes and all I use is a Groomers Helper.

I have used your product and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! You inspired me to open my safe private stress free salon. If you guys ever need someone to demonstrate this product in the Colorado area I would LOVE to do it!

BTW Your product saved a couple of dog’s lives – 2 dogs NOONE could touch. In 4 grooming sessions with the Groomers Helper the foster parents of dogs decided not to euthanize them

Have a nice day!!
Jenna

Nothing to fear...

One of the biggest problems facing new groomers is FEAR. Whether they fear injuring the dog they are working with or fear being hurt themselves, confidence in the grooming salon is very important. Perhaps you have seen the handlers at Westminster and other dog shows chewing gum or sucking on a mint. They do this to cover the smell of fear and nervousness they are feeling in the ring. Because we all know that dogs can smell fear from a mile away.

Let’s face it – everyone has some fear and nervousness in their life. Perhaps it is the fear of working with a new client or the nervousness of grooming a nasty, old dog.

But a lot of fear will go away with time, as confidence levels build and grooming skills are honed.

Instinct also plays a part in overcoming fear. How many times have you heard a groomer say, “I just had a feeling about that dog. I knew it was going to try to bite me!”  People can’t see into the future, but they had a feeling about something and they were right! Trusting your instincts will go a long way to relieving your fears.

Another weapon in the fight against fear are the tools that you use. Knowing that you have quality clippers and scissors that will help you get the job done will be a big boost to your confidence. And having a Groomers Helper on your table will help, too.

When the dog’s bite radius is reduced, your confidence level goes up. Knowing that a dog can’t spin around and bite you when you are working on its back nails is a real confidence booster. And knowing the dog can no longer walk off the table, back off the table, or hang itself will give you peace of mind that the dog can smell and submit to.

Right now, I am offering free gifts with the purchase of select items in the Groomers Helper line. Give the gift of confidence this Christmas and receive some great free gifts to boot. In addition to the free gifts, I am also offering free shipping – so what do you have to lose?

And remember – you can always walk away from the grooming table to regroup if you are dealing with a particularly nasty dog. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to drawing the line and will try to power through difficult grooms. This only serves to increase tension and is a formula for disaster.

The greatest skill a Professional Groomers can possess is knowing when to stop.  

CLICK HERE FOR HOLIDAY SPECIALS

 

Following trends in the grooming business

Did you know that there are growing trends in the grooming industry that you can make money with? It's true and there are a variety of places to find them. But who has the time?

 

Most of the groomers that I know are so busy with the day-to-day operations of their salons that they barely have time for Facebook, let alone reading industry magazines. It can take hours to consult with all the many magazines and web sites where information is published, so most groomers just stick with the basics. 

 

And yet there are many important things happening in the industry today that the average (and above average) groomer can cash in on.

 

For example, there are more pets living past the age of 20 than ever before. It is estimated that there are over 100,000 pets in the USA that are in their twenties. That is also the estimated number of humans who are over the age of 100. (The animal/human bond connects on many levels!)

 

By providing products and services for elderly dogs, a groomer can enjoy the personal reward of helping a pet live a long and happy life, while reaping the financial rewards of keeping that dog maintained over two decades. That's a lot of grooms!

 

Offering a variety of supplements and nutritional products can help, too. And some salons with retail space are offering non-slip booties, pet stairs and therapy vests. All in an effort to help pets lead healthier lives.

And get the products you need to help them, too. Coat replenishers and teeth brushing can help old dogs stay young. And a Groomers Helper Professional set can help elderly dogs stand during the grooming process. Most elderly Goldens and other large dogs just need a little support and the Groomers Helper can help.

 

Write to me for more information on growing trends and make sure you subscribe to my newsletter. I am going to be posting many business building tips in my email blasts and you are sure to find something you can use.

 

Click here to subscribe and please tell a friend. You can find me on www.petgroomerforums.com and Facebook. as well as this blog. Email chuck@petshots.com if you have any questions or comments.

SAGE Advice can help you grow

Hello! I have one more stop to make on the seminar trail this year, and it is in sunny Florida at the upcoming Fun in the Sun Show. If you haven't checked out this event, it is a great way to end the year. You can combine some business with pleasure at this groomers gathering. CLICK HERE to visit the NDGAA web site and learn more about the show.

A lot of people cannot attend shows and are still in need of guidance, whether they are just staring out or are seasoned vets. And while I do have plans to create a video series based on my seminars (more to follow), I also offer a service called SAGE Advice.

It is a fantastic way to get ahead in the grooming industry, and it has helped dozens of people to date. For one low cost, a SAGE Advice subscriber is allowed to send unlimited emails for a full year, and the service includes a one hour phone consultation.

This is an amazing deal that has allowed me to help groomers around the world. One of my most recent successes was to help launch a new salon in South Africa. I was able to help the new owner establish prices, choose products, formulate marketing strategies and even choose her salon layout. She hit the ground running, making money as soon as the shop opened and building a clientele of repeat customers right away.

I don't know why anyone who is planning a future in the pet grooming industry wouldn't take advantage of SAGE Advice? It is so much easier to learn from the mistakes of others and find out what works right away instead of losing money as so many new salon owners do.

And so, in an effort to spread the word about this service, I offer everyone the opportunity to email me at chuck@petshots.com or look for me at petgroomerforums.com and use my knowledge and experience to your benefit. You will find that I have forgotten more about grooming then most people know and I am always happy to help. Visit the SAGE Advice web site when you click here.

 

 

Profit from the holidays

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! One thing I’ll be doing this holiday is pet portraits by the dozens. My salon makes a tidy profit from offering pet photography and I often speak about it in my seminars. You can really earn a lot with just a simple backdrop, some holiday props, and a few minutes of your time. 

A good retailer knows that they must help their customers with both year round and seasonal needs, too. Many of the big department stores have an amazing seasonal department. At Christmas time it is a sea of decorations and working train layouts, and in the summer it’s a land of barbecues and lawn care products. If you need something specifically for the season, you know where to shop. A busy pet salon is the same way and sometimes the season changes are indicated by the patterns in the bandanas.

As we gear up for Halloween, our bandanas have pumpkins and candy corn on them and the bows are black and orange. But we also have a selection of costumes and some scary looking chew toys to offer in October. Why not make some additional income giving customers what they want? 

Of course, we take Halloween photos, too. Customers dress up their dogs after the groom is complete and I put out the plastic pumpkins and orange garland. It is a lot of fun. I have published an eBook about promoting your business during the holidays and you are invited to download a copy. It reviews some great way to reward your customers and get into the spirit of giving.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE COPY

Holy Holidays, Bat Dog! Get your free eBook!

Happy employees means a happy business

 

This has been another great year for helping others in the pet grooming industry. In addition to bringing safety to the work place and preventing injury, I have been teaching again and mentoring new groomers across the country. Many are just starting out and need help with pricing their services and buying the right equipment. 

 

But there is a growing number of salon owners who are experiencing steady growth and yet struggle to retain their staff. They are sure that their businesses could continue to expand if they could only find the right help.

 

We have an incredible staff at the Pet Salon and have been blessed with a group of dedicated employees. They make our job so much easier and the success of our business is almost guaranteed.

 

And, of course, we have had our share of prima donnas, know-it-alls, whiners, and every other kind of employee you can imagine. There have been plenty of drama days in the shop. But let’s face it – you often don’t find out the real work ethic of a person until they actually start working for you. You can’t tell the difference between someone who is ALWAYS late or someone who will STAY late until they become part of the team.

 

So if you have employees that you treasure, here are some of the basic things you can do to keep them in your organization. There are certainly many more, but here are some ideas to get you started. 

 

1. Ignite their enthusiasm

Successful people get excited about what they are doing and their excitement is infectious. So light a fire in your employees by energizing them and building their enthusiasm about being a pet groomer. Start by energizing yourself!

What is it about being a pet groomer that you love so much? What pumps you up about the business? You can certainly start the day by giving yourself a pep talk, or listening to some upbeat music or working out. My wife Beth is in the gym every morning and that workout gives her energy that lasts for hours after the salon has opened. By feeling inspired yourself, you can pump up the others around you and watch how easily it spreads to everyone in the shop – including the customers and the dogs, too!

 

2. Tell them your vision

While enthusiasm may show them the path to success, it is vision that really brings them to your side. Show them that you are a competent person who is running a successful business and that you have plans to grow and take them along for the ride. Your vision of success can truly make them a part of your team.

Try to sum your vision up in a statement such as “We are the best groomers in town who deserve the best from our customers as we continue to work as a team.” Use positive words and practice reciting your vision to anyone who will listen.

 

3. Sell the benefits of working for you

Employees get really excited when they learn what’s in it for them and you should always be ready to say it simply and emphatically. When they feel that they are part of a successful operation and see the rewards in things like the equipment and products they use in the shop, the benefits of being part of a happy team, and their paychecks – why wouldn’t they want to work for you?

 

4. Invite participation

Studies have shown that there is a much higher retention rate of employees who feel that their input is welcome and can actually affect the way a company runs. If you simply put on blinders and ignore their input, they are much more likely to leave even when the pay is right. It’s not easy to inspire people who do not like you, and employees crave to feel important and included in the day-to-day business of grooming.

 

Inspiring individuals to be optimistic can be a daunting task to many. “Who cheers for the cheerleader?” you may ask, and being truly positive about everything seems nearly impossible. And yet I find it is the people who are the most consistently positive that truly succeed. After all, it is positive people who see the opportunity around them and attract similarly positive people to move forward through life. You must have overwhelming confidence in your success and enough unbridled optimism for everyone.

 

Thanks for your support!

I am blessed! After years of hard work and dedication to the industry I love so much, I have become the proud recipient of two amazing awards. I never dreamed that my career would take me so far or that so many people would benefit from my efforts. All I can say is THANKS! 

Despite a shaky start to the Hershey show, attendance was high and there was a definite excitement in the air. I would like to thank Todd Shelly and everyone at Barkleigh for putting on a great show and an equally great awards ceremony. It was a glorious night filled with good food, good friends and the best-of-the-best in the grooming world.

Jay Scruggs was the emcee for the first Barkleigh Honors awards, and after some fun with the now retiring Frank Rowe, the awards were presented. While the competition was fierce, I walked away with the Barkleigh Honors for Contribution to the Industry.  Luckily, my wife Beth was in attendance and able to share this moment with me. Groom Expo is one of the few shows she attends, and this year I had the pleasure of sharing her company at the awards banquet. As many of you know, the Groomers Helper was invented for her in an effort to stop the day-to-day struggle of grooming and prevent her from being bitten. At this point, it has helped thousands around the world to groom safer and we owe it all to Beth. Thank you, Mrs. Simons. 

I flew directly to Las Vegas from Hershey to attend this year's SuperZoo. This is an awesome show where the pet industry shines and an incredible amount of products are available. If you have never experienced this event, mark it on your calendar. The record-breaking rain did not dampen the spirit of the show! I never dreamed that I would be receiving a Crystal Achievement Award on the heels of my Barkleigh Honors victory.

I thank Craig Rexford and Cardinal Laboratories for keeping the Crystals alive. It is hard to express the feeling I had when my name was announced! Thanks to all who voted for me and thanks again to my darling wife Beth who makes it all worthwhile! 

The next stop was Belgium for this year's Groomania show and the international grooming competition. I will report when I return to the States, so stay tuned.

A Special Message from the SAGE (Salon and Grooming Expert)

The Groomers Helper® has been having a phenomenal year! The product is now used by more groomers than ever before, and we have heard many success stories. Some salons have reported that  their incident reports have been cut in half, and many insurance claims have been avoided by using a Groomers Helper®. Such fantastic news! One of the things that has helped Groomers Helper® become the top pet safety and positioning system is the support of so many professional groomers in the industry. Often, excited groomers will come to the trade show booth and order a Groomers Helper® because they had just completed a seminar and their instructor told them to purchase one. WOW! They don't even want to see a demonstration because their teacher convinced them that they need a Groomers Helper®. And the top schools are using it, too. Places like the Paragon School teach their students how to use it and offer it in their shopping cart. I am thrilled that a grooming expert like Melissa Verplank, who practically wrote the book on grooming, endorses the product.  And there are some fantastic DVDs created that promote the product as an 'essential' tool for every groomer including Sue Zecco with Jay Scruggs, and also Jodi Murphy. So I ask every groomer out there who has benefitted from using the Groomers Helper® to pass on your knowledge of this product to a fellow groomer. By the power vested in me, each and every person out there is a bona fide Groomers Helper® representative in charge of spreading the good word. Tell your fellow groomers to watch the training video online or call the office at 866-987-2426 .  And if you have a question, need help with a grooming problem, have comments about your Groomers Helper®, or need assistance with a product issue, please do not hesitate to contact Groomers Helper® or email chuck@petshots.com Thanks for your support! Chuck Simons P.S. - Please send your well wishes to our GroomTeam USA members as they prepare for the international competition in Belgium!

Thanks to all who support Groomers Helper.

Goodnight (Hurricane) Irene.

The storm has passed… 

We have managed to dodge the bullet here in Margate, NJ and Hurricane Irene has come and gone. I want to thank my family and staff for all their help preparing for the storm. My wife Beth and worker David pitched in to prepare for the worst. It took a lot of work to make sure we would be safe, or at least as safe as one can hope to be in a hurricane! 

The products in our retail section were moved to higher ground, plywood was fastened to the windows and sandbags blocked the entrances. And, of course, all the computers were backed up and disconnected. Regular computer backups are important no matter what the circumstances, and I recommend that everyone back up at least once a month. You can always replace a computer, but not the years of data you have created. 

So now we are getting the shop back in order, removing the plywood and putting the sand bags away. Despite the uncertainty of the storm and the danger it posed, I felt confident that we had done the best we could to survive. It was a great feeling knowing that we were prepared for the worst. 

And it was also great to know that our insurance was in place and we would be able to get the help we needed to replace or repair our important equipment in case the storm did have a real impact. Having insurance is so critical to business owners that it is one of the points I stress the most in my seminars. 

So take stock of your business and make sure you have the things that are necessary to survive a crisis, whether it means backing up your computer data, gathering the materials you need in an emergency, or having the insurance you need to protect yourself. 

Grow your own grooming team!

I speak to salon owners everywhere who want to know how to find good help. Many of them feel the need to expand, while others just want a break. Whatever the reason, they tell me how much they struggle to find good help.

Some of them think that there is a perfect groomer out there who wants to work for them, while many understand all too well that crackerjack groomers don’t just walk in the door. And even if a superstar DOES appear on their doorstep, they most likely bring a long list of conditions and a prima donna attitude. Or worse, they are great groomers with no true work ethic, bringing drama to the shop and affecting everyone around them.

And while I sympathize with these shop owners, I have never had a problem finding the help I need for my grooming salon. Brushers, bathers, trimmers, receptionists, and assistants by the score are available to me and they all have some level of skill that makes them part of our grooming team.

They have all been properly trained and work together, with each knowing what has to be done if someone is absent, and how to keep the work day flowing. They know the ropes and because we run a busy shop, they are not strangers to hard work. Our lead stylists are top-notch and know everything about grooming a dog from start to finish, because they began as bathers. They learned how we wanted them to groom, and now they are passing that knowledge on to new employees.

Many of them gladly work on a part-time schedule, allowing us to properly assess their work habits before we offer full-time status. All of our stylists receive regular pay raises based on their employment history, so we offer all our new employees the same chance to earn more after a probation period.

Before they ever pick up a clipper, they learn our procedures and fill shampoo bottles and wipe down kennels and clean up dog poop – all the little things that have to be dealt with every day no matter whether you are the bather or the shop owner. We get to know them, train them, and make them part of the team. We reward them and teach them how to be groomers. As a result, we have many loyal employees who have been with our shop for years whether it is on a full-time, part-time, on-call or summer-employment only status.

So while you may not find a grooming goddess the next time you run a Help Wanted ad, consider that there are plenty of hardworking people who can be properly trained and can help you to grow your business.