Greedy Bitch

o let's go ahead and start talking about today's topic, how to create better client boundaries. So I'm gonna talk to you about five different things. So the number one thing I want you to start talk thinking about when you have client boundary issues is, are they your ideal client? I talk all the time about what I call the solem mate client. And what happens with you guys a lot of times is that you just take anyone with money. Anyone who has a wallet is a customer. And I want you guys to start changing that. I want you, when you have a client issue to consider, is this person even worth it? Now, I know that sounds like a dick thing to say, right? That sounds like a really mean thing to say, but a lot of times when you are clashing with a customer, it's simply because you and them are not compatible. Think about to yourself, what is it that they're upset about? Is it something that doesn't make sense for your business model? For instance, you guys know that I require every four weeks for my clients. If I have an issue with a client who wants six weeks, eight weeks, 12 weeks, won't get on a regular schedule, then I'm trying to create a boundary with somebody who's not my ideal client. And it's a waste of time and energy. And I know that sounds super harsh, but a lot of times you guys have to stop chasing the wrong people. It's kinda like if you guys ever known one of your friends who's in a terrible relationship and you're like, why don't you just break up with them and they're trying to save this terrible relationship. That's what happens when I'm watching you guys with these clients that you can tell. It's not that they're, they're bad clients, they're just not the one for you. And too often you guys, if I ask you what's your ideal client, you'll tell me basically anyone who's willing to pay your prices, it has to be more focused than that. Lynn Paleo did a great class on finding your ideal client. You'll find a lot of these issues melting away when you create better boundaries. But part of that is going to be making sure that they are the correct client for you. So number two, how often do we put ourselves in our client's shoes? I find more often than not, what happens with you guys is that you're not actually putting yourself in their shoes. And I understand you're like, how? What does that to do with boundaries? If you create a boundary that isn't sustainable, that's just me. It's not, it's not sustainable. For instance, I see a lot of people that require the person to pick up their pet 30 minutes after giving a phone call. But what happens is that you have a four hour window to get the dog done, and then you expect the owner to come when you call within 30 minutes. And most of the time you guys want busy professionals, and it's a little unrealistic. You cannot create that boundary if it does not make sense to the client. All you're going to do is have someone become more resentful and rebellious. For instance, if I drop off my dog and I ask you, when will my dog be done? I have a standard poodle. And you say, well, it could be anywhere between two and four hours. Let's a two hour window. And I say, okay, I live about 30 minutes away. I'm gonna run some errands. If you could give me an hour warning, that would be great. And you say, okay. And then when you call, you say, okay, you know, Rory, my dog is done. And you know, you have 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, you are going to be charged one. I'm sitting there going, why am I gonna be charged when I let you know for an hour and two, you feel like in this instance that you set a boundary of being able to be picked up in 30 minutes, but you didn't put yourself in that person's shoes. And consider how many of us can honestly drive 15, 25 minutes to go pick up our pet with only five or 10 minutes notice. The reason I'm saying consider that is because a lot of you guys are creating boundaries and then you don't understand why people aren't living up to your expectations. And a lot of times it's because it's just not fair to the client as you're not pitting yourself in their shoes. And that's a healthy boundary. It's, this is my standard, this is my expectation. If you don't meet it, then that's fine. And that's something too, Stephanie, we talked about, are they your ideal client? If your boundary is every four weeks, there's no point in being upset with a client who's a once a year or twice a year pet, because they're not gonna get on a four week schedule because there's nothing you're going to do to get that client on the schedule. So your boundary irrelevant. All you're doing is frustrating yourself. So my next tip for you guys for better client boundaries, number three is going to be clear communication. I love the quote, to be unclear is to be unkind. Often we think that giving them a four page policies, you know, procedures, that they're gonna read through all that. You know, as somebody who's been an apple connoisseur forever, I have yet to ever read the terms and conditions of my apple, you know, my watch, anything like that. So make sure that your boundaries are clear and they're easily understood. For instance, if my boundary going back is the pet to be picked up within 30 minutes, then I have to set the clear expectation to the client. You know, one way I did that in my business is that we had a three hour window for bath dogs and a four hour window for groom dogs. We could definitely call you between two and four hours for groom dogs and two to three hours for bath dogs. That said, they knew no matter what, that dog would be done if it was a bath dog at three hours, if it was a groom dog at four hours. So they did not need to wait for a phone call that was able to set a precedent that they had a 30 minute window past the four hours. So they knew the latest they could pick up was this and they could schedule the rest of their day. So I set the boundary of we're not gonna sit here and watch a goddamn dog all day, but we were able to clearly communicate that in a way that we put ourselves in the client's shoes and able to help them, whatever it's gonna be. And you know, I'm assuming that the, these people are your ideal clients and they understand. I think that's perfect. I think setting those boundaries and making sure that those boundaries are, you know, I hate to say it, but make sure they make sense. A lot of times you guys want these more high-end clients or want these clients that come in regularly and then there's a little, little hiccups where there's inconsistency and things like that. Not you, but just in the general sense, make sure that it makes sense. So with the clear communication, make sure you guys have heard me before talking about client onboarding, right? And a client flow. So with my clients, not now 'cause we're full, but before we were full, what we would do is we would have them go to the website, they would fill out a contact form and we would go through the contact form, you know, and it would state things like, we only do pets every four weeks, what breed, et cetera. And so basically we had the form at that point, we would then call them to make sure basically so I could smell the crazy and book them in their first appointment and then go ahead and you know, explain the policies, explain how we do things, that way they understand how we work. So for instance, right now in my mobile business, I don't go to people's doors. They bring the pet to me. And for me that's a clear boundary because I don't go in people's homes. Why? Because I'm avoiding having them ask me to chase their cat. I can't tell you how many people are like, it's stuck in the bathroom. And I'm like, that's perfectly fine. We're happy to charge you the $50 travel fee, go to the next pet and come back if we have to. You know? And again, that is a boundary, that is a clear communication. This client knew that we had a window and we come to have the pet ready. And if you don't, that's fine, then we're going to have certain fees or anything like that. And those, a lot of times, fees are a great way to create better boundaries, you know, as long as they're fair. That's the thing is what's good for the goose, it's good for the gander generally, you know, I try to make sure my expectations of the client are reasonable, are something that that person can do. Again, making sure they're my ideal client. You know, if you have somebody, if your ideal client has, you know, is a young family, you've gotta think about somebody with three little kids is far less likely to be able to pick something up right on time because they're gonna have to strap three kids in the minivan. Alright, so let's talk about number four. Document, document, document. So things in writing are your best friends before, during, and after. Photos, video, audio, everything is documented in this business. And in my previous business, everything was documented. Every cat I grew, my do it before, a during and an after. Now, most of my current clients don't need a during. They might if we're doing a line cut and if their skin's a little, you know, red or anything like that. But it's important to have video and or audio, especially if you have employees. I will say, when I had my shop, the best thing, well one of the best things I ever did was install in the front, in the reception area, a audio and a camera. That way if I explained to the client, Hey, we're going to do, you know, this pet's matted, you can see the matting again, clear communication, right? And then I set my boundary, which was, it's either gonna be a very expensive shave down, you can go home and brush the dog, you know, or you know, depending upon the case, they might, I might be willing to do small incremental like a, you know, some D matting depending upon how mad at the pet is. And that's a clear boundary. You know, another example of a boundary would be if a dog comes in that needs a D, she, if I see the pet needs a D, she and it is what it is, then guess what? They're getting a D. She. If they don't want a D, she, I set my boundary and I say, if you don't like that, then you're welcome to go elsewhere. Does that suck? Sometimes financially, yes. But if I don't set that boundary and I'm not willing to clearly stand behind it, then it's like little kids. I mean, we all children and Labradors, right? If you don't set black and white standards, then you're gonna get caught up in the gray. You know, it's like the dog that sometimes can jump on the couch, sometimes it can't. When it does that, you can't be mad at it. So when you have clients that you sometimes follow your policies, but sometimes you don't. And this is a policy, but I've never actually mentioned it to you. So I'm hoping that you remember that thing you signed three years ago, which no one does. Let's be hon, let's be very, very fair. Unless if you have them sign it and go through your policies and remind them of your policies every single time, they're not going to remember. I could honestly not tell you my hairdresser's policies, nor the woman who does my eyelashes, or the woman who does my nails, or the woman that waxes me. I have four different places I go. And I couldn't tell you a single policy, no idea. I couldn't tell you if they have a re-booking policy. I wouldn't tell. I wouldn't know if they have anything. Honestly. I just know this is the person I go to. I book with them, I go in for my service. You know, I'm not the kind of client who ever cancels, but if I did cancel, you know, I wouldn't know what the policies were, you know? And it would be very difficult to find that out the hard way. So I would probably call if there was an emergency and find out the hard way. So, you know, and that's, that's again, but if that's a good way to set a boundary. So for instance, if I called Rose who does my nails, and I said, Hey, I have to pick up my son at school at two o'clock. We have an appointment at one o'clock. There's no way I'm gonna be able to get my nails done and pick him up on time. Can I move my appointment to four? Now if she says to me, absolutely, but you've gotta pay for that missed appointment, then I have to make a decision as a client. That's a boundary. And it's up to us as the business owners to decide where we are going to create that line. And I think that there is too much of the pendulum swinging. We have people that swing one way where basically they hate their customers. Their customers are rotten, they're like little children who need to be trained and need to be taught, and they're terrible people. Or the other way where they're complete doormats. And I think we can just find ourselves somewhere in the middle. I think we can find something in the middle where we're not doormats. Like I don't want any of you guys to be doormats and to be taken advantage of. But I also don't want you guys to be told authoritarian, you know, Nazis. Like there's no reason to be unkind. People who are just trying to live their lives. And most of the time they don't understand what we do for a living. When they bathe their dog in the tub, it doesn't take nearly the amount of time they don't understand what we do. If they did, they'd probably be nicer. That's one reason I love cat grooming. 'cause anyone who's ever tried to bath the cat is like, hmm, thank you. They just literally just do this like, oh, thank you. And this also leads me into my final point. I know I've said this before and some people get a little offended by it, but I want you guys, which is number five, to stop having unhealthy codependent tendencies. Now, before you freak out, and I, again, I don't pretend to be a medical professional, I'm not diagnosing anybody, but I want you guys to just hear some common codependent behaviors. An exaggerated sense of responsibilities for the actions of others. How many times do groomers feel they're responsible to take care of a pet that's not theirs? Even though that that owner is the one who met, who didn't brush the dog and it got mad at a tendency to confuse love and pity with the tendency of love for people that can pity or rescue. I can't count how many times you guys talk about how you wanna save not just the dog, but this customer. Like you'll have a customer who has financial issues and you take that on your own. You know, I can't tell you, and I think a lot of times you guys confuse that pity and that love feeling. And there's also a tendency to do more than their share all the time. I always tell everyone who's not in the pet industry say, groomers are my people. They're my people. Because they will give you the shirt off their back. They will do anything for you. Now I want you guys to be kind and good, but I don't want you guys to again, be taken advantage of. So finding that in between is again, the goal. A tendency to become hurt when people don't recognize their efforts. How many of you guys, and I love you, but it's a little toxic, you almost get so excited when like I'm in all these memes. Like when someone says, I'll pay you full price for your art. You know, you, you guys will get really excited about that. But how many times do you guys, you know, get almost offended when someone mentions the bow when the dog is, they're like, the dog walks out instead of being like, oh my God, Fluffy's so cute. They're like, oh my god, Fluffy's bow is so cute. And you're like, bitch, did you see how a scis with this dog? Do you see how beautiful it is? A lot of you guys get hurt because someone doesn't recognize what you did for a, like, didn't specifically applaud your effort. An unhealthy dependence on relationships. The codependent will do anything to hold onto a relationship to avoid the feeling of abandonment. How many of you guys refuse to increase a dog's price by $5? 'cause you're afraid they're going to leave you, which is bananas. Bananas guys. An extreme need for approval and recognition. Again, I love you guys. A lot of you guys are almost crying out for someone to recognize how good you are at grooming. And I understand that sometimes we have a very thankless job, but when you feel good at what you do, you don't need others to pat you on the back. A sense of guilt when asserting themselves. Again, I love you guys. How many times when you guys step up and create these boundaries, do you almost feel guilty? You feel guilty reminding clients what their, what your policy is and enforcing it. A compelling need to control others. And again, this is not necessarily you guys, but that's another common one. A lack of trust in self and or others. I mean, groomers can be a little bit untrusting, not intentionally a fear of abandonment or being alone. Again, a lot of you guys will try to hold onto these toxic clients that do you no good. And you will tell me it's because of money, but here's the lie, you'll tell me it's because you don't have enough money. But then when I ask you how much money you need to earn, you don't know. So you can't have it both ways. You can't say, I don't have enough money. And then I always say, well, how much money is enough? And you don't know. It's just something you're telling yourself instead of actually dealing with the the other problems. Difficulty identifying feelings. I've worked a lot with this with my clients. Again, I am that person. I have very codependent tendencies that I have been working on personally. I didn't, I always tell people I, I used to think my feelings. You, if you asked me what I felt, I would tell you what I thought. And getting in touch with your feelings is really terrible, but it's ultimately makes you a lot happier. Which sounds really crazy as I say that as I'm drinking. Yeah, difficulty adjusting to change. Yeah, every groomer ever that refuses to give up their appointment book their paper appointment, book their paper index cards and yeah, problems with intimacy and boundaries and other things can be chronic anger. Most groomers are not like this, but there are, we all have worked with somebody who would just lose their chicken nuggets and start screaming at the dogs and screaming at you over nothing. Lying in dishonesty. Yeah, I've been a grooming business owner long enough to know there are plenty of groomers who are liars or dishonest mostly to get out of something. I always tell the story of the groomer that, you know, snipped up a dog's ear. And after they did that, they basically lied to me while the dog's ear is in ribbons, poor communication and difficulty making decisions. Now that can just be anybody. But I want you guys to hear these tendencies. And I find now, I'm not saying groomers are codependent as a group, but what I'm saying is we have a lot of codependent behaviors that manifest themselves in our business. And by, by accepting that and by working through them, instead of just 'cause like we know, we know what we should be doing. It's not the tactics, it's actually implementing them that we have trouble. I can give you guys scripts all day, but it's that fear of conflict, that fear of stepping up to somebody and setting our boundaries and you know, creating that. That's what a lot of us really struggle with. This is a perfect example. You knew this client was toxic, you did everything possible. You did it even in a professional manner. And then there's that unhealthy feeling of guilt. Now, not a psychologist, not gonna pretend to be. What I would do is just do a little bit of mind mapping and write down the feeling and kind of explore why you feel that way. You know, is it that you feel like the dog is not gonna have anybody else take care of it as well? Do you feel like you should not have instilled your boundaries? And sometimes these feelings can be not wrong, but they can be confusing. You know, I realized I had really unhealthy feelings around money and I had no idea. I thought, no, I like money. If you ask me, I'd be like, no, I love money. Gimme some money. And then when I realized that increasing my prices felt wrong to me because I felt like I was stealing from people, that's when I realized that it wasn't healthy. And it wasn't that I didn't feel like I was worth it, it just felt like it was too much. But then again, what is too much? And this is where we get into these spirals, and I talk a lot, way more now than I did two years ago about our emotional wellbeing. Primarily because a lot of you guys have all the right tools. You are just not implementing them, or you have all that potential and possibility. You're just getting stuck. And these emotional roadblocks, and the more I learned about my emotional roadblocks, the better I was. You know, you guys, I almost wasn't here doing grow wealthy grooming and doing savvy groomer. If I listen to my toxic self, my toxic self tells me all the time, nobody wants to hear you. No one cares. No one wants to listen to you talk. Who are you? But if I listen to that voice, I know I can't help the people that I'm meant to help. So, yeah, and I, I think that by taking these tools, it's not just going to create boundaries, it's gonna create better boundaries for you guys.

Our goal today is to talk about how every customer is not your customer. And I don't wanna talk necessarily about customer service and things like that, but making sure it aligns with what you want and the best way for you to live your life. So this is also for people that are employees. It doesn't even always just mean somebody that is a business owner. And you might be like, how is that? So the best way I can explain it, and I've done this in one of my blog articles, is when we talk about customers, I say, let's say coffee. Lots of places sell coffee. Let's talk about, we have Dunkin Donuts here. That's our like mid-level coffee. We've got Starbucks, which is our more high-end, expensive coffee. And then I'll use the example of McDonald's. 'cause McDonald's is a dollar coffee. You get a dollar coffee any size. So the truth is all three of these places sell coffee. McDonald's, it's a dollar. So with that said, dunk of donuts is your mid-range coffee. It's like 2, 2 50 for a medium cup of coffee and Starbucks is jelly, what, two 50 or $3. Now you're sitting there going, that's not a lot of difference. But when you put in perspective, going from $1 to $3 is literally triple the price, right? Because it's triple the price. If you think about it in the responsive grooming, instead of someone having a $40 groom, now we're talking $120 groom. That is a substantial difference. Even though it's a small monetary amount, the value has gone up significantly. So, and again, you know, going up a dollar from Dunka Donuts to Starbucks, that is again, that is a 50% increase. It's a lot of increase. That'd be like going from a $40 room to an $8 room, right? Why do people choose to get their coffee at Dunka Donuts, Starbucks and McDonald's, we don't actually know. We are not in someone's head to find out exactly why they do things. But if I were to take a wild guess, people go and get coffee at McDonald's because it's cheap, it's cheap, it's convenient, it's fast, they're everywhere. You can just run in and out and grab it. So with that said, that same person gets very similar convenience with Dunking Donuts. However, dunking Donuts is a specialty store. So if you're going to Dunking Donuts, you're going out of your way. 'cause there's not as many of them, let's say as McDonald's. So that said, that person caress a little bit more and they're gonna pay a little bit more. They're gonna vote with their dollars. And Starbucks, I'm a big Starbucks person, everyone knows that I overspend my money on Starbucks. That said, I will go out of my way sometimes a long time outta my way. So with that, I want you to think about who are you? Are you the convenient, cheap, fast person? Are you kind of mid-range? And people would like to be with you, but if they can't, then they won't. Or do you wanna be Starbucks? And Starbucks has a lot of their own problems because obviously there are less people who wanna go to Starbucks, then McDonald's or dunk and donut's, they're gonna do less customers, but that's why they charge more to make up the difference. So in this analogy, you can also look at this for employment. You know your skillset, you know everything that you're doing. So when you're looking at this, you have to say to yourself, okay, how much am I do I need to make in a day? What is reasonable for me to groom? What are my skill sets? What is my branding? All of these things. Sometimes when this is happening, you have to make sure that what you are doing lines up with everything. So let's say if I am a competition level groomer, but my shop looks incredibly tacky and people are wearing overalls and it's not a aesthetically pleasing place to walk in. You know, I walk in and there's hair everywhere, which I understand. Mid Saturday there's nothing you can do. But as a customer, if I'm a wealthy customer, an affluent customer, I don't wanna come in with my Chanel heels and walk all over dog hair in the waiting room. And so we have to think about things like that. If you want somebody who's a little less high maintenance, it's great, but someone who's less maintenance is probably not going to invest the money that you might want. So a lot of times people will say something to the effect of, I want every four week clients who pay whatever I would tell 'em to pay. And they want their dogs, not 10 strips. Like, okay, well who is the person? Who are these people that have enough money and they see value in their pets being clean and maintained? Those are generally the same kinds of people that take care of their own selves. So those are your ideal customers, if that's what you wanna do. If you wanna be Starbucks, when you're looking at that, look at your skillset and ask yourself, am I really the groomer that I wanna be? There are so many opportunities, but again, you have to make sure that your image is on point and not everyone is your customer. So if you own a higher-end boutiquey salon, a new found, a once year Newfoundland walks in the door, you probably don't have time to service them. And even if you do service them, it's gonna take so much more time, energy, money on your part in order to take care of that customer. And you're taking away from the good customers that come in every four weeks. If you want a salon where you're like, oh no, I want everyone come in six to eight weeks, I'm totally fine with that, that's great. But then you have to remember that somebody who's willing to slide on times, you've gotta fill in that spot. So knowing what you want in a customer is gonna be incredibly helpful. And not everyone is your customer. I made my, my last business. So the C rooming business, I'm mobile, I want it to be really tight. So with that, it sounds crazy, but it's a hundred to $165 per cat. They have to be on a four week schedule. And I try to make everyone on the same schedule. And if I make it all on the same schedule, then that's gonna really help me out. I, I don't chase customers. I know the condition the cat's gonna be in. I know all of these positive things, and that's what I want in my business. And because I want those Starbucks level clients, you know, I have a uniform, I have, you know, my branding, I believe is on point with those women. These are not necessarily, they are people that are willing to invest in the right place. I can see that in all the patterns of their purchases and like when I talk to them. And in the middle, you have lots of people in the middle, especially if you want people with young kids. So depending upon where you live, if you live in a commuter town or in an area that's wealthy, but it's mostly young families. Someone with a young family needs more flexibility. They don't know what the hell's gonna happen with their three kids. And so if you want somebody for that, then you have to remember that that person is probably gonna cancel a lot of appointments. That person will do their best. But if one kid gets sick, what are they gonna do? They're not gonna cart that kid to your grooming salon and then wait two, four hours for the dog to be done and then grab the dog again. That's not gonna happen. They're just gonna cancel and let the dog get dirty. And that dog is going to be a lot more maintenance than a dog owned by a woman, let's say in her fifties or sixties when her kids are grown and they're out of the house. And on the flip side, if you want somebody who doesn't view their pet as family, or they don't invest in their pet as family, that's a lot harder sell. Those tend to be your once a year, you know, grooms, you know, either right before Christmas or right before summer. You know, they either wanna shave them because they think they're gonna be hot or they wanna make sure that the mother-in-law doesn't judge them on Thanksgiving. There are so many people like that. I would say that's about half of the community that own pets. And then there's various shades of how much people care about their animals. But when you're in the veterinarian industry, I notice that it's essentially like the people that will pay things. So if the pet gets sick, let's say the dog ate a sock, you have people that'll just put the dog down, you get people that'll put it on the credit card, but only for like one or two grand. And then you have people that say, I don't care what it costs. And we tend to be the, I love my animal, I want 'em to be better, but not everybody is. And we just always assume that people will be that way. And then you start feeling compassion fatigue because you so desperately wanna make all these animals lives better and there's nothing you can do because this person has decided your McDonald's people have decided that it, if not, it is not cheap, it is not wic, it is not convenient, then they don't want it. They will go elsewhere. So back to your skillset. With your skillset, figure out does what you wanna do with your skillset fit your clients? If you're that person who wants to do hands scissor dogs, you need the Starbucks clients because even the Dunking Donuts clients, they can't pay you for your time. The extra time it takes you to scissor up a dog versus just running a five blade through it, it's at least double. And if you want someone to pay you double for your time, and let's be honest, double wear and tearing your body scissoring is so bad for your hands. So how are you gonna attract those people? And then if you're an employee and you love hand scissoring, or let's say you love hand stripping, anything that's a higher end skillset, if you actually know breed profiles and make sure if you have those amazing skills that you're going to work for a place that is actually going to pay you accordingly and actually cares that you have those skillset. So if you're an employee, tell me why you chose the business that you're working for. Do they have the customers that your skillset and what you want fits? And then if you are a business owner, are you getting the clients that you want? And if you're not, stop and think about why you're not.

So what I wanted to talk about today is when people tell you that you don't have a real job, whether you are a pet groomer, a pet sitter, a dog trainer, this is something we hear over and over and over again. Am I right? And there's nothing more frustrating. So let me begin by talking about what the pet industry means when I'd say the pet industry. What I mean is dog trainers, dog walkers, pet sitters, groomers, people that are doing anything with cats, honestly, behaviorists, things like that. But we know right now that the pet industry is a billion dollar industry. It's recession proof. And we get new customers every day. Somebody is always getting a puppy, somebody's always getting a cat. You know, the shelters are full of them. Breeders are gonna be breeding them. So we have a lot of options. And by options, I mean we have a lot of clients that are coming in all the time, depending upon what kind of business you have. And so when we talk about pet groomers specifically, I wanna see, okay, what is the average groomer actually earn? And according to the census, the median salaries of groomers in the US is only $22,000. I don't personally know any groomer that only makes $22,000. I'm pretty convinced that everyone's lying on their taxes. Maybe I'm wrong. You know, I know we make more than that. So if we're all making decent money, why is there this perception that what we do is not a real job? And everyone thinks that we just play with puppies and kitties all day right now? Okay, so here's the question. If you are a business owner, are you earning double or at least more than you would earn working for someone else with a similar skillset that you have? So I mean that include paying yourself for the hours you spend, marketing, cleaning, being your own receptionist, and all those little jobs. Are you paying yourself for that? And remember, you need to be paid more than just a groomer salary because you risk losing everything. So because of that, you really need to be making more than if you were just grooming for somebody. I don't think everyone should be a business owner. I do not believe that everyone should be a business owner. I think you need to find what's called your zone of genius and stick in it. If you are the most amazing groomer, but you're terrible at being a business owner, try to find some great groomer you can work for. Because the truth is, not all of us are cut out for self-employment. And I know that's a really unpopular idea. But not everyone should own their own business. You know, you can be a great groomer and a terrible business owner as an employee. Are you making a livable salary that reflects the skills you're doing in the physical investment you've been making? And what do I mean by the physical investment? A physical investment in someone else's business is your body is deteriorating. You have an organic machine that is slowly wearing down. Are you doing things that you're gonna get money back? So are you setting aside money for retirement? Do they give you health insurance? You know, what is your employer doing? Because if you're just making, let's say, minimum wage or close to minimum wage, it doesn't make any sense. You could be working out McDonald's or Walmart or even like a local pharmacy stocking shelves. Not heavy stuff. I mean like bars of soap potentially for the same amount of money. So when you're an employee, you are physically investing yourself in that business. So you need to make sure that the money you're being paid, you can set aside money for that and make sure you're a legal W two employee. There are very, very, very few situations in the griming industry where someone can actually be a 10 99, most often a 10 99 is a misclassified independent contractor. It's so rare. And for those of you guys that work under the table, I'm not here to judge you, but it could bite you in the ass because you can't file for unemployment. There's no workers' comp if you're under the table. So just be aware of things like that. Then ask yourself, okay, why don't people think that grooming is a real job? And the truth is, do you have financial security in your job? A lot of us don't, right? And when I say financial security, what I mean is, you know, you're gonna make at least this amount of money per week. Most of the grooming industry is commission, which is perfectly fine. However, it should be minimum wage or commission, whichever is higher. A lot of us will have positions where it's feast or famine. We're in an industry where owners will send you home. They won't have dogs for you. You will go in and it's raining and there are no dogs, or it's snows and you don't get paid for that day. And that's, that's a really tough way to live. You could earn $300 this week and then $2,500 the next week. That is a big swing. And it's all on things that you have no control over. So when I talk about financial security, that's what I mean, you know? And the other reason could be that there is no room for growth. Most salons do not have a grooming salon manager. Most grooming salons are not managed very well. Let's be honest. There's no one actually training in most salons with the standard of the salon is that you want a dog to look like, because like we're not doing breed cuts. And even then we're doing breed cuts. We're not doing competition level show dog clips on a dog. You're doing variations of that. So with that said, there is no room for growth because there is no management in most salons. Honestly, the only places that do have managers are your corporates. But however, your corporates, they don't really manage a salon because they don't actually get to train their staff. They don't actually get to make sure their staff is complying. Yes, they can order, but a lot of times they don't. They have a set budget, and that budget is not reflecting the current needs of that salon and things like that. There's very little control and they have all the responsibility, which is the worst of both worlds. And owners tend not to manage their salons. I am always shocked at how many groomers own their shop and have employees, but they're not actually managing their employees. They're actually training their employees. They're not doing anything to make their groomers and make their salon have more continuity. So that might be when you walk into a salon, you don't know who the boss is. And if you ask for the boss, there may not be a boss. There might be an owner, but that owner could be three dogs deep. So what would be another reason someone wouldn't think this is a real job? How about retirement? Does anyone here have any retirement? How much retirement? How far along are you from retirement? What is your retirement goals? Grooming till we die is not an option. It's really a bad plan. Do you have any savings? And I'm not talking like basic savings. I mean three to six months worth of, you know, an emergency fund. Do you have that? Do you have three to six months worth of personal expenses? Not even business expenses, just personal expenses. Again, there are people who are bad with money no matter where in any industry, but in an industry where you could very easily be injured, severely, there are so many ways that we as groomers can be injured permanently and need some money in case of something bad happens. At least a float until you get a settlement, it could take years. So what's another reason? How about healthcare? How many grooming salons have you ever heard offer healthcare? There are some great salons that can afford to offer healthcare. There's not many, no one's expected in the grooming industry to put any money towards health insurance. Like most employers. It's not even something they're going to talk about. You know, that's, that's pretty crazy. One other thing I'll mention, when you walk into a grooming salon, now, not every, and I know, I'm not saying every grooming salon, the majority, I want you to go to your competitors' grooming salon and walk in the door. Are people dressed like they have a dress code? Or even ones vaguely implied. How many times do you guys walked into a grooming salon? And there's obviously no dress code, there's not even continuity into what constructs as a reasonable wear and what's not. We're not even talking business casual. I don't expect anyone to be wearing khakis or dress shirts when they're grooming. But what is everyone wearing? And people are wearing overalls, like not nice, cute overalls like ratchet, fraying, trashy overalls. How many times have you guys walked into a grooming salon and people wearing PJ pants? What about, you know, tank tops? Wear girls, you know, a little bit of strap showing. That's fine. But some women will actually be grooming. I mean, they might as well have not even worn the shirt. They're just hanging out there, hanging out there for everyone to see. And the dogs don't care. But if a client sees that, that's a problem. Or I love t-shirts. I had t-shirts in my grooming salon, but my T-shirts were for only people who were upfront or under people's smocks not to wear when they're grooming. Why? Because a t-shirt gets wet, then it smells, then you're covered in hair. That client doesn't wanna be handed their dog by someone covered in dog hair. And you're like, that's silly. They're in a grooming salon. Yes, but that dog is gonna go from your salon into their car and they may be going to work. You know, they would like to be clean. The whole point of them paying you is to stop the dog hair from being everywhere. That I can understand. If you were looking from the outside in, you could see these reasons being why people think that we don't have a real job. So what are some takeaways? How can we appear more professional? I think one thing is deciding in our industry that we are going to be treated like professionals. What does that mean? If you wanna make this commitment, don't work under the table. Get a real job. That's a W two job that gives you a paycheck. Don't accept an independent contractor. Why? Because nine times outta 10, you're not an independent contractor. Your employer's just trying to avoid taxes. There are some great Facebook groups that'll explain this way better. You don't have to accept a position that's not the right position. You are better off working for yourself than accepting a position that puts you in the same position as owning your own business without the tax write-offs. 'cause you can't, you can't write off rent that you don't pay and your 50% commission, it's not rent. That's not how that works. We're gonna agree that we're going to get a real job and work W two. We are going to pay our taxes, not be under the table. What else are we gonna do? We're gonna dress for the job that we want, which is a professional groomer. A professional groomer is not wearing pajama pants, is not wearing a gross, smelly, wet hair covered t-shirt. They're not, their brass and panties aren't hanging out, they're not wearing PJ pants, they're not looking like they're ready for a hoe down. Wear a smock, you know, and, and ideally a color fitting the brand and the business. But at least then you're not covered in hair, right? So when you come out, you look like you're a professional, you look like you know what you're doing. You don't look like a crazy person. Make sure that you are doing something towards saving for retirement. You know, whether that's personal or through your business. Start, you know, go ahead and consider reaching out to someone to talk about retirement. What is your retirement goal? Get some health insurance if you don't have health insurance. And if you've gotta pay out of pocket, that really sucks. But one dog bite, one cat bite, you've made all your money back. You know, ideally, get temporary disability insurance for that. You know, what are some other reasons? Make sure the job that you are taking has some financial security. If you own a business, there is no financial security. But if you are taking a job from someone who is employing you, you need to make sure that that you make it least minimum wage or commission. Whichever's higher. If they tell you it's commissioned strictly, I would be very careful because what if they lose power for a week? Do you not get paid? You know, that's also why the 50% commission rate doesn't work. The business does not have enough money to put money away for its own emergencies. None of that's good. None of that's good. What else will make you a more professional groomer? That way people view you as a professional. Because people are always going to envy us, right? They're always gonna envy us and say, wow, I'd love to work with dogs all day. And there's no point in explaining to them that's not what we do. But to garner the same respect that we want them to give us. The same respect a teacher gets, a plumber gets, you know, a lawyer gets, they have to present themselves in a professional way. We all know a plumber who is a professional plumber who's well put together, they're wearing a nice polo shirt or a t-shirt with their logo on it, and pants that fit and I don't see things I don't wanna see. And then someone who's a slob. You know, if you wanna project that this is your career and you're proud of your career, then project that having some personal branding will grow your business or even make you more marketable as a groomer. And there'll always be salons that there's nothing you can do. Some salons, no matter what you do, are always gonna be just Walmart and keep churning pets out. That's them. That's not you. So, sorry guys. It was a little long today. I wanna thank you so much for being here. And I do, I think that when people say you don't have a real job, see that as an opportunity for you to look at you and say, okay, why does this person think that I am not a professional person? I have been doing personally a lot, I've been what I, what's called leveling up. What I am doing is I am retaking my femininity and I am creating a personal brand because that's who I wanna project, is somebody well put together, competent in feminine. That's what I want in my life personally. And I'm not saying anyone has to do that. And you don't have to. No one's, no one's telling you to go dire hair or grow it long or pit it up in a ponytail. But when you come out to that client, look at yourself and say, do I look trustworthy? Do I look competent? Do I look put together enough that someone would leave their pet with me? If we were just sitting at a park? What do you look like? And do you, if someone says that you're, you're gonna have a real job, that is generally a sign that either they've known somebody who's a groomer, that is a fucking mess. And if you are a mess, that's okay, but you can't expect people to respect that. So I wanna end it on this note. I wanna invite you guys to consider joining personal finance and a leash, which is my online course. This online course talks all about our survive, live, and thrive on the roadmap to financial success. We go through everything where we talk about budgeting, we talk about how to get our money under control, because most of us, it's not a lack of money, it's just a lack of control of that money. We also go through lifestyle choices, figuring out whether you should be an employee or an owner, or both. What your zone of genius is, you go through limiting beliefs on wealth. And I know every groomer could honestly use this course. I wanna grow this industry in a way that people see us as professionals. And sometimes that takes money. Looking at your personal situation and trying to figure out, okay, where can I make some extra money to hire someone to help me? You know, to hire a business coach, to hire a graphic designer, to create a professional looking logo. You know, hire someone to do your payroll and do your taxes and your books make extra money in order to make a better salon. So I would really like to invite you guys to do that.

So I wanted to welcome you guys to today's topic. Hopefully we can talk a little bit about how your business is not your personal piggy bank, ba babu. So I wanted to expand upon a great blog post I had. I'd like to begin by reading the blog post. So I'm gonna read that out and you let me know if you guys need the website. My website is savvy groomer.com/blog. All righty. So this is not your piggy bank. Now, let's be honest, we've all done it. We're all guilty of it. The company car in hand, you're at the gas station out to dinner or the store. Is this really a business expense? Probably not. But we tell ourselves this is part of being a business owner. The business paying for things, it starts with a tank of gas, then it is towels that you're actually for the house, but you can always give the old ones to your shop, right? This is a laptop for work. You start embezzling from your own company without even realizing it. Sometimes it's just an occasional thing. Sometimes it becomes a part of life. You've turned your business into a personal piggy bank, which does not allow it to function as needed. Now, is this because you're a bad person? Obviously not. Is it because you're lazy or dumb? Of course not. It's just so easy because there isn't someone to tell you no or to stop it. If you were a manager of your shop, Inc, would you handle your business finances the way you currently do? Well, let's be honest, probably not. You probably would need to show your boss your projected monthly income, the expenses, you'd know how much money the shop needed to make every day so you could plan on how you'd do it or you'd be fired, right? So let's talk about generally the two reasons that you're doing this behavior where you're kind of embezzling in your own business. There's really, the two reasons tend to be you're burnt out or your personal finances are not under control. So let's talk a little bit about these two really specific reasons of, you know, being burnt out or you don't have your finances under control. So first one's really simple. Let's say you're burnt out. Well, why are you burnt out? A lot of times we become burnt out because we are working too many hours. A lot of times people say, oh, I only groomed 40 hours. Great. But if you are a small business owner, how many hours are you picking up the phone, making a marketing schedule, going out and marketing? How much time are you spending dreaming about what you're, you're gonna be doing and actually making that a reality? You know, how many hours are you actually working on your business? And what I have found in my own personal research is that most people in the pet industry are easily working 60 to 80 hours a week. They're doing 40 hours of their service and an extra 20 to 40 hours, depending upon if they have employees or not, of extra tasks, cleaning, doing laundry, you know, not just grooming pets, but returning phone calls, inputting new clients, researching new products, things like, you know, new shampoos, going to trade shows, continue education. All those should ideally be put into your 40 hour work week, just like you would if you were a manager for a different store. Now you might be saying, oh, well, if I was a manager, I would be working potentially more hours. Yes, but there would be a cap. And for the most part, you would be paid for those extra hours or you would've a really regular salary. And most of us don't have a really regular salary for ourselves if we're a business owner, because we'll put the business needs first. If you're being burnt out, that's almost always why you might not be charging enough. A lot of times I tell people, if you have a particular dog breed that you don't like to groom, go ahead and give them your happy price. If you go to the business owner, your pricing can reflect that. You know, why can't you say, okay, we start our olding with sheep dogs at $150. That's the pricing that you may have to go to if you're burnt out, what is the price? You're like, okay, I will totally do this dog. What price is that? Same thing with cats. If you are not trained in cats, please don't do cats. If you are interested in learning to groom cats, check out the National Cat Groomer Institute of America. That's a great place to start, but what's your happy price to groom a cat? So that being said, when you're burnt out, what are things that you can do? You know, we talk about if you're physically burnt out, you might have to start thinking about doing less large dogs. If you were doing a lot of large dogs and your back hurts, you may have to move into smaller dogs or get a new setup where you have a ramp, something that's going to alleviate that. A lot of people are like, oh, I'll just hire someone to do the big dogs. Unless if you are going to have a business plan set up with multiple employees, you don't wanna be in that position where one person calls out and now do you call those people with big dogs and reschedule them? Or if they quit or what are you gonna do that? I see that happening more so with cats, then I see that with large dogs, but don't put yourself in that position. So with that, you know, I want, you know, being physically burnt out, you could be financially burnt out. And we'll talk about that in a second about, you know, your personal fines not being under control. And sometimes when we're burnt out in our business, it's 'cause we feel really trapped, you know? And a lot of that comes down to does your business reflect your personal life goals by being trapped? Did you pick a business style that fits your need? I'm a lot happier mobile versus being at the shop. I felt very trapped. I felt very stuck. Versus some people prefer to be in a salon. They care more about certainty, reliability, and for them being in a salon makes them feel like they're at home and they're relaxed and they know where they're gonna be. And when they're done, they're done. And it's all about what you love. And making sure that your personal goal wants, needs, aligns with what your life path is. If you want to live near the beach, then owning a salon in the middle of the city is not probably gonna be exactly what you want. And eventually you're gonna grow to resent that business, especially if you're not working towards a way that you can either sell that or eventually get rid of that in order to live your dream. So let's go to number two. Number two is not having your personal finances under control. This is far more common in pet grooming People need than people realize, I should say. The truth is, in the pet industry, there are two kinds of people. The kinds of people that the second the check comes, the money's gone. They just cannot catch up. They just cannot make enough money to pay all of their bills. And then the other kind of person, and I mean these in very general terms, after having like a long week of grooming, they just wanna get something nice. Whether that's, you know, splurging a little bit on going out to eat, maybe getting a foot rub, a massage, getting something done that's gonna make them happy. You know, versus putting that money into their budget or go ahead and putting it into savings or retirement, they're gonna be like, you know, I worked really hard and I deserve, you know, when you feel entitled to have a good time, that's when you overspend and you make bad choices. So with that, with this piggy bank situation, a lot of times people will have a business model that's not actually that profitable, especially not if they paid someone for all of the hours they worked for the hours they wanted. I can't count how many times I've talked to clients that have a business where they're grooming 40 hours a week and they're being paid for that, but then they're also working 20 to 40 hours doing admin stuff and maybe their husband comes in and he's their carpenter and he does all the maintenance and he also, you know, fixes everything. And had they actually been paying someone, their business might have actually been in the red. So a lot of times you're not paying employees or because you're not treating them as employees or you're not treating yourself as if you're an employee and working 68 hours is not an option. It's not a long-term thing. And if you have someone who wants to come help you, that's great, but even if they won't take that paycheck, set it in the budget as if you had that person to pay, because that's the what's eventually gonna happen. People don't work for free forever, it just doesn't work. Or they become resentful. You can think that somebody loves to work for you for free, but you love to do good things. But you know, it could take a year, it could take 10 years, but eventually someone will be like, you know what, I'm not gonna do this. Or they're not gonna put a hundred percent of their effort in, which is just as bad. There's nothing worse than having somebody who says they're gonna do something for you and help you out, and then because they're doing it for free, they just half-ass it. It's awful. So make sure you're actually profitable. Make sure you're not using your personal money to put money into the business either. And that's an, you know, opposite piggy bank where your business isn't making a profit, so you just keep putting money in or you don't take a check or you don't take a check as if you were an employee. You know, your business is making money as you as a 40 hour groomer, but if, if you were paying even a minimum wage employee to do the admin work, you wouldn't actually be making any money. Or your business is making money and paying you, but it's not actually making enough money to save money. So there's a lot there. I think there's a lot to unpack. I think this is a great start. So when you're thinking about your business, make sure you're not embezzling on yourself. Make sure you're not putting money into your business that doesn't belong there, as well as taking money out. And a lot of us have done this. It's a really bad habit. You just feel entitled to the money in your business. But if your business was paying you enough money as an employee, if you had a salary as a groomer and then a salary for your admin work slash entrepreneurial work, and it was enough money to live on, you wouldn't use that debit card at the pump. It's not appropriate. You know, and a lot of times we get you a lot of tax problems. So I wanna thank you all for being here. It's been amazing. I hope this has been helpful. Please feel free again, check out my blog@savvygroomer.com.

Let's begin with the topic to topic today is going to be the appointment book for your finances. You're like, what are you talking about? I don't have an appointment book for my finances. I can barely hold together an appointment book for my grooming salon. You can't run whether you own a grooming salon, you're a pet sitter and you have a schedule, you're a dog trainer. Or even if you're a veterinarian, you can't run your day willy-nilly. Letting people come and go as they please. It doesn't work, right? And for those of you guys that are doing that, I would love for you to comment below and say, oh no, I just let people show up whenever they want, pick up whenever they want. They can have whatever services they want. Even when I own my grooming salon, I stopped allowing walk-in nail clips because people would show up whenever they wanted and I would have a dog on the table and they would show up, and then I'd have to put the dog down or back in a crate, go over, check them in. Did they have their rabies? Did they not have their rabies? And it just created a whole mess. So I said, okay, you're gonna go come between this time of the day, or you can make a same day appointment where you can call up and I can schedule in your nail clip. So what does that have to do with my finances? Let's have a conversation about that, right? You're gonna get sick of me saying it. I know, I know. But the truth is, your budget is the appointment book for your finances, right? Because what a budget does. Now, when I say a budget, I really suggest you do a zero based budget, and I can explain what a zero based budget is in a moment. But when you're doing a budget, what you are doing is you are deciding the slots of money and putting a dollar amount, same as you would have. Some of you guys have multiple groomers, you might do more than one pet in a slot, but for the most part, we put one pet in a slot, you know, to come by. We may be grooming multiple pets at once, but you wouldn't just allow 10 people to show up right in the morning, right? It wouldn't work. So what do you do? So with your money, you wanna say, let's say groceries really easy. Let's say I'm going to agree that I'm going to spend $400 a month on groceries. It's pretty safe to say. So you can do that one of two ways. You can either give yourself a hundred dollars a week. Now, some weeks, I should say some months are a little longer. That may or may not be advisable, but at least then you have a set amount of money to do it The same way that you can only do a set number of dogs a day. For those of you guys that go over that set number of dogs or cats, they are grooming, pet sitting for dog training, you get really stressed out, right? It's not long and sustainable. So the same thing with our budget. Now, let's explain the zero based budget. A zero based budget pretty much means you're gonna take every dollar you make and it's gonna have a plan. And this is so backwards because we're told like you want money left over at the end of your budget, right? You don't, because what happens with that leftover money? I mean, it just goes poof, right? What happens is the money at the end of your budget just goes to whatever it is that you want. And if you have an extra $500 a month, you might be like, oh, sweet, now I can go buy those shears. Or, oh, sweet. Now I can go out to eat five more times this month. Instead of saying, okay, the extra $500 is gonna go into retirement, we're paying off debt, or whatever it is this in this moment that you're working on. So with your appointment book for your finances, I want you to look at how much money do you make on average. Some of you guys have a volatile income, you might be commission-based, even if you're hourly. The hourly might not be steady. How are you paid? And if you're not really sure how much you get paid on average, go ahead and take the last six months and figure out your average monthly income. So add up all your paychecks in each month and then divide it by however months you did. So if you did six months, you would take your paychecks per month, add them together, and do that for all six months, and then add up all those six months and then divide them by six. And you could get an average. It's also good to know what your highest was and what your lowest were. In New England, nine times outta 10. November and December are the busiest times a year, because we have Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, in January and February, it's very, very cold here. And because it's cold and it's snowing, a lot of people will push out their appointments. So people that come in December, let's say right around Christmas time, December 25th, obviously they may choose to go all the way to the end of February or even early March, and depending on the weather, because they might not drive in the snow, or they may have the unrealistic expectation that their pet doesn't need to be groomed because it's cold out and they need all that hair. So with that, you know, I know in December and in November that I need to be able to take that money and put it into the Hills and Valleys fund or a savings account, or however I wanna do mine for January and February. If I have a traditional salon in New England now in Arizona or somewhere warm, they have a lot of people that come in the wintertime because obviously it's much warmer in the wintertime and in the summertime it's blistering hot. So a lot of people probably get their pets shaved right before the summer, or they go somewhere else for the summer, so they might have less people. So with your appointment book for your finances, you really wanna say, how much money am I gonna spend on X, Y, and Z? So with us, and I know a lot of times if you are an employee and not a business owner, you're an employee, you need to reinvest with your personal funds into your grooming. So you should have a a little category of how much are you gonna spend on upgrading your equipment? How much are you gonna spend on your education? How much are you going to spend going to trade shows and seminars and continuing education? Because when you're an employee, those are your expenses. Now, you might have a great employer who's willing to pay for some of those things. However, if you're a business owner, those should be lines in your business budget because the business should pay for those things. But if you're a business owner, you're still have a much more volatile income. So there's a lot more things going on there. Anyway. So with this appointment book for your finances, you're going to make a plan, you're gonna make a structure, and you're gonna stick to it. I'm gonna put down in the show notes, there's a great app called Every Dollar. It actually allows you to create zero based budget. It's free if you want the upgraded version. What it'll actually do is link to your bank account and go ahead and you can just swipe your expenses right into the categories. I like the feeling of putting them in. I find that I am a lot more aware of how much I'm spending when I actually have to input. So when I go to the gas station and I input how much I spent in gas, it allows me to keep an eye on that because obviously if I go over on gas, did I make a lot of extra trips I didn't need to, you know, what was I doing that was different that month? And I might have to plan ahead better where let's say if I'm taking a road trip and I'm driving a long distance, I should plan in the beginning of the month to spend that extra money, whether putting a category for road trip or making the gas a little bit bigger. And the same thing with going out to eat. If I'm going on a road trip, I'm probably gonna be eating out more. So that category will probably have to be bigger. So with that said, I wanna challenge you guys to go ahead to either every dollar.com or consider going on the Savvy Groomer page and learning how to make a zero base budget. We definitely go through all of how to create a budget in a meaningful way. And on my online course called Personal Finance on Unleash, I would love to see you guys there. What is a 12 week course teaching people how to do a budget if you're a groomer, but also pet professionals work on that as well. So I wanna thank you so much for being here with me. Feel free to go to my website, which is Savvy Groomer, SS A V V Y groomer.com. So I would love to see you guys at my online course, which is Personal Finance, unleash my website, savvy groomer.com.

Today's topic is bum, bum. Sometimes things just don't go to plan, right? And I am having one of those times where everything is just not quite lining up. Things are not bad, but there's just constant shifting and moving, and it's making me a little crazy, to be honest. And I thought this was a great lesson to talk to all of you guys about. So, you know, my entire existence right now is up in the air. And it's been so frustrating because normally I like to have a plan. I like to have a well thought out and don't say perfect plan, but I'm the kind of person if this, then that. If this happens, then I'll do this, if this, then that. But sometimes things just don't go to plan and there's really nothing that we can do about it except for reevaluate and move on. So for me, this started when I had finally made the decision to move to South Carolina. And I got a apartment. It was perfect until it wasn't. I was promised that the owner of the home would only be there on a very rare occasion because they traveled for work. So they might be there maybe one day a month. Well, that's not what ended up happening. He ended up moving his girlfriend in and then she had his kid over a lot. And what I was promised didn't happen. And it made it really hard for me to do my work and it really stressed me out. Now, she didn't stress me out and the kid didn't stress me out. But planning a business where I'm on calls all day where I need quiet to record, this was a big problem. And the only reason I had agreed to live with somebody is because we had basically completely separate areas and completely separate houses, right? There was no interaction at all. And it sounds really selfish, but that's kind of what I need for my business, is I need a very private, quiet space. There's no way for me to do savvy groomer in a loud house with a young child or someone who's gonna be there all day watching tv, you know? And watching these very loud reality TVs, which are basically shows where people are yelling at each other all day. And when I explained to them, Hey, I can hear this background noise. This isn't what we agreed to. It wasn't easy to figure out. So then what do you do? Right? Then I've gotta figure that out. And so I put a deposit, I was looking for my house anyway, so I put a deposit on this gorgeous townhouse. It was perfect. It was everything I wanted. And I really fell in love with this townhouse. And it was taking significantly longer to build than was promised. I was promised this house was going to be done before Thanksgiving. Well, the house was not finished in November, nor was it done in December, nor was it done in January, nor was it done in February. It was not officially done till March. And that became a problem. Long story short, we had had, I had had rather an independent inspector and they had found an electrical issue. 'cause so here I am, right? And another thing happened in between then. I was having this really uncomfortable home life situation. And my sister found out she was six months pregnant. The father was not going to be in the picture. So she was gonna need a lot of love support. And as somebody who had gone through a pregnancy on my own and had raised my son for a long time by myself, you know, my son's father and I split when we were pregnant and I lived in my car and there was a lot of trauma around that. You know how we talk about the Ellis Childhood trauma. So I had to make a decision, you know, she could really use my help with preparing for this baby. She didn't have a lot of time to prepare. Not only that, she had found around Thanksgiving that she was gonna have this baby. So that's right around the busy season for grooming. So I was like, you know what? My house was gonna be done around Thanksgiving anyway, so I packed up all of my stuff and put it into storage. And I was like, when the house is done, I'll move everything into the house. And until then, I will stay at an Airbnb and Rhode Island and take care of my family. Because reevaluating your, you know, what you at your core are about is very important. And for me, it was about taking care of my family. And I'm not gonna lie, you know, I really did not have any, want to spend another cold winter. That's really not what I wanted at all. But my love and value for my family, I had to evaluate, okay, which do I care about more? Right? And that was to take care of them, you know, to make sure that she has a better pregnancy and that she felt safe and nurtured and to help my family's grooming business survive, right? Because she hadn't had prenatal care and they didn't know how the pregnancy was gonna go, go. You know, there was a lot of, a lot of moving pieces to that. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna stay in Airbnb. I'm gonna enjoy my time. I'm gonna make it work. Well fast forward to purchasing my home. Finally, you know, my sister had her baby, they're pretty comfortable. I covered her maternity leave, so everything should be working out perfectly well when I went to go buy my house, which I'm very attached to, you know, especially being, being homeless more than once, you get very attached to homes. So we did an independent inspection. It came back that there was an electrical issue and there were some other minor things, but the electrical issue was the big thing. And they basically, the builders told me I had two options, buy it as is, and they would fix it in theory later. But they didn't agree with the electrical issue that my inspector was finding. Now, my inspector was incredibly thorough. He put readings, and again, I don't know much about electricity, but you know, the, I don't know if it's the voltage or whatever, but it kept going up and down. One of the bedrooms was completely wired wrong. It had outlets in the house going nowhere. It had just, everything was all messed up electrically in the house. So I had to make a decision, do I close on this house and accept that my electrical issues could potentially burn my house down and take the emotional liability of that if my cat passes away, or if my son is coming down to South Carolina and, and that were happening, or what would I do? You know? And on the flip side, just the idea of having to potentially rip out all of my walls to make sure that the electrical is fixed. 'cause in theory, everyone's like, oh, well you can just cut a small hole. Well, we didn't know the extent of the problems. And then I had talked to somebody else, they said, this is why when you're building a new house, we tell you before they patch everything up for you to inspect the wires. Now, part of me was very upset with myself because if I had been in South Carolina where I was, I would've seen these issues, right? I would've seen these things happening instead, by helping out my family. Now, I was in this new predicament, and long story short, they told me that if I did not close and take the house as is, that they were not only going to keep my deposit, which was well over $10,000, basically, they were just gonna sell it to somebody else for $30,000 more, which is exactly what they did. So I had to hire an attorney. Thankfully, I do have an attorney friend who was able to fight with them over this and get my money back. But it was really devastating. This house had everything I wanted, had the right amount of bedrooms, I picked out the colors, I picked out the i, I upgraded my stove, I upgraded my fridge. You know, I had all of the Ikea furniture and all of the furniture I had pictured and planned, and I hadn't ordered yet, but like it was mine. It was all mine. And it was so devastating, it was so devastating. And it was really hard for me to go, okay, what I'm, I'm losing my home, this home that I've dreamed about forever, right? And then I've also lost this, this whole life. I had planned this life in South Carolina of, you know, riding my bike into downtown and, you know, having drinks downtown and having this very metropolitan life and not having the winner and having a two car garage. And I just had this whole vision of everything that I was going to do. Now, part of you is like, why am I getting so personal? Why am I explaining this to you? Because I bet you've had things like this happen to you in your life or in your business, right? You've picked out the space to open up your business and you've, you've imagined where everything's gonna go. And you've like already picked out the tile and you've done this and that, only to find out that the landlord gave the lease to somebody else. Or only to find out the zoning's not gonna let you do it, right? Or maybe you've done it in your house and you're gonna have it in your house. Or maybe you decide that you're gonna get a grooming van only to find out that you're not qualifying for, or you don't have a big enough down payment. We've all been through this buildup and buildup and buildup, and then great loss. So what do we do? We roll with it. And it's not easy and we pray, or whatever it is that you do, meditate, manifest for a better resolution. And my dream is to have a house somewhere warm. And I've fallen in love with Greenville, South Carolina. Am I gonna be there now? Not right now. Why? Because the market's crazy. And I have to look at my fundamental values. Does savvy groomer align with what I want? And I had to help my mom and my sister to make sure that their business, their grooming business aligned with what they want long term. You know, I asked my sister like, do you wanna be grooming cats for a long time? Or is this just now to make a paycheck? What do you love about it? Can you earn enough? Can you earn enough to be a single mom? Because she's gonna be a single mom for a long time. And that kills me. 'cause I've been there. My heart breaks for her and her baby. And this is my goal for you guys, is for you to make sure your business aligns for your long time. Because then when things don't work out the way you want them to, it gives you another opportunity to say, Hey, fundamentally, what is it that I valued? I wanted to get a bike to bike into downtown. I wanted to have live in a place that was transient. That way I can have friendships with people from all over the world. I wanted to have a house that I can do business retreats in, or at least one-on-one in person classes. I really want to be able to have you guys come to my place, be my guest, let's go to the beach. Or go to the mountains and sit down and look at what you've done in the classes that I teach and say, okay, what's working, what's not? And have those conversations. This is what I looked for. And a good friend of mine, you know, and I'm gonna butcher this, she said to me, you know, sometimes when we're drifting and she uses a lot of water analogies, and she's like, you know, when you're trying to, if you're, you know, if you're in a raft, you know, and you're gonna be drifting towards an island, she says, sometimes you see the sticks and you think that they're the island, but they're just the stick. And so unfortunately, this dream house I had was my stick, right? Because it wasn't the right thing for me. I was hoping it was everything I wanted, but it wasn't the right time, or it wasn't the right thing. Something happened. And in the moment, I was so devastated. I, I literally just was inconsolable for days. Like, absolutely, like I was shut down. I just curl up in a ball. I watch tv, I don't watch a lot of tv, and just cried and ate cheese balls. I ate like an entire container of cheese balls. That's my bad food. I just cried because it also brought up all those old wounds. It brought up the feeling of someone ripping my home from me. I just kept crying. They took my home from me. And then good, bad, or indifferent, you know? And I, I love that I can be vulnerable with you guys. And you know, just being very honest, it was, it sounds really messed up. But I was really upset that my mom was so kind to my sister, because she's such a different person now. And I love who she is now. And I honor who she is now. But she was not that person for me. I was so alone. And it was really hard to see my sister be so supportive and supported rather, when I was not supported. And I love that they learned their lesson, they supported her. And I'm really sad that she's going to repeat a pattern that I've already done. So there were a lot of emotions that I had to work through. And I know for you, if things don't go to plan, there's a lot of emotions. And sometimes it's just digging up old wounds, whether they're childhood wounds or they're just wounds from other painful experiences, right? 'cause that little shadow side in your head mindset to me, why is she more lovable than you? Why did she get to be supported? Why do they love her more than they love you? And that's bullshit. But in the moment, in that moment, that's what my heart was saying, right? And that hurts. And I'm okay that it hurt because it allowed me to mend those feelings, right? Because that's not the reality. It's just they had to learn a lesson and then they were able to heal. Because I'm sure my mom is mortified that she was not supportive of me when I was pregnant. And now here's her chance to redeem herself. Sometimes things work out that way. Sometimes our pain is someone else's lesson or ability to re, you know, I don't wanna say, you know, reprieve themselves, but you know, my mom was able to, right? A wrong that wrong was not righted with me, but it was righted. And I'm not okay with that in the sense that I shouldn't have been hurt in the first place. But, you know, she proved she's a different person. And I proved that I can be supportive even when I hurt. And with the house, you know, I said to myself, okay, this is not the end. You know, I'm gonna buy land and I'm gonna buy something custom. And when the, you know, when this market calms down, you know, I'm gonna buy, I'm gonna build a custom thing where I can do these amazing retreats, right? I'm gonna be able to do all of that. And it sucks sometimes when things don't go to plan and they take longer. 'cause I want it now. I wanted it in November, but now this dream I had is pushed further, right? And sometimes that's what's gonna happen. And it sucks and it hurts. And it's annoying all those feelings, right? Maybe again, you plan on going mobile and you can't, or maybe you're gonna have a grooming salon in your house and that you can't, or maybe you're gonna hire employees, but there's all these obstacles in front of you. Or maybe you did hire employees and then they all quit. Or they all, you realized how overwhelming it can be. Maybe it's something in your business that just didn't go to plan. And it sucks. You know, for me, you know that dream of being in ca, in South Carolina, in Greenville, in that warm area. And it's a great area. It's where I wanna be. But until then I'm gonna be okay. You know, I ended up finding a place that I can do many retreats. I found a place in Newport, Rhode Island, which is one of my favorite places on the planet. If you've ever seen the Guild of Age on H B O, that's where I am. I am less than a mile from all those famous mansions. I am walking distance to fame street. I'm walking distance to Broadway. These are where all those shops are. I can walk to probably 30 restaurants. I can take my little bike out and go ride by the ocean. I'm gonna buy me a little scooter and I'm gonna scoot to the beach in the morning and watch the waves. You know, I found an impossible place. You know, I just put it out to God in the universe. I said, okay, this is what I want. I want a place big enough. And then I can have these meetings of the mind that I can have people come and we can do, I can pour over their information and sit at the coffee at the kitchen table, having a cup of coffee and look at them, you know, and they can come and write it off as a vacation, you know, and see a new area and have fun. You know, it's a blessing. But it came from hurt. And it's not exactly what I wanted. But ultimately it worked out. You know, I have a year to find property and build or I can figure it out from there. 'cause sometimes things don't go to plan and sometimes they work out better and sometimes they're not quite what we want, but they'll do for now. And that's kind of where I'm at. I am very blessed to have found the place I did. And it really fell into my lap. Ironically, the owner of this townhouse in Newport is the cousin of a famous groomer. And that is the reason he gave it to me is because he grew up knowing his cousin who was a groomer. And it's just so interesting how the universe or God brings things together, right? It's one of those things that you're like, okay, we'll try this. I guess that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna try this out and if it doesn't work, I'm just gonna pivot. Just like you're gonna do. If things are not working out, they get better. And it sucks to say that, 'cause I wanted my house in Greenville. I still want my house in Greenville. I, all I wanted them to do was fix it. And I wanted to move all my stuff in. And I wanna, I just want it so bad and it hurts so much. But ultimately this aligns more with my vision For now, I'm gonna be here for my sister, for her baby, and support their business. You know, my son is gonna be able to, instead of just visiting me and me visiting him, my plan was to come down once a month for about four to five days. Now I'm gonna have him 50 50, you know? And part of me was kind of excited about being selfish and putting myself first, but I kind of still am. And it's, it's a constant shifting. And for you, what is constantly shifting, and I hope my vulnerability does not come off as me preaching. My goal for you guys is to hear my raw truth as it's not pretty. It's not pretty, it's really not. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing. I feel like Murphy's Law in a person suit, you know, I don't like that. I don't like that. I moved everything I owned down to South Carolina. I made a plan. I had everything working and then it felt like it was ripped from me. But there's a plan. I dunno what that plan is. And when I make it my plan, you know, I have to accept when things don't go to plan. Because things are meant to be the way they're meant to be. And you don't have to believe that. I believe that. And I think sometimes I have to believe that. 'cause otherwise I would go crazy, you know? You know, I just spent, I spent two days in a truck driving back with all of my stuff, and it was really emotionally devastating. But I'm really okay because I know I'm gonna have the things that I've really been called to do. Savvy groomer is gonna have a place where we can invite people to do these things. I'm gonna be able to groom in the cat van if I want to, right? That's amazing. I'm gonna watch my nephew grow up a little bit. You know, when I left, my sister was never gonna have kids, and now she's got a baby and she's on her own. So that's where you always have to ask yourself, is the plan I have aligned? And make sure your business is aligned. My business is more aligned now than it was a year ago. 'cause as I grow classes, they're all about what I've gone through. And I feel like I've mastered, or at least I've learned the lesson and now I can share with you. So that is today's topic. And again, I hope it doesn't come off preachy. I hope it doesn't come off whiny. My goal is for me to share my vulnerability, my realness, my genuineness, so that you can hear it. And ultimately you can take that knowledge and evaluate what you're going through. No one's perfect. And me, less so than many, many people. All right guys. So that is today's topic all about. Sometimes things just don't go to plan. Don't be hard on yourself. Don't be mean to yourself. Just say, you know, and it's hard. It was really hard for me in the moment to say, okay, not getting this house is a blessing, not a curse. That is not what I wanted to hear. But you know, and don't you hate that? You're like, ugh. It was, it was a blessing and not a curse. And I can always pick up later where I left off, you know? And the same thing when I sold my cat grooming business. I went through the same emotional regret. And one thing that got me through is you can always just buy another grooming van. And that's the truth. Sometimes things don't go the way we want them to. And it's not meant for us now, or it was never meant for us in the first place. And I say that as someone who's been single in July for four years. You know, I want love and I want marriage. I want more children, but it's not meant for me right now. The savvy groomer is exploding, but I'm not going to every trade show. Why? Because it's not meant for me yet. But next year, fingers crossed it will be. I really believe that. You don't have to believe that.

And being mobbed by new people as two groomer shop in town are closing this month. I did callbacks about 10 messages this afternoon, looking for a quick fix on stream. So Brittany, are you doing a intake form? You know, and again, are, you know, are you taking new clients? Are you going to be doing a price increase? Are you going to be streamlining things like, this is where a lot of times this is a great opportunity, especially this time of year. September is the perfect, I like to see you guys do price increases in September and in March, either one or both, either way. So this is a great opportunity to consider, do you wanna do membership grooming, right? And have everyone commit to a four week schedule. And so there's lots of different ways. So you can either hire a VA and a VA can literally do all of that for you. You can have a intake form, right? And when you're doing the intake form, if you do it a Google doc, you can have certain things that if they click something, so Brittany's saying of a drop in price versus a monthly price. Well, and that's the thing, right, is the monthly price should be your, your standard pricing, right? So whatever you want to make, if it was an eight, you know, if you're not following Savvy Groomer, depends on how long you guys have been following Savvy Groomer. So let's say your goal is a hundred dollars a dog at four weeks, it should be a hundred dollars a dog, and then six and eight weeks. There should be an additional cost for that. And so I'm assuming you say drop in, I'm assuming you're saying like a member and a non-member kind of price. So if that's the case, then you know, again, it might be getting rid of anyone who's not going to commit to a four week schedule. If you've had two groomer shops in town close this month, you're, again, if every groomer is grooming an average of a hundred to 160 dogs, you're gonna have 200 calls easily. So it is deciding, okay, am I, how am I going to create stability in my business as these new people flood in, they're gonna be price shopping and, and couch hopping and all that stuff. Not couch hopping. How do I say couch hopping? Yeah, I just pictured like, you know, bouncing around right shop hopping, which sounds like a weird thing to say shop hop. But again, it's one of those things where we have to make that decision of it. How are we going to make it worth our time? And you can also do things like, ha you know, I'm, I'm assuming by the way too, when they're doing their intake form, right? When they're, 'cause I don't, I also would not, I, I wish you guys would not put your phone number on your website or on your vehicles. Don't put it on, don't put it on your signage, don't put it on your, you know, website. Get your phone off, get your phone gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone. Because again, it takes so much more time and money to do phone calls if you hire a VA to go through intake forms and have them like organize them for you and to like, yes, no maybes, they can send out Harvard letters or Harvard texts. Thank you so much for inquiring at this time. We're not gonna be offering you a consultation groom, dah, dah dah, dah. They can bang out all of those things very quickly. Phone calls take forever. The Harvard letter style phone call takes at least 10 minutes. Even if you try to make it five, it's gonna make it 10. You know, if you have to reply 10, that's over an hour. And so for someone like Brittany who, you know, again, she got 10 messages this afternoon, I would figure out where your phone number is and figure out if you can get it off the internet and have them go to a website. Any new client should go to an intake form where you get all the, what information do you want them to know, right? And they put all of that, whether it's through your, some softwares have intake forms built in, or even just a Google Doc where they have to fill in that information or on your website, have that information filled in and then, you know, you let them know you're going to email them back if you're going to entertain them or not, right? A yes or a no. And that would re greatly reduce it. 'cause if you had an intake form and you let people know, pick a day, let's say Monday, I'm really into Mondays right now, you know, if you had everyone fill out those forms and then on Monday you go through the forms, right? And again, you can have Google Docs, you can have things be flagged if it's like a, you know, for instance, let's say are you willing to commit to a four week schedule and they click no, you could have Google Docs like flag those so you automatically know that person is going to get a Harvard letter versus when I say Harvard letter I, I jokingly call that like the denial letter. Like I feel like Harvard has like some of the best, like many people apply, thank you so much for your application, right? But yeah, it's one of those things that you can really streamline that down instead of spending, you know, a couple of hours every single night, right? You could instead just spend probably two or three hours once a week, right? And it, and it is also like, again, do you want to start renegotiating what you have currently with your clients, right? Do you have all the monthly reoccurring clients you want? Do you wanna move into a membership and have a contract with these people? You're gonna have more leverage. There's so many different options to do that. I will say with phone calls it's the least eff efficient. So I would highly suggest getting an intake form. Mogo has them, groomer io has them, groom more has them, most of the grooming software have them, you know, get your, you know, you know, thing off your phone, number off. So you're not trying to answer these questions. Another thing you can do too is send them a text afterwards. Yeah. Tell people to come in and send me an email, but then at least they fill it in and if they call you, you can just text 'em and be like, Hey, thank you so much for the voicemail. You can have it on your voicemail. We return all new client inquiries during our office hours, which is Monday between three and seven, right? And from there, right, you can, you know, we do not return phone calls one, that's another option. You know, if you're a new client, please fill the intake form. Our intake form is on our website and you can even just copy paste, right? You know, thank you so much for your inquiry. Any new clients that were required to fill out this form, any clients who are over X amount of weeks need to fill out this form. And then you've got everyone, right? And you can do all of that and that will really, really reduce your time. But yeah, now is the time to either is to really streamline. 'cause again, if you're having 200 new people, then it's like, okay, is the clientele I have the right clientele? Are they the perfect, are they all my soulmate clients? And what is my soulmate client? Right? If you're like, my soulmate client is a hundred people who get this haircut and they're come every four weeks and they pre-book for the year, okay, well then let's start making that a requirement of anyone new who's coming in and anyone who wants to make an appointment, right? I mean, two, at least 200 people. And that's on the low end, right? And when I sold my shop and we, like I said, we had five employees. I think we had a clientele of like 1200 people. So this is where too, you guys may or may not, you know, have an opportunity here, right? And again, you can always be like, listen, we're gonna be interviewing a lot of people. We're not gonna be doing any appointments over X amount of time. And you can really leverage this. And not in a negative way, right? Because again, you are, you are not any marriage. So what, unless if you have a membership, a membership is like marriage with your clients. And that's why I really love it because you are mutually committed and they are mutually committed. You are promising them a spot in your schedule and they're promising to pay you whether or not they show up. If they're not in a marriage, you always have the option to replace 'em. And that's where I like memberships personally.

This was a great question. So the question was, I love the first consultation groom. I would appreciate tips on how to better explain the value. Sometimes I think I don't explain it well and wanna communicate it better with them. So this is a great question. So for those of you guys that are not maybe not entirely familiar with the savvy groomer, I teach what's called a consultation groom. So in a consultation groom, let's talk consultation groom. So what are consultation groom? So consultation grooms are essentially the first time you're going to groom a dog or a cat, let's be honest here. So unlike a regular consultation where you're not going to be, you know, manipulating the pet, touching them, grooming them, et cetera, a consultation groom is saying, I'm gonna block off a specific amount of time for you. We're going to work, work through your goals. Like as an owner, what are your goals for this pet's hair? I'm gonna get to know this pet better and I'm gonna be able to evaluate them as an individual. So I really love consultation groups because I think it puts the power back on us and it forces people to understand that no, this is just not like a walk-in service. This is not a service that you can just kind of use and abuse and kind of disappear, right? Consultation room sets the boundary of, hey, you have to interview to be my client, and I have to decide if we're going to have a long-term relationship. So a consultation room is kind of like a first date. It's a lot of getting to know you, you getting to know me, and then us deciding if we wanna pursue anything. So when we're talking about the value, we really wanna focus on what the goal is. So the goal is to create a long-term relationship with that client and with that pet. So I think the easiest way to explain this too, right, to the average pet owner is to say, you know, here at example grooming, we work really hard to make sure that your pet is treated as an individual. We wanna get to know them, you know, and and learn what is the best services for them. And by doing that, we're going to take our time, especially the first groom, because we don't know what your pet likes, what your pet doesn't like. We don't know how your pet's hair is going to react to being groomed, right? And especially with all of these mixed breeds, it's not like I'm gonna h you, you know, a purebred dog and it's gonna be easy. And even then a lot of these purebred dogs don't, it was so nice. Gonna super zoom, like all the well-bred dogs, like, ugh, like a bichon. That looks like a bichon. It was so nice, you know? So again, this is our opportunity to go, hmm, maybe I wanna get to know you. So again, if there's different ways of creating value during this. So what some people do, one of my students does, she has a very high consultation, so she's going to charge her her normal rate for a bath and blow dry is a hundred dollars. Her haircuts go for 150 to $200. So her consultation groom is 300. However, that 300 includes a haircut and then a bath within four weeks. So if they come in for the groom, then she's going to include a bath and load dry within four weeks. And the reason she does that is so that way she can, it's already included and it's already telling you if that person sees value in regular maintenance grooming. And so you could do things where you can say, okay, you're basically prepaying for two haircuts, right? Because in the first consultation room, you don't really know what you're, you're getting into. It also sets a clear divide between regular maintenance clients and you having to re reapply and come back through the process of applying to be my client, right? So essentially what can happen there is by me doing a consultation group, I'm really holding space for that pet. I like to see you guys have consultation groom, you know, no more than one, right? A day, ideally the last groom of the day. That way, you know, it's the last appointment. If they don't show up, you're not mad. You get to go home early. If you don't have any new clients, you've basically built in time, right? You're not gonna have to reshuffle clients. Like again, if you have a new client, they take a little longer than expected, you're not gonna have to shuffle around other clients. You know? And obviously I'm assuming that you guys are staying on time, you're not running behind that day. But even if you are right, that's where ideally you would have a buffer and that dog should be done. A consultation groom in a perfect world should be done straight through, or a straight through is possible. And it's probably gonna be a two hour appointment. If you normally groom dogs in an hour, I would block off two hours, right? That that might be a situation. Everyone does. Their consultation groom's different. Some of my students who are like really holistic, what they're going to do is they're gonna wait till everyone is out of the building, right? At the end of the day, everything's cleaned up and they're going to have this one pet and they're gonna lock the door, the pet's gonna be allowed to sniff and kind wander, maybe have a L mat, right? Just like really kind of relax and chill out while the owner and the groomer are communicating and getting to know, okay, what are your goals? What is this? What is that? Letting the pet just kind of settle, sniff around, you know, if they have a tub area that's there, the pet can wander there. And again, everyone is so different. If you don't have a safe environment for pets to wander, don't do that. But in this case, that's what they do. And again, it's more about, you know, once the pet is calm, then they can say, okay, owner, you can leave. It should take me about an hour and a half. Obviously the owner leaves wherever the owner leaves, you might send 'em to a coffee shop. I love giving clients like $5 little coffee shop gift cards. They can go wander there, you know? And then you have un then you have time to really get to know that pet and give them really the undivided attention. Because in a perfect world, if we took this, if we took this seriously, if we took this in a professional way, we would require people to apply to be our clientele. We would make people prove to us, right? 'cause the goal is a long-term committed relationship with these pets, right? I don't really want to groom a dog that everyone is grooming in town. I don't like it when I'm grooming a dog. And the next thing I know that dog is also being groomed by somebody else down the street and now I've gotta fix that haircut. Or maybe they didn't get all the mats out, or maybe they used Dawn. And now the co you know, the dog is either smelly or they didn't. If it's a deisha dog, they didn't pull that code out. So I'm saying, listen, I am willing to commit to you or are you willing to commit to me? So I think it's mainly depending upon how you're branded in the way that you're going to explain the consultation group. Let's say if you're really highend and you're really luxurious, you would explain that you're an exclusive salon. If you're a membership model, you might say that you're members only and they need to apply for membership. If you're a more relaxed, what I call a dunking donut style grooming business, you may instead opt for more of a casual thing and be like, look, you know, pet, you know, your pet is an individual and they need to be treated like an individual. We wanna make sure your pet has the most positive experience that they possibly can. And so in order to do that, I need to block off this time. I'm not willing to have a dog come into a strange environment and kind of get thrown into the mix. All the other dogs here are so used to this grooming salon. They're used to the people here. I mean, we really wanna set your pet up for success. And the person who just wants a haircut, they're probably not your soulmate client. And a lot of us kind of have to decide what kind of clients we want. It's funny, 'cause I hear so people saying like, oh, I don't wanna lose clients, I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna do that. But on the flip side, they also have a never ending wait list, or they have a never ending phone calls and people calling you. You know, the average groomer right now is grooming about a hundred dogs a month. So it's 20. If you have five days a week, let's say five dogs, and that's a mix of big and small, probably, right? So five dogs, five days a week, that's 25 a week. Four days a week. Even if you're like, well I'm grooming eight. Well let's do that math. I think that's 40 a week. So 40, it's eight. So that's one 60. Even then, that's not a lot of people, if you really think about a Starbucks serves more coffees than that in the morning, right? If you think about how many people go to Starbucks for coffee, you only need a hundred to 160, depending upon how many dogs are grooming per day. Committed people. That's not a lot of people, right? So what the consultation groom does is it forces people, again, if they go over a certain amount of weeks, if you're in every four weeks salon, I would have, if you're over six weeks, if you're over six weeks, you have to reapply to be a regular customer. And again, that shows that you are setting boundaries. And the reason having those boundaries is so good is because, again, if I'm a customer, and I know that if I go over six weeks, I have to go back through that expensive consultation room, right? And again, it's like, nope, we're gonna, it's been too long. We're going to reintroduce them because we put their mental, physical, and emotional health above that, right? And I honestly believe that, you know, we had a, a really busy salon when I had my grooming salon, we were grooming about 40 dogs a day between five people. We had bathers and, and groomers, but all the dogs were incredibly well adjusted because we did things the same way. They knew everyone. We made sure they felt incredibly comfortable. We were hustle bustling. So we weren't always the best. But a lot of that came down to just, you know, quirky personalities with dogs. Like we had this one Aussie who literally just like happy barked at everything. And so he was groomed first thing in the morning and I was like, get him out. Right? But you know, it wasn't ever a thing where dogs were stressed out and if they were right, we worked on that. So, but going back to consultation rooms, you know, I just think it's a win-win. And so it can be a bit, little bit difficult for us to explain that to clients, but that's only because we're not used to setting boundaries. We're not used to communicating our needs, right? It's so interesting 'cause we're, we know we're not desperate, right? We know we're not desperate for clients. We know we have way more pets that could be groomed, right? Versus the amount of pets that are actually around, right? So if you think about it again, if that groomer needs a hundred to 160 tops, right? Most of us are not grooming more than eight dogs a day, five days a week. There are definitely some power groomers. And again, I'm talking about one groomer, right? I'm not talking about a bather and a groom, I'm talking about one groomer. So I only need a hundred to 160 people to commit to me monthly. That's not a lot of people. And it seems like a lot of people till you break down, right? That there are 365 days. So I would really consider the fact that having consultation groom allows you to really break that down.

So let's go ahead and get started with today's topic. So today's topic is fine tuning those smart goals. All right, so let's go ahead and transition to these different SMART goals. And if you do not remember what SMART stands for, so SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Basically, specific means you know, is it, you know, very clear, measurable, you know how much you know is there achievable and you actually do it real, you know, so here you guys go. So just Googling it specific, be clear specific so your goals are easier to achieve. This also helps you know how and where to get started. Measurable measure goals can be tracked, allowing you to see your progress. They also tell you when your goal is complete actionable, are you able to make action to achieve the goal? Actionable goals. Ensure the steps to get there are within your control. Realistic, avoid overwhelm and unnecessary stress by and frustration by making the goal realistic. And then time bound a date helps us stay focused and motivated, inspiring us to provide something to work towards. So going through all of our comments, right? Okay, so here's Ashley. She's saying, I wanna start my own mobile next by next year. So here's what we've gotta do, right? We've gotta make it specific. So opening up a mobile business when by next year. So instead of saying something along the lines of next year, maybe we say, you know, by March, 2020, right? Or by December, 2020. So by having a specific end date that's gonna help us. So, so we have our for, we have our goal, right? You wanna open up your own mobile next year. So let's look at what our SS is, right? So, and again, if you don't find the acronym you need, look up, there's so many things online, guys, feel free to do that. So ss set real numbers with real deadlines. Say, don't say I want more visitors. Okay? Be clear and specific, right? Who, what, where, when, and why, right? Perfect. So, you know, is this a specific goal? No, not yet, right? So let's start, and again, I'm gonna go outta order because that's how my brain works. If you're a more linear human being, I apologize in advance. So I wanna start my own mobile next year. So I want to you open my own mobile grooming business by let's say December, 2022. Perfect, right? And then we're like, okay, well is this, you know, so first thing I wanna ask myself is, is this achievable, right? And so this is where I might dive into this. So this is, if this was somebody on a coaching call, I'd be like, okay, to, you know, and this is where I would ask myself, how much money do I need in order to start my mobile grooming business, right? And so I'm gonna tell you, ideally six months worth of personal expenses, ideally six months of business expenses, and then let's say a down payment on a grooming man, right? So that's a lot of stuff. So we're like, okay, well we've got these three things that we need to get minimally. Another thing we need to take into account here is what is the lead time for building a mobile grooming van right now for hand V. So like let's say hand V is anywhere between 12 and 26 weeks average from time of financing. So by the time you've asked what you wanna build, you've sent them the down payment, it is 12 to 26 weeks average to get that van built. So first thing we've gotta do is look at right these. So let's do relevant and is it a relevant goal? I hope, you know, I'm assuming that owning your own business is what you want. But you wanna make sure like can you know, do I need health insurance? Is it a situation that I'm okay with potentially not making any money for three to six months while my business is being built? Am I okay with in the very beginning, grooming probably 30 to 40 hours a week and working on the backside of my business another 20 or 30 hours? You know, working, you know, working in a salon 40 hours a week is hard. You know, working in a mobile business for 40 hours a week is hard. But then when we are our own business, we have to do the job of a receptionist, a manager, a groomer, right? We have all that other stuff. So I wanna make sure if I set this date of December, 2022, am I gonna have all of these things, right? So this is where there might be a goal beforehand, right? I might have to say I want to save up, let's say $60,000 and we're gonna say $25,000 down payment on a grooming van. Let's say, you know, $15,000 business expenses. Yeah, I mean that's, you know, and then let's say you don't have a spouse or anything. So you know the $20,000 for personal expenses, you know, if you're starting from zero in this example, is it likely you're gonna be able to save up $60,000? Unless if you have something to sell or to do? This may be very difficult 'cause let's look at December, 2022. If we're looking at 12 weeks, $60,000 by let's say September, 2022. That is January, February, March, April, may, June, July, August, September. So it's eight months. Eight months. That's how much I'm gonna do my math. $60,000 divided by eight, that's about $7,500 a month saved. So a lot of times we're gonna say, I have this audacious goal and I'm like, okay, well let's break down that goal, make sure it's a smart goal, make sure it's a realistic goal. So I wanna say it was 60 grand. I'm gonna do 25, do thousand dollars down payment on my grooming van. I'm gonna $15,000 to save for my business expenses, which is my grooming van, payment insurance, marketing for my website, et cetera. And I'm gonna have 20 grand set aside for my emergency fund, for my personal life and my business. That way if I have to pay this and that and I have nobody come in, or God forbid we get shut down for covid, or God forbid, instead of 12 weeks, we're at 26 weeks. Or you get fired early from your current job because your job finds out that you're gonna be opening up your own business. Whatever it is, let's use that as an example, right? So we're gonna have 60 grand. So that's where the question becomes, is that achievable, right? In eight months am I gonna be able to save $7,500 a month? So let's say this person at this point, so let's say you're looking at the $60,000 and you're like, there's absolutely no hope of me being able to do that before December, 2022. So then let's go. So let's say instead I want to save up, you know, I want to open my own mobile grooming vis by December, 2023. Now this is less sexy, right? This is less sexy. 'cause we always wanna do everything now I don't wanna wait two years, I don't wanna do this today, I wanna do this now. But here's the thing is that by you having money saved and by doing it the right way, it's going to be so much smoother. When people open up businesses on a shoestring budget, they have so many problems in their business. Anytime there's a little problem, it's a giant hiccup, right? Because if you're sick with C O V I D for two weeks and there's no one to groom and you have to reschedule everybody, if you have 15,000 worth of business expenses in the bank and 20,000 for personal expenses, you're gonna take the time to heal. You're gonna do the right thing by you, okay? This just allows you to have so many more choices. And about $25,000 down on a grooming van is about average right now because don't forget you, you may or may not be able to roll your taxes into your payment. You may or may not be able to put everything into your loan. So we wanna have that little bit of buffer and extra, okay? So I wanna open my own mobile grooming business by December, 2023. I will save up $30,000. Well, I'll save up thir $60,000 by September, 2023 and place my order for my van in September, 2023, right? So that may be a little more realistic and I, I know it's not sexy to have realistic goals. It's more fun to like beat the odds and be crazy and this and that. But sometimes it just takes, you know, but so like here's again an example, right? I'm gonna place their order here. So you know, she's saying she might pay for conversion. So you know, and then finance the van. Well a grooming van, a professional grooming van is anywhere between $85,000 and about $120,000. Your van, your sprinter van is anywhere between 35 and about 65 K. You know, your conversion is generally anywhere between realistically 40 to 60 K. So that's about where we're at. You know, there are some conversions that are cheaper. So you know, if we're gonna get a sprinter, which I personally think you should only do, you know, I have pretty strong opinions. So you take what you guys want from it. I personally do not believe in D I Y grooming vans. I think, you know, and again, I know it's not a popular thing to have an opinion on. I think there are definitely people that can do it, right? I just think that for the most part it's not wise. You know, we don't suggest clients shave their own dogs, right? And you don't need, you really don't need a college degree to do that. Engineering is a college degree. Engineering should be respected. It's not easy. You know, if you're gonna do it, just be aware that you really should never sell it because God forbid someone kills themselves, kills a dog, you will be liable as a manufacturer if you were having an issue with a hand V van you call handy and they have a team of engineers and customer service to help walk you through a problem. And now that they have those QR codes, it literally pulls up videos how to fix something in common reasons that things could be, you know, not ideal. So, you know, and here's my thing, Ashley is like, if you're going to pay outright for the conversion and you're gonna finance the van, that's absolutely not a problem. But that means you need to save up realistically. I mean let's, let's even do it on the very low end, you know, 30 to $60,000. You know, to me, you know, it makes more sense for you to have some money in your emergency fund than have it down on the van. So that's really nice. So actually like here's the thing is if you're gonna have like 60 grand to do this, then you're go, you're golden, then you can have this, right? So if you have this money down, then you're golden, right? And so we've got our six months worth of business expenses, personal expenses, I don't know what your expenses are, I'm just gonna take a wild guess, you know, and that's where you've got to, you know, do all of that, right? So I wanna save 60,000 by September, 2020. You know, I am going to put my order into handy V by September, 2022 and start my business. Let's say you wanna start December, let's 2022. Now with that, here's the thing with that, starting December, 2022, depending upon where you are in the country, is December, 2022 the best date to start a mobile business? So this is where I might say, you know, we've got all these things, we're like, okay, well yeah, I can definitely open it by December, 2022. But is that really the best state to open it? I always say the best times to open a grooming business is in September or in March, that is getting your feet wet before the holidays. You know, having a month or two to kind work out the kinks, get used to being in the van, build up your clientele slowly, and then you've got the holidays rush. And then from there, in the alternative, I like to see people open it as of March. And the reason I like March is because March, you don't have to. Like I really, if you live in a place that has snow, and again, you might not live in a place that has snow. I don't like to see people open up a grooming business during snow. 'cause it's a lot of, it's like snow is the hardest time to learn. And in the deadest summer, it's the hardest time too because you're trying to learn your van and you're trying to learn how to gauge temperature and dogs dry differently in a handy v van over in a shop because it's just basically a tiny sauna on wheels. So learning the tips and tricks and getting involved in the mobile grooming groups is really gonna help you. So going back to this, it's like, okay, so now that I have my answer, then I go, okay, well may do I want to start my mobile grooming business before then. So that might be where actually, you know, you already have some money, right? So instead of doing this, maybe instead we're gonna actually bring it sooner, right? So maybe instead of doing it in December, 2023, we are gonna green business by, let's say September, 2022. I'm gonna save up the 60 grand by let's say realistically, you know, 'cause we want at least three months. So let's say May, 2022, okay? And then we're going to place our order in May, 2022. That is three months. So we're gonna say, you know, building June, July, August. So you get your van in August, but realistically you're gonna get it delivered in September. You're gonna, 'cause you're gonna probably get a wrap or you're gonna have your marketing start my mobile business in September, 2022. Right? So this is again, a more goal that has been fleshed out. We've kind of worked through the kinks here. I wanna open my mobile grooming business by September, 2022. I will save up 60,000 by May, 2022 for the down payment, the business expenses and the personal expenses and place my order for my van May, 2020. And they're gonna be building it realistically June, July, August. Lemme start my mobile business in September, 2020, right? So this is a pretty smart goal, right? Everything here has been thought of. We've organized it, it's relevant, you know, and you know, I might even flush this goal out a little bit here and say, you know, all backend marketing website policies, pricing, and procedures will be created and set up as of let's say July, 2022. So I can start my, you know, my mo my old business taking clients, my first clients in September, 2022. So again, like I might go, okay, like what do I, what do I need to do in this goal? And like, as you can see, we keep flushing it out. You know, it's not as sexy, right? It's not as fun as like just having this like crazy thing. Like, you know when we write something simple like I wanna open up my mobile next year. That sounds really fun. It sounds really easy. I don't wanna say easy 'cause that's terrible, but this sounds like this is what we wanna say. But as we're starting to flesh all of this out, it is longer, it is more pragmatic. It is a situation where we are breaking it down more and we're getting really clear on what we want, right? So let me do this again, but let's do this with somebody maybe who say, I want to earn more money next year. So let's say that's the goal we start with, right? That's what someone is gonna say. And that's not a bad goal, right? But let's make it better. I want to earn $10,000 more next year. So this might seem like a better goal, but I actually think it's a worse goal because in order to know you wanna earn 10 grand more next year, I wanna know how much did you earn this year and how much are you gonna earn next year? So instead, what I would say I want to earn, let's say last year you made for easy math. 'cause I'm feeling lazy. Let's say you earned $40,000 last year, so I wanna earn $50,000 in 2022. Again, it's better. But here's the thing I wanna ask you. Is that net or is that gross? So what net profit is, is after you've paid all your bills, gross profit is all the money that comes in. So let's say you wanna be nice to river, so I want to earn $50,000 gross profit it in 2022. 'cause you're like river, it's okay. I don't need to figure out my net right now. I just wanna see 50 grand on the books by the end of the year. That's fine. You know, normally we would say a hundred grand 'cause that's more realistic, but I'm feeling lazy. So we're gonna say $50,000. Okay? So what I'm gonna do here is I'm gonna go, okay, how much is that per month, right? So I'm gonna take my $50,000, I'm gonna divide that by 12. So that's about earn $50,000 gross profit. And then I'm gonna break it down for myself. I'm gonna say 41 67 a month. And then I'm gonna break that down again by week. So I'm gonna say 50 weeks. So it's about a thousand dollars a week, right? I'm gonna break that down so I can get it in my head. Gross profit in 2022. And I'm gonna put, well, not adding any more rooms to my bottom line or cutting any of my current, I don't wanna say entitlements, I'm gonna say entitlements. Entitlements. So I'm not gonna change shampoos to cut money. I'm not gonna get rid of my prima, I'm not gonna sell anything. I'm gonna enjoy the shit I have, right? So we're getting a little better here. I wanna earn $50,000 gross profit. I wrote down how much it is while not adding any more grooms to my bottom line or cutting any of my current entitlements. So this is where, you know, I'm gonna go, okay, now remember with the cutting your, your entitlements, you don't necessarily have to add that because we put gross, but if I had put net profit, then I would. So I'm actually gonna take that out because I don't have to worry about cutting money because cutting money with my gross profit is really irrelevant. So right now I'm gonna go, okay, so I want to groom, so I have this, and I'm gonna again just copy this 'cause I'm feeling lazy and paste this, right? And I'm gonna write 25 pets a week or a hundred pets a month, right? And I am gonna do for 1200 a year. So let's break that down, right? So if I'm gonna do 50,000 pets a year, $50,000 gross, and I'm gonna divide that by 1200 pets a year. That is right. So 50,000 divided by 1200 grooms, we're looking at about $42 a groom, right? And if we do, again, if we do a hundred, whoop, nope, we did 40, let's say, if we look at that. So I'm like, oh man, $42 a groom. I'm already grooming 25 pets a week, right? So let's do the 25. So that would be 42. Well let's do, so 41 67 gross divided by a hundred pets a month equals 42, right? A groom. And then again, that $1,000, oh gross, 25 pets. And that's about 40. So I'm looking at this and I'm like, man, like I sh I charge, let's say $45 a groom, right? And I didn't make $50,000. So what's going on with that? That's where that person has the opportunity to go, wait a minute, I'm already charging 45 or $50 a groom. Why? And I'm, and I'm in theory, I think I'm grooming this many pets. What's going on here? Right? And so let's say they find out that, you know, for this example, that maybe, and again, everybody's different. Let's say this person finds out that they're not charging no call, no shows, or you know, they're doing a lot of bath dogs and their, you know, bath dogs are like $35 for a lab and they're like, oh my God, I've been doing this. Or maybe they find out I need be doing this many dogs and they're, you know, for Shih tzus. But if they are, let's say if I can do five dogs a day, if they're shihtzu, but if they're doodles, I'm doing two, let's say I'm doing 10 pets a week, right? I need to do a thousand dollars gross and I'm doing only 10 doodles a week. 'cause doodles are the bane of my existence, you know? And in this example, I should be charging a hundred dollars for a doodle groom. And let's say I go, oh crap, like I'm charging $75 for a doodle groom. And that might be where I'm gonna start noticing problems. What's going on in my current business? So let's say if I'm like, man, like I already charge 50, so I can go back and say, okay, so maybe it's not about increasing pets, right? Maybe it's about increasing the groom. Maybe it's about finding out why I need these numbers to make sense. 'cause the truth is that the numbers don't lie. There are so many times you guys will throw shit out at me and I do the math and I'm like, well, there's something wrong here because the numbers you gave me don't add up. And if the numbers don't add up, it's not my fault. There's something going on here, right? So for this person, if they're charging 45 or 50 bucks a groom, it could be that they're doing less dogs than they think they are. And it's all this, or maybe they're comping things. Maybe there's a lot of people that you know, they're giving discounts to. Or maybe it's that they're not grooming as many pets as they think they are. You know? So they can go back through all of this stuff and start looking at it. So this is where a lot of times, as we're starting to make these our smart goals, we're gonna start seeing cracks in things. Because again, I wanna earn more money next year once we start breaking this down. What happens really quickly is we see the cracks in the foundation. And, and this might be something where we're like, okay, like I need to groom $4,200 a month, right? Or a thousand dollars about a week. And that person might look at this and say, you know what? I wanna do less pets. I wanna take, you know, instead of earning more money, not only do I wanna earn more money, right? They might be like, take only working four days, four days a week, right? And so we're gonna bring that down to 20 pets a day. Yeah. 20 pets a week, 80 pets a month. We're gonna do 80 times 12. 'cause I think I know what it is, but I don't wanna say it. Yep. So we got nine 60. So again, let's go ahead and do the math again, right? So we got our 41, I'm sorry, $50,000, and we're gonna divide that by our 960 pets, right? And we're gonna do, so this is here, a $52 groom. That's not really that high, right? So let's say if you go, you know what, actually, what is a hundred thousand dollars gross look like? Gross. And let's divide that by 960 pets, right? A year. And this is where you can start playing with this and make it kind of a game. And as you're thinking about this goal, you're like, okay, well is this a realistic goal? Now this obviously is where you're like, oh man, that's $104 a groom. But if this is your goal right here, you might say, okay, this year in 2022, I wanna gross a hundred thousand dollars. And then in 2023, I wanna get it so that I can take an extra day off. So let's say, right, let's take that a hundred thousand dollars and let's do it by 1200 pets a year, Right? So we're gonna take our a hundred thousand dollars and we're gonna divide that by 1200 pets. So that's about $83 a groom. So you might focus this year from going from, you know, 45 and 55 a to $83 a groom. And that would be a great goal for 2022. And then your goal for 2023 would be to bring that up, another $20, right? So again, I know it's a little confusing, but very quickly we can break down this goal, make it realistic, and decide what we wanna focus this year on. Like this person might say, you know what? I would rather focus on taking an entire day off, and then if I increase my prices, great. Or they would be like, you know what? I really wanna double my income, and then in 2023, I will focus on taking that extra day off. You know, there's so many different ways of figuring out how you wanna do that, you know? And there's no wrong way, guys. There's absolutely no wrong way. It's all about what you wanna do and how you wanna do it. I really appreciate it. I hope this has helped. How you can kind of start breaking down those goals, making sure they're realistic, and start fleshing them out to make sure it's really what you wanna accomplish in 2022.

Let's go ahead and start talking about today's topic to, so if, for those of you guys that have never heard of creating a smart goal, it is a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goal. Now, every single, you know, person does their goals differently, but I, I often talk about smart goals and I realize I actually have not done a live where I've really broken down what a smart goal is. So let's start with ss. SS is for specific, okay? So when we talk about a specific goal, what we really wanna talk about is something specific, strategic or significant. So basically knowing what you will do and exactly how you're going to do it. This is not always easy, right? It's understanding, you know, what do I wanna accomplish? Why is the goal important? Who is involved? Where is it located? And which resources or limits are involved? Now, as we come to New Year's resolutions, this is gonna be really important to know exactly what our goal is for goals. So oftentimes we're gonna say, I want to lose weight, or in my business, I want to make more money. Well, that's not a very specific goal. So think about what do I wanna accomplish? Why is this goal important? Who is involved? Where is it located? And what resources or limits are involved, right? So be a little bit more specific in your goal. Now let's move on to the next letter, which is N. So that is for measurable, meaningful, and motivational. Okay? So think about having precise ways to measure. Now this seems really simple and easy, but it's not always that simple. So your question's gonna be, how much, how many and how will I know when it is accomplished? Again, let's go back to, I wanna earn more money in my business. Now, that's not a very specific or a measurable goal. Maybe it's going to be, I want to earn a hundred thousand dollars in 2022, right? So by knowing how much I will know when it is officially measured and therefore achieved, right? So you often hear people say, I wanna lose weight. Well, do you wanna lose five pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds by just saying weight? You're kind of setting yourself up for failure setting. I want you to consider how you are going to measure that. Now, moving into our next letter, we have a, for our smart goals, which is attainable, achievable, and adjustable. Okay? So you wanna think about being able to visualize your path. Again, that may not seem like a big deal until you start creating your goals, right? So how can I accomplish this goal is the first question you ask yourself. And how realistic is the goal based on other constraints such as financial factors? So let's say you are opening up your very first grooming business. You've never owned a grooming business. You are gonna open the doors as of March 1st, and you're like, you know what, I really wanna earn a hundred thousand dollars this year. Well, we've already figured out how we can measure that, right? So for instance, you guys know I'm a numbers nerd. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pull up a hundred thousand dollars and let's say instead of being open later, let's say we open in January for easy math, okay? Actually opening up in March is easier 'cause that would be 10 months. So let's say a hundred thousand dollars divided by 10 months, well that's about $10,000. So if I open a grooming salon with one groomer working 20 days, which is five days a week, four weeks a month, right? So it's 20 working days, that means that groomer needs to groom $500 a day. Is that realistic? Well, it depends on how much you're paying for, you know, it depends on how much your grooms are. So for instance, let's say if I'm grooming five dogs or five cats at a hundred dollars a piece, well that's pretty easy. I would divide by that $500, right? Divided by five. Five pets would be a hundred dollars, which is how many? How much my groom is, or $500 divided by five pets, which would be a hundred dollars per pet. Now let's say instead I am opening up the same grooming salon, I wanna earn a hundred thousand dollars. I'm still gonna be working 20 hours a week. I'm sorry, 20 hours. A 20 days a month. Sorry, I had $500 a day. But instead of charging a hundred dollars per pet, I'm going to charge $50. That's 10. Am I realistically going to groom 10 pets at $50 per pet at $500 a day? Maybe, but it is that really realistic. That's a lot. That's how you get burnt out. So we wanna make sure that it is in fact attainable. Now our next letter is R, relevant, realistic, and results. So basically being able to visualize the results. Now, a lot of times people get confused on this, and I understand why, right? 'cause you're like, why does it matter? So this is where with savvy groomer, I really want you to be aware of the season of life you're in. And you guys will hear that all the time. Does this seem worthwhile, right? If you are pregnant with your fifth child and this is your last baby and you're like, I really wanna stay home with this baby, it's probably not the right time. If you are taking care of elderly parents and that's your priority, trying to increase your revenue to a hundred thousand dollars a year may not be the right, you know, time, it may not match your other efforts or needs in your personal life. We wanna make sure that our personal and our business life really connect, you know, and again, am I the right person to reach this goal? Sometimes you could be have the opportunity, but it may not be bright for you. And on more than one occasion, I've had a fantastic idea, but I've had to sit back and go, okay, but is this right for me? Is this right for this time in my life? And sometimes it's not. Sometimes you need to accept the fact that even if it's a good idea, it's not a good idea for you, right? And it we also wanna make sure, especially in this day and time, is it applicable to the current socioeconomic environment? In other words, is it achievable given the current financial environment? So this might be along the lines of if you're like, okay, I wanna work three days a week. I wanna groom no more than five pets a day and I wanna earn a hundred thousand dollars. So I'm gonna say, okay, let's go ahead and break down those numbers. So if I, you know, that would be 10 working days, 3, 6, 9, 12. So 12 working days rather A month. Okay, we're gonna take a hundred thousand dollars. We're gonna divide that, let's say by 12 months, about $8,333. And I'm gonna divide that per month based on 12 days, which is $695. And then from 695, I'm gonna divide that by five. Could you charge $140 per pet? Potentially, but realistically, are you, and that depends upon where you are in the socioeconomic area. Like do you live in an area that can, can the market bear that price? Now, I personally believe that very rarely does the market actually show what it can bear, but it's important for you to really consider, do you feel comfortable? Do you feel comfortable telling people, okay, your dog, your shihtzu, your small breed dog is gonna start $140. And you may wanna build up to that, but you may not feel comfortable yet in doing that. And it's not always that easy. So consider where you're at, how much money there is. And again, it's not always a straight line guy. Sometimes like I, in Rhode Island, I would say the average cat room was like 85 bucks and I was charging $200 for a line cut. So just because other people don't have the balls to do something doesn't mean that you don't have the balls to do something. So let's move on to our last letter. And that is t and t is for timely, trackable, and tangible. Okay? So what I want you to consider is having a timeline for achievement. Again, we wanna make sure that this is exactly where you need to be, right? So it's gotta be time bound, right? So when you know what can I do six months from now, what can I do six weeks from now? What can I do today? We really wanna break down again, we've already figured it out, right? So let's go back. We've already figured out specific strategic and significant. We've made sure it's measurable, meaningful, and motivational. It's attainable, achievable, adjustable. It's relevant, realistic, and we can figure out the results. So now let's actually create that timeline, right? So again, it's not always the easiest thing to do, do, because what you're, what you wanna do is say something along the lines of, I wanna earn more money or I want to grow my business. These are not smart goals. These are just kind of wishes, right? It's kind of like that guy that you talk to, he is like, oh, I wanna open up a business. You're like, what kind of business? I don't know, I just wanna open up a business. He's like, well, do you wanna open up a grooming salon? Yes, I wanna open up a grooming salon. Okay, when do you wanna open up a grooming salon? I don't know. At some point, well, how about in two years from now? Yes, I wanna open up a grooming salon in two years. Okay, well what do you need in order to open up that grooming salon in two years? And as we're asking these questions, we're really beginning to flesh this all out. And what I want you to do is, when you're doing these smart goals, when you're creating these New Year's resolutions for your business or for your personal self, make sure they are smart goals. Specific, knowing what you will do and how measurable, having precise ways to measure attainable, being able to visualize that path. Realistic, being able to visualize results, having a timeline, right? It's gotta be time bound. Having a timeline for these achievements. This is exactly what we need, guys. We need to start making sure that our goals are aligned. And one of the main things with Savvy Groomer is just because you wanna earn more money, we wanna make sure you're in a season of life that you are ready to either sacrifice or focus towards those things. It's not always cut and dry guys, sometimes it's kind of messy. You know, for me, with savvy groomer, savvy Groomer is in a great place to grow, but my sister's gonna have a baby any day. And for Savvy Groomer right now, things are kind of on hold because my business is me. My business caters to my life. And if I wanna be here and if I wanna meet my nephew and I wanna make that a priority, guess what? That's what my business is gonna do. It's gonna cater to me. And what I wanna teach you guys is how to make your business cater to you. My business allows me to do what I want in my life. And what I wanna do is be the best auntie and be there to meet this little baby. Now remember, my son's 10 and I wanna be on the other end of that, you know? And considering how traumatic my last pregnancy was and losing my daughters at 20 weeks, you know, I know that there's, you know, we talked about last week we talked about these traumas and these childhood wounds. You know, for me, making sure my sister's okay is really important to me. So as much as I'm excited, I'm also nervous, but my business has to cater to me. So we are going to learn this. And even I sometimes struggle too. So don't feel bad. Sometimes I really go, oh man, you know, I want this and I have to go, wait a minute, let me take a step back and I have to go through my things. 'cause if I don't, if I do not make it a smart goal, I generally don't achieve it. Especially R is the hardest part for me. 'cause I have to go, oh, I really want this. And I go, wait a minute, if I in a place to actually follow through. And that's really important, you know, give yourself some grace. If your goal is something cra you know, really nice and big, this, you know, audacious goal, like opening up your own business, that's a great goal. But let's make sure you can either afford a mobile unit or a down payment, right? Or have enough money in the bank to start that business. And I want you to remember one of the biggest aha moments I ever had, and I forget who said the quote, but they said, we overestimate what we can do in a year and we underestimate what we do in 10. If you had told me in 10 years I would open up and sell to grooming businesses, be an international speaker, that I would be teaching hundreds and hundreds of students in the grooming industry, I would've never believed you in a second. I'd be like, that's a lot to do in 10 years. So give yourself some grace, okay guys, and really consider what 2022 has in store for you. And don't just make it big because you feel like you need to make it big and don't make it small so you won't be disappointed. Alright everyone, well this is this show.

So let's go ahead and get into today's topic today. We're gonna be talking about Once a year. I don't think so. So really quickly, I wanted to touch on what a once a year or a twice a year client is. Sometimes in the form you'll see O a Y or T a Y. So a once a year or twice a year. Client is generally a client who literally comes in to be groomed once a year, generally around the holidays or for their summer shave. Or you're gonna see that person that comes in twice a year. You know, my family growing up, we were not religious, but we had family members that were religious and it was like the Catholics that went to church Easter and Christmas, but not the rest of the year. Right now with pet grooming, I want you to think about it this way. We want them to come on a regular schedule. It's a lot easier to have them be groomed on a regular schedule because their behavior is better. They are emotionally more prepared for it. It's not something I always, I like the phrase someone said it and I'm not sure who, I wish I could give them credit. If you guys know who said it, please let me know that a pet that's groomed once a month, it's a part of life, a pet that get grooms once a year. It's a punishment. And from a pet's perspective, the best way someone ever explained it to me. So if a dog year, I'm sorry, if every seven dog years is one human year, that means that every eight weeks is emotionally one dog year. And considering the fact that very often people only bring the pet in once a human year, that means that is emotionally seven dog years. If I hadn't gone to the dentist in seven years, I would forget everything that I have to do now. I personally like to see a pet on every four weeks. The reason I think it's better for the groomer, I think it's better for the pet. I think it's better for everyone overall. So to me, the best option is for the pet to come every four weeks. Now you guys might say, well I'm perfectly happy for my clients to come in every six or every eight, and that is a very personal choice. It's between you and your clients, you and your business. So moving forward, why do we not want once a year pets? So again, you guys might be wondering exactly what is going on in this industry that we have so many once a year clients. And the truth is that it's don't get mad at me, it's our fault. Now what happens a lot of times is that instead of us just saying, I don't think so, or No, we get them in anyway, whether it is that some are shaved down, that once a year flea infested farm dog that has decided to randomly come in, or the bichon that gets shaved, I'm sorry. They always want them, not only do they want you to demat them, right? It's like a bichon that comes in the week of Thanksgiving and they want you to demat the dog because they can't be embarrassed in front of their mother-in-law. They want the dog to look good. And if you shave the dog well then you are the problem. It's your fault, right? And I have no patience for that. It is not my responsibility to make sure that your pet is taken care of unless if you bring that pet to me every month, it is not my responsibility. So in your business, and again, your business is your business. I had a lot of ones your clients in the beginning. Why? Because I unintentionally encouraged it, right? Because what would I do? I would send a mass email before the holidays and be like, oh, does your pet need to get groomed before the holiday? Do you need this? Do you need that? And of course he'd be like, oh yeah, I forgot. I better get fluffy groomed. Now that marketing there is not actually helping me get regular monthly clients because by me also encouraging them to focus on coming in during the holidays, I am not encouraging people to make it a regular part of life. Again, it's like a nail salon that wants people to come for holidays. Like they're like, oh, come get snowmen or Christmas trees on your nails and before Easter, do this nail art, right? Instead of being like, Nope, just come every two weeks. It's maintenance. Is your business maintenance or is your business pampering? And again, a lot of our marketing, it is about pampering. It is about spa, which is great, but that means that unless of the client regularly gets themselves pampered on a monthly basis, and there are lots of clients that do, right? I'm the kind of person who I'm generally getting my nails done every two weeks. You know, I'm generally getting my eyelashes every two weeks. I'm generally in the hair salon at least once a month. You know, I'm generally that kind of person who gets a massage every two to four weeks. And I see that as maintenance, not as pampering, but as maintenance. So ask yourself, are you accidentally encouraging once a year if a once a year calls? Are you taking them? And what do you wanna do about that? Now there's absolutely no wrong answer. We always ask ourselves questions because it's an exploratory process, right? Because you might be like, you know what? I really find those once a year, Husky D sheds super satisfying. And on some level I have to agree there's nothing more satisfying. I think shepherd more so than Husky. 'cause I don't like that Huskies talk back. A lot of shepherds talk back too. So maybe labs, let's go at labs or Bernice Mountain dogs. If I were to do just a bath and blow dry, but I wanna do a lot of 'em, I just wanna do like one. But there's so satisfying, it's so satisfying to take this big, burly, furry dog and make him beautiful. It's absolutely satisfying. That said, they're way more work. They don't know the rhythm, they don't understand what's happening to them. And there are a bunch of them that are really well behaved. Their clients, their, I should say their owners are not, they don't appreciate us the same way we would like them to, right? Because what do they do? They expect to get in. They're the kind of person that will pre-book the week of Thanksgiving, the week of Christmas, and that's it, right? And where our every four week client is so used to just coming in every month, they're probably not booking out for the entire year. Even if they book out two or three months at a time, they're probably not booking the month of November or December until they get closer. So then we give up all those perfect spots to those once year clients. And how does that make our every four week clients feel? And that really stinks. You know, there's different policies you can put in place. It really depends upon what it is that you wanna do in your business. I really love the idea of, so what I did in my shop, and again, my shop was not as strict as my mobile is that if I did not see you in. So there's lots of different ways of doing it. One way that I used to do it was that I actually would tell them, if I don't see you in October, I don't see, well, I would tell 'em if I don't see you, you in September, I don't see you in November. If I don't see you in October, I don't see you in December. So I know we've talked about many times charging more for non monthly clients. I used the example of poor Ashley because it was just a perfect example and she's perfectly fine with me telling you guys about it. So what we ended up doing is we used the example of what she did. So we were doing a price increase for her business. She's mobile and only does dogs under 20, 20, 25 pounds. So what we ended up saying is like, okay, here is a four week malt teeth. If you come in every four weeks, it's a hundred dollars. And then my suggestion was, okay, so it's four weeks, it's a hundred at six weeks, it's one 50, and then at eight weeks it's 200. And then anything beyond that would be a consultation groom. And it's a a separate charge, right? 'cause you're basically a new client. If I haven't seen you in two months, which is pretty true, you know, I mean if you're only coming in my establishment at best six times a year versus the four week is coming 13 times, that's, that's a huge difference. That client is coming in less than half. So that was my suggestion. A hundred, 1 50, 200. Now some of us are like, that's outrageous, that's ridiculous, that's not fair. B blah blah, blah, blah. Well, a lot of times our pricing needs to create behavior. If I want everyone on a four week schedule, I need to make it palatable to go on a four week schedule. So what did she do? She said, I can't do that. I'm not, I don't feel good. I can't do that. I said, okay, so what would you like to do? She's like, well, I'd like to do a hundred, 1 20, 1 50. So it's a hundred dollars for four weeks, one 20 for six and one 50 for eight. Well what do you guys think? Everybody went on, everyone ended up on a six week schedule because a six week schedule saved them money. Right? So what did that do? Then she had to call everyone and get them say, I'm so sorry, I had a typing error. It's actually one 50 for six weeks. Then all of a sudden everyone went up for weeks. So that's on the lower level. On the higher level, you can do things a little more simply. So a good example would be is let's say matting in my mobile. What I did was, and for those of you guys that don't know, I owned a feeling exclusive mobile business. And what I ended up doing is I ended up charged. So my bath price for a cat was a hundred dollars a comb cut, which is what I preferred to do, was 1 45. And that was a comb cut with a bath, a lion cut and, and we would call it an elective lion cut, which means you choose to get that lion cut was 200 and then a matted line cut started at 300. Now why did I do this? Because at 300 versus a hundred, that's again, it's 50% more and it's $200 more than just getting your cat bathed. Now if that's not enough to deter them, the next thing we do is if your cat comes back and it's matted again, then I am going to charge you double. So the first time we're gonna give you benefit of the doubt. You didn't understand matting, you didn't understand what was going on. I'm gonna let that go, right? I, I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt 'cause that's what I would want, right? I still have to charge you because it's more dangerous for me, it's more dangerous for the cat. Takes more time and more skill. So unfortunately I have to charge you more. However, the next time it comes, it's double. So instead of 300, 600, why? Because you knew better and you are now willfully neglecting your pet. And then it happens a third time. Now it is $900. And believe it or not, I've had several people do the 600 and the $900 groom and a lot of 'em think that I'm faking it. And I tell them flat out, go to somebody else. If you want me to do it, I will do it. But then they realize they could have had nine months worth of bath and blow dry for that one appointment. And it's not worth it to them either they go and find somebody else who's going to be willing to engage in willful neglect, which I am not. Or they're gonna get on a regular schedule and eventually I had everyone on a regular schedule. So it doesn't even matter in the end, right guys? I mean, it makes sense to me. Listen, my dad used to call it stupid tax. He owned a appliance repair business. And if people, now he didn't like dogs ironically, but like if people would let the dogs, like when he is in your dishwasher, come over and like jump all over him or sniff his crotch, he would add tacks to that. He would add tacks for people that would ask stupid questions. Not like reasonable questions, but just like really rude questions. Like, oh, like did you like drop outta college and this is why you're doing things like that. Like just rude questions. And so he would just, he'd be like, yep, there's like that. I think what's interesting is that we're so worried about being fair to the people that are not our ideal clients. For those of you guys that this is your first time listening to the Savvy Groomer, we wanna make sure that we are treating the people that deserve our kindness the best. Because we're so worried about being fair to the eight week people that we don't think about what's fair to the four week people, right? If I'm a four week person, I'm the one that keeps your business going. You know, I'm coming to your business 12 to 13 times a year. I'm the person probably tipping you around Christmas. I'm the person telling my friends and family, and I'm telling my friends and family that I think would actually honor and respect you, right? Because I don't wanna have you, if I am coming in every month, then I value my pet being clean. I value those things. And so as I'm moving forward, I'm not gonna have my friend with the like matted, flee infested doodle coming to the shop. 'cause I would be embarrassed to have that client, right? That's how I would feel. So how can we support every four weeks that way these once a year people, we can say, I don't think so going back to our once a year pets, we set the limits. We tell them yes or no, right? If you think somebody is going to not a long term asset to your business, you have every right to say no. I want you guys to think of it like this. We use the example of the soulmate clients. We have three levels. We have the soulmate client when they meet you, they're like, oh my God, yes, I've been looking for someone just like you. Someone with your skillset, somebody who you know says the right things, does the right things. Like when people met me as a cat groomer, like, oh my God. Finally someone who understands cat behavior and grooms them and does all of that. You know, it makes so much sense. So you know, that's where we've got all that, that we have a soulmate client. And then next we have our ideal client. And the way I would explain it is like, it's the kind of person you date, but you don't know if you wanna marry, right? If you were a soulmate person that you met, it's love at first sight and everything is perfect, and you're like, yes, this person is exactly who I want. It's everything I wanted. And then ideal is like, you go on a date and you're like, wow, they have a lot of the qualities I would like, I don't know if they're the one, but we like the same music and we like the same things and I really enjoy their time. So for me, a soulmate client is somebody who wants to be groomed every four weeks and they're happy to pay my prices. My ideal client might be somebody who needs to be, you know, al groomed, if you will, taught how to become that soulmate client. So they might need leverage to then make the right decision. If you've been dating, and I've been single now for three years, it's kinda like a situation where you would be, how do I explain this? It's like if you go on a date with somebody and like I'm boujee, those that love me, know me and know I'm boujee. And if they were like, I would like to take you to McDonald's, and I'd be like, I don't even take me to McDonald's. Maybe a Chick-fil-A but not McDonald's. So I wanna go to a nice restaurant. I wanna go to a restaurant that I wanna go to. And then I would be happy to see you. And if they don't wanna do that, then, and I've had this happen, and again, it sounds really bougie, it sounds really unreasonable, but it's a boundary issue. 'cause I'm not willing to lower my standards for somebody because I want them to have the same standards as me. And we do this with our clients as well, right? So it would be like your client saying, I really need a Saturday. And you say, well, I don't offer Saturdays. And they might say, but I really need a Saturday. And then you set the boundary again and I can do Friday at four. And that's one of your regular times. And then they have a choice of either going with you and and doing what you need them to do or not. And we do this again all the time in relationships, you know? And it's all about finding that healthy boundary in between. And then we have our fling clients. And these are our once a year, twice a year clients, right? These once a year, twice a year clients. And these clients are the kind of people that you meet. And they are the McDonald's guys. They are what I call the hot pocket guys. The guys that you know you don't wanna date. If you are feeling bad about yourself and you want someone to tell you you're pretty, you might go on a date with them. And every time you go on a date with them, you're like, why did I do this? That's the same person that calls at noon on a Saturday and asks for a bath. They come in and it's a pelted dog or a dog with fleas or God knows what, and they don't tip, right? That's the same person. So I want you to consider who this person is in your business. For me, being a higher end business, my business, I only wanted soulmate clients. 'cause I had a very finite amount of spaces. I really want a hundred spaces to do this. So I can't waste my time on a, on even a lot of ideals or, and I have no time for flings. When I had my shop, because I had five employees and we did 40 dogs a day, we had lots of soulmate clients, we had lots of ideal clients. And it took me a long time to realize that these fling clients were no good for me. And taking that time really allows it to change that. And so if that's it, defining those soulmate clients and not accepting these once a year. So yeah, that was what today's topic is all about once a year. I don't think so. And remember, no is a complete sentence. Referring them to Petcos or PetSmart is not a bad idea. Telling them that, you know, you only have space for clients that commit to a maintenance schedule and you define a maintenance schedule schedule as X. That's what I would tell people. I'd be like, just so you're aware, we only take on new clients that are willing to commit to a maintenance schedule. We define a maintenance schedule as four weeks or less. And you, and that's where I like consultation, groom a consultation groom is the most expensive groom they will have. And then from there, it's almost like, hey, it's gonna cost you, let's say a hundred dollars for this groom, but the next time you come in, in four weeks, we're gonna only charge you 85. Right? So it's a little bit higher. And if they say, no, I'm happy to go every eight weeks, then you know that you've gotta shift your money. And I'm a big fan of being like, if you're not willing to commit to the four week schedule and having my prices high enough, I like that business model. There are lots of business model, those guys. We talk about the Starbucks, the Dunking Donuts, and the McDonald's coffee, right? A dollar coffee is the Walmart of the grooming industry. You may even be a good groomer, but you do a lot of, and you're not worried about quality. If someone were to come in and say, Hey, I didn't like this haircut. Be like, just be grateful your dog was even groomed or really lousy customer service. You know? Or you're just doing so much, so much quantity that you just don't have time to deal with people. And we have our Dunking Donuts where they're like, they're still doing a lot of volume, but you know, if you come back, they're not gonna be happy, but they're gonna fix the haircut. Or you know, they're gonna have regulars. Most shops that are like six or eight week shops tend to be that more Dunkin donut style coffee grooming shop. And you got your Starbucks. Your Starbucks people are religiously people. For me, you know, I waited in line over an hour during the pandemic to get my Starbucks. There were two Dunking Donuts I passed that had no line, and yet I still drove 20 minutes outta the way for the only Starbucks open and waited in line for an hour. Why? Because that's the type of loyalty that people have. And that's the kind of people that are in my business. I mean, if you talk to people like Quincy, you know, she has her clients book out for a year. She literally posts, Hey, we have to book everyone for the year, and most people within 24 hours go ahead and book for the entire year. So there are ways of building those businesses. It's about building that business around what you want, right? What do you want in your business? How do you want this to look? How do you want this to be?

How is your work life balance? Now it's really interesting how this has really been in, everyone's talking about it in the Facebook groups and as always, I like to talk about things that everyone else is talking about so I can give you my impression and my spin on it. So let's go ahead and dive right into this. So first things first, let's talk about what work life balance is and what it is not. Work life balance is not crashing and burning and taking a week off that is not work life balance. With this topic, I think the most important thing is we begin by talking about what burnout is. Burnout is when you've overdone it. When you have worked beyond your means and you need either a break, you need a refresh, you need a reframing, you might need a mental health holiday, a physical holiday, you know, or pivot your businesses. I recently did a coffee live, you know, we laughed and called it a river rant on my business page and my business Facebook page rather. And it was all about millennial groomers and how people view millennial groomers as lazy. And I think that it's just that people of my generation, I'm a millennial, my both of my staff members are millennials, really value work-life balance way more than our parents did an even more so than our grandparents. You know, my grandparents are, you know, probably in their early eighties and they, you know, didn't have any work-life balance until they retired. But they also had a pension to retire to. My grandmother was a nurse and she got a pension. My grandfather was a firefighter and so he had a pension and he has a lot in social security and I think people of my age know that when we retire there's probably not gonna be any social security left as is. There's really not a lot to go around, you know, and that, and I don't wanna get into the politics of that. All I wanna talk about is I think that those things contribute to millennials being lazy. And by my definition, it's not that we're lazy, it's just we wanna retire early. We want to, we want to make the most money as fast as we can and then relax, which is our hustle culture. Alternatively, you have cottage culture, which is all about being slow and deliberate, knitting, baking bread, you know, taking long walks in the woods and really being connected to nature and being, you know, at a much slower pace. And I do think that a lot of older generations really hit that hustle culture because they knew there was something at the end of the rainbow. And I think my generation acknowledges that there's probably nothing at the end of the rainbow. There is no pension for us if we're gonna put a 4 0 1 k, you know, we have to make enough money to put it in a 4 0 1 K. And let's be very fair here with the advent of the cell phone, which is a thousand dollars computer we keep in our pocket that we've gotta replace every three years and pay a hundred dollars a month for the pleasure of using, you know, our car payments are very expensive, our rent's really high. I think all those things contribute to it. So moving into our work life balance, I think it's really important for us to consider the fact that, you know what, to you is pleasant. Like what to you is life? So for some of us that is spending time with our children, our human kids. For some of us that's spending time with our fur kids, I, I don't love fur babies. I don't mind fur kids. So I just say my two-legged and my four-legged kids, you know, what is it that inspires you to do that? Now there's many reasons that you're feeling burnt out and you don't have that work life balance. For many of us, it's working long hours, grooming as many dogs as we can because we don't know what's gonna happen in the future. We don't know, you know, if we're gonna have those people come back in four weeks or some other shop gonna open up and they're gonna go to them, can we get these people in when they call? And if we don't, are they gonna leave us and go to Petco? That feast or famine really creates that stress and that survival mentality. And I don't think it's any of our faults. I think that we've just been programmed to think that is how it's supposed to be, right? And that really is kind of how the markets have always worked. And I think a lot of people are rejecting that 'cause they're like, this is just insanity. Either I'm grooming 10 dogs a day, or if it rains, I might only groom two or three dogs a day. And that's exhausting. Not knowing that and losing that money. Another reason would be be we're not charging enough. So many groomers are not keeping up with inflation. This year alone, we've inflated at least 4%. Everything is going up, everything is shortage. The best example of inflation that I found was somebody had posted about chicken wings. Ha. And I remember chicken wings. I don't eat chicken wings. It's not my thing. I just, I find that there are a lot of work for not a lot of meat. And I, and I'm lazy. Like it's like something with lobster. I love lobster, but it's just too much work and crap. I'm like, I don't, it's just too much work for me. I'm openly lazy. Gimme a steak, gimme a hamburger, I'm good with that. Or oysters. But anyway, I digress. And I'm not opening the oyster, they'll open it for me. But chicken wings, I've always remembered them as 10 cents, 25 cents on the high end, 50 cents a wing. Well a lot of places they're now a dollar a wing or they've completely taken them off the menu. That's incredible. When something has literally doubled in price, it's due to shortages. And if you guys have tried to order shampoo recently or clippers, I mean I have been trying to order a corded k m 10 for many, many months now, and they're having shortages, there's issues around it, you know, there's lots of shortages and there's also a shortage of groomers. You know, I need to figure out where I had read that. 'cause I will never forget it said in five years we need about 50,000 groomers. And if anyone finds that, I know it was in a groomer based magazine, I have to find it. I will never forget those numbers because it just completely shocked me. But to keep up with the demand of the amount of dogs that we have that have been bred and people adopting. And I know if you know anybody, I mean everyone knows people with dogs, obviously even the cat groomers know people with dogs. People have gotten, I mean in, in my building alone, you know, we have 115 apartments. I wanna say we've added 30 or 40 dogs in this building. And that's with people moving down south. There's been people leaving and then there's been dogs and other people moving in. Most people have two dogs in my building. They got a second puppy or they adopted a new dog. I mean, it's crazy. And those dogs are going to need groomers. Now obviously people can groom their own dogs if they choose to, but as an industry, we're gonna need more people. So you might be like, okay, well what does that have to do moving forward? That means that we're gonna need, we're always going to have more pets to groom than groomers to do it. So you have to start creating healthier boundaries and you have to start creating your work life balance because it's only going to get more intense even if everyone ends up going solopreneur, which may happen guys, lots of groomers are leaving shops and opening up their own business because they want that work-life balance. And if you're an employee and you want work-life balance, you're probably not gonna get it owning your own shop unless if your boss is a jerk, which can happen in the grooming industry. But I want you to remember that it's one of those situations where you've got to start creating more money to do less dogs, to have more time off. If I am grooming 10 dogs in eight hours and I'm burning myself out because it's a power groomer, guys, it's less than an hour a dog, it's about 45 minutes a dog. That's a lot. That's really fast. And that is checking in, checking out. People want more of a connection when they are checking in. They wanna feel like, you know, like, and trust them that you care for their dog. Gone are the days of saying thing as last time, yeah, okay, bye. People don't want that anymore. And if they do want that, they'll go to Petco. And honestly, I say let them, if we talk about, you know, I hate to say older groomers, so let's call them veteran groomers. I like that better. If we talk about veteran groomers, most of them came from the generation of doing 10 dogs a day in eight hours. And that means that they were grooming guys, if they're working five days a week, they're grooming 50 dogs a week, or a hundred dog, you know, 200 dogs a month. Now I find most millennials or most people that want more work life balance wanna groom about a hundred dogs a month, which is five dogs a day, five days a week, or you know, ish. Six dogs a day, four days a week ish. And I think that's the work life balance that a lot of us are choosing. Because if I personally, now I am, I've been grooming more than 10, less than 15, not trying to age myself too bad. Although I do look kind of young. It's one of those situations where if I groomed 10 dogs a day, even with the best bathing system, even with the best scissors, everything, the best I would still, I would still be exhausted. And then when I go home to my son, I have nothing left. I have nothing left for dating and I have nothing left for him. Now again, I do think this is a generational thing. My grandparents have been married for over 60 years and when my mom was little, she would walk herself to kindergarten. You know, so my grandparents didn't have the same parenting responsibilities, nor did they ever have a situation where they were a single mom. Now my mom was a single mom, but she left before we got outta bed. We would get ourselves up and I would get my sister ready for school and I would take her to school. I would take my sister to the bus stop when we got home. I would make sure my sister got her homework done. And now mind you, my brother was older, but my brother wasn't expected to do any of these things. I don't know why. I think it's just in a very girl power meant thing. And they were kinda like, no, like girl power. You can do everything. You don't need a man. Meanwhile the boys were like, cool, you go do all the work, we're gonna go play video games. Peace, you know? But yeah, we would be there for a few hours before my mom would get home. We would, you know, reheat some food, probably watch some tv, do some homework for hours. And my son, I can't let him off the bus without being at the bus stop. Like I remember, not recently, but before Covid and he was like seven. So it wasn't like he was a peanut peanut, but literally I was walking to the bus stop. It was three houses down three houses. They would not let him off the bus. They made me walk the, they, they held up traffic while I walked the three houses to let him off the bus. It's totally different. And dating is exhausting because in my thirties, trying to meet somebody who doesn't just want a hot pocket relationship, you know, it's, it's not easy. It's not, it's not easy to date. It's takes a lot of time. I don't have friends who have friends that can set me up. And the dating pool is so big that people have so many choices. I feel like it's really hard for them to find love. So being a single mom, doing all these things, having way more expectations. Like I remember my mom in her thirties and the pressures to be pretty now. I like being pretty and I'm pretty, 'cause I wanna be pretty and I'm okay admitting I'm pretty, I like the way I look. I work really hard at that and I spend good money. You know, my mom was a beautiful woman, but you know, mom, like it didn't matter if she wore mom jeans. I mean my mother dressed the same as my grandmother who was 20, 20, 25 years older than she was. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't anything weird. And now the moms at the school I see take way more care of their bodies or take way more care of their looks and that costs money. You know, it takes time. So it's just so interesting the different pressures and that's makes it harder to have work life balance. And even the people that are married, you know, it's just very different. There's different things. We're always busy, we're always doing things. So a lot of groomers decide not to be involved in a lot of things. Like they don't do fun things with their family. If you have to work Saturdays, now this is where I thought I wanted Saturdays and Sundays off because all the events were on Saturdays, weddings and barbecues and all these things are on Saturdays. I mean, my generation definitely does way more get togethers than my parents' generations. And if they did do a barbecue at my mom's house, it goes from, you know, anywhere from like, it used to be like show up between 10 and like midnight whenever you get free. It was like an all day event. But now it's almost like curated and it's more pumping circumstance, you know? But I mean my parents were basically like, we've got beer. Bring your own food, we'll be here. And so it's just different with that. Why does that matter? Well it matters because when you're don't looking at your pricing, if you are are, if you're an employer hiring people, you're not. And especially if you're a veteran groomer hiring someone and you're trying to replace somebody. If you're trying to rep, if you're a power groomer, a veteran power groomer, grooming 10 to 13 dogs a day, now you're getting tired in your fifties, you're not gonna find a millennial willing to do 10 or 13 dogs a day. And it's not 'cause they're lazy, it's because they care about their body and they want work life balance. And I don't think there's anything wrong with the life choice you made, but my generation saw your generation physically and emotionally and mentally suffer, right? Why would we want that? That sucks. We, we watched you, we don't want that for us, you know? And so you are not gonna probably hire a power groomer because even if you are a power groomer, you're probably gonna go work for yourself, right? So what's the alternative is to hire a lazy millennial, right? Who's only gonna groom five to eight dogs a day? So then, okay, if that's the case, why is that bad? Why, why wouldn't you want employees who choose work-life balance over doing as many dogs as physically possible? Well, I'll tell you why. Because you don't wanna increase your prices because you have unintentionally, artificially kept the industry low. And I don't blame you for this because you probably, it's really hard to tell people you deal with all the time and you have to go up a good way to look at it. And I'm gonna do my math right here. So let's say you were charging $20 a dog, a shitzu in 1980, right? So a 4% increase would be only 80 cents, right? Well if you'd keep doing that over time, and I could probably, you know, I mean just Google, 4% increase over 20. I'm doing my math 'cause I'm thinking eighties, that wasn't long ago. Nineties, two thousands, 2000 tens, 2000 twenties guys. The eighties was 40 years ago. Isn't that nuts? Every time I think about that, it's just like, here we go. Best inflation calculator from 2021. So if we had $20 and we've done this before in 1980, just to keep up with inflation, it would be about $65. So an average inflation rate guys of 2.94% means that we have accumulated inflated 225%. Think about that. In 40 years, prices have gone up 225%. I don't know, many grooming salons owned by a groomer who's been grooming 30, 40 years. That has increased their prices by 200%. Now a lot of us, when we started, so I was charging $55, let's say in 2010, no, 2011 technically. So right now if I charge $55, that means my in cumulative inflation rate has gone up 19% as of last year, well technically this year, 2021, right? So if I owned a grooming salon, which I did in 20 21, 20 11, sorry, in oh my god, in 10 years, Jesus Christ. That was just a, every time I talk dates I'm like, no problem. Then I'm like, oh my god, that's so long ago. 10 years ago just to keep up with inflation, I would've had to gone up 66 bucks. And guys, that's just inflation. That's not including being 10 years better. A groomer having a better clientele. Everything I buy is going up with that same inflation, right? So if I had a, I use light pooch, so the same thing, the gallons go up. So here's the thing is that sometimes we say, okay, well we'll just go up $5 a year, right? That's what we'll do. We'll just do a nice round $5 a year. Again that would be $20 in, you know, in four years. You're like, that should be enough, right? Well it depends, depends on a lot of things guys. Depends on so much ha what services are you offering? Is that more in demand? Has minimum wage gone up? 'cause let's also look up really quickly, minimum wage. What was minimum wage in 1980? So just to keep up with inflation, a $20 shihtzu should, should now be about $65. And if you guys are doing shihtzu for less than $65, that's insane. You're not keeping, you're, you're way below that. So just to put in perspective, that $20 shihtzu minimum wage was $3 and 10 cents. Now in 2011, federal, let's do federal. So interesting. Federal minimum wage is basically the same, it's at 7 25 in 2011. So it's very interesting when you look at all this, and obviously no one can live on 7 25. I know there are some rural areas that can, but 90% of us in the United States cannot live on that kind of money. So, and this is what's interesting in 2011, that was the federal minimum wage. What is it in 2021? Is it the same? I always get confused 'cause I think about my state. Yeah, non-exempt employees is still the same. That's very fascinating. So that's very interesting. That's feral. I think that being able to shift your business in the way that allows you to build a business that you want in a positive way, I think is really beautiful. It's really empowering and that's where you can really get your work life balance. Because a previous generation, you know, or two generations ago after you've been growing 30 years, you are, you're our grandparents' age. Unless we had kids late, I had my kid early. So like, it's funny, my son has a great-grandfather who's in his eighties, you know. But I think reevaluating your business is so empowering and this is the best time to do it guys. It's never been a better time or a better excuse to make wild changes in your business. There are a lot of groomers who are completely, completely changing their business model, partly because their employees don't appreciate them. If you're an employer, you're poised, don't appreciate you. And if you're an employee, there's a lot of, you know, employers who are those angry old school power groomers. You know, know when I was your age, I washed every dog with dawn and I had the hand scissor everything. Like, that's awesome, good for you. That would be terrible. You know? And I'm like, listen, you know, my grandparents had a dirt floor for two years. Doesn't mean that's the lifestyle I wanna live. Remember for work life balance, you know, if you're, how many dogs can you groom? Do you wanna work eight hours a day? How many days a week do you wanna work? And how many hours do you wanna work? If you wanna work five hours over four days grooming and then take another five to 10 hours. 'cause how many hours a week are you guys doing office hours and things like that? Consider how many hours you're working as a groomer and then how many hours you're working in your office, in your marketing, you know, booking appointments, whatever it is. That's also why, guys, I suggest office hours and they should be short, they should be extraordinarily short or get rid of them at all. You know, Tiffany and I have been working on her business where she will either rebook you right after your appointment, otherwise you have to book online. She will not book you over the phone, she will not book you any of those ways. And we actually did in group mentoring, we worked on a script for her to be able to explain that to clients and it really helped her. You know, Brianna, who has an incredible talent, we can get her to have to work three to four days a week doing three to four dogs a day and make a livable wage. She doesn't need to work five days a week grooming five or six dogs. And even then that, that sounds like, oh, it's not a lot of dogs, but it depends on the level of what you're doing. I said the market will bear whatever the market will bear. And I wanna just point out one thing to you guys. If I groom 10 Shih tzus at $50, if half my clienteles leave and I charge a hundred dollars, I will make the same amount of money, right? So guys, here is, here's the math, 10 shihtzu times 50 bucks, 500 bucks. Now 10 shihtzu times. Whoop, I'm sorry, five shih tzus times a hundred bucks says guess what? 500 bucks. So if you charge double and you lost half your clientele, you'd be fine. You'd be fine. And think about the work life balance. So that is all about work life balance. And it is, guys, it's so important. You charge enough so you can build this life you want and then you can help other people and you know, whatever that is. And we talk about in the group, we talk about Tabitha teach and test Thrive. Do you wanna travel and just be a good parent? Or do you wanna like be a good wife or husband? Whatever it is, you know? Or maybe you wanna teach people a skillset. You know, my goal is to be able to have a community where we're teaching and we're changing our industry.

So let's go ahead and start talking about today's topic. So today I wanna talk about how childhood wounds affect business. Now, again, it sounds really corny, but I was reading this LinkedIn article recently and I thought, wow, this is me. All of this stuff was just me over and over and over again. And the article talked about, and if you guys want the link, I can put the link down below. But I just found it really, really fascinating and I was gonna put it up there, but the internet is not cooperating. So here are five glaring signs that you've experienced, childhood, basically wounds. One is you're scared to speak up to advocate or defend yourself. And when I think about grooms, I think about how we're afraid to advocate for ourselves. We're afraid to tell people our new price. We're afraid to do all of these things, enforce our policies, right? We're afraid they're going to get angry, or we're afraid they're going to leave us. And for a lot of that of us, that is a childhood wound. That is somebody taught us to not advocate for ourselves or not to defend ourselves. And unfortunately, I see this over and over and over again. One of the most important components of my price Increase Masterclass is all about how we need to really become the advocates for ourselves and use numbers, not feelings, to decide what our pricing should be. Okay? And the number two is, you don't experience yourself as a person of worth or value. So again, I really hate the phrase in the grooming industry, charge what you're worth. I think it's kind of a toxic thing to say, but if you listen to groomers on why we should charge this or we should charge that, it's all based on their skillset, right? It's not about I deserve a livable wage, my employees deserve a livable wage. It's all about my skillset. I offer this. And obviously we do need to make sure that you are creating a product or service that people wanna buy. We wanna make sure that you are creating that scenario, of course. But let's be real here. How many times have you seen someone say, you know what? I just have to make a livable wage. Most unless of it is, I deserve this because I'm worth it. But you know, what is that intrinsic value? A lot of times I'll hear people say something along the lines of, you know, I'll be able to charge more when I become certified, or I'll be able to charge more when we get the bigger facility. Or when I get the brand new mobile. It's like, okay, but do you not deserve to be comfortable? Right? Do you not deserve to live there? Number three, you're highly defensive and reactive and you can't respond with calm. Basically. You can't respond calmly. And with a little bit of, I don't wanna say dignity, that's not fair on the flip side, right? You either have the groomer who won't defend themselves at all, right? And when they finally do defend themselves, what do they do? They start flipping out on their customers. They're nasty, they're rude, they're downright mean, right? And it's almost like this overcorrect correction. So we have somebody who's like, okay, I'm gonna go from being really kind, you know, almost this doormat, and now I'm gonna be angry and venomous. So there's of course something in the middle. But I find that these are the two most common things that groomers do, right? And there's a big difference. And it was explaining, reacting versus responding. You know? And when someone tells me, you know, $600 for price increase, masterclass is too much money. I don't engage with that. You know? Or if I do, you know, I'll ask 'em. I said, okay, well what do you think is a fair price? Because I asked them to think about it. What do they feel like that it's valued at? And if they say like $20, that's when I explain, well, it's six hours of coaching content, right? Six hours of workshops. And that's a lot, right? It's a lot of content. So you know, that's very different than go f yourself. If you don't like the praise, you go, go to hell, da, da da. No. And I need to do that. 'cause if they don't wanna buy my product, then that's okay. And the same thing with grooming. And I've been in a cat van all week and their grooming prices started a hundred dollars for a cat. I mean, some people are paying $180 for a cat client. And if somebody is like, oh, it's very expensive, then you know, you can, you can have that conversation, right? 'cause a lot of times it's not that they don't, it's not that they don't, they can't afford it or it's expensive. It's that it's more than they thought it would be, or it's just not in their budget. And that's okay. And this is signs of a childhood wound. Now this doesn't mean that your parents are bad. This doesn't mean that anyone did anything wrong. Like I know there were things in retrospect, my son is 10 that I should have done better, but I didn't have the skillset to help him out, right? I would be a better mother today when he was little, because I know more and I'm older than I did then, you know? And you, there's just always more research. So when we wanna look at how we were affected as a child, we need to then go, okay, you know, when else do I act like this in my personal life? You know, things like accommodating versus actually being real. How many times do we over promise? We don't wanna tell that client, we're gonna shave your dog. And instead what they tell 'em is, we're gonna do our best. Not, I was far more snarky, oh, when I owned my grooming salon. And if somebody said, save as much as you can, and they would have like a pelto dog, I'd be like, what? In a bag? Because, you know, and I would tell him, I'm like, no, he's gonna be Mr. Clean bald. And so what would happen is if he came back with even a little bit of hair, they were happy. Versus if we promised them I'll save as much as I can. 'cause we wanna be accommodating. We wanna be that appeasing child. Then when that dog comes back at a four and we're really proud of ourselves, they see that as if we had shaved with a 30, right? Another one is complaining versus requesting. I love you. I love you all. Most of my listeners are not this person. But there is definitely a problem in our grooming industry with people just complaining about situations versus asking their clients, right? A lot of people say, my clients won't pay that, right? And I'll be like, okay, well have you asked them to pay that? And they're like, no, but they won't. And I go, okay, well ask the clients you don't like if they will pay that first, right? And of course, we do strategies, we do so many things like that in my coaching, a lot of times I will get so much pushback, pushback, pushback, pushback. And it's this, it's this. Complaining instead of, instead of actually going through with it, I said, okay, well let's actually request what you want. But it's this avoidance tactic of, I'll just complain because I don't wanna confront compromising integrity versus leading with truth. I see this in the grooming industry. When instead of shaving a matted dog or shaving a matted cat, we try to save the coat. I'm sorry if they neglected their pet did not brush it. And I don't expect my customers to brush their pets. And I'll tell you why. 'cause I mean, let's just say when I was in, when I was in my shop and when I was in my mobile, 'cause it's, it's like promising your dentist, you're not gonna eat candy. I would rather them be real with me and tell the truth. And let's create a plan based on the truth versus me having to compromise my integrity. So a lot of us would rather again, be that appeasing child and try to save a dog versus hand them back a bald dog or cat. I mean cat, I feel like it's easier 'cause you're like, listen, I'm not DM demanding this cat. I don't wanna die. Number four, you've internalized the narciss system or emotional manipulation of your parents or other authority figures in your life and potentially demonstrate some narcissistic traits. Now, I did say what, you know, what are common things of a narcissistic personality? Now, I'm not saying you guys are narcissistic, but after, and I love reading these articles 'cause they're so eye-opening. Here is a nar. Here's examples of a narcissistic personality. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance. Exaggerates achievements and talents expects to be recognized as superior without actually having the achievements. And so you have groomers that are like, I'm a worm, I'm worthless. Like I'm not this person. And then you have some groomers. Their business is shit like, their business is awful. They're not good groomers. They have a terrible personality. Their shop is garbage, and they think they deserve $200 an hour. So we do have groomers like that, guys, and maybe they're not a narcissist, but they have this inflated sense of ego. They have this inflated sense of importance. Like I, you know, again, going from I deserve a livable wage is very different than I'm here. So I deserve 50%. I don't know why I deserve 50%, but I deserve 50% commission, right? To is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love. That sounds a lot like you guys when you're planning these big giant businesses. I wanna own 10 grooming salons with daycare and boarding and grooming. And I go, okay, well tell me the reality version of that. How are you gonna get a million dollars to open this facility? Do you even want these or is it just this again, grandiose egoic plan, this fantasy. And that's, that's very different. It's, there's a big difference between daydreaming and fantasizing in unhealthy ways, right? And a lot of you guys, when you're talking about this future business, you wanna run, you wanna run a business where your employees will magically take care of themselves. And I never have to be there and I'm just gonna replace me and I'm gonna pay them $15 an hour and I'm gonna have 30 of these salons. Like it's complete fantasy. Like complete fantasy requires excessive admiration. This may manifest different in groomers than people think. We really love when our customers hero worship us, when we save that dog's coat, we feel like a hero. We need to a lot of groomers. So when I teach how to run a grooming salon, I do not want the groomer to be the one to check in and out the dog. What I want is a receptionist to check in out the dog. And a groomer will often tell you, I don't want there to be any kind of communication error. And then I'll say, okay, but don't you write down the notes for next time? And they're like, well, yeah. And I said, okay. So if you write down the notes, then communication should not be a problem, right? But what it really comes down is they want that gratification of that relationship. They want that owner to make them feel important. And there's nothing wrong with that when done correctly. But a lot of times it's just in a very toxic ways. Believes he or she is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should be associated with other special and high status people. So I'm gonna use this in a way that I definitely have this tendency, not so much of like this really high status, but I often feel like the only kind of people I can be friends with, the only kind of people that can understand me are other groomers. I really struggle with making friends outside of the grooming industry. Do I make them? Yes. But are they significantly harder? Yes. Because I really feel like I, I will never be understood by anyone but a groomer. And it's such a weird tendency, right? 'cause some of it's true, some of it's like, you know, no one's gonna understand what it's like to have an in their hair, but a groomer. But there's so many instances where we self isolate as an industry, right? You could have someone buy a grooming business and they have done, like they, they're, they're, they will work alongside of us, right? They're not a groomer, but they will bathe with us. They'll blow dry with us. They will always help around us. They will never be our equal unless if they have been a groomer before. And that's a weird potentially narcissistic tendency in this industry. One is interpersonally exploitative takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends. Not so much, not so much intentional, but we've all done this, right? We've all had our bather or our employee do the dog that we don't wanna do. You know, a lot of times the reason that we are hiring that groomer or hiring that bather or hiring that receptionist is to do shit we don't wanna do. Right? It's like we won't do it. So we want our bather to do it. I'll, I'll say all the time to groomers like it, you know, they'll be like, I don't wanna groom cats, so I'm gonna hire someone, right? And I'll be like, okay, well do you wanna groom cats? And they're like, hell no, I would never groom cats, cats. They're terrible, dah dah. I'm like, okay, well then why are we hiring someone to do a service that you don't wanna do? And if they leave, they can't do, right? So, and I see a lot of grooming businesses, grooming salons built on the idea of instead of creating a team and a long lasting business, it's like, I don't wanna groom so I'm going to exploit somebody else so they can groom until their bodies don't work. I can't groom forever. So I have to have someone groom. And I'm like, okay, well how long do you think they, how long have you been grooming? They'll be like, 10 years. I'm like, okay, they've been grooming 10 years, so you expect 'em to work for you for 10 years. And then what? And they're like, oh, I expect 'em to groom for 30 years. I'm like, well, don't really work that way, does it? Another one is envious of others who believes that others are envious of him or her. Yeah, lots of groomers yell. They do not. They do not. How do I say this? In the nicest of ways, guys. Guys. You know, being nice is not my, my forte. I also love grooming cats. Ml, W j I, that's all I was doing all week is not all week, but I was in the cat van and I love it. I had so much fun playing with the cats and grooming the cats. So again, a lot of groomers would be like, oh, you know, so and so does this. So a lot of groomers will just sit there and like, they're just mean bitches. They're like, oh, that salon, they think they're so good, they charge this amount of money. Who can afford that? I would never make my clients pay that kind of money. That's highway robbery. That's price gouging. That's this, that's that. I mean, it's like high school envy, right? Another one is lacks empathy is unwilling or to recognize or identify with the feelings or needs of others. Most groomers are incredibly empathetic until they're not. I find a lot of power groomers tend to lack empathy. They'll be like, well I have, I can groom 10 pets. Why can't my brand new baby groomer? Right? 'cause your groomer's been grooming less than a year. Or they'll hire somebody and they're like, why can't they do everything I do? And I'm like, that's because if they could do what you do, they would open their own business, right? On the flip side, you have employees that are like, I want 50%. And when we're like, well in order to keep the business open we need to keep all payroll under 30%. And they're like, well I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna go work somewhere else. That definitely lacks empathy, right? So there's all these different ways that, and this was just in this article, the last way. The fifth way says, you don't believe you have what it takes to make true positive change in your life. And this hit me hard guys part of partly because I see so many groomers who are ready for change, but it's like you can get, I can give you guys all the tools, I can give you all the knowledge. I can give you hundreds and hundreds of hours of free shit and hours of paid stuff. But it's up to you to do the work. And it's up for y up to you to actually do it. And one trick I will say in one-on-one coaching is like, okay, let's close our eyes and picture ourselves in a year. Let's say in that year, you have not implemented what you have decided. You need to implement. Think, okay, now picture five years and you have not implemented what we need to implement. Let's think of 10 years and we have not implemented what we need to implement, right? 10 years is a lot of years, guys. We overestimate what we can do in one year and we underestimate what we can do in 10. If you had told River Lee that in 10 years she was going to open and sell to grooming businesses and become an international business coach, I would've told you you were on crack. I've been like, there is no way I could do all of that in 10 years. And yet here I am. I went from being pregnant, living in my car to being here. And it's amazing guys. But what we need to do is actually believe it. And when we believe it, we put our feet and do action. Now, don't get me wrong, and this is, this is one of the biggest things, right? So all these childhood wounds are affecting your business because they make you go back to what, whatever your habit was as a little kid, you know? And, and I want you guys, you're gonna be triggered. If you have a family that's anything like mine, you're gonna be triggered. I'm planning on going to Florida for Christmas and New Year's because I put me first. I know that sounds super selfish, but my emotional wellbeing is so much more important to me than I ever realized. Because when I'm okay and when I'm good, I'm a better parent. I'm a better business coach, I'm a better person. You know, my sister is gonna be a mom. Well she, she's due on the 20th of January, but that baby is coming in hot, you know? And I think about her and I think about everything that she's gonna have to go through. And her pregnancy is triggering me because she is gonna be a single mom. And that's so hard for me to watch someone make the same mistakes I made. Not that my son was a mistake, but you know, if I could, if there's any way that I could have protected her from doing that, it would've, but I can't. And that's very hard because my role in the family when I was growing up was the reality. And the person, like everyone would ignore the elephant in the room, whatever the elephant in the room was. And my job was to say, Hey, there's an elephant. Is, does anyone else see this elephant? 'cause it's here, it's here. And then my job in my family when I was growing up is to figure, to figure out how to get the elephant out. And you don't realize that. But as you get older, you just, you recognize it. 'cause 10 years seems to go really quickly the older you get. But so for my family, like I have to go, okay, who am I in my family? And what was my go-to feeling? And when I was a kid, my go-to feeling was anger, resentment, picking fights, arguing. Because if I was the good nice girl, then everyone just lived in this other reality. Just sharing guys, my dad was an alcoholic and my brother to this day will not acknowledge that our father was an alcoholic. Nope. He, he just won't. My, my brother, if you, if you talk to about our dad, he won't acknowledge it. And that's his journey, not mine. But there's a lot of wounds that come with that. It, you know, there's lots of, you know, why did my parent pick a substance over me? And the shame and the hiding and learning how to deal with your own adult feelings around alcohol, and am I gonna end up like my dad? And, and my dad died when he was 40. Ironically, the man died of mono. You would think he would've died of any other thing on the planet, but he died of mono. But you know, it's, I'm sure his immune system was just so compromised from drinking and everything. And the reason I share that is because when I talked to a lot of other people, when we have these childhood experiences that were not perfect, my mom worked really, really hard. She had her own issues. The woman I grew up with doesn't exist. My mom is so amazing. Yeah. Melissa Hall's saying, I love your mom. I love my mom too. But she has grown tremendously in the last 10 years. You know, and I'm not, I'm not talking bad about her. No different than I wouldn't talk bad about me. You know, I think about who I was growing up and I was a very angry kid and my own issues because 'cause of the things I went through. But like my mom is so wonderful in giving and supportive now, but she wasn't when I was growing up. And she wasn't when she was young, hurt people. Hurt people. And when I was, when I had my son, you know, I lived in my car and then I lived six months in my grooming salon. My mom had just gotten out of this really messed up relationship. She had dated a crack head for like 10 years. And she didn't, she just, she just pretended like this man had never done drugs. And, you know, and that's, I don't blame her for that. You know, that was a pattern that was from her family's pattern. You know, her growing up, you know, and again, I don't wanna just divulge those dynamics, but my grandparents had un unideal dynamics. And then when my mom was 14, my uncle Bobby died, so her brother died. And basically her whole family abandoned her and just pretended like he was still alive. You know? And that's really tough. And then when you go from there to being a mom of three kids with a dad who works, you know, my dad worked 80 hours a week. He was, he worked seven days a week and if he took a day off, he was intoxicated. You know? And I, I can't even imagine being in that position. And so when you think of that, that role she played and the role I had to play in my life, of course it affects my business, right? I think about how much validation I needed in my business when I had my shop. Especially I know my grandparents love me very, very much, but even now they ask me when I'm gonna get a real job. My mother bought my mobile growing business. She makes more money running the mobile business than she does as a full-time teacher. They keep asking her, when is she gonna just dump this? Because who would ever do this? And who would ever pay this? And they're just so unsupportive. And I think I have grown enough to step away from it. And I'm so proud of my mom because she, I, I can't imagine if that was my dad. You know, my dad had his own issues. But, you know, I can't imagine being a woman in her. I don't know if she's in her fifties or sixties. I don't even wanna say that. I feel like I'm gonna age my mom too much. But I can't imagine being a grown woman. You know, I'm a grown woman, but she's a grown ass woman. And having my father who I just want to be proud of me telling me I'm a failure all the time. I can't imagine how that, and that does affect her business. But that's why I'm here. Right? And then for her, you know, when I need that support, it's hard. She can't give me that support. Right? I'm giving her that support. And that's a different dynamic. So that affects my business because I have to self parent myself. Yeah. You know? And so for, for me in my business, you know, at this point doing coaching, there's all, if you think about this, if I have a mother who can't stand up to her father saying, when are you gonna get a new real job? You know, you're gonna be a failure. You're not gonna be able to do this. If I need support, she can't give me support. She can't gimme support and she can barely stand up for herself against my grandparents, nevermind standing up for me. So this affected my business in the beginning because when I had customers, especially when they'd be like, oh, does your mom own this job place? 'cause I looked very young and I would want them again at that defensiveness, that overly angry defensive, no ironed this, I deserve this, I do this. And it was so mad. And it was because I was taking out childhood wounds from wanting my mom to stand up for me and wanting my grandparents to see that I was successful. Taking it out on customers, you know? And we do this guys, and we don't mean to do it. You know, sometimes, you know, our parents told us we didn't deserve things or other wounds around money. Maybe it was that. Who do you think you are? You know, the queen of England. You know, when you want something or you want some money or whatever. My dad used to tell me all the time when I was a little girl, you know, and this is, this is not very nice. But he would tell me, you know, you got born to the wrong family. You know, you, we can't afford to keep you. You know, he was just really mean. And people that are hurt, hurt other people. So I grew up with a dad who was a drunk, a very functional, drunk, but a drunk. And he was a very mean drunk. Never, never aggressive and never physically harmful. But he said really mean things, you know, he told my sister, I know this pregnancy is affecting her because he told her the only thing she'd ever be good for is being pregnant and living off of a man. And I know that's, you know, absolutely devastated her. She never wanted to be a mom because of that. And again, how does that affect her business? Well, now that she is pregnant, now she doesn't own a business, she's an employee, but she doesn't wanna celebrate her pregnancy. She doesn't wanna tell anyone she's pregnant 'cause she's afraid of being judged. And that's gonna affect her, her workday. Because instead of, you know, telling clients, Hey, I'm nine months pregnant, she's trying to hide the fact, and that's not possible. But in her mind, she's going to do that. And for some of us that have had, you know, pregnancy issues, you know, I, I had a very traumatic pregnancy with my son because I didn't feel loved and supported by anyone. And then with my twin daughters that I, I lost at 20 weeks, you know, there was a lot of trauma for me about fearful that she might get. I, I, I, I, if you guys that don't know, I always assume people know I had, I was pregnant with twin daughters, we lost 'em at 20 weeks. My spouse left me, I went septic and I almost died. It was incredibly traumatic. And for me, I know my wounds are coming out because I'm fearful for her health. I'm fearful for the business, right? Because God forbid something happens to this baby or to her, you know, I'm up right now staying at an Airbnb to support my family, to help support their business. You know? And honestly, I don't mind grooming cats. So it's not a big deal. But it affects my business because that childhood wound where I'm the fixer, I'm the helper here I am leaving where I had just moved to South Carolina and up up here to help cover some of her maternity leave, right? And that affects savvy groomer because, you know, here I am trying to work out of an Airbnb instead of being home and stable and you know, in a place where, you know, the lighting isn't crap and the internet isn't inconsistent. So we do this, you know, and a lot of it is just acknowledging it. And then self parenting. Self parenting sounded like the biggest crock of shit I ever heard until I started doing it. It's been one of the best things I have ever done. So whenever I do something, let's say like today, you know, I was trying to get the lighting right in here and I was trying to get it cute in here. And there was just no way I, between getting the lighting, being near the internet, having my computer set up all of it, there was just only so many options. And I was so mad and so frustrated. And what was going through my head is, C, you're a failure. C you can't even do this. Right? Like, it was all these awful things that kept running through my head. And I had to take a step back and go, Hey, hey, hey. Right? Because unfortunately I don't have my mom a little bit now, but I didn't have neither grandparents nor a parent to say, Hey kiddo, you're doing the best you can. And you know what? You're doing this, you're gonna have a live show. Things happen. And if they can't accept it, and if they can't be happy that you're even here, well they can go fuck themselves. Right? That's what I need someone to say. And I don't really have anyone right now in my life. I don't have a husband to say that. I know if I asked my friends, they would say that, but you know, it's not really a conversation I wanna have with my friends, right? Because I know they're, you know, not placating me, but like I know they're gonna say that. So I have to start saying that to me. I have to say, Hey river, you're okay. You know? And just talk to myself kindly. And for a lot of us, you can tell how many people have had healthy, really healthy, really supportive childhoods by asking them, man, isn't the voice in your head nasty? And basically everyone I know goes, yes, you're, and it's because the voice in our head is basically our parents. And unless, and the people I know that don't have that problem, they have amazing, lovely, healthy, supportive parents. And that's not many people I know. And I think it's 'cause I don't attract those people. 'cause they don't need a lot of things I have to offer. You don't need help in their business. The way that somebody who has been through trauma does. And I find most groomers have had trauma. When you pick pets over people, it's generally because you can't trust people when you would rather take a dog who will bite you and poop on the table, or a cat that's gonna try and piss in your face, you know, over a person. It's 'cause you don't trust people. And that's okay. It's okay, you know? But we need to long term start either acknowledging these wounds and going, okay, how is this affecting my business, unintentionally affecting my business? You know? And it doesn't mean you fix 'em today. I mean, I've been on a three year, I don't wanna call it spiritual journey, healing journey, working on myself. And it's not easy. And it's really hard to pick myself first. And there's all the guilt on every level. And I have to go, okay, if I had this perfect parent, you know, and sometimes it's the perfect mom and sometimes it's the perfect dad, you know, like when I think about like a perfect mom, it, you know, what I would want mom to say is, you know, river, you have to put yourself first. Your mental health comes first. And then she would tell me when, when the airplane is going down, the oxygen mask come down, you've gotta put it on you first. 'cause if you're not okay, no one else is okay. Right? And on days when I feel like I'm gonna die alone, and that's an irrational fear, right? But again, childhood wounds. My grandfather told me at 25 that I was getting old and he didn't want me to die alone. Now that's because he was told, you know, he got married at 18, he was basically told, this is what you do. And we told my mother, basically, you get married and this is what you do. My grandparents have been married forever. You know? And this is just what you do. So it's one of those things like in a perfect world that dad would be like, Hey, don't worry about it. Mr. Wright is coming and he's gonna cherish you and he's gonna love you. Well, that same dad who would tell you that about a boy would tell you that about a customer, right? And this is why I always talk about that soulmate client. If you had that dad, that dad who would say, you wait for the right man, he's gonna come in. Maybe not on a white horse, but he's gonna be everything you ever dreamed of. That is the same dad that when you say, I wanna fire this customer. And he would say, well, tell me why. And you would say how this customer is disrespectful and mean and awful. He would be like, you know what, sweetie, here's what we do. We're gonna write a script together. We're gonna fire this client and the right one is gonna come along. And that's what a lot of us need is those perfect parents that we didn't have. So we've gotta create them and parent ourselves. And I do find that in a lot of my coaching, I have to, I don't wanna say parent people, but I have to be that supportive voice. 'cause it's hard to believe in yourself. And it's not that you don't believe in yourself at all, but it's like, there's only so far we can go. You believe we can be his success, but only a little bit of a success. Right? Just, just enough. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the my TED Talk today. Today's topic was all about how C child childhood wounds affect business. And these are just examples. If you're triggered this holiday season, give yourself some grace. Parent yourself. And then when you hear these wounds come up, think about how you are internalizing them and projecting them in your business, you're gonna be so much happier. Once I realized that I didn't need the approval of my grooming clients, it was so much easier. I didn't need their validation. I needed my validation. I knew it was badass. I knew my grooms were, my dog grooms were okay. My cat grooms pretty damn good. You know, I didn't need that validation from them anymore. That validation I was seeking from them was validation I wanted from my, my family. And then once I didn't need that, the customer's validation anymore, that's when my mom paid attention and she saw someone she wanted to be. And that was really, really good for me. A lot of us keep awful clients because that was our role as a kid. The peacekeeper. The pleaser, the accommodator, right? It's almost like you feel like you deserve, right? I don't know if your family did that at all. A lot of people's family told them they didn't. They, they didn't feel like they could have that autonomy. And not to get too far down that rabbit hole, but if you guys have had any physical violations, and then it's very hard for people that have had been through that kind of trauma to say no. Or on the flip side, they're very sensitive and say no to everything.

So this week's topic, if preparing for the holiday rush, you might be like, what does that even mean? And we'll get into that. But this is gonna be the perspective from the employees. I think it's so important to talk about not just being a business owner, but for those of you guys that are employees, or if you are a business owner and you have employees, I want you to think about these things for your employees because building a great culture is so important. So let's talk first about stocking up. I know we talked about this in the last video, but what's important for an employee to stock up on, depending upon how your business is run, would be make sure your stuff is in good working orders, blades, clippers, make sure your stuff is sharpened. If it isn't sharpened already, make sure that you go out and you order a bunch of new blades. And you might be like, why? And it's very simple. If you do a ton of once a year shave downs or a dog comes in matted, or you drop your blades, or your fellow coworker drops an entire box of your blades, which has happened to me, you need to have extras. And some shops, you're very blessed and you have coworkers that'll lend you stuff. The shop may have their very own blades and extra things like that, but not everyone does. Make sure you have everything within working order because you don't wanna be doing all of those grooms with stuff that's not working. Change your blade, drive, send out your clippers if you have a spare clipper, make sure everything that you may need between now and Christmas is done. Most people will try to send it out after Thanksgiving to get it back the last two weeks before Christmas, and everyone does that so everyone's like, oh, I'll just send it out right after Thanksgiving. It's great. But everyone has that idea. And if you do that and your sharpness backlogged either A, if they're rushing through everyone, they're not gonna do a great job. Or worse, they may not even get you your stuff back. Make sure you have extras if you have to order them. Don't order them the day before, even if Amazon Prime promises one to two day shipping because they're gonna start getting back love with Christmas crap. If you have only one smock, order another order. Two more. In a perfect world, your shop will provide you with a smock. If your shop is not one of those shops and you need to provide your own smock, you really need to consider having at least one or two extras, especially if they're on their last thread. What are you gonna do if you have like your zipper rips or like I like the pullover ones and let's say that's starting to come undone. The same thing with grooming pants. And if it's starting to come undone, it is time to get an extra one. And I would strongly suggest that you keep those either in your car or in a locker, wherever you have it in the shop that you can keep it. Let's be honest, if you get soaked and water, like you know, like those burners that like saturate you, they shake all over you and you're sopping wet head toe, either that or you get anal glands or a dog poops or pees all over you and then you've got a spare set and that just makes you a holiday way more merry. There's nothing worse than smelling like dog or cat pee all day and not having a spare smock. And speaking of spare clothes, you know how your shoes are looking. Do they need to be replaced or need to be replaced shortly? If you're thinking they need to be replaced in the next one to two months, I would just go out and buy another pair. I don't care if they're sneakers or dance clothes or whatever it is, you don't wanna be going through this holiday season rushing around in shoes that are falling apart because that is a health hazard and it's really bad for your back and your knees. You need your back and knees, especially right now. And let's say you order it again with the Christmas season, you know the post office u p s, FedEx, they're at capacity. They may or may not be able to get you your stuff and if they can't get you your stuff, then you might have a hole in your shoe or have the soles coming undone and not being able to get them. And I would strongly suggest investing in a good pair of shoes. We are on our feet all day, and even those of you guys are lucky enough to have boss that lets you sit to groom. It's still a lot of pressure on our feet and we need good shoes. It's always great to have a backup pair. Don't wear flip flops when you're grooming like I do. That's bad. I have my, I would say they're, they're in pretty good shape. You know, Dan goes, and then my older pair are not quite dead, so that is my backup pair. And so let's talk about the truth. Okay, is the shop you work for a shit show or is it a sanctuary? I'd really like to invite you guys to have a respectful conversation with your boss, and these are a few of the topics I want you to talk about. Go ahead and ask them how many dogs or cats they're honestly expecting you to groom. And this comes down to you'll know. You'll know if your shop is the kind of shop, if you've worked there multiple seasons, are they the kind of shop that just buries you and dogs because people keep calling and they don't wanna turn away pets. And this is especially true if you're working for a salon that is not run by someone who's ever been a groomer, a son has been a groomer. They could be that veteran groomer that's like, oh, I can groom 15 dogs a day. And you're like, well, I'm a six dog person. So you know, have a honest, respectful conversation with them. And be honest with how many large dogs you can honestly groom before you start to feel hurt, you'll injure yourself. Worst case scenario, your boss doesn't want you to be injured. If you are injured, you can't work and do not work when you are injured. That is a great way to have permanent injuries. I know it sounds really kind of dark and morbid, but if you pull your back and you keep lifting dogs, your body is cannot maintain that something else is going to give. And you need to have a constitution of boss about large dogs. I find that the holiday season really was our biggest large dog season. That could create a lot of physical pain because not only are you gonna be lifting heavy dogs, dogs groom once a year are generally not the best behave. They tend to lay down, they tend to lay down on top of you. They tend to buck and act up just because they don't know what the routine is. And doing a lot of brushing is again really bad for our bodies doing a lot of scissoring. If they expect you to hand scissor, that dog is really bad for your body. So you know your body, you know your limits. If you're a baby groomer and you've never groomed, this is your first holiday season, first of all, welcome baby groomer being a groomer's awesome, you'll love it, you'll stay with us forever. But if you're a baby groomer, I would not do more than one to two large dogs per day. If you are doing an average of five dogs, which is very normal for a baby groomer doing more than five dogs. So I would say like hops two dogs, like two big dogs and then three little dogs. Without sounding weird to your boss, I would have a very frank conversation reminding them and making sure that there is workers' comp. Not every state requires your employer to have workers' comp. I'm gonna assume you guys are legal. W two employees. There is almost nowhere where being an independent contractor groomer is legal. If you are a groomer who gets paid under the table, you are really running the risk of getting badly injured and losing your career because you didn't wanna pay, you know, probably 10 to 15% taxes because your boss pays the other half. Be careful because you know, if you are an independent contractor and not a W two employee, then you need to have disability insurance as well as T B I, which just temporary disability insurance. If you are a legal W two employee, I would have a really respectful but frank conversation with your boss and ask them point blank, do you have workers' comp? God forbid I ever get hurt. And that's important because your boss really should because if you get a dog that throws your back out the season, if you get bit really bad if you slip and fall because it's just gonna be busier, most places do at least 20% more dogs. And if you work in that salon where they're doing double or triple the amount of dogs, the likelihood of having an injury, it's just more likely. And you need to make sure you're covered. God forbid this happens because you need to make money if you're injured, you can't live on candy and fairies while you're not working and you really cannot go back to work injured. And a lot of people assume that that's what they'll do and that's a great way to get permanently injured and things not heal well, I know in our early twenties and even some people their early thirties and I think they'll just bounce back. I will tell you as a groomer over 10 years, you know, I'm in my early thirties and I will tell you like I have carpal tunnel in both my hands. I'm gonna need shoulder surgery at some point. You know, my body hurts and a lot of that is grooming when I should have taken some time and rested. So go ahead and have a conversation with your boss and be clear on the maximum amount of pets you'll groom and create healthy boundaries with you and your boss. It's so important for you to communicate in a respectful way, but be firm. So I want you to really think about that, be kind and clear and firm. And then the next thing I wanna talk about is don't be bullied by your clients. You know, make sure you know your shop's policies and know what you are or are not allowed to enforce. And this might sound a little bit weird, we need to know when it's time to call a manager and when it's up to you to deal with it. So if you're the kind of groomer who checks in and out your pets, this is very important. If you're the kind of groomer that just literally sits in the back and you never have to deal with the client, you don't have to worry about this. But if you're the kind of groomer who is checking in and out your dogs, or at least checking them in to find out what's going on with the groom, I strongly suggest to my business owners that you should not take in flea dogs during the holidays as an employee. I know you don't wanna deal with flea dogs ever, nevermind during the holiday season. If the shop is a no flea policy and you know this because you've read your policies, how are you supposed to approach that client? And this should be trained already, but I think it's easier to be clear and go through these policies with your boss again in a respectful manner and say to your boss, okay, so if someone comes in and their pet is mad at and it has fleas, how would you like me to handle that as a business owner? Unless if I've done the scenario multiple times with my employee and trained them, I would rather deal with that, especially during the crazy holiday rush than have my employee and a customer fighting up front because a lot of customers are gonna be like, my dog is gonna fleas. And you can just see them bouncing off the dog and they're like, yeah, no, that that's, please, I as an employee would rather hand it to the manager or to your boss because simply put, that's their call. And you know, sometimes they're gonna enforce a policy and sometimes they're gonna be like, eh, this is a really good client and you're not gonna be privy to those things. You're really not. They may have had that client for four years and you just started a year ago, and that client is just such a dynamo client that they're like, this really sucks, but we'll make an exception for you. And so know when they want you to call a manager, call the boss and what you're supposed to do with it. And when in doubt, remember it's not your business. You can't make business decisions for your shop. And if your boss is pushing you to do that, you need to create again, healthy, respectful boundaries. So if my boss is like, oh, use your best judgment, that's a trap because they're essentially saying, use your best judgment based upon what I perceive as best judgment. They may be like, well, did you really think that was appropriate? It's Christmas. Do you wanna ruin someone's Christmas because they're using their measuring stick to make that decision. Your measuring stick may be totally different and it's completely inappropriate for them unless if they have taught you where the guardrails are and what they like the business to be, it makes it impossible. You can't win and you will be thrown under the bus if something bad happens with that client. And I guess that kind of brings me into just don't be bullied by your boss. I know it's easier said than done, but don't let your boss push you around. A great way to do that is go ahead and refresh yourself on what your actual job description is. Now I know some of you guys are like, I don't have a job description. You should have a written job description from your boss. And if you don't have one, I would really ask your boss, say, Hey, I know right now it's crazy, it's not gonna happen before Thanksgiving, but maybe have a 20, 30 minute meeting again with your boss and say, let's write down what my job is and what my job is not. And that's really important. And the reason that's important is because you need to know what your responsibilities are and what they're not. And when they make these giant vague blanket statements, like anything I tell you to do, well it's pretty broad because they have to train you on whatever your job description is. Let's say I'm a groomer and part of my job description is to do towels. Have you been trained how they want towels done? And you would be like, that's really stupid. Anyone can do towels. I should know how do towels? Okay, but are they using bleach or are they using vinegar? Do they double wash them? A lot of shops double wash them. Do you separate urine, feces, vomit piss, like if they're covered in the towels, like do you do that or do you just throw 'em all in at once? And again, so how your boss wants things done, don't do guesswork. That's a great way to get yelled at and be treated like crap because you are not in your boss's mind to know what they want you to do. And if you're a boss listening right now, you should be doing all these things. And this is what employee handbook is forced. You can train your staff how you want it done. And again, you can do these things in a very respectful way without coming across like a an unappreciative employee. Go to your boss, go back over how you're paid and find out, God forbid, if there are any issues, how are you gonna get paid? So for instance, let's say the client is unhappy. Remember we talked about the flea dog client. You guys don't normally do fleas and because you don't normally do fleas, you decide your boss tells you to do this dog with fleas and they didn't charge extra. Well, that's not really fair as an employee, right? Like isn't there gonna be, there's no flea charge, therefore you get paid the same grooming a dog that's invested with fleas instead of a dog that's not. But again, you can have that conversation in a respectful way. What if the client is unhappy because either you or the client or someone somehow misunderstood the haircut. And this happens a lot more than people like to admit. This is the reason that my shop had cameras and a microphone. Because if somebody says, well, I mean, let's be honest, it happens a lot with the husband will drop off the dog and then the wife picks up and how many times does a husband say a four and then the wife comes in and she won a three eighth comb or they're like, oh you know, he keeps getting his ears in the water bowl, why don't we just take them up? And I'd be like, yeah, you wanna take 'em to the leather, like makes your life a lot simpler. And if you do that and they say yes, and then you come back and they're like, no, no, I thought it was gonna be really furry. Okay, how does that get refunded? So if your boss decides to refund that groom or take a percentage off that groom and you are paid commission, how does that work? And again, your boss may or may not understand a lot of the legalities of being a boss. Your boss can't take money from your paycheck. That's technically a business loss, not an employee's loss. Your boss can't take money off of your check because they made a business decision to refund a client. And the same thing, what if they completely refund that client? You then get nothing. You get a little bit of money, how much do you get? And these are things again, to ask your boss and a respectful, kind hearted way and you know where you work. And I just wanna say one thing that I think is so important. Please, please, please, please, please do not let your boss force you to do things that are dangerous. A lot of us have really good hearts and we just wanna please our boss. And we're just really kind people. If it's dangerous and it's not in your job description, don't do it. I e I am not an electrician. I am not in the middle of a grooming day when there is hair on the floor and it's wet gonna go and fiddle around with my dryer because it's like not working. Like I am not gonna sit there and play with cords. I'm not gonna put lights on things like that. Don't do that. You're like, oh, stand on your table and change that light bulb. No, because if I fall off my table, that's not my job description. And it's gonna be a lot harder for you to get workers' comp because you're being an idiot climbing on a grooming table. That's what you're, that's what the insurance company's gonna be like. Well that's just people being stupid. Even if your boss told you, your boss wouldn't tell the insurance company. No, no, no. I totally told her Climb on the table. And the same thing goes for grooming. Don't groom an aggressive dog or a dog too big for you that is gonna damage you or harm you. I am a cat groomer, I'm a certified feeling master groomer. I don't take cat grooming lately. I find it really easy. But I paid a lot of money and I did a lot of training to make it easy. That's very important to point out, if you don't know anything about cat grooming and your boss has decided during the holidays when you're gonna learn how to groom cats, or if you are in the kind of shop where they don't know what they're doing with cats and they're like, Hey, just just like hold this cat while we trim the nails. That's up to you. A cat bite can end your career. A cat scratch can put you in the hospital. Don't take cat grooming lightly. They're not willing to invest in learning from a company like the National Cat Grooms Institute on how to properly groom cats. I wouldn't touch it. It's not worth it. It's not worth a career ending bite for that reason. And the same thing with a very, very large dog. I'm little, I'm really five one. And I remember, you know, I worked at PetSmart and I had a great Dane was doing really, really great and then the dog lost his shit and he jumped out of the tub, he ripped the tub off the wall and then knocked an entire thing of cage banks on top of me. There was no hope if that dog got upset of me being able to contain that dog by myself. So I encourage you if, especially if you're grooming alone, I wasn't grooming alone alone, but there was no one available if things went south, don't do things that could potentially end your career. Thankfully that didn't end my career, but it was really eye-opening because we put the dogs in, they can't jump out because the lead's too small. Well that's great except shit happens. You know, the leads half snap, but don't snap all the way. All these awful things can happen that we don't even think about. And just remember, no job is worth the career ending bite. No job is worth a fractured back or even an emotional breakdown. I mean, if your boss is kind of boss that like berates you and tells you to do things and just shit's all over you, no job's worth that. No job's worth the mental breakdown. If you gotta stick it out through the end of the year, you gotta do what you gotta do. But take every money you can and get the fuck out because you can't live that way. That's awful. I've been on both sides. I've been the employee who was treated verbally terrible and then I've been the really frustrated boss and I'm not proud to admit it. I used to yell at employees when I first opened my business because I was like, why can't you do this? And it's 'cause I didn't train them how to do it. Like I had completely unrealistic expectations of 'em and then got super mad at them, you know? But you have to live and learn. And unfortunately I got taught somehow about, I'm like, wow, I can't keep employees. And so I had to learn how to be a good boss to keep my employees and make my employees happy. But hopefully, you know, little employees here, you can learn that before you open up your own business or just teach your bosses by not letting them completely run over you. Now I will say I don't wanna make this so important. If your boss is awesome, if the shop you work for is awesome, please give them thanks. Be appreciative of your boss and your coworkers, even if it's not the best place. Coming from a place of gratitude is so important. Be thankful for your boss. Are you guys gonna do anything for the holiday, whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas? You know, go ahead and ask them how you can help. You know, how can you can show your gratitude for such awesome people around you? And again, that's not your job as an employee, but what might be your position is, Hey, can I bring the plates? Hey, can I bring a bottle of Sprite and some cups? Doing something a little bit like that will really help your boss know that you appreciate what they're doing. I'm not saying go buy everyone lunch, you don't have to do that. But just something small. I mean offer to bring the plates. I mean you can get a whole stack at the dollar store and not use it for three years. Trust me, I've been there, done that. And if you have a really awesome boss, seriously consider writing a handwritten note because no one does it anymore. And tell your boss, you know, maybe how much you appreciate your job and that you appreciate that they gave you your job, you know, and how you're continue to honor their sacrifice into the next year. And I think what's interesting in the grooming industry is we never really talk about our bosses in an appreciative way. A lot of times we forget that our bosses give up a lot to own their own shop. They really do. And if they're mobile and they have multiple vans, they've given up a lot, they've potentially sacrificed a lot to open up their own business. And sometimes it was really interesting 'cause people would always assume that when I owned my shop that I was like some sort of rich bitch. Like I was like river, like owns her own shop. She buys like a prima bathing system, which was like two grand. Oh she buys this like she's just spending money. But what was so interesting is like these employees acted like spoiled rats and they didn't understand. They just saw the success, they didn't see the suffering. And it was really hard as a boss to be treated like a piece of shit when I gave up a lot in order to build a business that I then could employ people. And I think as an employee you really should consider just telling your boss that you appreciate it, even if they're assholes. But knowing that you appreciate that they have sacrificed and now they have this amazing job, it's still better than going out and getting a loan for 20, 30, 50, a hundred thousand dollars to go out on your own to potentially lose money as an employee. When you go to work, you always make money. That's a blessing. So I appreciate your boss a little bit, even if they're not perfect. 'cause no one's perfect. Another way to get through the holiday rush this year as an employee is to start your plan for 2020. And I'm not talking about getting the details done, I'm not talking about that. I just want you to think about the big picture for next year. And honestly, the reason for that is, is because it's a lot easier to get through the tough times when you have a goal. When you are looking at what you're gonna be able to do and what you're gonna be able to accomplish next year and looking forward to all that positive stuff right now, it's probably really hard. You're tired, you're stressed out, you know you need a sandwich or something because you don't even remember the last time you ate when you were at work. You need water or you know, 30 cans of Red Bull, whatever your flavor. So I get it. But start thinking about next year, next year you're gonna start getting serious about opening your own place. Are you gonna start saving for your grooming van? How about getting your personal finances under control? And don't be afraid to sign up for personal clients on a leash. Are you gonna go to trade show or two? Maybe you're gonna start watching some online classes or webinars. I really enjoy learn to groom dogs.com. I don't groom dogs anymore, but when I did, I loved that I could have that in the background and I liked hearing all of that. Webinars are great, especially the free ones who doesn't love free shit, go ahead and listen to it, but make the time to do it and say, okay, I'm really gonna start learning more, exploring more, maybe listen to more books. I listen to books, I listen to audio books, podcasts, or even you know, reading. Maybe this year you're gonna hire a business coach and I know you guys are employees, but if you're going to start a business, I would strongly suggest hiring a business coach. Because if you're gonna start a business, you need to know how to start it right? It's a lot more expensive to hire someone to fix all your problems than it is to hire someone off the bat in order to grow your business. So if you don't look at the big picture today, it's a lot harder to get through everything. Like we said, I found a lot of times doing this that if I didn't do this, like I just wanna lay down because it's exhausting. The whole season is exhausting. And I will say having the way my business is set up, I'm really not much busier. Some of my clients want extra baths, but for the most part, my clients are all regular. So it's easy to fit everybody in. I don't miss the chaos of having the shop. And I do think that different business models have different ways of dealing with it. So go ahead and give yourself some grace. Try your best to give everyone else some grace. And what grace really is, is forgiveness. Without earning it, everyone's probably gonna drive you nuts, but plan for it. Have some sort of affirmation, incantation, you know, however you wanna consider it. And I'm gonna like give you a little bit of a secret. So I always say really mean things in my head because that's who I am. So what I will generally say in my head, obviously bitch you don't deserve how nice I'm being, but I'll do it anyway. That's what I say to myself because this person, like if it's a client or even your boss, if your boss is like losing their fucking chicken nuggets or like, like they're just being crazy, just stop and think to yourself, why are they being crazy? They're probably being crazy because they know business is gonna drop off in January and February. They have the pressure of owning a business. They have the pressure of being financially responsible for not just their own life, their own business, but you guys as employees, they're responsible for keeping food on your table. That's a lot of pressure. So if your boss is going crazy, they're either crazy or they don't know how to handle the pressure of all of that, which is pretty normal because we're only human. And try to smile when you say things like that in your head because then you know, you won't feel yourself biting down hard in your tongue. 'cause you're gonna have days when you just wanna blow your brains out. But don't, this is why it's important to have something to look forward to create small goals, little rewards, what makes sense, what makes you happy? Go ahead and treat yourself probably something better, like chocolate vin mints or you know, say to yourself, okay, if I do really well, I'm gonna go and take myself out somewhere. Figure out what it is that motivates you. And then go ahead and add that as little carrot for yourself. Make sure you're doing massages, you're getting to your chiropractor, acupuncture, whatever it is. I really strongly suggest in a perfect world you are booking these on your days off. And that's pretty much because I don't want you to like go to work, go get a massage and then sleep through when you actually feel really good. So consider doing that on your day off instead of doing it after work. And for those of you guys are like, I can't afford that, this is the time of year for tips. Take your tips, go get a massage. And even if they just sit there and rub your head and tell you you're pretty, it's gonna make you feel better.

And this week is all about part one of are you prepared for the holiday rush? And I first wanna talk to business owners and we're gonna do one this week and then we'll do another one next week. And depending upon where you are in the world, we're either talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some of you guys in other parts of the world, we're only gonna be talking about Christmas or other holidays that you may have in the month of November and December. So first things first I wanna ask you, are you prepared as far as your inventory? So if you're a business owner, I know that you know how to order, you are more than capable of keeping things in stock. However, with the holidays coming up, I wanna ask you what is gonna happen if there's a major snowstorm where you are? Or like a lot of times what happens with Amazon Prime becoming so popular? What if instead of getting something in two or three days, what if you can't get it in for a week or two? What if your favorite Christmas shampoo, like I love lay pooch, Noelle gets back ordered, then what are you going to do? So making sure you're gonna have more than enough of things like bandanas. I know some of you guys are like, well I could run to Joanne's fabric. Running to Joanne's fabric in the middle of the Christmas rush is gonna be a nightmare. So make sure you have more than enough bandanas. Again, shampoo. What if your favorite shampoo goes on back order? And this time of year when I owned my dog grooming salon, we either used as a custom scent, you know, uch Noel, or we would use a more vanilla sugar cookie style and we would add that in with our promo. If we ran out of that, it's gonna make, we're gonna have to fix the promo. And it's gonna be a lot harder to find a scent that is Christmassy because to me, Christmas smells either like pine trees, like a Neme shampoo or it smells like sugar cookies. And then again, if you are in Thanksgiving, maybe you have a pumpkin spice, which is kind of a gross scent. But if you have pumpkin spice shampoo, you know, if you run out of that, what is your plan for the customers that maybe you want that upgrade but now can't have it? Other things that you may wanna consider is if you have enough stock of towels. Some of you guys are more than capable of at the end of the day, taking your towels home and washing them. I, for health reasons, strongly advise not to wash personal towels with the towels at your house. A lot of these towels have blood, feces, urine on them and you may or may not be bringing home a lot of those potential diseases to your own pets. So I really don't suggest that. And on a nicer level, I understand some people will wanna use a laundromat and for the same reasons, I don't always agree with that. But you know, if you're going to use those things, are you actually able, again, we're gonna say if you have a towel service, have you ordered extra towels? Are you planning for extra towels? If you normally do your towels once a week, if you're doing double or triple the amount of dogs during the holiday rush, are you prepared for that? Do you have enough towels? Do you have enough towels just in the day? If for some reason you run out of them, what is your backup plan? You know, the worst thing you wanna do is have a really humid salon run outta towels. And what are you gonna do? Have an employee run to the laundromat wash and dry. It's gonna take two hours. You know, having a plan of what you're going to do or even just keeping more of an inventory and a backlog. Because as much as we may be good at making sure we don't use four towels per dog, some employees use towels like they're going outta style and there's not much we can do about that. And just look around if there's anything else you may need. Little things like quick stop ear cleaner, you don't wanna run out of these things when you're grooming. That is the worst time. A lot of times I've heard, you know, other grooming business owners say to me, well, I'll just run to Petco, but I can buy a gallon of professional grade ear cleaner for the same amount of money that I can buy a little thing from Petco. It doesn't make any financial sense. And a lot of that is just a lack of preparation. So go through your salon, make sure that you're not missing anything, that there's nothing that you need to add to your list. And if there is, start thinking about it now. That is more than enough time for you to go through your store and go ahead and order those things before the end of the week. If you order before the end of the week, you'll be able to have it in well before Thanksgiving. And then whatever you don't use before Thanksgiving, you'll probably use before Christmas. Alright, and then let's get into the nitty gritty on really refining your systems in place. And one of the main things I wanna talk about is if you start adding people in, so your schedule, everyone's schedule's different, everyone has different business models. I know we've talked about this extensively, but having that in place, not only telling yourself that and having that plan, but also telling your staff because your staff is not always as knowledgeable as you, or maybe they're just really sweet and they don't realize the impact of things. I remember when I was a baby groomer and it was just one of those situations where like some was had this total sob story about this golden retriever about how, you know, he had allergies and they were trying so hard and they bathed him all summer and the hose. And as this baby groomer, I'm like, oh, this is so heartbreaking. And of course this golden comes in, it's completely impacted and it's got hotspots and it's got yeasty ears and it's one of those fat goldens that pancakes and refuses to stand. And I remember, you know, I was working for somebody and they're like, yeah, that's all you all you 'cause that kind of dog, it just took forever. And of course that owner did not wanna pay extra, even though their pet needed medicated wash, their pet needed way more brushing. Now I would've been, it would've been easier for me to get a lot of that coat out, but at the time I did not have the skillset to get out that much impacted coat. So it was kind of a nightmare. So live and learn, right? So your baby groomer, or if you have a staff member who has the very good heart but doesn't realize what they're agreeing to, you really don't want them to pick up the phone and say, yeah, oh my god, of course you want your decrepit golden to look beautiful for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I totally get it. And then it's that dog that takes like two people four hours and they wanna pay the same price as the golden that comes in every two or four weeks. So really communicate with your staff as well as yourself. I talk to myself a lot as if I was a staff member, which sounds really weird, but I say to myself, alright river, what is it that our goal is for today? And is this a smart move? And you know, as much as my, as an older groomer, I guess as a, I feel like as like a boomer groomer, right? It's like, okay boomer. That's how I feel sometimes with grooming. But yeah, with that, if I take on that old golden who really can't be groomed easily, am I setting back myself and my team? And the truth is, I would, right? Like how many hours would I set myself back? That's crazy. And with the same thing with appointments, what if one of your best clients call and they need a last minute appointment that can either be a grooming appointment or a bath appointment. A lot of groomers, you know, have these clients that we have soft spots for. I have them as well being mobile, it's a lot easier to play with my schedule in the sense that I can honestly make a decision. And a lot of it comes down to am I in your area and do I have a spot? But when you're in a salon, is it you know, a lack of cage space, a lack of physical resources because you can only groom so many dogs or time because a lot of times we could stay an extra hour late to take care of a good client, which is something we tend to do even though we really shouldn't always do that. So if they call, let's say they cancel their appointment because something came up, they're taking care of their elderly family member or you know, maybe they just forgot and then you know, they're like, I'll reschedule. They don't reschedule. Shocking, I know. And then they call and they're like, oh you know, Sasha really needs a groom before Thanksgiving. You don't have to do a full haircut, just, you know, bathe her and do just like trim her up. Which those found to trim up all over is a haircut. I don't know why people think that's not okay. How are you gonna handle that? And obviously it depends on what and why the dog et cetera. But having a framework allows you to say yes or no quicker because in theory in that moment you're gonna be so clear, so smart and be like, Hmm, let me think about this. I'm like seven dogs deep. I'm covered in dog hair, I have anal glands in my hair, I have quick stop under my nails. Sure, let me think about for a second. If this is a wise decision. Now what's gonna happen is you're going to be like, ah. And be like, you know, do I hate this client? Do I like this client? Like how flexible am I feeling? And that's a problem because nine times outta 10, what happens to all of us because we have such good caring hearts is we say, or I guess, and then we're either staying there late and it's always the client that you do that for that doesn't show up to pick up their dog. They show up like an hour or two after you close because of some nonsense and they might've actually gotten stuck in traffic, but they probably just got stuck at the store grocery shopping for whatever holiday it is. So anyway, that's a great question. And if they want a last minute bath, is that something you're willing to squeeze them into? You may say, yes, of course I wanna get everybody who wants to come in. Or you might say, no, probably not. And if I did, it'd have to be a dog that's been done in the last two weeks, or it'd have to be a dog. That's super easy. You know, you have to know yourself, your staff, and you know your clientele. I personally had no problem squeezing in last minute baths around this time, but my clients knew as far as haircuts go, I'll trim around the eyes, I'll shave out the pads really lazily and make sure there's no poop gonna get stuck to the butt. Besides that, you're shit outta luck. There was no hope at the time in my salon I had a receptionist who was able to do basic things like that. So at worst those are things that she could do if I didn't have a bather or a groomer or even me able to do those things. But that's a whole nother story. Now here's another good question. So that same client, who is your one of your best clients, what if she calls and let's say her sister's beagle is staying with her sister at her house and the dog wreaks you ever had like that person that they bring in their family members lab, beagle pit, whatever is like a short coat. You don't know how that dog is, they say they have the rabies, but is it the rabies or the rabies tag? Does this dog wreak or is this dog skunky or is this dog yeasty? Like what is this gonna be? You know, what are you gonna do? It's easier to have a policy of, yeah, we're taking any bath and we're gonna charge an extra emergency fee of let's say 25% more or 10 or $20 more as a last minute emergency fee, or no emergency fees if you guys don't want holiday emergency fee. Or are you going to go ahead and say no if they're not regular clients, we're not taking them around the holiday season. Or are you gonna say, yes, we're gonna take these clients, but they're only going to be by referral? And obviously you can always make exceptions, but a lot of this stuff is mainly for you to say, okay, what is my ideal? And then go from there. Having no idea and taking everything as a blank slate makes it a lot harder to make decisions because during the holiday rush, so there's actually something called decision fatigue with decision fatigue is essentially is you can only make so many decisions in one day. Having a thermometer reading on how you feel about your business is going to make it a lot easier for you to make decisions during a stressful time. Around the holidays when you're rooming dogs, watching employees, there's poop on the ground, like it is a crazy time. So again, will you take skunk or flea infested pets? Personally, I don't believe during the holiday season you should take skunk or any pets with pesticides. The reason simply is with skunks, obviously then the entire shop reeks. If you do wanna take skunk pets, I highly suggest you do them as the very last pet and have them be a start to finish like appointment where only the owner is there if you even have the owner stay in the vestibule or if they're gonna go ahead and come back. But I personally think that having skunk dogs around your clients is really gross. Clients don't like it. There's nothing worse than walking into a grooming salon and it wreaks a skunk. Sometimes you get that dog that was skunked months ago and you get them wet and you get the WAF of it. That's different than a freshly skunked dog. So that's personally what I would do. But you have to know your business and your clientele. I mean, with flea dogs, I generally say I would not take pets infested with fleas or ticks. I mean, if they have one tick, that's one thing. But if that pet is infested with fleas, I would get them the hell outta your salon in general. But especially during the holiday season, there's nothing worse as a pet owner, if I brought my dog to your salon and then it came home with fleas. And the problem is, nine times outta 10, if you accept fleas into your facility, you can't stop fleas from jumping on one pet to another pet. It's almost impossible. Also, your staff really doesn't want to be dealing with fleas when they're already having a really, really busy season. They're already doing probably 20% more dogs. If you're used to doing eight, they're probably doing 10. You're already pushing them to the limit. So let's begin a different question. So you know, your business or the business that you work in, are your clients used to the well-oiled machine that is your shop? Or is your shop kind of chaotic already? Let's talk about policies. What are your policies and do clients honestly know your policies? This is a tough one because I have a lot of sympathy honestly, for our clients because most people assume that they read their policies three years ago and remember them with my shop, what I had is I used to have a check-in and the check-in would actually be a little spot where it had the basic policies, like it had the policies and it had what was done in the policies. So for instance, pickup, what was the pickup policy? The pickup policy, any bath dog was done no later than three hours. Any haircut dog was done no later than four hours unless specified. And anything beyond 30 minutes from that specified time was a fee. And so what we would do is, so we had the policies and underneath it we had the time. So we would have fluffy Maltese, I would generally write what color the dog was, then we would also write what the haircut was and we would communicate with the owner. So it'd like half inch, round head, anything they specified. And then I would have the timely checked in the dog. So when they were right there, I'd be like, okay, well it's 11 o'clock. And then what I would do is I would have the estimated checkout time. So let's say it's 11 o'clock, so ready, it's a haircut dog. So I would go 12, 1, 2, 3, does three o'clock work for you? And I would, they would see my fingers because it was at the four hour mark and they would kind of look and they'd be like, yeah. I'm like, okay, do you want us to call or text you before you pick up? And they'd be like, well maybe. And that's the tough part. So they would know when they had to pick up by and I would either text or call depending upon what they wanted when they were ready. And they loved that because then they knew no later than three o'clock their pet would be ready because it was the four hours. And with the bath dog to do the same thing, they dropped off at 11 12, 1 2. This two o'clock work for you to pick up Fluffy. And so we had a really easy system where there was no miscommunication. And then we would also write down afterwards what time the pet was picked up. The reason I did that is because let's say, and the wife called back later and you know, she was like, oh, you know, fluffy seemed really upset. We would look at the sheet and I'd be like, well, it looks like you dropped off Fluffy at 11. We told you to come back at three, but then your husband wasn't there till five. So Fluffy was in a kennel for six hours. That's a long time for Fluffy. And she'd be like, Hmm, you're very right there. Okay, I'm gonna talk to my husband. So these are ways that I worked on creating a well-oiled machine in my salon, but make sure your policies make sense for your clients. You know what other policies are in your systems that may or may not make any sense. So if I have clients that are busy and they're running to the store, which is gonna be insane, they may not be able to rush back. You may want their dog done in an hour or two, but are they gonna pick up? And they may or may not want you to run late. Sometimes we overbook ourselves, what are you gonna do if you tell 'em two hours and then you get behind and now it's gonna be four? Or you tell 'em two hours and then a dog, God forbid, knock on wood, something happens. And then now you need extra time because that dog was crazy and you had to like work around the whole salon because instead of being able to ask your bather to come help you, now you've gotta do it basically by yourself. Or if your bather does have to come help you, then that bather is not keeping up with their own tasks and make sure that if you don't already, you get a system in place for your salon. There's so many different ways of having different business models, but having a system that works in place for your salon is going to make your salon run so much smoother. Speaking of clients, let me ask you guys a question. Are you going to give out presents cards, food around the holidays? And if you are, do you really have time to commit to getting them done? I personally write handwritten Christmas cards to all of my clients. I have about a hundred families, and that's more than that cats. But I personally don't do sweet things like cat pictures anymore. And the reason why is because I don't have time to realistically take pictures. Like so I do cards, you know, and I mail them out. But let's say you're giving out cookies. Well, do your customers like those cookies? Do they want those cookies? Are they a good cookie? You know, I've seen people give away cat toys and dog toys, obviously like little balls. My favorite thing, I don't do it now, but when I owned my dog grooming salon, I had this great magnetic picture frame. I would take a quick picture of the pet and then when we gave them the photo frame, we would also give them the print. People loved it. We also did Santa. My ex-husband would come and sit in the grooming salon and he would be Santa Claus. And if they wanted pictures with Santa, we would just do the pictures really quick and give it to them. So you would do things like that. And knowing what your clients want and knowing what's gonna make them happy, you know your clientele, you know what they like, what they don't like. Giving options is always great. Making homemade biscuits, like whatever it is that is in your heart, go ahead and do. And if you wanna do nothing, you're not the Grinch, it's okay. You don't have to be festive, just don't go halfway through festivities. Don't say you're gonna give everyone pictures and then realize you don't have the time or energy to do it. That really sucks. It's gonna make you look really stupid. Don't do that. And because we're talking about business owners, let's also talk about how you're gonna be treating your employees. So let's have a real conversation. Are you gonna be taking days off? So business owners, about your employees? What time are you closing and are your employees going to be working or are they gonna have the time off? Unless you have a really strong staff and you have really good regulations and in systems and all that, I would never let your staff there. When you're not there until everyone's fully trained, it's a great way for your employees to steal from, you steal client information or make really bad decisions, and you get stuck going to work anywhere. So if your employees are not gonna be working and you are not gonna be working, do they get paid? So if you have employees that work for you and they're off, aren't they gonna get paid? And that's really important to know and to set a standard for your employees because a lot of these employees are expecting that money or they budget based on four weeks worth of work and where they're gonna be if they're, especially if they're making hourly. You know, with commission, the goal obviously would be to do an extra week's worth of dogs within the three weeks that they're working and then they get the week off. And that's essentially how they would get paid. But a lot of times we assume this what's gonna happen, but because of whatever goes on, maybe that doesn't happen. And so is this staff member financially prepared to take a whole week off or are you going to give them any money? And I think this should have been talked about when you were setting the schedule for the holidays, but having a real conversation with your staff needs to happen. A lot of times we just do whatever the hell we want as a business owner and expect our staff to just be okay with that. I don't think you should be slaves to your staff. I don't think that you should have to worry about what your staff is going to do. However, I do believe in being a benevolent leader, and I do believe that you should treat people like you wanna be treated. You know, long story short, when I was, I was managing a doggy daycare when I was pregnant with my son and they told me flat out I could not take a maternity leave. And I'm like, well, that's not the way that works. And they said, well, we can't afford it. So pretty much you'll have to work till you have this baby. And then when you have this baby, we don't know what you're gonna do, but we can't afford for you to take eight weeks off, 12 weeks off. They said, we really don't even want you gone for two weeks, but have these conversations with your staff. If they're going to be off, are you going to subsidize their income at all? And you don't have to, but at least let them know what is going on. Another thing is about pay. Again, another way you may wanna soften this is to let your employees know that there are gonna be any bonuses or any holiday extras when we're creating culture. No one really talks about creating culture in this industry. You wanna create a staff that enjoys you and really looks up to you being this cruel boss that we all have had. At some point. If you've owned your own business, it's different than when you have a boss. But I mean, I've had a lot of bosses I loved and I've had a lot of bosses that really didn't give a shit about me. And you know, I understand now as a business owner why they didn't care about me because I was just a cog in the machine. But those people don't ever stay there. They could be the best employee, but if someone's a cog in the machine, they're not gonna stay. You know? They don't wanna be that lesson. It is I with my employees, what I would let them know is, yes, we're gonna be closed. At the end of my time owning my shop, they had a base salary and then they made bonuses and things like that. So I told 'em flat out, you were gonna get your base salary because I'm closing because that's what I choose to do. I knew they had family and everything like that, and that was not easy, but that's why they had a base salary and they got bonuses and didn't get straight commission. And then as far as bonuses went, their bonuses were quarterly and the bonuses, it was calculated monthly, but paid out quarterly. So the bonuses were based upon if they beat projection. And so that what that meant is, yes, I'm going to ask you to work really hard. If you work really hard and you groom regularly, then we are as a team, not just one person, but as a team. If we beat these, then we would get a set amount of money and that again, would be based upon how many pets we groomed and everything like that. And so those are really nice. If you wanna give somebody a bonus maybe for November and say, Hey, if you groom X amount of dollars this month, I'll give you X amount of bonus as a kicker. Or you know, Hey, December's coming up. If you groom this many pets, you know and or there's no incidents in the salon or whatever it is, you can give them an incentive to keep working hard now on the bad side with our employees because why not? Let's talk about employee issues. So this is the time of year employees know we can't fire them. You can't afford to fire someone, so they're gonna pull a lot of shit. If your employee shows up late, what are you gonna do about it? And how late before you really get pissed off. So if my employee shows up 10 minutes late, and obviously you're gonna say something to them, but what is the consequence? Is there no consequence if they're 15 minutes late, if they're 30 minutes late, what if they're late four hours? What if they call out? What if they no call, no show. Now you probably have policies in place for these things and if you don't, you need to, if you have employees, you need policies in your employee handbook and how all of this will be handled. That said, this time of year, they know that you can't fire them. Why? Because you don't wanna groom all their goddamn dogs the rest of the month. That's the truth. I mean, I've been there. So if they know you're gonna, you're not gonna fire them, what are they gonna do? They're gonna walk all over you. So if someone is 30 minutes late for work, what is the consequence? And make sure your staff knows. Does that mean they stay 30 minutes late? Well, what if they can't? What if they have to go pick up their kid at school? What are you going to do and being able to stick to that gun? What if they're hours late? What if they're three hours late? What if they show up high or intoxicated? I mean these are all very normal things, but it has the added pressure of if you have a full day worth of groom dogs and your bather and every other person has a full day's worth of dogs and they don't show up or they show up late, then that creates a lot of pressure on your staff. This is also why I tell the people that I'm generally coaching that want to build a business. So I have three different categories of groomers. You're an employee, which you should be a W two employee. You are a self-employed groomer, which is a one groomer house, or you have independent contractors working for you. And then third is a business owner. A business owner should be a manager, an entrepreneur. They should be focusing on those things because then either you or your manager should not be grooming full-time because then if your staff comes in drunk high, they make a really stupid mistake, they do something really stupid, you can send them home and somebody can take over their day at dogs. Your manager's not gonna wanna do that. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Same thing with you, you probably, if you get the nice sweet taste of never having to groom all day, then when you have to step in though, you know you can do it. That's important. Make sure you have a plan in place if there is an issue with your staff, because then if your staff decide to pull something like that, you are able to make decisions without sitting there grinding your emotional gears. Remember decision fatigue. I wanna make sure that you don't put yourself in a place where you're just fried and you start crying and you just have this total meltdown. 'cause it sucks. It sucks when you have an employee pulling shit at the busiest times of the year because you just want them to do what you're paying them to do. And for some reason they just don't. And there's really no reason they've just chosen not to. So those aren't my thoughts today on making sure you are prepared for the holiday rush if you're an employer.

So let's go ahead and start talking about what today's show is all about today. I wanna talk about what is imposter syndrome, just because I know as we get closer to the holidays, I wanna talk a little bit about mental health. Again, I am not a psychologist. I don't pretend to be a psychologist. I just have a lot of insight. I dealt with a lot of mental health issues. I had a really traumatic event. I've had a lot of traumatic events actually happen in my life. But I thought it was so important for us to sit down as a a community and talk about these things that affect us. I think that pretending like we're okay, this whole suffer in silence, like suck it up and suffer in silence, just needs to end. So I wanna talk about my experiences and experiences I've had coaching people. So what exactly is imposter syndrome? So imposter syndrome is the persistent inability to believe in one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills. So just myself, I will tell you how many times I feel, why am I here? Like who am I? Like, you know, why am I the one teaching these people? And that is an example of imposter syndrome. Now, I definitely think that it's overused. I think that there's a lot of people that are not suffering from it and they just have low self-esteem. But if you are a business owner, and if you suddenly feel like this anxiety like in your chest and you're like, I'm just winging this, like what if people find out I'm not successful as I, I think I am. That is a great example of imposter syndrome. So, and that's, and that's just, you know, again, it can be low self-esteem, but a lot of times it is just simply a woman feeling this way. Kate Winslet, who played Rose on Titanic, I feel like everyone should know who that is in that role, she consistently felt like people are gonna realize she's not as talented as they thought she was. And it's this deep seated fear. Now it can manifest itself in so many different ways, right? It can manifest itself in anxiety, in depression, in feeling lethargic and feeling paralyzed with fear. Where theirs is the thing, right, is that the whole point of imposter syndrome is that, you know, rationally you are a badass, but there's like this little evil voice on your shoulder saying like, no, you're not. Who are you? No one cares what you have to say. Like these really toxic things. And I think so many of us, maybe not every day, but there's sometimes we're like laying in bed. You know, we're right, we're ready to fall asleep. And just as a business owner, especially women business owners, we're sitting there saying like, what if I wake up tomorrow and nobody, nobody's gonna be there at my grooming salon. No one is going to pay attention to what I'm doing. What if this is all fake? And it's this really insane place, right? It's this really toxic place that we go to. And I just wanna look for other examples outside of the grooming industry so people can hear it. Because maybe you're like, well, you know, how do I know? These are great examples? I just looked really quick online. Some examples of imposter syndrome would be, my friends are only still here because they pity me, right? So another example would be, you know, in your, in a grooming business, the equivalent would be, you know, people only like me because I'm cheap, right? Not because you do a good skill, not because you're a great groomer, not because you have great customer service, but because of my price point. People will only stay with me if I'm cheap. Another one would be, I'm not as good as people tell me I am. They're just being polite to me. How many of you guys have like put out a groom in a Facebook group and people are like, oh my god, it's great, it's beautiful, it's amazing, dah dah, dah it. And you kind of deflect it. You're like, oh, it's not that good. I'm not this person. You always like idolize and put up on a pedestal, somebody else, right? You know, we can name names, but it's so interesting, especially women business owners, we do this a lot where we'll be like, oh, you know, I'm not this person, therefore I'm unworthy, right? Another saying would be, this good thing is just a fluke. Now, I had this really unhealthy habit in my life that if something bad happened, it felt right. Like it felt like I was always waiting for the the, I used the saying the other shoe would drop. I was constantly waiting for something bad to happen because that felt normal and that felt right. And then when something felt good, it was a fluke. It was just gonna happen for a short period of time. And it really came down to, and I really kind of stepped back. Like I didn't think, oh, I'm a bad person, deserve bad things to happen to me. What it was is that I was just feeling like deep down, I didn't deserve good things to happen to me. Not because I did anything in particular to not deserve them, but you know, it was almost like being a supporting character and everyone's story and needing to feel like if something good happened to me, there would be a consequence. And again, we're kind of going outside of imposter syndrome, but I think this whole mentality ties really well into itself. And I think we need to expose it because I think a lot of people are fighting this like, you know, suck it up, rub some dirt in it, and then going home and being upset and crying and doing this in silence. And it's not okay. You know, as an industry we have incredibly empathetic women who deserve to feel good. And I'm not gonna sit by and pretend like this is not an a problem in our industry. Another saying would be, everyone is going to realize that I'm just a fraud. And some days I feel like that, I'm like, who am I? Like, you know, people will put like, well what are your credentials? And I, and I'm thinking to myself, oh my God, I don't have a PhD or even, you know, a an M B a A MAs, you know, master's in business. You know, I don't have those things. And I'm like, am I less worthy because of that? Am I less effective? Of course not. You know, I don't think spending the next eight years in college is going to help anyone here. I think what's gonna help them is getting, you know, boots on the ground and making courses and helping them change their lives. So it's things like that. We create that. And a lot of times I'll see people who are like, I wanna get my master groomer certification before I open a business. Because if I don't have that, then everyone's gonna realize that I'm just a crappy dog groomer. I'm a bad CAC groomer. And they're not. And it's so interesting. It's like this piece of paper do doesn't make you more valid. It doesn't make you more worthy. And on the flip side, you know, having that piece of paper, you know, having that certification is an accomplishment. We can say it's both. We can say getting this, you know, certificate does not make you more worthy. While also saying accomplishing something is amazing. We can say both guys as an industry. And I think that's really important. Another one is saying, what if I'm just faking being a good person and everyone is falling for it? I sometimes feel this way with coaching is again, like I know rationally that's not true. Sometimes I'm like, man, like am I really helping these people? Like what if what I say to them is gonna destroy their lives? Like what if I'm not as good as I think I am? And that's not rational because if you talk to anyone, can, I just had a great coaching call today. If you talk to anyone who has been on my coaching calls, who's ever been in any of my classes, I know the results I get, I know. But there's still this piece of me that tells me, what if you're wrong? You know? And it's not from a healthy place. It's not from that cautious healthy place. It's from this really toxic place. And it's either generally childhood trauma or it's relationship trauma. You know, whether that's not having a mother who loved us enough, not having a father who supported us. Some of us have had kind of all of that, you know? And that doesn't mean that we can't grow up to have fantastic relationships with their parents. My dad unfortunately passed away before we could fix that relationship. You know? And I, and I share with people that my dad, I think was very broken and broken. People hurt other people. I think about how unfortunate his life was and how unhappy he probably was. And as a healthy adult, now I can look back and realize that's what happened to him. It's not that he wanted to hurt me. He was just so unhappy. He inflicted his unhappiness onto me and my siblings. One of the biggest aha moments I had, 'cause it crushed me. I remember being 18 years old. Now mind you, I moved when I was 16 and I was teaching a dog training class and I was so proud. 'cause here I was 18 and you think you're a hot shit. And I'm so smart and I'm teaching this giant class. And he came to watch it and I'm like, oh my god, my dad's gonna see me shine. He's gonna see me be a badass. He's gonna see all this. And I'll never forget what he said to me. You know, he was smoking a cigarette. He was, he literally smoked a carton, not a pack, but a car and a cigarette today. And he was flicking his cigarette. He said, man, it must really suck to know that your job can be replaced by a rolled up newspaper. And I will never forget how much that crushed me. And I was a smart, you know, ambitious 18 year old girl, but my daddy told me that I was useless and pathetic. And whether I wanna pretend otherwise, that's incredibly damaging. You know? And maybe you didn't have that happen to you, you know? But as an adult, as a healthy adult now after going through a lot of therapy and learning a lot of things about me, I don't think he said that to hurt me. I think there was some kind of like jealous, mad feeling of like, here she is living her dream and I'm suffering. You know? 'cause he was working a job he hated because he felt trapped and he was unhappy. And people like that hurt other people. And unintentionally, you know? So I don't think it was a bad person, but I think hurt people hurt other people. So, you know, things like that, you know, that means I have to parent myself. I have to be my own cheerleader. So when in my head, you know, things like, man, nobody caress what you say. Nobody. Why are you even doing this? You know, people are gonna think this or they're gonna realize you're not as smart as you think you are. I have to go wait a minute. And I parent myself. You know, river, you're amazing. You're helping so many people. You know, I have to be in my own head that supportive father figure of like, I'm so proud of you. I know it's hard to do this. I know this is outside your comfort. I know the last thing you wanna do is be in front of people. 'cause I don't like the spotlight. I I really, it was funny, I had a conversation with a friend of mine and I said, man, I wish I could just give someone my knowledge and they could go do this almost like a speech writer. But unfortunately sometimes we're called to these things, right? So being able to do that and parent myself, soothe myself when these things happen, because that's what I wish I had. I wish I had a mom or a dad. My mom is much closer to me now. We've, you know, really grown closer. And a lot of that is though she wasn't parented in a healthy way. And so she has to in her, you know, fifties and sixties. I don't know how my mom is, I feel bad. I'm like, I don't know. I'm doing some math. Not sure, you know, she looks good for her age no matter how old she is, you know, helping her parent herself because she didn't get the support that she needed. She needed that love and hugs and kisses and you can do anything you want. And she didn't get that. So if she didn't get that, how could she give me that? And so I have to do it. So with things like imposter syndrome guys, we have to understand who we are and understand what we are giving ourselves. If we don't get it from somewhere else, it's these really toxic, unfortunate feelings. And I say women a lot because I think that women and men, you know, without any politics involved, we tend to just feel differently. We are, we are socially trained to be humble. I mean, you would never hear a man say, I, I got into an accident because I wasn't being humble enough. That's, that's not how the universe works, right? That is a toxic part of our brain that says, you do not deserve to succeed. You do not deserve, I'm getting goosebumps. That's how I know I'm on the right track. You know, you do not deserve to do well. And that's super toxic. And it's okay because we hear it in ourselves and we go, wait, wait, wait. If I had a loving father or a loving mother, and I'm not saying you guys didn't, I didn't. So they love me now. And I know if my dad was alive, now he would be here for me. I really, well I hope, I hope he would have had the time to grow and to get out of those toxic cycles, you know, I hope. But that's unfortunately with death, you, you don't know what someone could have been. You know, that said like, we have to break free of these things because it's the mindset. It doesn't matter how much money you're making, if your mindset is bad, if you feel like you deserve to go into a car accident, then that just means we have internal work to do. And give yourself some, some grace. We can't be mean to ourself either. 'cause 'cause what happens is we get very like beat ourselves up again. It's like, not only are we like, man, you suck. You know, you weren't humble. You got into a car accident. Then the other side of it's like, you're being dumb. Don't be dumb Candace. Like, what do you think this is? Just be kind to ourselves. Again, think about like the dog that's scared on the table, the dog that's like pancaking. What we wanna do is be super mad with the dog that's scared, but we know that he's just not used to being groomed. So we have to be kind, right? We have to train kindness and compassion, right? While still getting things done where we can be so kind and compassionate. We don't get anything done. We've gotta find a balance. So that's where Candace, you can parent yourself there and say, you know, Candace, I, you know, that's a really unfortunate train of thought. You know, being humble is not the same as being humiliating. You know, you taking care of your wonderful family, you having ambitions, you wanting to grow, you wanting to do more does not mean that you deserve bad things to happen to you. You know, no differently than a child gets cancer, right? A child doesn't get cancer 'cause he deserves it. You know, that's not because he like, you know, colored the walls or something, right? We would never think of that to somebody else. If you just imagine you, I always think of my age around five or six. 'cause I had a traumatic event happen when I was around that age. And I just think about Little River, you know? And I like to just imagine braiding her hair and being like, sweetie, you know, this isn't the way things work. You know, bad things don't happen to good people because they've done bad things or because they feel like they've gotten too big for their britches. That's not why bad things happen. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And that's just the way the world works. You know, I've had amazing people in my life have ha horrible things happen to me. I don't think my daughters died because I deserved it when it first happened. I did. Because that's what we do, right? We torture ourselves, right? I mean, that's what we do, right? I'm not a good enough mother. I'm not this, I'm not that. Therefore I deserve, that's not the way this goes. This is not the way the universe works. If it is, you know, then I think that if there is a God, if there is a universal plan, I, I just can't buy that, you know, e I just can't, I can't imagine anything working that way. Maybe that's hopeful. Maybe that is, you know, maybe that's a little too rose colored glasses. I just don't buy it. I don't buy that. The world is meant to be painful. I've ne once I decided that my life would be fun and that the world was meant to be fun, things got a lot easier. You know? And I don't know exactly what that means. And some days things suck, but guess what? Ultimately things are going to work out and you just have to have faith in that. And some days they're gonna suck. Especially coming into the holiday season, I think preparing for these things, there are so many things in our industry that we don't talk about. Like, I agree, we need to raise our prices. I agree, we need to streamline our business, but there's, there's no way to do any of those things if we are mentally unhappy, unprepared, you know, we just can't do it. Like, if you feel like if you feel like you don't deserve what you have, then it's impossible to get more of it. And on the flip side, if you have this very like, negative egotistical, I deserve, I earned dah, dah, dah, that's not good energy either. We've gotta find a balance, right? Like, I don't think I deserve savvy groomer to do well. I think I've earned it. I think I've put in the time, I think I've been able to help enough people to earn a good living. And that's what I want for you guys. I want you guys to earn a good living, to build wealth, to build long term whatever it is that you want. If that's freedom and flexibility, great. If that's simplicity, great. If that is a huge empire, great. Whatever you want in this season of life and in the next season of life, great. And I think that's the thing is rationally you feel like, okay, rationally you think, I know, I know I'm good at what I do, but it's just this little heart space and it's, it's healing those either childhood wounds or you know, know just things that we haven't learned. You know? And I, I do wish I had had a different upbringing of warmth and support, but if I did, I couldn't be here for a lot of people. So I'm okay with it. Ultimately it all works out. You know, it's, it really, really tough because in that scenario it's like, did I do something wrong? And you know, rationally you didn't. But emotionally things just feel, you know, you could have weird feelings about things that make zero sense. What's interesting, Megan, is when something bad happens, you don't go, oh goody, something amazing's gonna happen afterwards, right? That's unfortunately you can tell, right? Because if, if you really believed in the 50 50 split, every time something bad happened, we would be like, oh, this sucks. But okay, what's the awesome thing? What, what's my prize? But we don't feel that way When something good happens, we say, oh, what's my punishment? And that is generally either societal or childhood trauma. And especially as women, we are taught that you can be only so happy, right? It's kind of the high heel thing. You can look, you can look really sexy or you can be really comfortable, right? It's like that. Or even you've heard of like the crazy hot, like, women can't be beautiful, smart and lovely. They can only be so much of so much, right? We can't be everything. It's just crazy. So I think that is really painful society wise, you know, and I'm not here to tackle society. I'm here to have us think about how it applies to our lives personally. Because I think that if we change the individuals, we can change a culture. And especially in an industry that people treat us un you know, I think unintentionally poor, they don't know what we do and they don't understand what it is that we do. They don't understand how hard it is to do what we're doing. One of, you know, one of my coaching clients, she has a hurt shoulder. It's because she does lots of big dogs and she's gonna have to cut her big dogs. And when we talked about it, she's like, I tried so hard not to do this. 'cause I didn't want them to think that I didn't love their dogs. And I'm like, girl, you are 26, you've hurt your shoulder, you're probably gonna need surgery. Because you didn't want people to think you didn't love their dogs. Because that is what happens in our minds, these crazy leaps, right? And it can't be, I have to protect my body, you know, because I'm, some people are just not designed for it. There's some of us that can groom big dogs for 30, 40 years and not hurt. And then some of us, our bodies just break down. I don't know if it's genes. I think some of it is we have bad habits. I think some of it is what we're using for mechanics. But I mean, we have a lot of big crazy dogs and those are hard to groom. But I want you to think about it. If you, if you really believed when something bad happens, something good happens and something good happens, something bad happens, you really believe in 50 50. Then when something bad were to happen, you would think, oh goody goody, I get my prize now. But we don't, it's always the other way. It's always, we think of some, something bad happens to us and we're like, oh, I deserve it because of this. Or Oh, I knew this couldn't last that long. You know, it could be your marriage. Right? You know, I was just thinking that if I was still married, I would be four years married. Today, this is my ex's wedding anniversary and it's crazy. You know, I can't believe that, you know, I would've been there. And it's so weird to think about because it's weird to think that, you know, when I, when I got married, I was like, okay, like this is the person I spent the rest of my life with this and that. And then when that fell apart, it was my fault. And I felt awful. Like I was a failure. Like, you know, here was this good thing and then something bad had to happen because things were too good. It's really toxic and it's not our fault that we feel that way, but it's our opportunity to say something nice to ourselves, right? You know, I wish I had had the parent that when I, when I feel that way and I feel like I can't do anything right and insert terrible feeling, somebody would've just like picked me up as a little girl and just hugged me and be like, you can take on the world. Don't worry about it. Everything's gonna work out. But there wasn't that person. So I have to be that person. And it's really weird sounding, it's really weird to say like, okay, now in your mind, pretend that you're a little girl and comfort her. But if you didn't have that, like I didn't have that, that's a great way to do it, right? And so like for Megan, like in that situation, you know, she can just sit there and imagine whatever age you remember yourselves needing that parenting and just being like, you know, Hey Megan, I, this is just a tragedy. There's no reason people pass. You know, I wish there was, you know, there, there's no way. 'cause you wouldn't have never told me when my dad passed, like, oh, he passed because of this. Or my, I can say that my daughter's passed to help people, but that's not really the truth. It's that when my daughter's passed, I took that hurt and anger and frustration and why me and I use that energy to help other people, right? And I'm sure for you, you used those feelings to do something good. Whether that was to put your time into, you know, your child or you know, make sure your marriage works better, right? You put that energy, you know, you have two options. You can either stick in the woe is eye, why me? Or we can go, okay, you know what good can come from this and it's really hard. And there's no right or wrong way. If you stick in, woe his eye. You can do that. I think having a pity party is a good idea for a little bit. Have it up, cake, balloons, the whole shebang and then decide what you wanna do. Because pretending like you don't deserve a pity potty is really not fair because, you know, suffering isn't is a complicated situation. You know, it's just how long you wanna stay there, right? How long do you wanna live in the pity party and how do you wanna leave? You know? And it's your party. You can cry if you wanna, right? So don't feel bad. But you know, staying there, and we've all seen people that stay there. We've seen the people that suffer needlessly for a very long time. I had one client who had a boyfriend who died 20 years ago. Love of her life, it's awful, but it's all she ever talked about. And she just stayed stuck. She never got married, she never had kids. She had this one poor dachshund that she tortured because she just was empty and just like made this poor dog crazy because, I don't know, I think she just needed something to love and dote on, right? And in a healthy way. And we see that in our clients. You know, it's, it's easier to point it out in a client than it is for us. And so just give yourself some grace guys, you know? So that was today's topic. I hope that was useful to you guys. You know, it's all about what is imposter syndrome. And we talked a little bit also about some other mental health topics.

So let's go ahead and start talking about three business principles. I learned the hard way now when I was thinking about a topic to do today, I wanted to do something that might be a little, it was a little bit hard for me to figure out how to package this. And these were three different things that I really had to learn the hard way. And I hope that you can avoid learning the hard way personally. So number one is going to be to know your audience. I know this sounds kinda like a loaded question, but how often do you guys think about who you're talking to? Are they a professional, you know, business professional? Are they an employee? Are they a grooming professional? Who are you talking to when you're doing things and what is their value system? I was talking today with one of my coaching clients and we were talking about how she is doing mobile, very ex, very exclusive, like all small pets under 20 pounds. And her dog haircut started $120. And part of the things that she was talking about was how can, how can I work on converting people that are saying I'm too expensive? And one of the most important things I said to her was for her to know her audience. Is this somebody who is willing to change their mind? Is this somebody who's going to be convinced? Probably not. We used the example of when I was growing up, I had, we had a little dog. He was, he looked like a, his name was Benji. He looked kinda like a P V G V and he got shaved once a year. I don't think there's anything you could have told my mom growing up. You could have told her they were washing that dog battery acid. I don't think she'd care. Not because she didn't love Benji, but because she wasn't very wealthy and it wasn't, it wasn't something she could worry about. She was having enough time putting food on the table for her three kids, nevermind getting the pet groomed. So with that, I want you to think about is it worth trying to convince these people? Is it worth trying to educate these people? What are the things that you're doing on a daily basis and do they make sense? You know, when you're knowing your audience, what's, if there, you know, is there something going on? They need to take a step back and go, okay, who is it that I'm talking to? You know, who is it that I'm talking to? What do they value? You know, should I continue on this or is this just a waste of my time? And I know that sounds kind of unfair because it really sucks to go, why am I wasting my time? But sometimes you just are. Sometimes no matter what you say, no matter what you do, you're not going to change their mind. They're not gonna, they're not gonna see your side of the conversation. They're just not going to. So it doesn't make any sense to continue being like a broken record. I see this happen a lot with you guys that are talking about a client who is not your ideal client or your soulmate client. They are just a client that won't listen to you. And if you take a step back and you've said something over and over and over again and go, okay, who is my audience? What is their value system? Do they care? Probably not. And that's probably just putting yourself in a bad situation. And I don't think that makes any sense. Now you can keep doing it. I learned that the hard way. I'd like you to be able to take that knowledge and be able to be more flexible like that. Alright, so number two, trust but verify. I thought this was a great aha moment. And basically what I realized was that yes, I should trust what my clients are saying. Yes, I should trust what other groomers are telling me. Yes, I should trust what the vet is saying, but I need to verify that. And what ends up happening is a lot of times we just trust someone's word or we trust someone's integrity. For instance, if you get a check from a client, you know you're trusting that they are gonna cash that. You know, make sure it's for the right amount. Make sure when you get money it's for the right amount. Yes, trust, but make sure you verify what they're doing. I can't tell you how many times I see in posts on Facebook groups talking about how someone shorted them some money, how someone wrote money out for the wrong amount. And this of course could be just a mistake, but it also could be someone seeing what they can get away with. Another great example of trust but verify is in vet notes. Recently I was talking to one of my cat groomer friends and she mentioned that she had one of the most matted cats she's ever done. She's done thousands and thousands and thousands of cats. Like she's groomed thousands of cats. And this is one of the most matted cats she's ever groomed. Now, when she got the vet notes, the cat had been to the vet within the last couple of weeks, it mentioned nothing about the matting. And to me that's really weird. If I'm a veterinarian and I get a cat in and the cat is basically a turtle shell, you'd think that I would put some notes in something. But they didn't put any notes on the cat's health. They mentioned the cat had a little bit of dry skin, but mostly healthy. Well that dry skin was a pelt and lots of dead skin cells. So again, she got a vet report saying a cat was mostly healthy except a little dry skin, which she instead got was this incredible turtle shell. So again, trust what the vet says, but verify. Now if she had just promised that customer based on those vet notes said, oh, the vet is saying the cat's not matted, no big deal, well then she could've gotten herself in a lot of trouble 'cause she would've had this cat and it's a much more expensive groom 'cause it's pelted versus if the cat was just a little bit dry skin, right? Same thing with your employees. You wanna make sure that they are doing what you say, but double check their work. One of the biggest things I see happening with you guys with employees is that you just trust them is implicitly, which is great until something goes wrong. For instance, even when I'm grooming, I like to take before and afters. If I had somebody in the van with me, I would love to see them double check my work. Why? Because I'm not perfect. And they're gonna notice something that I didn't see. 'cause I've been looking at it too long, right? One of my favorite things about when I had my shop was that we would have, the receptionist was the one who would verify or double check the dogs. It was so nice because what would happen is when you're a groomer and you're done, you're on the fence of like, am I done? Am I not done? Like when's good enough? They could go ahead, put the dog away, the receptionist would come out, look at the dog and say, you know what, can you just soften this line? Or you know what? This hair had fluffed out, can you fix this? And it allowed her, the receptionist to both trust that groomer and know that she's not gonna do something outrageous. She's not gonna forget a whole leg, although I have done that one Thanksgiving. But she's going to go ahead and look at what's going on. And the same thing with our customers, right? You wanna trust them, you wanna verify. And then we have number three. Number three is accuracy matters. It's really easy to understand why accuracy matters when we're grooming. You know, if you're not accurate, i e, if you do a crap job, then it's gonna be really obvious. It's really uncomfortable watching some people who their grooms are just way off the mark as a mediocre dog groomer. I'm not really one to like judge another groomer, but there are some grooms that I'm like, is this the rough cut? Is this an owner groom? And it's not even a new groomer, it's just somebody who I don't know if they didn't, they just don't have any skills or what it is. But the problem with that is that this is what you're selling. You're, and again, I don't think there's a big difference between having competition level grooming. So yeah, accuracy matters. We're selling haircuts. We wanna have a good haircut. You don't need the world's best haircut. Although that is definitely a marketing opportunity for you guys if you guys do have those. But there has to be a level and a standard and you have to decide what that level and standard is. What is good enough? What is accurate, right? Also, when you're putting in notes, accuracy matters. When you put in a dog's age, it may not matter. Now, for instance, like obviously if it's a rescue dog, there's nothing you can do. But if you put in an age, let's say, of two years old when the pet is five, that doesn't matter right now, but it is gonna matter when the pet is eight, it's gonna, you know, we're gonna see you say, okay, this pet is this much older. It matters with weight, with your accuracy. Now it may not matter for something as simple as a bath or blow dry, but things like, if you ever, now not many groomers do this anymore, but I know 10 years ago when I started grooming, people would do a lot of spot on treatments and accuracy matters. If the vet does not put in the right weight of that pet, you could accidentally overdose that dog. So I know that does, it's not as popular now, but I remember when that was like a big deal, mostly because it was like when birth control came out, everyone's like, woo hoo, we're not gonna have to deal with fleas and ticks ever again. I mean, it was amazing. It was just this mind blowing technology. So accuracy matters, you know the right name, calling someone by the right name, calling a pet by the right name. Now, did I ever do that? Oh yeah, definitely. Do you have any Bellas? We had, and we have, we're in Patriots, new England Patriots place, the football team, we had a lot of Brady's, we had a lot of poppies for like big poppy who's from the Red Sox. We have a lot of maxes. So it's really important to write down which max is getting which haircut and making sure that whatever you put the right leash in the right dog thing, when you are inaccurate, you are opening up your business to problems. And I know this seems really obvious, but a lot of gut, listen, no judgment. A lot of you guys start getting sloppy, you get tired and you start getting sloppy. And the problem with getting sloppy is the fact that what ends up happening, good, bad, or indifferent, you are going to end up with a situation where something goes wrong, just horribly wrong. Yeah, I'm sure you guys have heard of the instances where someone sends home the wrong dog, where a salon gives the wrong haircut to the wrong dog. Like let's say there's two max the be ons, one is getting a five strip and one is getting a face, feet standing. It's really important to know which max is which and what they're getting. 'cause if you don't, you're gonna have one really pissed off customer. You know, as somebody who just shaved her own dog. It's one of those things that, you know, if I had given this haircut to the wrong dog, that owner would not be very happy. You know, it never, it never happens the other way. It never happens that the dog getting the five strip only gets the face feet, Sandy, that's not what happens. What always happens is the dog getting the face feet, Sandy gets the five strip. So again, remember, accuracy matters. So these are the three business principles I learned the hard way, and I hope, again, I know they're kind of like, well duh, but you know what? A lot of times they creep up on us. Know your audience. Know who you're talking to and why it matters. Are you just talking to a wall? Do they really care or are you, and are you talking to them in the way that they should be talked to? A lot of times we use all these terminologies and we assume they have the knowledge of groomers. You know, they don't understand mad, they don't, they don't understand breeds, they don't understand coat colors and types. You know, yelling at your owner to brush their dog more when they don't know how to brush. You don't. You're not listening to your audience. Your audience does not know how to properly brush their dog. They may say they do, but let's be honest, most of them don't. Two, trust but verify. We can keep using the brush analogy. How many times have we heard a customer say, yes, I brushed my dog. You touched the dog. Right? You don't just take their word for it. You touch the dog and you find out that doesn't happen, right? Didn't happen. And then accuracy matters. Make sure you are meticulous. Now you're only human. You're only human, so you're gonna make mistakes. But focusing on being accurate, not perfect, but accurate will help you grow your business in a way that you're going to be able to relax it a little bit. As you have employees, it's important to set that standard of excellence and accuracy because if they slip up a little bit, they're gonna slip up more often than you. Why? Because if they really were that amazing, let's be honest, they'd own their own business. They're either young or they're just, you know, a little sloppy. Artistic people tend to be a little sloppy. It just is what it is. I think that sometimes we expect too much of people and then sometimes we set them up to fail, you know? But it's important you know, to write down things. It's important to make sure what you're doing is correct, accurate, and written the right way, or communicated the right way. This was three business principles I learned the hard way.

So what today's River Rant is about is that I was actually on, I was just in Facebook, you know, me, just troll, not trolling, Facebook like strolling through Facebook rather. And there was a comment talking about animal behavior college. Now, as you guys may or may not know, I've done a whole video on animal behavior college, not really saying if it's a good program or a bad program, but if it works for you as a potential employer. And I think there's just so much misunderstanding about being an employer and what does that mean? I feel like so often the industry just says things like, just be an employer. Like just hire a bather. Like it's so easy, right? Like you should just be able to magically just be able to go out there and hire someone willy-nilly. And what I noticed is that there's all these common threads that people are posting when it comes to saying like, what makes 'em a good employer, right? Because there's only two ways to get an employee, right? It's either build your own from scratch, right? Or bribe someone enough that they're gonna come over to your side of the table. And that's not easy, right? It's not easy to have somebody come over, right? Because if they're happy in their job, if they're stable in their job, they like the clientele, right? They're pretty cozy. And if they're really cozy, why would they then turn around? Right? And for better or for worse, leave their comfy cozy job and come to yours. There has to be something better on the other side. The grass has to be greener. Now, what Gen Z and millennials want is generally not more money. It's not. There's this huge lie that, you know, they only want money. I I can't offer them enough money. No. First of all, you can't, because if you offer someone more money, they will just go somewhere and get more money, right? I remember having an employee tell me they were gonna leave me over a dollar an hour. And I said, you'd let me know I would give the $8 an hour. And they were very right. They said, well, if you were gonna gimme more than another dollar an hour, you should just given it to me. And so that's when I realized that it doesn't matter how much more you give people for dollar amounts, they'll always want more. Some of that is lack of budgeting. Some of that is just for better, for worse, right? Having people that really aren't, you know, they always want more, right? So it's the groomer mentality. So let's talk about that, right? Let's talk about employees and what we can do about that. So I got in the mail and I wanted to do this grant anyway, So this said head start is hiring. So I got this randomly in the mail. It literally says, postal customer, it's not even addressed to me. They have no idea who I am. It's literally bought a bunch of addresses and sent it to me, right? So they said, headstart is hiring a thousand dollars sign-on bonus offered teacher, teacher assistance, family advocate, therapeutic integration, specialist substitutes. So send your resume, go hire, write. This is Headstart. Join our team. Start your rewarding career path with East Bay Community Action Programs. Head Start. We're seeking passionate individuals who want to make a difference in child children's lives. You'll be part of supportive work environment with competitive ways, tuition reimbursement, and a competitive benefit packages. So they deal with children from birth to age five. Now, when we think about it, right? When we think about when, when we're offering things to people, our jobs are not sig, they're more skilled, I would agree, but they're not harder than taking care of infant children. So this company's offering a thousand dollars sign-on bonus tuition reimbursement, right? And benefits. That's a lot. That's a lot to compete with, with somebody who is not right? They're not invested. If they're not invested in a grooming career, we can't compete with them. Also, chick-fil-A, chick-fil-A recently was in the drive-through. 'cause I'm bad. They're offering their key holders where I'm at, not managers key holders, $30 an hour, right? Plus benefits. And they offer all these other things, right? We are now competing with McDonald's, with Chick-fil-A with other places. You know, the higher minimum wage goes up, the harder it is for us to compete, right? Because for better or for worse, when you look at this, you realize that this used to be considered a shit job, right? You'd be like, I don't wanna be a daycare worker. They make no money, there's no benefits, there's no this, there's no that. And now they're doing that, right? The reason nobody wanted to work at McDonald's is because it was a terrible pay. There was no benefits, right? And now they're getting those things. And we're a skilled labor. We are a skilled trade, and we need to be treated as such. And what I'm finding is that a lot of employers almost wanna hire McDonald's workers. They wanna hire Chick-fil-A workers, right? And they wanna treat them as such and, and then they're wondering why they can't find them. Now, I'm not saying they're treating them poorly. I'm not saying they're intentionally doing these things. So give you, in my silly dating analogy, forgive me as somebody who's been s slogging myself through the dating pool. And first of all, I'm not everyone's soulmate either. I'm perfectly fine, perfectly fine not being everyone's soulmate. But what was really interesting was that I found that a lot of the things that men were saying really didn't resonate with me. Right? So they would be like things like, oh, I have a car. I'm like, well, if you're in your thirties, forties, or fifties, I hope you have your own car. We're in an area where having a car's fairly normal, I have a job. Okay? So you have a job and you have transportation to have a job. It is not uncommon for somebody who's 30, 40 or 50 in my area to live at home or have roommates. So they'd be like, I have my own place. It's like, okay, but do you own that place? Or do you, you know, do you rent that place? And you know, are you spending a lower amount of your money in order to save up and buy your own place? Right? So basically they're like, I'm nice, I have a car, I have a job. And it's like, okay, is that it? And they're like, well, yeah. Like I, I, I have a car, I have a job. And so I deserve you as my girlfriend. And it's just so interesting. 'cause again, it's not about the money, right? It's not about having someone be rich, right? So again, in this analogy, you as an employer, you're saying, you know, I pay W two, I have nice clients. I'm, I'm a nice employer, you should just come work for me. It's like, okay, well so does everyone else. And you might be like, well, no, there's lots of 10 99. And that's like that guy saying, well, no, there's lots of really crappy men out there. It's like, okay, but I'm not looking, you know, you are not competing with the crepe if you are a good employer, right? And I mean, good as in standard, right? The standard as an industry should be, you pay W two, you pay a livable wage, you're kind to your employees, right? These should be normal standardized things. And as Gen Z is coming up into the grooming industry, they're not used to all of the potential problems that a lot of us millennials, our Gen X or our boomers dealt with, right? You can't verbally abuse your employees anymore. Like I remember it was very common 15 years ago that your employer would basically verbally abuse you, right? That's not so common anymore. And people aren't gonna stand for it. They're gonna leave 'cause they have options. So when you're, you know, standard and you're pointing down to what we would consider below standards, that doesn't make me more likely to wanna work with you, it makes me go, well, yeah, this is what I deserve. And so if your job is either to build a groomer, if you're gonna have employees, you're gonna need to build a groomer or basically bribe them away from somebody else, right? So if you think about that, right? It's basically like you either need to take someone who's single and tell them all the reasons that you're wonderful and why they should consider investing in this. Or you need to have somebody who's already in a relationship and basically be so amazing they break up with their current employer and leave them for you. Now, there's some wackiness when it comes to the relationship analogy. So, you know, I apologize, I'm not saying be a homewrecker, et cetera, but a lot of you guys don't realize when you are bribing these groomers away from their employers, you essentially are an employer homewrecker. And that's okay. You know why? Because again, maybe that wasn't the right working relationship for them. Maybe they are gonna be significantly happier with you. But that said, you have to be prepared to do that. And if you can't, if you're just a standard kind of grooming business, then you have to get really good at something now as someone who's been really, you know, single for a long time. And a lot of that honestly is by choice at this point, just because the dating pool is very difficult. The same as the employment market. And it's been really nice to get to know me, right? And I almost feel like I wish a lot of you guys as an employers would really take a step back and get to know you as a business, as a, as a boss, right? As a leader. Who are you as a leader? What do you want in these relationships, both with your clients and then with that, you need to grow, right? A lot of us get stuck in the scenario where we start by having a relationship with our clients, right? This very one-on-one relationship. When we bring in this other groomer and we're now an employer, we have to have the clients attached to the business, right? They can't be attached to me, the boss, me, the groomer owner. I need them to be attached to the business that way they know anyone who comes into the business, you can trust. Doggy daycares do this very, very well, right? You know, you can meet the, the daycare owner, you can trust them, you can like them, but you know anyone who watches your dog you trust, right? So this is again, right where you also notice, right, that that per right, that person in that doggy daycare, you know any, they're gonna have other people handling your dog and you're not gonna meet them all. And that's perfectly normal as a grooming industry, we need to shift towards that. The way that we do hiring ads is just ridiculous as an industry. They're either like super, super sticky, cutesy, like, you see corporate doing this. It's almost defensive the way that a lot of corporates talk about our industry. It's like, haven't you always wanted to make poodles runway ready? It's like, hmm, we're a skilled trade that deserves respect. Or it's like, yo, we're hiring. I mean, again, right? We wanna create a a d, you know, a basically a dating profile, right? And those are hard too, because some people wanna know a lot of information, but some people just wanna know the highlights. It gets really tricky. But that's a whole nother conversation. But I agree. I think that when we're creating these hire, if you notice too, and the reason I use this is 'cause this is actually really good. This is, this was, someone was paid to create this. And you could tell the copy on this is really solid. 'cause if you notice, when you look at the average grooming for hire post, we wanna list out everything they have to do. It's like, how do you feel like picking up poop? How do you feel about being bitten? Like, you know, like we're almost talking them out of being in our industry. And I also see that same weird dynamic in general. I see so often that groomers will complain about how awful and miserable grooming is, and then be like, why can't I hire anyone? It's like, well, which is it? Is this a grueling, difficult, awful job that no one should ever join? Or is it a rewarding career? You can't live in both worlds. Now you can say it's a like, okay, like being a mom, like a human mom, right? My sister has an almost two year old. That kid is just a lot. You know? Yes, it is difficult, but if you notice the way you frame it, you're gonna scare people away. Like if you listen to people, and again, no, no disrespect you do you, if you listen to people that do not want children that talk about why they don't want kids, it's the same or similar language, then somebody who is talking, you know about the grooming industry, right? And the people that are saying they don't want kids, they don't want kids, right? They're talking, they're explaining why they don't want kids. And they're almost trying to convince others of why they shouldn't maybe want kids. And I think too often the way we talk about our industry, and it is a di it is a weird dynamic, right? Because it is really hard. It is really this, okay, well if it's all those things, then why would you want someone to come into this industry not get benefits and make the same as somebody managing a Chick-fil-A or not even managing, just being a key holder at Chick-fil-A. Why would you do that? So you have to be very careful, right? You have to find that balance. And it's not easy because again, over and over and over again, we keep creating these scenarios that bite ourself in the foot. So in this ad, it talks about all the benefits, right? Of working for the company, not why you shouldn't or what disqualifies you, right? And we do get a lot of people interested in becoming a groomer and they don't understand. But that's again, where we can use certain tools to our advantage. Things like animal behavior college. Now, I don't particularly love the program and I don't know enough about the program to give an honest review of it, but I will say this is that you get over a hundred hours for free trying someone out, you get to train them your way, you get to bring them into the fold as a recipe groomer. And then if it doesn't work out, you don't have to hire them. And I think I've done, I've done the math before, but really quickly. So I wanna say, and I'm hoping I'm not lying here, I believe it's 150 hours worth of grooming. So at 150 hours, right? And my state is $13 an hour minimum wage. So if I were to pay someone 150 hours at $13 an hour, that is $1,950. So I get to try somebody out for $1,950. And if they don't work out, I don't have to hire them. Otherwise I even at minimum wage, I would've had to hire them. I would've still paid that money, right? I would've still paid that money. So this gives us an opportunity to do that. And on the flip side, right, we get to be able to try out being a teacher and being an employer. I think a lot of us are very confused on our long-term goals with hiring and managing a staff. I think it's never been a better time to consider solo entrepreneurship, at least until you really get your clientele down. Whether that's in a membership model, whether that is building a clientele that trusts you, you know, as in the business. Like I trust the business, not necessarily personally you. I think that's a great opportunity. So in that analogy, right, of the dating, it's kind of like if you had your parents meet every person you dated, and if you guys that did not magically meet the love of your life when you were 15, I'm unfortunately one of those people, you know, you did have to date a lot of people to find the right person, right? You have to. So for every 10 dates, right? 10 dates, I'm gonna get one person, right? Who I wanna go on a second or a third date. And sometimes it's less, but that's because I've invested a lot of time in the beginning of it, right? And that's your hiring process. You know, if, if I match someone on a dating app and I spend two months talking to them, right? And then we go on a first date, that first date has significantly higher likelihood of having a second or third date. Absolutely. But I've also invested all of that time, right? So that's where the savvy groomer, we teach you guys a lot of hiring techniques in the higher masterclass we already teach you. You know, you should have, there's, there's a four step process. You need to have a 15 minute phone call. Do you actually like this person? We need to have an in-person neutral territory. We need to have a, a skill assessment, and then we need to have a working interview. And when you go through all of that, yes, you'll have significantly less turnover. Why? Because you've invested a lot of time in hiring that person. So if you want less turnover, you'll have to invest a lot of time and energy into the hiring process. And I think a lot of you guys are like, but I don't wanna do all that. It's like, okay, well then you gotta hire them and find out the hard way, right? There's just too many ways of how to deal with that. One thing I had mentioned to this person is, you know, being, doing exit interview. So if you're gonna do an exit interview, what happened there? What was that conversation? You know, why did they leave? Did they leave you over more money? Did they leave you over the grooming industry? Just wasn't for them. Did they leave? Because, you know, maybe the perfect clientele that you have is not their soulmate clients, right? I remember, you know, many moons ago, and it's not legal obviously, but I worked for a woman for free for six months after grooming school. 'cause I needed to gain some skillset. And all she did was poodles and schnauzers. That's all she did. She did poodles in, in, you know, English saddle cuts and continentals, and she hated schnauzer cuts, not schnauzer. She did schnauzer hand strip planks. So I got really good at hand stripping, and I got really good at following grooming patterns and I hated it. I'm like, I just wanna zone out, do one length all over, not sit there and go, okay, how high should I put this line? Where does this, what's the dog's confirmation? I didn't like it at all. It was not for me, right? So it had nothing to do with her. It had everything to do with me in that I wasn't the right fit for that business. Right? And again, sometimes it takes time to find that out. It's like dating, you might not find out for six months that this person is not the right person for you. So when we go on an exit interview, was it just I didn't ask the right questions during the interview? Was it that they changed and they grew and they learned something different? Right? And that can happen a thousand percent. I think one thing we have to remember is that it takes two years to build a solid groomer who can be by themselves and we can trust them, right? With not anything, but most things, like most things, depending upon how much you've invested in them, but it, they leave after five. The average person in our industry leaves after five years. Now, I don't know if that is from the time of bathing or if that's the time of finished grooming, but that's the statistic that I found. Also. 70% of the grooming industry is under the age of 40. I'm gonna say that again. 70% of the grooming industry is under the age of 40. How many of you guys think that 30% is a majority of grooming business owners? 30% of our industries over the age of 40? Which means that, you know, and again, I don't have the stat of how many of those people are business owners, but what I will tell you is that I, if it's, if it's less than half, I would be shocked. Most of the people I know that are over 40, and they are still grooming, either do it as a hobby or they own their own business. I don't meet a ton of women over 40 who don't want to be business owners in the sense that they're like, listen, if I am getting older and I don't wanna groom as much, I'm not gonna make as much, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So they open their own shop. So if your goal is to have low turnover, well, okay, well, unless if you catch someone when they're 18, 19, 20, right? The reality is that you're not gonna have them forever. You might have them for five years if they decide to stay in the industry. Or maybe you'll have them for 10 years before they decide to go out on their own. Maybe after three years they go decide to go out on their own.

Reviving the Groomer's Spirit: Strategies for Avoiding Burnout and Finding Work-Life Balance In today's episode, we'll explore strategies that can help you prevent burnout and revive your spirit as a groomer. So, let's get started! Being a groomer is a labor of love, but it's easy to get caught up in the demands of the job and neglect your own well-being. Many groomers find themselves experiencing burnout, feeling exhausted, and losing their passion for their craft. However, there is hope. By implementing practical strategies, you can avoid burnout and find a healthy work-life balance, reviving your spirit as a groomer. Strategy #1: Define Your Values and Priorities. Take the time to reflect on your values and what truly matters to you in your life and career. Are you prioritizing what aligns with your core values? Identifying your priorities allows you to make intentional choices that bring you closer to a balanced and fulfilling life. Strategy #2: Set Boundaries. Boundaries are essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Clearly define your working hours and communicate them to your clients and loved ones. Learn to say no when necessary, and honor your personal time and space. Remember, setting boundaries is not selfish—it's an act of self-care. Strategy #3: Delegate and Collaborate. You don't have to carry the weight of your grooming business alone. Identify tasks that can be delegated or shared with others. Consider collaborating with groomers or assistants who can support you with administrative tasks or client management. Delegating frees up your time and energy, allowing you to focus on the aspects of grooming that you enjoy the most. Strategy #4: Create Rituals for Self-Care. Develop daily or weekly rituals that nourish your well-being. These can include activities such as practicing mindfulness or meditation, engaging in regular exercise, enjoying hobbies outside of work, or spending quality time with loved ones and pets. Prioritizing self-care rituals helps rejuvenate your spirit and prevent burnout. Strategy #5: Nurture Supportive Relationships. Surround yourself with a network of supportive individuals who understand the challenges of the grooming industry. Connect with fellow groomers, join grooming associations, or participate in online communities. Sharing experiences, seeking advice, and receiving support from others who can relate to your journey can be invaluable in preventing burnout. Strategy #6: Schedule Time for Rest and Renewal. Incorporate regular breaks and vacations into your schedule. Taking time away from work allows you to recharge and come back to your grooming duties with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Remember, rest is not a luxury—it's a necessity for your overall well-being. Strategy #7: Continuously Learn and Grow. The grooming industry is constantly evolving, and ongoing learning is vital to staying inspired and avoiding burnout. Invest in your professional development by attending grooming trade shows, workshops, conferences, and webinars. Stay up-to-date on industry trends and techniques. Embracing lifelong learning keeps your skills sharp and your passion ignited. Strategy #8: Practice Mindful Grooming. Infuse mindfulness into your grooming practice. Slow down, focus on the present moment, and connect with the pets in your care. Mindful grooming not only enhances the well-being of the animals but also cultivates a sense of joy and purpose within you. Allow grooming to be a meditative experience that brings you fulfillment. Strategy #9: Embrace Technology and Automation. Explore grooming software and tools that can streamline your business processes. Automated appointment scheduling, client management, and billing systems can save you time and reduce stress. Embracing technology allows you to focus more on the creative and enjoyable aspects of grooming. Strategy #10: Celebrate Your Achievements. Take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments as a groomer. Celebrate the pets whose lives you've touched and the clients who appreciate your work. Recognize your growth and the positive impact you've made in the grooming industry. Celebrating your achievements boosts your confidence and reignites your passion. Avoiding burnout and finding a healthy work-life balance is crucial for reviving your spirit as a groomer. By defining your values, setting boundaries, delegating, practicing self-care, nurturing relationships, scheduling rest, embracing learning, practicing mindfulness, utilizing technology, and celebrating your achievements, you can create a harmonious and fulfilling grooming career. I hope you found these strategies helpful and empowering. Remember, your well-being matters, and by taking care of yourself, you can continue to bring joy and excellence to your grooming business.

From Overwhelmed to Empowered: Navigating Burnout and Cultivating Well-being in Grooming Careers In today's episode, we'll be discussing practical strategies to overcome burnout and create a fulfilling grooming career. So, let's dive in! Step 1: Recognize the Signs of Burnout. Burnout often starts subtly, so it's essential to be aware of the warning signs. Symptoms may include chronic fatigue, decreased motivation, loss of passion for grooming, increased irritability, and a decline in the quality of your work. By recognizing these signs early on, you can take proactive steps to address burnout and prevent it from taking over your life. Step 2: Practice Self-Compassion. Groomers are often perfectionists, striving to provide exceptional care for every pet. However, it's crucial to be kind and compassionate to yourself as well. Acknowledge that you're human, and it's okay to make mistakes or have off days. Treat yourself with the same empathy and understanding you extend to the pets in your care. Step 3: Prioritize Self-Care. Groomers tend to prioritize the well-being of their furry clients, sometimes neglecting their own needs. Make self-care a non-negotiable part of your routine. Set aside time for activities that rejuvenate you, whether it's practicing mindfulness, engaging in hobbies, spending time with loved ones, or indulging in a favorite pastime. Remember, nurturing your own well-being allows you to provide better care for the pets you groom. Step 4: Set Realistic Expectations. Unrealistic expectations can be a breeding ground for burnout. Evaluate your workload, schedule, and client expectations. Are you taking on too much? Are your boundaries clear? Communicate openly with clients about realistic timeframes and manage their expectations. Remember, it's better to underpromise and overdeliver than to overcommit and underdeliver. Step 5: Seek Support and Connection. The grooming industry can sometimes feel isolating. Reach out for support from fellow groomers, mentors, or industry associations. Engage in networking events, join online communities, or participate in trade shows, workshops and seminars. Connecting with others who understand the unique challenges of the profession can provide you with a sense of camaraderie and support during difficult times. Step 6: Develop a Work-Life Balance. Striking a healthy work-life balance is essential to prevent burnout. Identify boundaries between your personal and professional life and strive to maintain them. Designate specific hours for work and create downtime for yourself. Remember, you are not defined solely by your grooming career—nurturing your personal life is just as important. Step 7: Learn to Delegate and Ask for Help. Recognize that you don't have to do everything on your own. Identify tasks that can be delegated or outsourced to free up your time and energy. Whether it's hiring an assistant, utilizing grooming software, or seeking help from professionals in areas like marketing or bookkeeping, delegating allows you to focus on your strengths and passions. Step 8: Embrace Lifelong Learning. The grooming industry is ever-evolving, and continuous learning is key to staying engaged and inspired. Stay updated on the latest grooming techniques, industry trends, and business strategies. Attend workshops, webinars, and grooming conventions. Investing in your professional development not only enhances your skills but also reignites your passion for grooming. Step 9: Practice Stress Management Techniques. Stress is a common companion in the grooming profession, but managing it effectively is crucial. Explore stress management techniques such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, or journaling. Find what works best for you and incorporate these practices into your daily routine to maintain balance and resilience. Step 10: Celebrate Your Successes. In the midst of burnout, it's easy to overlook your achievements. Take time to celebrate even the smallest victories along your grooming journey. Acknowledge your growth, the positive impact you've had on pets and their owners, and the dedication you bring to your craft. Celebrating your successes boosts morale and reinforces your sense of accomplishment. Navigating burnout and cultivating well-being in a grooming career is an ongoing journey. By recognizing the signs of burnout, practicing self-compassion, prioritizing self-care, setting realistic expectations, seeking support, developing work-life balance, delegating, embracing lifelong learning, practicing stress management techniques, and celebrating your successes, you can transform overwhelm into empowerment and create a fulfilling grooming career. I hope you found these strategies valuable and inspiring. Remember, you have the power to shape your grooming career into one that brings you joy and fulfillment.

Unleashing Success: Strategies to Prevent Groomer Burnout and Thrive in the Industry In today's episode, we'll be discussing strategies to prevent groomer burnout and create a thriving business. So let's get started! Grooming pets can be a rewarding career, but it can also be physically and emotionally demanding. Many groomers find themselves facing burnout, which can negatively impact their personal well-being and their businesses. But fear not! There are effective strategies you can implement to prevent burnout and unleash your success in the pet grooming industry. Strategy #1: Establish Boundaries. As pet grooming professionals, we often have a deep love for animals and a desire to please our clients. However, it's important to set boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Remember, taking care of yourself allows you to provide better care for the pets you groom. Here are some different ways that you can practice establishing boundaries: Decide on specific working hours that align with your lifestyle and personal needs. Establish policies regarding how far in advance clients need to book appointments. This helps prevent last-minute requests that may disrupt your schedule. Designate specific communication channels for clients to reach you, such as email or a business phone. Avoid giving out personal phone numbers to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Set expectations for when clients can expect a response from you. This prevents feelings of being overwhelmed by constant communication. Clearly outline your policy for no-show clients and whether you charge a fee for missed appointments. Establish protocols for dealing with difficult clients or situations where a client may be dissatisfied with the grooming service. Define the maximum number of pets you groom in a day to avoid overextension and burnout. Strategy #2: Prioritize Self-Care. Grooming can be physically demanding, and it's crucial to prioritize self-care to prevent burnout. Remember, self-care isn't selfish—it's essential for your well-being. Here are some ways that you can practice prioritizing self-care: Make time for regular physical activity that you enjoy, such as going for walks, practicing yoga, or engaging in any form of exercise that helps you stay active and reduce stress. Plan and prepare nutritious meals to fuel your body properly throughout the day. Avoid relying on fast food or unhealthy snacks during busy grooming hours. Stay hydrated by keeping a water bottle nearby and taking short breaks to drink water regularly. Ensure you get enough restful sleep each night to allow your body and mind to recharge for the next day's grooming sessions. Engage in activities outside of work that bring you joy and fulfillment, whether it's reading, painting, gardening, or any other hobby you enjoy. There are so many ways that you can incorporate self-care into your schedule! Strategy #3: Delegate and Outsource. Running a pet grooming business involves various tasks beyond grooming itself. Consider delegating or outsourcing administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments, answering phone calls, or managing social media. This allows you to focus more on your passion—grooming—and frees up time for other important aspects of your life. Consider hiring a receptionist or virtual assistant to manage your appointment book, handle phone calls, and respond to client inquiries. Outsource your social media marketing and content creation to a social media manager. Delegate financial tasks, such as bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax preparation, to an accountant or bookkeeper. Hire a cleaning service to take care of salon cleaning and maintenance tasks. If you have a business website, have someone maintain and update it regularly with relevant information. Strategy #4: Continuous Learning and Professional Development. The pet grooming industry is constantly evolving, and staying up-to-date on the latest grooming techniques, industry trends, and business strategies is vital for long-term success. Invest in your professional development by attending trade shows, workshops, conferences, and online courses. Sharpening your skills and knowledge will not only boost your confidence but also attract more clients to your business. Attend grooming workshops conducted by experienced professionals. These events often cover specific grooming techniques, breed-specific grooming, and business management topics. Participate in industry trade shows. These events offer opportunities to learn from experts, network with other groomers, and explore new grooming products and techniques. Enroll in online grooming courses and certifications if you can't get to an in-person workshop or seminar! Participate in grooming competitions. These events not only help you hone your skills but also expose you to innovative grooming styles and ideas. There are so many ways that you can further your education whether you're a groomer or a business owner! Strategy #5: Build a Support Network. Surround yourself with like-minded professionals who understand the challenges and joys of the pet grooming industry. Sharing experiences, seeking advice, and receiving support from others in the industry can make a significant difference in preventing burnout and building a successful business. Become a member of grooming associations or organizations at the local, regional, or national levels. These associations often host events, trade shows, seminars, online forums, etc. where groomers can network and collaborate. Become a member of online grooming communities, forums, and social media groups. These allow groomers to interact, share knowledge, and seek advice from professionals worldwide. Look for local networking groups or meetups in your area. Regular meetings and gatherings enable face-to-face interactions and relationship-building with local professionals. There are so many different ways that you can build a professional support network! Strategy #6: Automate and Streamline Processes. As a business owner, you can save time and reduce stress by implementing automation and streamlining processes. By automating and streamlining tasks, you can focus more on grooming and providing excellent customer service. Utilize grooming software to automate appointment scheduling, client information management, and reminders. This helps reduce the time spent on administrative tasks and minimize the risk of scheduling errors. Implement an online booking system on your website or social media platforms. This allows clients to schedule appointments themselves, freeing up your time from phone call bookings. Set up automated appointment reminders via email or text messages to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations. Develop Standard Operating Procedures for grooming procedures to ensure consistency and efficiency in your services. These guidelines should be shared with your team to maintain a uniform approach to grooming. Strategy #7: Take Regular Breaks and Vacations. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day demands of running a grooming business, but taking regular breaks and vacations is essential for rejuvenation. Plan and schedule downtime in advance to ensure you have time to recharge and reset. Remember, taking a break isn't a luxury—it's a necessity to prevent burnout and maintain your passion for grooming. Designate one or two specific days each week as your rest days, where you don't take any grooming appointments or work-related tasks. Plan an annual vacation or time off, whether it's a week-long trip or an extended break. Take short weekend getaways to nearby destinations to unwind and explore new places. Consider taking longer breaks during slower seasons in the grooming industry to relax and recharge. During breaks and vacations, make a conscious effort to disconnect from work-related emails, calls, and notifications. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or stressed, don't hesitate to take a mental health day to prioritize your well-being. Preventing groomer burnout is crucial for your personal well-being and the success of your pet grooming business. By implementing these strategies—establishing boundaries, prioritizing self-care, delegating and outsourcing, continuous learning, building a support network, automating processes, and taking regular breaks—you can unleash your success and thrive in the pet grooming industry. I hope you found these strategies valuable and actionable. Remember, a happy and fulfilled groomer is the foundation for a prosperous business.

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Let's talk about today's topic: Strategies for Groomers to Achieve Work-Life Balance and Prevent Burnout In this fast-paced world, it's crucial to prioritize our mental and physical well-being. Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It can lead to a decrease in productivity, affect our relationships, and negatively impact our overall quality of life. So, how can we prevent burnout? Here are five strategies: One Setting Boundaries Setting boundaries is crucial for a healthy work-life balance and preventing burnout. Start by identifying your values and priorities to guide your boundaries. Don't hesitate to say "no" to protect your time and energy. Communicate your limits effectively and delegate tasks to lighten your load. Prioritize personal time for rejuvenation and regularly check in with yourself. Setting boundaries is an act of self-care, empowering you to focus on what truly matters and lead a balanced life. Two Prioritize Self-Care Self-care is a necessity, not a luxury. Make time for activities that rejuvenate you, like exercise, meditation, and spending time with loved ones. Taking care of yourself allows you to recharge and approach challenges with a fresh perspective. Prioritize physical health through regular exercise, a balanced diet, and restful sleep. Engage in activities that nurture your emotional well-being, such as journaling or therapy. Stimulate your mind with reading or learning something new. Set boundaries to protect your time, energy, and emotional well-being. Seek support from loved ones or professionals when needed. Make self-care a consistent practice to prevent burnout and live a balanced life. Three Time Management Time management is crucial for a balanced and fulfilling life. Identify your priorities and delegate or eliminate tasks accordingly. Break down large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks to reduce stress and increase productivity. Set realistic deadlines to avoid feeling overwhelmed and ensure better time allocation. Focus on one task at a time to enhance productivity and reduce errors. Use time blocking to create structure and minimize distractions, and learn to delegate and say "no" to protect your time. Take short breaks throughout the day to recharge, and explore productivity tools that work for you. You can do something as simple as adding “take a break” into your Google Calendar. Or schedule a break in between your check-outs of your dogs, whatever it is that you need to do. Effective time management allows for control, reduces stress, and creates space for joy and fulfillment. You need to make sure that time is working for you and not against you. Four Build a Support System Having a strong support network is invaluable for our well-being. Emotional support from trusted individuals allows us to express our feelings and gain perspective. Surrounding ourselves with supportive people provides encouragement, motivation, and practical assistance. Seeking diverse perspectives from our support system helps us make informed decisions and achieve our goals. Additionally, professional support from therapists or coaches offers specialized guidance and strategies to navigate challenges. Building a support system takes effort, cultivating deeper connections with existing friends and family, and seeking like-minded individuals. By investing in our support system, we create mutually beneficial relationships that uplift us and contribute to our overall well-being. Five Embrace Mindfulness Mindfulness is a powerful practice that promotes well-being by reducing stress, enhancing self-awareness, and cultivating calmness. By staying present and letting go of worries, mindfulness breaks the cycle of stress and fosters clarity. It cultivates self-awareness, enabling proactive stress management and conscious decision-making. Mindfulness also improves focus, productivity, and time management, reducing the risk of burnout. Practicing gratitude and relaxation techniques further enhance well-being. By incorporating simple mindfulness exercises into daily routines, such as deep breathing or meditation, its benefits can be easily accessed and supported by various resources. A really simple way of doing this is starting or ending your day, depending upon when you're the most fresh, or the most frustrated, and write down what you are grateful for. If you're in a space where you can't really feel gratitude try to feel appreciation. Appreciation is something where you might look at your pet and you might appreciate how darn cute they are. You might appreciate feeling your fingers in their fur and being able to just love them unconditionally for the wonderful creature that they are. Embracing that present mindfulness will really help you center yourself and bring you as far away from burnout as you possibly can in such a short period of time. Remember, by prioritizing your well-being, you can lead a more balanced and fulfilling life. With pet groomers moving away from the industry it's important for us to protect who we are, what we want, and what we need. Outro: Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Strategies for Groomers to Achieve Work-Life Balance and Prevent Burnout. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Let's talk about today's topic: Navigating Burnout and Cultivating Well-being Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, especially in the workplace. Burnout can impact various aspects of a person's life, including their mental and physical well-being. It often occurs when individuals face excessive work demands, experience little control or support in their roles, and are unable to adequately recover from stress. There are three types of groomer burnout and we will be focusing on mental (trapped) burnout today. This is the type that sounds like: “I'm stuck! I want my time and flexibility back! No amount of money is worth it!” So what does it look like? Here are some signs of being mentally burnt out: exhausted all the time, anxiety that overwhelms, unhappy no matter how much you earn, you feel like you can't take a day off, work/life balance is off or doesn't exist…something has to give! Being mentally burnt out, or feeling trapped, refers to a state of chronic exhaustion and emotional depletion that arises from prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, particularly in the context of work. It goes beyond regular tiredness and can have significant impacts on both mental and physical well-being. Mental burnout often occurs when we experience excessive work demands, have little control or support in our roles, and are unable to adequately recover from stress. So what does that actually mean? You're going into your grooming salon or van and you're working a lot. You either have little control or you feel like you have little control and you're either not able to gain control or you're not able to separate yourself from that. We may feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and emotionally drained. We may also experience a sense of being trapped or stuck in their current situation, feeling like we have no escape or ability to regain control over their lives. It's important to recognize these signs and address them promptly. Ignoring or dismissing mental burnout can lead to more severe consequences, such as chronic health issues, strained relationships, and a decline in overall well-being. It's really important to deal with this promptly. Seeking support, making necessary changes to reduce stress, and prioritizing self-care are crucial steps in overcoming mental burnout and regaining a sense of freedom and fulfillment. When I was running my dog grooming salon I became burnt out. I was working 60-80 hours a week. I had 5 employees that were finally amazing but needed a lot of guidance. This was before I had all the tools in my belt and I needed to figure out a way to support them in the way they needed to be supported but that meant a lot of hand-holding. I was trying to take time off to spend with my young son so I decided to take off my first Christmas Eve since owning my grooming salon, which turned out to be a disaster when I came back. I'm sure you can relate. I wasn't happy. I felt like something had to give. I wished someone had talked to me about groomer burnout and that's because it really is so real. I felt exhausted all the time. I had worked so hard to build a life for my son so that we could do better. Consider re-evaluating your life and business. Is this business style or current employment right for you? Mobile? In-home? House-call? Salon? Salon with employees? Are your co-workers super catty assholes? Do you have a lot of big dogs? What is your ideal client? What is your soulmate client? What is your ideal situation? Are you there now? Can you work towards that or change your current situation? What's going on? What's the reality of what's happening here? When was the last time you had a holiday or weekend off? Do you get frustrated with your days off or how many days off you have? I found I did the best when I worked Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I'd rather do 4 long days than 5 shorter days. I made Wednesday my paperwork and office day. That left me the weekend to actually have some time off. And I mean off off, not I'm going to run errands or I'm going to groom my dog. Like off, I can sit and do nothing but watch Supernatural for 10 hours and eat popcorn if I really want to. I never was able to get out of work early anyway, so what were a few more hours on those 4 work days? That's me personally, but maybe you prefer 5 early mornings and being able to cut and run earlier in the day. Is your business model right for you? Is your passion dwindling because you want weekends off, holidays off, nights off, mornings off? Or is it that you need to plan an exit strategy out of the grooming industry or have it evolve? Is it maybe that you're considering moving into more of a virtual assistant role versus a grooming role? There's so many options. When we talk about step away from the table, a lot of times we talk about different ways for you to stay in the industry without having to be a groomer. There's nothing wrong with you wanting to step away from the table for a little bit and then come back if you feel passionate. The most important thing is that you are happy. Mental burnout can have a profound impact on our lives and well-being. It's important to recognize the signs of burnout and take proactive steps to address them. Remember, you have the power to make changes and regain control over your work and personal life. Whether it's re-evaluating your business model, prioritizing self-care and work-life balance, seeking support, or considering an exit strategy, taking action is key. I always suggest that you have an exit strategy for your business. No matter what you're going to die, you're going to move, you're going to become injured. At some point you're going to leave your business and knowing where the door is sometimes will be enough to make you not feel so trapped. Remember, your happiness and well-being matter. Don't be afraid to make the necessary changes to create a life that brings you joy, fulfillment, and freedom. You deserve it. Remember to take care of yourself. You can always make more friends. I hate to say this but your family is always your family but you can always make more family. The only thing you can't make more of is you. Outro: Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Navigating Burnout and Cultivating Well-being. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Let's talk about today's topic: Strategies to Prevent Financial Burnout Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, especially in the workplace. Burnout can impact various aspects of a person's life, including their mental and physical well-being. It often occurs when individuals face excessive work demands, experience little control or support in their roles, and are unable to adequately recover from stress. There are three types of groomer burnout and we will be focusing on financial burnout today. This is the type that sounds like: “I'm too broke to keep doing this. I don't understand how I work and still can't get ahead!” So what does it look like? Here are some signs of being financially burnt out: impulse spending, avoiding financial responsibilities, you can barely pay (or can't pay) your bills, you feel like you're working all the time but not making ends meet. Financial burnout occurs when the stress of managing finances and sustaining a stable income becomes overwhelming. Listening to Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership or another business podcast I often hear them ask a business owner: If you made a million dollars doing what you're doing, would you keep doing it? Would you? If you won the lottery, would you become a hobby groomer? Would you spend your days grooming/showing, or grooming rescues for free? Is your burnout related to your financial situation? Here are some ways to get your finances under control. One: Get on a written monthly budget. One important step towards financial stability is implementing a written monthly budget. Think of a budget as a leash for your money. Without it, your money is free to roam and wreak havoc on your life. If you're only vaguely following a budget, it's like having a dog on a flexi leash, causing chaos wherever it goes. Take control by tracking your income and expenses diligently. Two: Think about what really matters. Do an inventory on what is important to you and what are “deserves”. This was a hard one for me to come to terms with. I deserved to be able to sit and watch 5 hours of TV on my day off. My son deserved to go to Disney for missing all the time away from me. I deserved a fancy fully loaded outrageously expensive SUV because I worked so hard. The reality is I was trying to buy things that made me happy, and in the end it didn't make my job any easier or my life any better. It's essential to reflect on what truly matters to you and distinguish between wants and needs. Sometimes, we convince ourselves that we deserve certain luxuries, but these purchases don't necessarily make our lives better or our jobs easier. Take inventory of your priorities and focus on aligning your spending with what genuinely brings you joy and fulfillment. Three: Be cautious of impulse shopping. Impulse shopping is a real thing, and it can be a financial drain. Target? Amazon one click? That tradeshow credit card oops? Whatever those impulse buys are, you need to stop as it can wreak havoc on your budget. If it isn't in your written budget for the month, it has to wait until next month. Exercise restraint. Let it sit in your head for a month. I can almost promise you that it won't be such an important purchase after a week or two. I'm guilty as charged. I love to buy that “wipe your paws” doormat at Target. I ordered a kitty-shaped backpack on Amazon. And when I go to a tradeshow I have to set limits so I don't accidentally spend several thousand dollars on things I never knew I needed. Here are some ways to make some extra money: Take a hard look at your pricing. Are you charging everything you should have for that once a year Saint Bernard? How about that super matted doodle? Why are you not charging a bandaid fee, or an aggressive pet fee, for that saber-toothed Scottie? Are you charging appropriately for the more time-consuming and challenging grooming sessions? If you're constantly booked out weeks in advance, it may be time to adjust your prices to reflect the demand for your services. Consider selling relevant add-ons. I mean, don't be the piece of crap used car salesman. Sell add-ons that people want and fit your business model. Is that German Shepherd molting? Be sure to charge appropriately to account for that de-shed that you will need to do. I'm sure that client would like a month without vacuuming 10 times a day. Offer nail color to someone who is all dolled up and wants her pooch to match them, or be the topic of conversation. The possibilities are endless. Think creatively and provide valuable extras that your clients will appreciate and be willing to pay for. That said, make sure add-ons fit your model. Personally, River Lee of the Savvy Groomer, I am not a big fan of add-ons. I personally think they're not worth the trouble, but in your business model this might just be the thing that you need. For business owners, make sure you own a business and not just a job. Too often business owners are working 60-80 hours a week making as much as they would have working a 40 hour a week job for another salon. Make sure the money you are making is more than your local area's groomer's salary. If it's the same or less, consider why that is. You pay all your own taxes and have to take on all the risk. Make sure you own a business and not just a job. For employees, make sure you're stable. Make sure you're making quality money and that you're in a stable position. When you take your average week and multiply it by 50 weeks, assuming 2 weeks off for vacation/sick time, is that how much you made last year? Are there any normal low times? Times you work like a crazy person? I started to take the week off between Christmas and New Year's so I could let my body recover after Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead of working in the slow times, plan your vacations during those times so you don't lose money during the busy times. Financial burnout can take a toll on pet groomers, affecting our overall well-being and job satisfaction. By implementing a written budget, reassessing priorities, curbing impulse spending, and exploring avenues for increased income, pet groomers can regain control over their finances and alleviate the strain that leads to burnout. Remember, a healthy financial situation is essential for long-term career satisfaction and personal well-being. Outro: Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Strategies to Prevent Financial Burnout. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Let's talk about today's topic: Strategies for preventing physical burnout Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, especially in the workplace. Burnout can impact various aspects of a person's life, including their mental and physical well-being. It often occurs when individuals face excessive work demands, experience little control or support in their roles, and are unable to adequately recover from stress. There are three types of groomer burnout and we will be focusing on physical burnout today. This is the type that sounds like: “My body hurts, it's killing me. I cannot do this forever, something needs to change!” So what does it look like? Here are some signs of being physically burnt out: fatigue, physical pain, low mood, anxiety, sleep deprived and irritability. Physical burnout can be particularly common due to the physically demanding nature of our work as groomers. Constantly lifting, restraining, and grooming pets, sometimes for long hours and without sufficient breaks, can place significant strain on the body over time. This can lead to muscular imbalances, repetitive strain injuries, joint pain and overall physical exhaustion. Addressing physical burnout is essential to prevent long-term health consequences and to maintain a sustainable career in a physically demanding profession. It involves implementing strategies to reduce physical stress, prioritize self-care, and seek support when needed. Here are some ways to take a load off of your body. 1. Consider stopping accepting once a year or twice a year pets. Accepting once-a-year or twice-a-year pets for grooming can contribute to physical burnout for groomers. These infrequent clients require more work, as their coats are often heavily matted and tangled. Grooming these pets can be time-consuming and physically demanding, leading to increased strain on the groomer's body. Additionally, infrequent pets may pose a higher risk, as they may be less accustomed to the grooming process and more resistant or anxious during sessions. In contrast, grooming pets on a regular 4-6 week schedule offers several benefits. Regular clients develop stronger relationships with groomers, leading to better communication and trust. Pets groomed regularly experience fewer mats, resulting in easier haircuts and less physical exertion. By distributing their physical efforts evenly, groomers can reduce the risk of physical burnout and maintain a sustainable career in grooming. To alleviate physical strain, it is advisable for groomers to consider prioritizing clients who adhere to a regular grooming schedule. This approach provides better customers, easier haircuts, and less physical work, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable work environment. 2. Limit size, breeds or find a niche. When groomers limit the size of the pets they groom or specialize in specific breeds or niches, it can significantly reduce the physical strain on their bodies. Grooming large or heavy breeds, such as doodles, Old English Sheepdogs, Huskies, or Great Pyreneeses, can be physically demanding and take a toll on the groomer's shoulders, back, and overall musculoskeletal health. Letting go of labor-intensive breeds that require excessive lifting, stretching, or handling can help prevent or alleviate chronic pain and physical limitations. My shoulders were severely affected to the point where I couldn't lift my hand above my head in my mid-20s. This personal experience underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing the physical impact of grooming certain breeds or sizes of pets. By making the conscious decision to let go of dogs over a certain weight or size, they were able to prioritize their physical well-being and allow their body to recover. Furthermore, finding a niche or specializing in a particular area, such as grooming only cats, can also be a game-changer. Cats generally have smaller body sizes compared to larger dog breeds, resulting in less physical strain during grooming sessions. Additionally, focusing on a specific niche, such as cats or other specific breeds, allows groomers to develop specialized expertise, streamline their grooming techniques, and potentially attract a dedicated clientele. By reducing the physical demands and focusing on a niche, groomers can create a more sustainable and healthier approach to their profession. Ultimately, limiting the size, breeds, or finding a niche in grooming is a way to prioritize self-care and prevent physical burnout. It's essential to listen to your body, recognize the impact of certain grooming tasks on your physical health, and make informed decisions to protect yourself from long-term musculoskeletal issues. By taking care of yourself and making conscious choices to reduce physical strain, you can ensure a more sustainable and enjoyable grooming career. 3. Eat food that isn't crap. When I had my salon I spent an average of $1,200/month on takeout, fast food, coffee, energy drinks. I was never home to even make a sandwich. And all of that poor quality food did a lot of damage to my body. You don't need to become a health nut but make one small change a month. Eating nutritious food is essential for groomers to maintain physical well-being and prevent burnout. Relying on takeout, fast food, coffee, and energy drinks can negatively impact overall health due to their high calorie, and artificial additive content. This can lead to weight gain, decreased energy, and increased risk of chronic health conditions. To make positive changes, start by planning and preparing meals in advance, even if it means dedicating time on days off. Packing nutritious snacks like fruits and nuts can provide convenient options throughout the day. Gradually replace unhealthy choices with healthier alternatives, such as swapping energy drinks for herbal teas or opting for homemade sandwiches instead of fast food. Increasing water intake and seeking support from colleagues or friends can also aid in adopting healthier eating habits. By prioritizing nourishing foods, groomers can fuel their bodies with the nutrients needed for sustained energy, physical recovery, and overall well-being. Making small, consistent changes can have a significant impact on physical health and reduce the risk of burnout in the long run. 4. Consider working out or hiring a personal trainer. I am not a workout freak. I would rather set myself on fire than go to the gym. But when I was in full burn out mode I hired a personal trainer and went to the gym three times a week for 2 years. I needed the accountability to help build muscle to help me do my job and recognize where I had created the wrong muscle masses to compensate for the way I was abusing myself physically. Being a 5'2” woman and lifting 100 lb. doodles by myself wasn't very smart, but on a busy Saturday I had to do what I had to do, and I had to pay for it. Considering working out or hiring a personal trainer can be beneficial for groomers, even if they aren't fitness enthusiasts. I hope that my personal experience emphasizes the importance of seeking professional guidance to overcome physical burnout and prevent injuries. Hiring a personal trainer provides accountability and support in building muscle strength and addressing imbalances caused by the physical demands of grooming work. This enables groomers to perform their tasks more efficiently and safely. Groomers often face physically demanding tasks, and regular exercise can enhance their strength, flexibility, and endurance. Engaging in various forms of exercise, such as strength training, yoga, or Pilates, can improve posture, reduce the risk of injuries, and enhance overall physical fitness. Finding a type of exercise that is enjoyable and sustainable is key to incorporating regular workouts into the grooming routine. Investing in physical well-being through exercise and potentially hiring a personal trainer enhances a groomer's ability to handle the demands of their job without excessive strain. It allows them to develop the necessary strength, maintain muscle balance, and decrease the risk of work-related injuries. Prioritizing fitness supports long-term career sustainability and promotes overall physical health. 5. Get a massage to “dematt” all those knots in your back. Getting regular massages is an essential form of self-care for groomers. Just like grooming a matted pet, addressing the knots and tension in your back, neck, and shoulders is crucial. Ignoring these physical pains or relying on pain medication is not a sustainable solution. By visiting a massage therapist specializing in sports or functional massage, you can gradually alleviate tension and knots in your muscles over time. Consistent weekly massages for six months can have a significant impact. Neglecting regular massage sessions for yourself is comparable to neglecting regular grooming appointments for pets. Taking care of your body through regular massages is a vital step towards self-care and physical well-being. While there may not be an immediate fix or a quick solution, committing to regular sessions allows your body to recover, release tension, and rejuvenate. Prioritizing self-care through regular massages contributes to a healthier, more sustainable grooming career. By investing in your physical well-being, you can work more comfortably, reduce the risk of long-term physical damage, and prevent burnout. Taking care of your body is essential for maintaining a thriving and enjoyable grooming profession. In conclusion, addressing physical burnout in groomers is crucial for maintaining a sustainable and fulfilling career. By recognizing the signs of physical burnout and implementing strategies to alleviate strain, groomers can prioritize their well-being and prevent long-term health consequences. Remember, taking care of yourself is not a luxury but a necessity. By prioritizing self-care and implementing these strategies, groomers can create a healthier work environment, reduce the risk of burnout, and enjoy a thriving and fulfilling career in the grooming industry. Outro: Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Strategies for preventing physical burnout. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about paying your employees legally. Paying 50% is bull shit. We here at the Savvy Groomer have cracked the code of paying employees a liveable wage they're happy with and creating sustainable profit for pet grooming business owners. Introducing the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module exploration on how to legally pay W2 employees, specifically designed for the pet grooming business. Busting myths while teaching you the skills and winning formulas you need to create a pay structure that actually works. Let's talk about today's topic: How do I figure out if I can actually afford to hire someone? We know that running a pet grooming business can be challenging but also incredibly rewarding. It's important for us to stay informed about changes and regulations that impact our business and our employees. I know talking about wages can seem a bit dry, but it's an essential aspect of being a responsible business owner. Paying your employees fairly not only shows respect for their hard work but also helps maintain a motivated and loyal team. Minimum wage affects every business. First things first - what is the minimum wage? Simply put, it's the lowest amount of money an employer must legally pay their employees per hour of work. Minimum wage laws are in place to protect workers and ensure they receive a fair compensation for their labor. As business owners, it's crucial for us to stay up to date with the minimum wage requirements in our area. These requirements can vary from state to state or even within different cities, so be sure to check the specific regulations for your location. Trust me, you don't want any legal headaches! The federal minimum wage is currently set at $7.25 per hour, but it's important to note that many states are moving towards a $15 minimum wage. We all know that pet grooming is more than just a job - it's a passion. And part of that passion is ensuring that our employees are not just surviving but thriving. So, what exactly is a livable wage? Well, it's more than just the minimum wage - it's a wage that allows our employees to cover their basic needs and have a decent standard of living. It's about ensuring that they can afford housing, food, healthcare, and other essentials without constantly struggling to make ends meet. As pet grooming business owners, we have the power to make a real difference in the lives of our employees. By offering a livable wage, we not only demonstrate our appreciation for their hard work but also foster a sense of loyalty and dedication to our team. Let's not underestimate the positive impact a livable wage can have on our industry as a whole. By setting the bar high and advocating for fair compensation, we contribute to raising the standards and professionalism of grooming. This attracts passionate individuals who see grooming as a viable and fulfilling career path. Pet grooming business owners can determine if they can afford to hire someone based upon these wage considerations by looking up the cost of living in their area. We recommend going to a reliable source like Zillow and looking up the average rental cost of a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment in a decent area that allows pets. To ensure your employee can afford these apartments, they should ideally be earning a minimum of 2-4 times the rent amount. This is a really helpful guideline. You may be wondering what to do if you find that you can't pay your employees a livable wage. If you realize that you can't provide a livable wage to your employees, it's critical that you reassess your prices. Price increases can be intimidating, but they are necessary to account for factors like inflation, added experience, and other business costs. It's essential to align your pricing with the financial well-being of your employees. Before making any adjustments to payroll, there are some steps that you should take to determine whether you can afford these employees. It's important to analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and payroll metrics. KPIs are quantifiable measures that track performance over time for specific objectives. We highly recommend that you take the Price Increase Masterclass to understand your KPIs and how to calculate them effectively. The Price Increase Masterclass is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. What are some examples of payroll metrics that business owners should consider? One important metric is the percentage of payroll costs in relation to gross profit. As a general rule, payroll costs should be a maximum of 30% of gross profit. This includes wages, benefits, and other related expenses. To calculate your gross profit, subtract the cost of goods sold (COGS) from your sales. For the grooming industry, COGS are typically zero or negligible. Knowing these metrics can help business owners make informed decisions about their payroll. It's crucial for pet grooming business owners to have a clear understanding of their financial situation and KPIs before making any significant payroll adjustments. This ensures that the business can afford the added costs without compromising its overall stability. Seeking professional guidance or taking relevant courses can provide valuable insights into managing payroll effectively. We hope that you found this information helpful in evaluating your ability to hire new employees! If you guys are interested in learning more about the Pay Masterclass, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/pgmc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to pay your employees. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, How do I figure out if I can actually afford to hire someone?. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about paying your employees legally. Paying 50% is bull shit. We here at the Savvy Groomer have cracked the code of paying employees a liveable wage they're happy with and creating sustainable profit for pet grooming business owners. Introducing the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module exploration on how to legally pay W2 employees, specifically designed for the pet grooming business. Busting myths while teaching you the skills and winning formulas you need to create a pay structure that actually works. Let's talk about today's topic: How will my employees respond after changing my pay scale? River: Changing the pay scale from commission to hourly can make employees react in different ways. Let's look at some of the positive responses that pet grooming business owners can expect after switching an employee from commission to hourly. Some employees may actually welcome the change from a commission-based structure to an hourly pay system. With guaranteed income, employees experience greater financial stability and predictability. They can plan their finances better and budget for their expenses. Jim: With an hourly pay, pet groomers typically receive a fixed wage for the hours they work. This provides a level of stability and predictability in terms of income. Regardless of the number of appointments or the grooming services provided, they can rely on a consistent paycheck. Working on an hourly wage basis can mitigate the impact of fluctuating customer demand. River: A pet groomer in an hourly job does not have to solely rely on attracting a steady stream of clients to earn a living. This is particularly beneficial during typical slow periods or when a business is building up a customer base… or when they're training employees who need time to get faster. In a commission-based role, groomers heavily depend on the number of appointments and the willingness of customers to spend on additional services or products. If client demand is low, if there are lots of no calls / no shows their income may suffer.Jim: Commission-based positions may encourage or require pet groomers to upsell additional services or products to clients in order to earn higher commissions. This can create added pressure and potentially compromise the groomer-client relationship. In contrast, hourly jobs typically focus on providing quality grooming services without the pressure to sell additional items. River: We here at Savvy Groomer do NOT encourage groomers to check in and out their own grooming clients. If you do and your groomer is commission based, that means the groomer is going to pressure your support staff since their ability to add on an extra $10 teeth brushing or $5 shampoo directly adds or takes money out of their pocket. Jim: The change to hourly also eliminates the pressure of trying to cram in as many dogs as possible and allows employees to focus more on providing quality services.With employees caring more about work-life balance vs a bigger paycheck, hourly jobs encourage set work schedules and support predetermined hours. River: This stability allows pet groomers to plan their personal finances more effectively. They can budget their expenses and manage their financial obligations with greater certainty since they know when they will be working and how much they will earn per hour. It can foster a sense of fairness if some employees feel they are doing more work but receiving the same commission rate. Jim: As for groomers as an individual, hourly wage can simplify things like paid time off, adding benefits and in their personal life like buying a home or getting a loan.Having an hourly wage allows banks to have proof of a consistent income (vs “50%”), easier calculation of debt-to-income ratio since their income fluctuates week to week, month to month, etc and proving a stable income in order to be approved for a mortgage. River: Too many groomers cannot get a mortgage because their income is too inconsistent and the bank knows they're at the mercy of who shows up that day. By switching them to hourly you immediately make it easier for them to buy a home. So what about negative responses? Let's look at some potential downsides. Jim: Some employees may not welcome the change from commission to hourly pay. They may have become accustomed to the potential for higher earnings and may not be satisfied with a lower hourly rate. This can lead to dissatisfaction and lower morale, as employees may feel their hard work is not being adequately rewarded. It may take time for them to adjust to the new payment structure and accurately track their hours. If the hourly rate is not competitive, it could also increase the likelihood of employees seeking employment elsewhere. River: It's important to consider the potential challenges and concerns that employees may have during this transition. There may also be mixed responses that you should be prepared for. Jim: Some employees may appreciate the stability of an hourly wage while still missing the opportunity to earn a higher income through commissions. They may find comfort in having a baseline income but still be motivated to work harder to earn bonuses and incentives. It's crucial for business owners to engage in open communication and address any concerns of feedback that may arise during this change in pay structure. This can lead to a better understanding and a more collaborative work environment. River: We at the Savvy Groomer suggest doing hourly based on a point system, aka a production spectrum, plus production bonuses and loyalty bonuses. One of my favorite bonuses is the 13th month bonus. We really talk about the Groomer Point System (GPS) which helps with the production based bonus system. Jim: A way to help with this transition is to implement a production bonus system. River: These bonuses incentivize employees and serve as a powerful motivator as well. They are a great way to recognize and reward exceptional employee performance. By linking bonuses to specific performance metrics or goals, businesses can create a system that motivates employees to strive for excellence. These bonuses can take various forms, such as monetary rewards, gift cards, additional paid time off, or even special recognition. We even teach points time off utilizing our Groomer Point System. The key is to design a bonus structure that aligns with the business's objectives and encourages employees to go above and beyond their regular expectations. Jim: Performance metrics can vary depending on the nature of the business and its goals. Metrics could include client satisfaction ratings, the number of repeat customers, or even the number of positive customer reviews. Other metrics could be based on productivity, such as the number of points completed within a specific time frame. The key is to establish clear and measurable criteria that align with the business's objectives and reflect the employee's impact on its success. River: Performance bonuses offer several benefits for both employees and the business. For employees, it provides an additional sense of recognition and reward for their hard work. It motivates them to perform at their best, knowing that their efforts will be acknowledged and rewarded. Performance bonuses can also foster a sense of healthy competition among employees, driving productivity and innovation. From a business perspective, it helps to attract and retain top talent, as employees are more likely to be engaged and committed when they see opportunities for growth and rewards based on their performance. Jim: When implementing a production bonus system, it's important to establish clear and transparent criteria for earning bonuses. Employees should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and how they can qualify for bonuses. Regular communication and feedback are crucial to keep employees informed of their progress. Second, the bonus structure should be fair and equitable. Ensure that the criteria are objective and applied consistently to avoid any perception of favoritism. Lastly, make sure the bonus system is financially feasible for the business. Evaluate the potential impact on the bottom line and ensure that the bonuses align with the overall budget and profitability goals. River: It's important to create a culture of continuous improvement and learning. Production bonuses should not be seen as a one-time event but rather as part of an ongoing process. Regularly evaluate and update the bonus criteria to reflect changing business needs and priorities. Additionally, celebrate the achievements of employees who earn bonuses and share their success stories with the rest of the team. This helps to reinforce the positive impact of the bonus system and further motivate employees to excel. Jim: Communicating and addressing employee concerns are key to managing this transition effectively. River: Before implementing any changes, it's crucial to thoroughly evaluate the impact of employees and the overall business. Ensure that the new pay scale is competitive. Ultimately, fostering a positive work environment and showing appreciation for your employees' contributions can go a long way in managing this transition successfully. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Pay Masterclass, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/pgmc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to pay your employees. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, How will my employees respond after changing my pay scale?. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about paying your employees legally. Paying 50% is bull shit. We here at the Savvy Groomer have cracked the code of paying employees a liveable wage they're happy with and creating sustainable profit for pet grooming business owners. Introducing the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module exploration on how to legally pay W2 employees, specifically designed for the pet grooming business. Busting myths while teaching you the skills and winning formulas you need to create a pay structure that actually works. Let's talk about today's topic: Do I pay an employee the commission for a dog they injured? River: Today we have a special guest joining us, attorney Jim Atchison! So, this is a situation that many pet grooming business owners may find themselves in at some point. Can you shed some light on whether an employee should be paid commission for a dog they injured? Jim: Absolutely. This is a question that often comes up in pet grooming businesses. The short answer is that, in most cases, an employee is entitled to their commission, even if they accidentally injure a dog. River: That's interesting. Could you explain why that is the case? Jim: Certainly. When it comes to commission payments, they are typically based on the revenue generated by the employee's work, rather than the quality of the work. If the injured dog was part of a service that contributed to the employee's commission, they would generally be entitled to receive that commission. River: So, it's based on the revenue generated rather than the outcome of the service. But are there any exceptions to this rule? Jim: Yes, there can be exceptions. It's important for employers to have proper legal coverage and a well-drafted contract with their employees. If the employment contract specifically outlines the circumstances under which commission payments may be withheld or reduced, then the employer may have grounds to withhold or reduce the commission in case of an incident like this. River: That makes sense. So, it really comes down to the contract between the employer and the employee. What if there is no specific clause addressing the situation in the contract? Jim: If the employment contract does not address the specific circumstances of a dog-related incident and the impact on commission payments, the default position would likely favor the employee. In the absence of a contractual provision, the employer may be obligated to pay the commission as it is a reflection of the revenue generated by the employee's efforts. River: That's good to know. However, I imagine it's always best to consult with an attorney or legal professional in such situations. Jim: Absolutely. Whenever you encounter legal questions or concerns regarding your business, it's important to seek advice from a qualified attorney or legal professional. They can provide guidance based on the specific circumstances and applicable laws in your jurisdiction. River: What if the grooming salon owner does not charge for the service? Jim: Even if the grooming salon owner does not charge for the service, the employee is still entitled to the commission they would have received for the service. River: That is sound advice. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Before we wrap up, do you have any final thoughts on this topic? Jim: Yes, it's important for business owners to proactively address situations like this by including relevant clauses in their employment contracts. By clearly defining the circumstances under which commission payments may be affected, employers can minimize potential disputes and ensure a fair resolution for all parties involved. River: Excellent point. Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise. Jim: It was my pleasure. Thank you for having me. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Pay Masterclass, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/pgmc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to pay your employees. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Do I pay an employee the commission for a dog they injured?. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about paying your employees legally. Paying 50% is bull shit. We here at the Savvy Groomer have cracked the code of paying employees a liveable wage they're happy with and creating sustainable profit for pet grooming business owners. Introducing the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module exploration on how to legally pay W2 employees, specifically designed for the pet grooming business. Busting myths while teaching you the skills and winning formulas you need to create a pay structure that actually works. Let's talk about today's topic: Should my pet grooming business pay employees commission? At the Savvy Groomer, we firmly believe that utilizing an hourly wage system coupled with production bonuses based on the Groomer Point System (GPS) is the most effective way to compensate our employees. This approach not only fosters a team mindset among our staff members but also ensures consistent and predictable payroll costs for our business. In this podcast, we will delve deeper into the reasons why we advocate for this payment structure. When considering commission-based pay, it is essential to keep in mind certain legal stipulations. Commission-only employees are compensated based on the revenue they generate for the business. It is crucial to cap commission at a reasonable level, generally not exceeding 30%, in order to maintain a sustainable payroll expense. Furthermore, businesses opting for commission-based pay must navigate various legal obligations. For instance, at least 75% of the gross sales must come from commission-only services, and the employee should earn at least 50% of their income through commission. This requirement should not be confused with a 50% commission rate. Additionally, the employee must earn at least 1.5 times the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher, and their working hours must be meticulously tracked. Complying with these legal requirements can be complex, and we provide comprehensive guidance on commission-based pay in Module One of our Employee Pay Masterclass. On the other hand, an hourly wage system offers several advantages. Hourly employees are paid based on the actual hours they work, which fosters a team mindset and encourages collaboration among team members. Moreover, this payment structure ensures consistent and predictable payroll costs, providing employees with reliable and stable paychecks. By implementing an hourly wage system, businesses can achieve a win-win situation for both the company and its employees. Detailed insights into the benefits of hourly pay can be found in Module One of our Employee Pay Masterclass. At the Savvy Groomer, we propose a hybrid payment model that combines the advantages of hourly pay with production bonuses based on our GPS. Production bonuses are additional monetary rewards that employees receive when they meet or exceed specific performance expectations. These bonuses go beyond regular pay or salary and serve as incentives to drive productivity and maintain high-quality work. This approach is an effective way to motivate employees and boost their performance. We provide in-depth guidance on production bonuses in Module Six of our Employee Pay Masterclass. Now, let's delve into what the Groomer Point System entails. The GPS is a transformative tool for grooming businesses. We offer a comprehensive workshop on Pricing & Points that explores this system in detail. In essence, a point in our GPS represents one unit of effort, approximately equivalent to 30 minutes of work. Determining an employee's expected amount of production points involves setting up employee roles and establishing three tiers within those roles. For instance, you can have Bather Tier A, Bather Tier B, and Bather Tier C. As an employee's skills and performance improve, their points expectation increases accordingly. Generally speaking, Bather Tier A would be our baby bather or a beginner. Bather Tier B would be intermediate, or our knowledgeable or finished groomer. Bather Tier C would be the people that exceed things. That could either be a pet stylist versus a regular groomer. That could also be a power groomer versus a regular production groomer. Module Three of our Employee Pay Masterclass offers an extensive exploration of this topic. All in all, the Savvy Groomer advocates for an hourly wage system combined with production bonuses based on the Groomer Point System. This approach promotes a team mindset among employees, ensures consistent and predictable payroll costs, and motivates staff members to achieve high productivity and maintain quality work. By implementing this payment structure, grooming businesses can create a positive and rewarding work environment for their employees while maintaining financial stability. Outro: If you guys are interested in learning more about the Pay Masterclass, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/pgmc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to pay your employees. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Should my pet grooming business pay employees commission?. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about paying your employees legally. Paying 50% is bull shit. We here at the Savvy Groomer have cracked the code of paying employees a liveable wage they're happy with and creating sustainable profit for pet grooming business owners. Introducing the Pay Masterclass, a 6-module exploration on how to legally pay W2 employees, specifically designed for the pet grooming business. Busting myths while teaching you the skills and winning formulas you need to create a pay structure that actually works. Let's talk about today's topic:Can I pay my employees in cash if it's on payroll? Before going into the nitty gritty of paying employees in cash, let's gain a better understanding of payroll practices in the pet grooming industry. Payroll refers to the process of compensating employees for their work, including aspects such as wages, deductions, tax withholding, and employment benefits. It is important for business owners to comply with local, state, and federal regulations. When it comes to cash payments, it's important to consider the legal and practical implications. While cash transactions are convenient, they can present challenges and potential risks for both the employer and the employee. Cash payments may raise concerns regarding accurate record-keeping, tax compliance, and the protection of employee rights. It's essential to follow all applicable labor laws and taxation requirements to safeguard your business. Is it okay to pay employees in cash? The short answer is yes, you can pay your employees in cash, but there are certain things you need to keep in mind. First off, you have to follow payroll laws and report all the wages to the IRS (that's the tax folks). This means you need to withhold the right amount of payroll taxes and keep accurate records of how much your employees work and how much they earn. You also need to make sure you're following unemployment and workers' compensation laws. It's important to remember that cash wages have to be taxed, and you have to report all wages, taxes, and declare them as income. This includes federal income taxes, Medicare taxes, Social security taxes, and state income taxes. Talk to the pros. Before you decide to pay your employees in cash, it's a good idea to talk to tax and legal professionals who know the nitty-gritty of this stuff. They can guide you through the process and make sure you're following all the rules and regulations. If you don't withhold taxes correctly, your employees might end up facing penalties when they file their tax returns. Plus, if you don't withhold FICA (that's social security and Medicare) taxes, they might not get the social security coverage they deserve. Keep good records. Keeping good records is super important when it comes to paying your employees. You need to keep track of when your employees got paid, how much they earned, and how much you withheld. Your state might also have requirements for pay stubs and record-keeping, so be sure to meet those too. If you don't have proper documentation of hours worked and wages earned, you could end up facing lawsuits. And without pay stubs, timecards, and other necessary paperwork, it's unlikely that you'll win in court if things go wrong. Here are some steps you can take to maintain proper records: Establish a system to track employee payments, hours worked, and any deductions. This can be done digitally or with paper-based records, depending on your preference and the size of your business. Even if you pay your employees in cash, provide them with pay stubs detailing their gross wages, deductions, and net pay. This helps both you and your employee maintain a clear record of earnings and deductions. Keep a cash log that records each payment made to employees. Include the date, amount, employee name, and any relevant notes. This log services as a reference for future record-keeping and can help resolve any discrepancies. Track the hours worked by each employee. Require them to clock in and out or keep a record of their attendance. This will provide evidence of the hours worked and help calculate accurate wages. Even if you are paying straight commission or commission exempt you should still keep track of hours worked in case your employee accuses you of not meeting guidelines or not paying them overtime. Keep receipts for any business expenses related to employee wages, such as payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation. These receipts will support your records and help during tax filings or audits. It's crucial to keep personal and business finances separate. Avoid mixing cash used for personal expenses with cash used for payroll. Maintaining separate accounts helps ensure accuracy and clarity in your record-keeping. Periodically reconcile your records to identify any discrepancies or errors. Verify that the total wages paid align with your cash log and other documentation. Stay up to date with local, state, and federal regulations regarding record-keeping requirements for payroll. Different jurisdictions may have specific guidelines you need to follow. Why paying in cash can be tricky. While it's legal to pay your employees in cash, there are a few reasons why it can be a bit tricky. First of all, it's hard to keep track of cash payments and maintain accurate records. Keeping track of cash payments and maintaining accurate records can be challenging due to several factors. Cash payments often lack a paper trail or electronic record, making it difficult to track and verify transactions. Without proper documentation, it becomes challenging to provide evidence of payments, hours worked, and deductions. When dealing with cash transactions, there is a higher risk of errors or discrepancies. Manual calculations can be prone to mistakes, leading to inaccuracies in recording wages, tax withholdings, or deductions. Cash payments require meticulous record-keeping to ensure accuracy. It involves tracking not only the amount paid but also details such as dates, employee names, hours worked, and any additional information relevant to payroll compliance. Managing and organizing these records manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Cash payments can lack transparency compared to digital payment methods. Without a clear record of cash payments, it becomes challenging to provide transparent and verifiable information to employees, tax authorities, or auditors when required. Cash payments may raise compliance concerns, such as underreporting income or avoiding tax obligations. Without proper documentation and accurate record-keeping, there is an increased risk of non-compliance with tax laws, labor regulations, and employment standards. Reconciling cash payments with other financial records, such as expense tracking and tax filings, becomes more complicated without proper documentation. It can lead to discrepancies in financial reporting and pose challenges during audits or financial reviews. In some jurisdictions, there may be specific legal requirements for record-keeping and pay stubs, even for cash payments. Failing to meet these requirements can result in penalties or legal issues for the employer. A payroll service provider is a third-party service that specializes in managing various aspects of payroll administration on behalf of businesses. Using a payroll service provider who pays your employees through direct deposit or paper checks is much safer. They'll make sure you're following all the laws and regulations related to minimum wage, overtime, taxes, and record-keeping. Payroll service providers have systems and processes in place to ensure accurate calculations of wages, deductions, and tax withholdings. They have expertise in payroll compliance, including staying up to date with changing tax laws and employment regulations. This helps minimize the risk of errors or non-compliance with payroll-related obligations. Payroll service providers maintain detailed records of employee compensation, tax filings, and other payroll-related information. They generate pay stubs and provide necessary documentation for employees' earnings, taxes, and deductions. This helps with record-keeping, providing a clear paper trail for financial reporting, audits, and employee disputes. With direct deposit or paper checks, there is a transparent and traceable payment trail for each employee. It ensures that employees have documentation and evidence of their wages and deductions, promoting transparency and trust. Cash payments, on the other hand, lack the same level of transparency and can be difficult to track and verify. Payroll service providers understand and apply relevant employment laws and regulations, such as minimum wage requirements, overtime rules, and tax obligations. They help businesses adhere to these laws, reducing the risk of penalties, legal issues, and employee disputes related to non-compliance. Payroll service providers implement security measures to protect sensitive employee data and financial information. With direct deposit, funds are electronically transferred to the employees' bank accounts, reducing the risk of cash mishandling, theft, or fraud. Paper checks can be securely issued and tracked, providing a more secure payment method compared to cash. Outsourcing payroll functions to a service provider frees up time and resources for businesses to focus on core operations. It eliminates the need for manual calculations, record-keeping, and tax filings, allowing business owners to dedicate their time to strategic activities. To sum it up, paying employees in cash can be legal if you follow all the necessary requirements. But it's always a good idea to talk to the pros, keep accurate records, and consider using a payroll service provider. By doing these things, you'll avoid potential legal troubles and make sure you're playing by the rules. Remember, if you have any specific questions or concerns, it's best to consult with experts who can give you personalized advice for your pet grooming business. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Pay Masterclass, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/pgmc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to pay your employees. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Can I legally pay my employees cash if it's on payroll. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

https://www.savvygroomer.com/pgmc

www.savvygroomer.com/pgmc

https://www.savvygroomer.com/pgmc

https://www.savvygroomer.com/pgmc

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: What to do when you have too many clients Prospective clients are knocking down your door to get appointments and your phone is ringing off the hook with new business inquiries — congrats! While it might be stressful and confusing, having too many prospective clients and not enough time to take them on can be a good problem for a few reasons. But you don't want to let this problem go on for too long! If you don't seize this opportunity appropriately, you could be turning away soulmate clients and missing opportunities to form new business relationships. So, how do you deal with this problem? There are a few things to consider, so let's break it down. Assess what type of clients you have The first thing to ask is, who are your soulmate clients? How many soulmate clients do you have? If you don't already know, I like to use a framework that puts clients into three categories: Soulmate clients Have the pet breed you want and like to groom Are willing to pay your price Come every 4 weeks Provide an easy or enjoyable haircut Ideal clients Are not perfect but are pretty darn good Fling clients Call you when they need you and don't get consistent grooms Don't have a meaningful business relationship with you So, the first step is to look at your client list and put each client into one of these three categories. If you'd like, you can make a spreadsheet or literally print out a list of all of your clients and then sort them into each category. I like to use 3 colored highlighters and use one color for each category. Then, take a look at the overall makeup of your clientele and ask the following questions: What category do the majority of your clients fall under? How often is each client coming in for a groom? Do any of them frequently cancel or give you trouble? Of your soulmate clients, are there any underlying similarities that they all share? Do they fall under the same demographics? Are you attracting your soulmate clients intentionally or did you just get lucky? If you don't have many soulmate clients, you can ask the following questions: Are prospective clients not finding you? Are you not marketing to your soulmate client market? Does your business not stand out? Is your business misaligned with your target market? Are you not fulfilling the clients' needs? Raise your prices Once you've finished categorizing your current client list and answering those questions, a good next step is to re-evaluate your business numbers and raise your prices. It is important to raise your prices because since you can't keep taking on more clients, you should pick higher quality clients instead (assuming that you don't already have a full roster of soulmate clients). If you raise your prices, you will probably lose some clients, but you will be weeding out fling clients to make room for more soulmate clients. Raise the bar for entry In addition to raising prices, you can also start interviewing clients, requiring an application before they make an appointment, mandating that all appointments are made online, setting certain conditions to make an appointment (like requiring them to commit to a 4-week groom schedule), or offering consultation grooms before taking on a new client. That might sound like a lot, but since you might be working with your soulmate clients every month for years to come, it is important to pick clients that are the best fit for you. Adding these extra layers before taking on new clients helps you decide if you want to commit to a long-term business partnership with someone and ultimately help you both in the long run. And again, it will help you weed out fling clients who don't want to deal with the new parameters you set in place. Invest in your relationships with your soulmate clients You should choose to invest in your soulmate clients. Don't commit to investing in subpar clients if they won't give you something in return. And don't turn away soulmate clients just because you're already committed to a bad client! I like to compare these business relationships to romantic relationships. If you've lived with a partner for 7 years but they don't want to get married and commit to you, then you shouldn't commit to them either! Go find someone better who values your worth. It is not worth spending the effort to convince your fling clients that they need to spend the money on your services, because no amount of convincing will work on them. Instead, find the clients who value your work and will pay for your services without any extra convincing because they know the value. Investing in soulmate clients can also help your business by improving the morale of your staff. By only working with pets that you want to work with, you can reduce the stress and fear that might come with grooming aggressive or difficult pets and help your staff enjoy coming to work. The more your staff love their jobs, the longer they will stay with your business and the more excited they'll be to go to work every day, and therefore the more your business will thrive. Start a membership model I am a huge fan of using a membership model. Membership models are a whole other topic that I can get into in another post, but the short of it is that they can help you find more soulmate clients who are willing to commit to a long-term business relationship with you. A membership model also makes it easy to start a waitlist for any prospective clients that you cannot take on at the moment but might have an opening for in the future. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, What to do when you have too many clients. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our free community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: We're not price gouging If you've followed along with the Savvy Groomer at all, you probably know by now that I am a huge advocate for price increases in the grooming industry. Over the years, prices have barely increased across the industry. That means that prices are not keeping up with inflation or the latest trends and many groomers are suffering financially because of it. I am a strong advocate for groomers to strategically increase their prices based on their needs and goals, and then yearly price increases after that to at least keep up with inflation. This can mean that many groomers might increase their prices from $35 a dog to up to $150 a dog. This is quite the price increase and many people have an emotional reaction to these numbers. “Isn't that price gouging?” they ask. In this podcast, we'll take a look at what makes for fair pricing and why I believe that strategic price increases are not price gouging. Let's start by defining some terms. What is price gouging? It is important to define what we are talking about. According to Wikipedia, price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level that is much higher than what is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event happens after a demand or supply shock, such as a dramatic price increase on basic goods after a natural disaster. We all experienced how the price of basic goods such as toilet paper and face masks went up during the Covid-19 pandemic! What is inflation? Inflation is a general increase in prices and a fall in the purchasing power of money. Basically, the value of the dollar goes down. Inflation rates change from year to year, but on average, inflation is about 2–3% yearly. A great example of inflation is the housing market. The value of homes has gone way up over the years. In 1965, the average cost of a home was about $21,500. Today, the average cost is about $348,000. For an industry example, groomers in 1980 charged about $20 per dog. To understand this figure in today's terms, we have to adjust for inflation. That $20 from 1980 would be worth about $73 today. How can we determine what's fair? When determining a fair price, we often compare ourselves to others in the industry. But before we can determine what a fair price is for a dog groom, we need to determine if we've been fair to ourselves as an industry and if the market is fair. Because I don't think that the market is fair! In general, as an industry, most groomers have not raised their prices to even keep up with inflation, let alone to reflect their time, effort, and skill. It is common for groomers to have the same prices for 20 years! In this industry, we struggle with the race to the bottom — meaning that we try to outcompete and get customers by having the cheapest prices. A groomer will leave a business to open their own shop, and either match or undercut the prices of their old boss (who already hadn't raised their prices in decades!). They'll hire a groomer to join their business, and then that groomer will eventually leave to do the same thing. I call this the “cycle of suck.” We see this happen over and over in the industry and prices, and groomers, suffer because of it. Groomers also try to compete with big businesses like Petco and PetSmart, but these businesses actually offer their grooming services at a loss. They make their money off of getting customers in their stores and buying retail items, not from grooming. So why would we try to compete with their prices if they are losing money on grooming? That is definitely not fair. When considering what's fair, we also have to consider the most popular dog breeds today. Dog breeds are trendy, and groomers are not getting the same breeds that they did decades ago. For example, Doodles are a newer, insanely popular breed. Some days, all we get might be Doodles. These dogs have a very challenging coat and difficult personality. Grooming 5 doodles all day can be much more mentally and physically draining than grooming 10 Pugs or Shih Tzus in a day, and I believe that our prices should reflect those differences. Some people might call this price gouging, but I don't think so! I think that is entirely fair. Why we shouldn't be afraid to raise prices Change can be hard, and many people might not understand your price increase right away. But, in order to survive as an industry, we need to stand up for ourselves, create an industry of respect, and charge prices that allow us to hire and pay people fairly. If more groomers learn about the importance of charging a fair, modern price, then these higher prices will no longer be seen as shocking. Instead, our new prices will become the industry standard, new groomers will be attracted to the industry, and groomers will thrive. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, We're not price gouging. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our free community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: How to avoid cookie cutter pricing We've all asked around in Facebook groups to see what other groomers are charging. This works fine for a quick thermometer check, but this is awful for setting your prices. It is awful because every groomer's business is so different. I'm going to show you why you need to evaluate how your business is different and create a pricing structure that works for you. What is cookie cutter pricing? Cookie cutter pricing is a pricing structure that assumes what works for other groomers will also work for you. Cookie cutter pricing takes other groomers' prices at face value and fails to consider what factors might be affecting their prices, such as geographical location, experience level, business type, number of employees, products used, and so on. This happens a lot in community forums like Facebook groups. We ask other groomers what their pricing is and then take those prices and use them in our own business. Asking around can be okay for a quick temperature check, but it is important to ask for as much extra information as you can before putting too much trust in someone else's business model. Are they running their business out of a salon, a mobile salon, or a home? Do they have general pick-up and drop-off times or do they do dogs one-on-one? Do they use top-tier luxury products or cheap products? What level of care are they providing for their animals? If you don't ask these questions, you are doing yourself and the industry a disservice. You really cannot base your prices off of this without considering all these factors. An example of why cookie cutter pricing doesn't work: My blonde moment If you've been following along, you might know that I recently dyed my hair blonde. My friend also dyes her hair blonde. She pays a lot less for her hair treatments, but her hair is damaged from it. She also goes several weeks between appointments, so her roots often show. She is fine with this, so she continues to pay the price that she pays. It is her hair and it is completely up to her what she wants and she can decide what is worth it to her. On the other hand, I pay a premium for my hair treatments and I go every three weeks, so in total, I am paying so much more for my hair. However, my hair is not damaged. Also, I have really dark hair that I want covered, so it is worth it to me to go more often. You might be wondering, River, what does this have to do with pet grooming? My point is, even though my friend and I get the same basic result (blonde hair), you can't compare the services. You can't expect me to pay the same price that my friend does when I am buying much more expensive products and am going twice as often. A pet grooming business coaching example Let's look at another more relevant example. I have two wonderful business coaching clients who have very similar business models. They're both solopreneurs with one-on-one grooming businesses providing similar services. However, one business is in California and one is in a rural area. California is one of the most expensive areas in the country, and a rural grooming salon just cannot compete on those prices. So, it is completely unrealistic for both of these businesses to charge the same prices, even though they are so similar in other ways. This is a great example of why asking for other groomers' prices in a Facebook group and blindly using those prices in your business is such a bad idea. Additionally, the market is wrong and so most groomers are not charging enough to be profitable, let alone keep up with inflation. Why is the market wrong? Basically, most groomers are not charging enough to even keep up with inflation. Many groomers have been in the business for 30 or 40 years but have not raised their prices every year to keep up with inflation. Say you've been in business for 40 years. In 1980, you used to charge $45 to groom a dog. $45 in 1980 is worth $145 today — so you would need to charge $145 just to keep up with your old prices. But you also need to honor the fact that during that time frame, you've become an incredible groomer with 40 years of experience. Therefore, $145 is not enough and you need to factor in your experience level and any certifications you've earned since then. Also, many groomers look to big box stores like Petco and PetSmart to set their prices. What most people don't realize is that these stores sell grooming services as loss leaders. This means that they actually lose money on grooming, but it gets people into the stores to buy their products and that's how they make money. Many times the market is just a race to the bottom, which is not sustainable and hurts business. What can we do to avoid cookie cutter prices? As an industry, we need to make our prices match what we want in our life and business, which means no more cookie cutter prices. Stop basing your prices off of what other people charge. To start, you should start evaluating your pricing annually. Inflation happens at an average rate of 3–5% per year, so raising your prices at least that much every year is a great place to start. But don't stop there! There is so much that needs to go into pricing. Everyone is afraid of raising prices, being the most expensive, and losing clients. But you need to realize that if you do things right, you can groom fewer pets and make the same amount of money — or more! Calculate how much you are going to earn at certain price points. Make choices that are best for you, your family, and your business. Use guidelines to create your own pricing structure around your wants and needs. Consider things like what salary you need for yourself and/or for your employees, what types of pets you want to groom, how many pets you want to groom, how many hours you want to work per week, how much time you want to take off, and so on. Your long-term happiness is so important. And using cookie cutter prices and just keeping up with inflation is not enough. That sounds great, right? But it also sounds really hard and scary, I know. That's where The Savvy Groomer can help. If you've been using cookie cutter prices and not keeping up with inflation in your business, don't feel bad. For a while, I didn't know any better either. It is not our fault we didn't know, because how could we? But now that we know, we need to stop with cookie cutter pricing. That said, we need to strategize our price increases and make strong business plans to roll them out. Good marketing is critical and being prepared with things like scripted talking points can be a game changer. It is so important to know how much your services are worth and to charge appropriately for your skillset, location, and business goals. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, How to avoid cookie cutter pricing. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our free community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: Why being called expensive isn't an insult First, let's start with some context. As a pet grooming salon owner, you have a lot of expenses to cover in order to provide a high-quality service to your customers. These expenses include things like rent, utilities, supplies, insurance, and your employees' wages. All of these costs need to be factored into your pricing structure, along with a reasonable profit margin. Now, let's get to the heart of the matter. When a customer says that your prices are “too expensive,” it can be easy to feel insulted or defensive. After all, you're providing a valuable service to their beloved pets, and it can feel like they're not appreciating the time and effort that goes into it. However, it's important to remember that their perception of what is “expensive” is relative to their own financial situation and what they value. For some customers, price is the most important factor in their decision-making process. They may be looking for the cheapest possible option, and they may not fully understand or appreciate the value that your salon provides. However, other customers may prioritize quality, convenience, or other factors over price. These are the customers who are willing to pay a premium for a service that meets their specific needs and expectations. So, what can you do when a customer says that your prices are too expensive? First, it's important to listen to their concerns and try to understand where they're coming from. Ask them what specifically they feel is too expensive, and see if there's anything you can do to address their concerns. For example, you may be able to offer them your very best pricing or provide a more detailed breakdown of your pricing structure to help them understand the value that they're getting. As for the very best pricing, this does not necessarily mean a discount. What this means is that your 4 week grooming price may be $100, and your 8 week pricing may be $200, therefore the 4 week grooming price is your very best price and it looks like the customer is getting a discount in their eyes. However, it's also important to recognize that not every customer is going to be a good fit for your business. If someone is consistently complaining about your prices or trying to haggle with you, they may not be the type of customer that you want to attract. Instead, focus on building relationships with customers who value the quality of your services and are willing to pay it. Ultimately, the key to success in the pet grooming industry is to understand your target customer and their specific needs and preferences. While some customers may balk at the price, others will appreciate the value that you provide and be willing to pay a premium for your services. By staying true to your pricing structure and focusing on building relationships with the right types of customers, you can build a successful and profitable business that stands the test of time. It's also important to remember that price isn't the only factor that customers consider when choosing a pet grooming salon. Customers may be willing to pay a higher price if they feel that they are getting a better overall experience. For example, if your salon provides a more comfortable and relaxing environment for pets, or if your employees are especially skilled or personable, customers may be willing to pay more for your services. In fact, it can be a good strategy to focus on providing an exceptional experience rather than trying to compete on price alone. This can help differentiate your business from the competition and attract the types of customers who are willing to pay more for a premium service. By focusing on building a strong brand and reputation for quality, you can create a loyal customer base that will keep coming back, even if your prices are higher than other pet grooming salons in the area. It's also worth remembering that the cost of doing business can vary depending on the location and the size of your salon. If you're operating in a more expensive, or if you have a larger salon that requires more staff or equipment, you may need to charge more for your services in order to cover your costs and make a reasonable profit. Customers who are familiar with the pet grooming industry will understand this, and be willing to pay more for a service that is worth the price. Being called “expensive” by a customer is not necessarily a bad thing. While it can be tempting to try to lower your prices to attract more customers, this may not be the best long-term strategy for your business. Instead, focus on providing an exceptional experience for your customers and building a strong brand that emphasizes quality and value. By doing so, you can attract the types of customers who are willing to pay a premium for a service that meets their specific needs and expectations. Being called “expensive” by a customer is not necessarily an insult. It's simply a reflection of their own priorities and financial situation. As a pet grooming salon owner, it's important to understand the value that you provide and to price your services accordingly. By focusing on building relationships with customers who appreciate your quality and value, you can create a successful and sustainable business for years to come. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, why being called expensive isn't an insult. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: 5 mindset myths holding your business back Let's talk about some limiting beliefs and how they hold us back. What are limiting beliefs? A limiting belief is a false belief that a person acquires as a result of making an incorrect conclusion about something in life. For example: A person could acquire a limiting belief about their ability to succeed as soon as they struggle or fail. Their limiting belief could look something like, “Why try, I will simply fail like I always do.” Limiting beliefs are toxic. They rob you of your confidence, talents and ability to share with others. They are your mind's way of saving you in dangerous or difficult situations before you learned how to cope or overcome them. When you experienced an emotionally overwhelming situation, your mind looked for a way to shield and protect you. Let's identify your mindset. Identify what your mindset is telling you. How are those beliefs limiting your potential? Identify the feeling attached to your limiting belief. Anger? Sadness? Helplessness? Overwhelm? When was the first time you felt this way? Where were you? What do you remember? When you identify it, don't brush it off. Sometimes you need to embrace being uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to lean in and observe. “Whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth.” -Bryant McGill “An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it's going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.” -Anonymous Let's talk about 5 mindset myths holding your business back. Myth #1 - In order to make more money, I need to offer more services. Figuring out your profitability will allow you to know if you are charging enough per pet. If you keep grooming pets but you aren't making enough profit per hour, you're going to burn out. Grooming more pets in the same amount of time can lead to accidents, poor quality or bad customer service. Myth #2 - My clients can't afford my services. You may be saying, “Increase my prices? My clients will leave. They can't afford me. They flipped out over a $5 increase. Let's be honest. If people are choosing to leave you over $5, you're not succeeding at creating good customer service and branding. The only people that leave over $5 are Walmart customers. If they chose you over price, make sure your business model fits accordingly. Do your clients see value? And this is value beyond the dollar sign. If they see value, they are not as worried about the dollar amounts. Myth #3 - If I don't help, this dog/cat/client will suffer. I understand that your heart is in the right place. I know you're a good, kind, compassionate person, and I genuinely honor that. I want you to remind yourself that you are not the one who chose to ignore and neglect your furry friend. You are not the one watching that pet slowly become matted every day. If the client isn't educated they need to be educated. That doesn't mean you have to do it for free. Your time costs money, and it's going to save that client a lot of money in the future by giving them that proper education. When you do groom this pet, it's like buying a pet store puppy. If you give this person a break on price and groom their pet, then they're just going to come back in 6 months or a year. You are continuing the cycle of abuse. Myth #4 - Charging what I'm worth means I'm greedy. If you want to groom for free there are lots of rescues and non-profits who will accept your time/donation! Businesses are in business to make money. I cannot go into the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk in exchange of brownie points. Choosing to not plan your financial future means you will be a burden to loved ones or potentially live in poverty. By planning your financial future, you will be able to age with dignity and not be forced to groom while in pain. Myth #5 - My client is the problem. Assuming your client is an asshole or she's a stuck up bitch isn't going to solve the problem. You attracted them, tolerated them and let this all happen. Why are you shocked? Create better marketing, branding, policies and procedures. Attract better clients so you can replace the ones you don't want. Let's create a business that supports your life, not a life that supports your business. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, 5 mindset myths holding your business back. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: What is wealth? So what does it mean to be wealthy? What I have learned in my personal life is to think about what wealth means as a relative term that makes sense to me. What does it mean to be wealthy in my life? For me, wealth means freedom. Wealth means being able to do what I want when I want. Wealth means security, safety, and that my son is able to have the best life possible. Those are some of the things that wealth will give me. Now does wealth have a dollar amount? For me, it does. I know exactly how much money I need to have in an investment in order to be able to just live off of that investment. I also want to talk about our mindset surrounding wealth. One time when I went to a trade show, I noticed some groomers checking out the mobile grooming vans. Now, just to put it in perspective, a Mercedes Sprinter van goes for about $80,000 to over $125,000. And so these groomers were complaining about the price and saying, “It's so expensive. How would I ever make that money back?” You can't have a wealthy mindset if you are so worried about those things. We have to start thinking about wealth in terms of what we want. What is wealth to you? How much do you want? Do you equate wealth with positive things like success, fun, being grateful, and positive? Or do you associate wealth with negative things like greedy people, people that take advantage of people? How do you view wealth? That's going to be incredibly important in how well you're going to do in turn. If you honestly believe that the only people who make money are the bad guys, you're never going to make enough money. That's the truth. And if you do make enough money, you're probably not going to do something with it like save for retirement or investing in yourself or your business. I don't know how much you've saved for retirement yet, but the majority of groomers that I've met have nothing saved for retirement. For example, if saving up cash to buy a car scares you a little bit then ask yourself, “Okay, why does that scare me?” Is it something that you can't do? Right now it might be something that you can't do, but when you are wealthy you will be able to. Again, wealth is relative. What kind of lifestyle would you have? Think about all the positive things that you could do with your wealth. Personally, I love giving. Nothing is more fun than giving. For my business owners, how awesome would it be to give all of your employees a trip to a trade show or upgrading your salon in a way that supports your employees? Stu McLaren says, “The more money you make the more money you can give!” When you're wealthy, where do you want to go? A lot of times we have these limiting beliefs about how much money we should have. When do I become a bad person for having money based on my dollar amount? Your relationship with money is what's going to help you retire. When figuring out what you need in order to be wealthy, I generally suggest starting out with figuring out how much money you're going to need to retire. This will all come from figuring out your budget. So in order for you to feel and get wealthy, we then need to figure out how to get you there. The whole point of wealth is to be comfortable. You want to be able to protect yourself and the people you love. You have to know what wealth means to you. It's important to always be working towards your dream and what you envision your life being when you're wealthy. So what is your vision of wealth? Is it owning your own grooming salon, but not having to groom? Is it owning your own mobile van? Do you want to own a daycare, boarding, and grooming facility? What kind of business do you want? Do you want to travel? Where do you want to live? What do you want your life to look like? If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, What is wealth. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our free community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: How to handle requests for discounts What do you say when clients ask for a discount? Everyone has different business models and different ways of running their business. There are things that you like to do that I might hate and vice versa. You have to do what's best for your business and don't let anyone tell you what's best for your business unless they're your business coach. So my answer when someone asks for a discount is that I ask them, “Why”. It's an opportunity to educate them and consider their feelings. A lot of times they simply don't understand what we do and why we charge what we do. I've heard in a lot of grooming groups that people think it's rude for clients to ask for a discount and that no one should do that. So let's think about why someone might ask for a discount for a moment. What are some potential answers they're going to give me? They may ask if you offer multi-pet discounts. They're probably going to ask, “Do you offer multi-pet discounts?” Now this may be somebody who's considering getting another dog or maybe even has two puppies. That's up to you if you want to offer a multi-pet discount. You may end up saying, “It takes the same amount of time to groom four dogs no matter if they're in the same household or not.” That is the case for the salon. In a mobile, it would take a lot less drive time if you were to groom the 4 pets at a single household. It's up to you to educate them in a polite manner. Clients just want to know what discounts you offer. As someone who spends an obscene amount of money at Starbucks, I asked them if there were any discounts, and there was. I wouldn't have known unless they told me about it or I asked about it. Did you know that Tiffany's offers a discount on engagement rings to military personnel? My ex husband is a Navy veteran and he would ask all the time, “Do you offer a military discount?” We would always be surprised at how many places were so generous to help out veterans and we really appreciated that. I think we saved about 10-20% on my engagement ring. Now you're probably not going to get a discount at Nordstrom, but they created a whole other business, Nordstrom Rack, for those who are more discount shoppers. So you may say to Nordstrom, “Do you have any sales? Or do you offer discounts?” They may say, “At this store we don't, however, we do have an outlet.” It's not rude to ask for a discount. Asking for discounts is very common, especially in America, but even more so in other cultures. If you think that asking for discounts is rude, then on the flipside, do you think that offering upsells is rude? You're essentially saying, “That price you're willing to pay, are you willing to pay more?” If you don't want to discount your services, you absolutely do not have to. Please do not think that on any level that I am suggesting that you should. What I'm saying is that when your client is asking, consider what their motivation is. Another reason may be that they're thinking about coming in more often. They may want to increase their frequency, but they're not really sure if it's a wise thing to do. A lot of that comes down to them not understanding what we do. For example, if I had someone ask me, “Hey, if I come for a haircut every 4 weeks, and then I do a bath every two weeks, is there a discount?” That's a great question and it depends on your business model. If you don't and a client says, “That's stupid.” You could say, “You know, I totally respect that but due to the time, care and attention that your pet needs to receive, I cannot lower my prices.” If they continue, say, “Thank you so much. That's just not something I'm willing to work with right now.” They may say that they're willing to do a part of the grooming beforehand. This is my least favorite kind of situation. They may ask, “Hey, if I bathe my own dog at home can I get a discount?” I would say, “I really appreciate the thought, however, it's really hard to get a professional blowout on your dog at home. And if they're not properly blown out, I won't be able to give a good haircut. I don't want you to get a subpar haircut.” They typically don't have a $600 high velocity dryer at home, or the patience or the setup to sit there and blow that hair out so that it's ready to be cut. Without the proper prep work, a bad haircut could reflect poorly on your reputation. By giving them that education, you're going to be the go-to authority. Even high-end clients are going to ask for discounts, so don't take it personally. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module Masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, How to handle requests for discounts. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our free community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

What is a consultation groom? A consultation is the action or process of formally consulting or discussing. A lot of us have heard of a consultation with a mechanic, lawyer, real estate agent, etc. Many people will call multiple similar places of business in order to get estimates and then they will usually go with the lowest estimate. Because of the time that a consultation takes, some businesses charge a consultation fee. You may have noticed that I used to offer a free virtual coffee, and then began charging $25. I then raised this to a $299 consult call. What I found was that the people who really wanted to talk to me would talk to me. When my consultation aka virtual coffee was free or $25 we had a high cancellation rate. When it was $299 we had a 0% cancellation rate. I would suggest that you offer consultation grooms to first-time clients and again when the pet hasn't been groomed in 8 weeks or more. These pets may be matted, have fleas, have tangles, have lost their pattern, etc. I need to make sure that this new person aligns with my business. In the beginning I highly suggest any new person you give them their very first consultation for no additional fees, or a small fee (perhaps no more than 10-20% of your service price). Let's say that your goal is to charge every 4 week client with a Shih Tzu $100. Therefore, I could make the first consultation groom start at $120 depending upon the time, care and attention that the pet requires. If the client then chooses to rebook for 4 weeks I will give them a $20 discount (so the price is back to $100). I effectively charge them that $20 consultation and then if they rebook they will pay $100 for their next appointment. Note: this is just one option. Another option is to charge a consultation fee, and then apply it for when they come in for a grooming appointment. You could say that you're going to look over their pet, and it's x amount of dollars. And then at that time you like me and I like you we can go ahead and book that appointment, and that fee will be applied to your grooming appointment. A client who books this appointment is actually interested in creating a long-term relationship. Do you want people who want to create long-term relationships and do you just want anyone? Remember, there's no wrong answer here. But if you want to build soulmate clients, if you want to build a business where you are growing long-term relationships of a select clientele, you need to start doing things differently. How much should consultation grooms be? This varies wildly depending upon how much you charge. You have to consider how much time that consultation is really going to take. Now I love when people say that it'll only take 5 minutes, but that's simply not true. Just taking their information takes more than 5 minutes. To thoroughly go over a pet, and communicate the long-term needs and wants for a haircut can take anywhere between 15 minutes and 30 minutes. You want to make sure that you are communicating properly and that you can meet their needs. So you can charge 10-20% of the groom price, or however long the consultation takes. For example, if I charge $100 an hour, then I would charge for a consultation anywhere between $25-$50. If you charge double for clients on an 8 vs 4 week schedule- aka $100 for 4 week, $150 for 6 week and 200 for 8 weeks you can always charge clients $200 and limit them to only 1, 2 or 3 consultation grooms a year to make sure they aren't taking advantage of you. There's never been more pets than right now. This is because so many people got a dog or cat during covid. So we are getting burnt out from doing these consultations and not accounting for our time and money. How would you begin to implement this? I would book this as your last appointment of the day, that way you can groom the pet start to finish or be able to make sure that you have extra time. If an average pet takes you 1 hour then I would schedule an hour and a half. And I would charge them for it! You could say, “Just so you know, this is a consultation groom. What we will do is we will groom your pet start to finish in order to see how they handle the grooming process to make them more comfortable with the grooming salon/mobile. It's realistically going to take us anywhere between an hour and an hour and a half, hence the extra fee. However, once the groom is done we will be able to give you a better estimate for the following grooming appointment and any grooming appointments beyond that.” This is a great way to deter people from shop hopping and allow you to attract clients to actually commit to you. Remember, it's totally fine if you'd rather not offer a consultation groom, and just want clients to come in for that first time and you hope you blow them away. If they are your soulmate client, they absolutely will stay. Today's podcast was sponsored by Group Mentoring. This is where you can join a private community of like-minded savvy pet professionals. You can have your questions answered and listen to other questions from the group that you may not have considered. We offer the Business Workshop Library as well as quarterly live masterclasses and workshops as a bonus for joining Group Mentoring. If you'd like to sign up, go to savvygroomer.com/group. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, What is a consultation groom.Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming!

Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Why Pet Grooming Business Owners Shouldn't Feel Guilty Raising Their Prices It is not uncommon for business owners, particularly those in the pet grooming industry, to feel guilty about raising their prices. This guilt may stem from a variety of factors, such as a desire to be competitive, a fear of alienating current customers, or a belief that charging more for services is inherently unfair. However, it is important for pet grooming business owners to recognize that raising their prices is often necessary for the sustainability and growth of their businesses. There are several reasons why pet grooming business owners should not feel guilty about raising their prices. The cost of running a pet grooming business is not cheap. Business owners must consider the cost of rent, utilities, supplies, and wages when determining their prices. These costs can add up quickly, and if business owners do not charge enough to cover them, they may struggle to keep their businesses afloat. In addition, business owners may also have to pay for marketing, insurance, and other business expenses. These additional costs can put even more pressure on business owners to increase their prices. The value of a pet grooming business's services should be reflected in its prices. Pet grooming business owners provide a valuable service to their clients, and the time and expertise that goes into grooming a pet is worth a fair price. If business owners are not charging enough for their services, they may be undervaluing their own skills and time. This can lead to burnout and frustration, as business owners may feel like they are not being fairly compensated for their hard work. In addition, charging fair prices for services can help business owners attract and retain talented employees, as it allows them to offer competitive wages and benefits. Raising prices can actually benefit a pet grooming business in the long run. By charging a fair price for their services, business owners can attract more high-value customers who are willing to pay for quality services. This can lead to increased revenue and profitability, which can be reinvested in the business to improve the customer experience and drive further growth. For example, business owners may be able to invest in new equipment or training, or hire additional staff to improve their services. In addition, charging fair prices can help business owners establish their businesses as trusted and respected providers of pet grooming services, which can lead to more word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business. It is important for pet grooming business owners to remember that they are running a business, not a charity. While it is important to be compassionate and considerate of their customers' needs, business owners have the right to charge a fair price for their services. Feeling guilty about raising prices can prevent business owners from making necessary changes to their pricing models, which can ultimately harm their businesses. In addition, business owners have a responsibility to their employees to operate their businesses in a financially responsible manner. This includes charging fair prices for their services in order to generate sufficient revenue to cover their costs and create a profit. It is important for pet grooming business owners to communicate with their customers about why they are raising their prices. This can help customers understand the value of the services being provided and the costs that go into running a pet grooming business. Business owners can also consider offering promotions or discounts to help ease the transition to higher prices. This can help to foster good relationships with customers and show that the business is willing to go the extra mile to provide value to its clients. It is important for pet grooming business owners to stay up to date on industry trends and costs in order to determine fair pricing for their services. This can help them ensure that their prices are competitive and reflective of the value they provide to their customers. Business owners should regularly review their prices and make adjustments as needed in order to stay competitive and cover their costs. It is important for pet grooming business owners to have confidence in the value of their services. If business owners do not believe in the value of their services, it will be difficult for them to charge fair prices for their work. It is important for business owners to recognize the value of their skills, expertise, and time, and to communicate this value to their customers. It is important for pet grooming business owners to be transparent with their customers about their pricing. This can help build trust and understanding between the business and its clients. Business owners should be clear about what services are included in their prices and any additional fees that may be charged. By being transparent about their pricing, business owners can help customers understand the value of their services and avoid any confusion or misunderstandings. Finally, it is important for pet grooming business owners to remember that raising their prices is not always the only solution to increasing revenue and profitability. There are other ways that business owners can grow their businesses, such as expanding their services, improving the customer experience, or increasing their marketing efforts. Business owners should consider all of their options and make the decision that is best for their businesses and their customers. All in all, a pet grooming business owners should not feel guilty about raising their prices. Doing so is often necessary for the sustainability and growth of their businesses, and it allows them to provide valuable services to their customers at a fair price. By staying up to date on industry trends, having confidence in the value of their services, being transparent with their customers, and considering all of their options, business owners can make informed decisions about their pricing and build successful and sustainable businesses. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Why Pet Grooming Business Owners Shouldn't Feel Guilty Raising Their Prices. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Why Pet Groomers Should Raise Their Prices As a pet groomer, you are providing an essential service to your clients – caring for the well-being and appearance of their beloved pets. Whether you are a solo groomer working from a small home-based business or part of a larger grooming salon, it's important to consider the value of the services you provide and to set your prices accordingly. There are several good reasons why pet groomers might consider raising their prices: Increased operating costs: As with any business, the cost of supplies and overhead expenses (such as rent or utilities) can fluctuate over time. If you have noticed an increase in your operating costs, it may be necessary to raise your prices in order to continue providing high-quality services to your clients. This might include the cost of shampoo, conditioner, and other grooming supplies, as well as the cost of maintaining your equipment. It's important to regularly review your operating costs and adjust your prices accordingly in order to ensure that you are not losing money or barely breaking even. Market demand: If there is high demand for pet grooming services in your area, you may be able to raise your prices due to the increased competition. This can be especially true if you have a strong reputation for providing excellent care and service to your clients. By staying attuned to market trends and demand, you can ensure that your prices are competitive and reflect the value of your services. It's also important to consider the prices of other pet groomers in your area, as well as the prices of other businesses in your industry. By conducting market research and staying up-to-date on industry trends, you can make informed decisions about your pricing strategy. Improved skills or services: If you have received additional training or certification, or have added new services to your business, you may justify raising your prices to reflect the added value you are providing to your clients. This might include offering specialized grooming services for pets with specific needs, such as those with long or thick coats, or those with sensitive skin. By continuously learning and improving your skills, you can offer a wider range of services and set your prices accordingly. Increased competition: If new pet groomers enter the market, you may need to raise your prices in order to remain competitive. By offering competitive prices and high-quality services, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and attract more business. It's important to regularly review your pricing strategy and make adjustments as needed in order to stay competitive in the market. It's important to remember that raising your prices should not be taken lightly, and it's essential to communicate any price changes to your clients in a clear and transparent manner. Consider offering promotions or discounts to loyal customers to ease the transition and show your appreciation for their continued business. You might also consider offering a tiered pricing system, where you offer different levels of service at different price points. This can allow your clients to choose the level of service that best meets their needs and budget. In addition to the financial benefits of raising your prices, it's important to consider the value of your time and expertise. As a pet groomer, you have likely spent a significant amount of time and energy learning your craft and honing your skills. It's important to fairly compensate yourself for the hard work and dedication you bring to your business. By setting competitive prices and valuing your time and expertise, you can create a sustainable and successful business that allows you to thrive and grow. Overall, there are many valid reasons why pet groomers might consider raising their prices. By providing high-quality services and staying attuned to market demand and operating costs, you can ensure that you are fairly compensated for the valuable work you do. By setting competitive prices and offering value to your clients, you can build a successful and sustainable business that allows you to thrive and grow. It's also important to consider the overall customer experience when setting your prices. While price is certainly a factor for many consumers, it's not the only factor. By providing excellent customer service, a clean and welcoming environment, and a high level of care and attention to detail, you can differentiate your business and justify higher prices. In addition to the financial benefits of raising your prices, it's important to consider the impact on your own well-being and quality of life. If you are constantly working long hours and not fairly compensating yourself for your time and expertise, it can lead to burnout and a lack of satisfaction with your work. By setting competitive prices and valuing your time and energy, you can create a sustainable business model that allows you to enjoy your work and achieve a good work-life balance. In conclusion, there are many valid reasons why pet groomers might consider raising their prices. By staying attuned to market demand and operating costs, continuously improving your skills and services, and valuing your time and expertise, you can create a successful and sustainable business that allows you to thrive and grow. By setting competitive prices and providing excellent customer service, you can differentiate your business and provide value to your clients. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Why Pet Groomers Should Raise Their Prices. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Why Pet Groomers Should Feel Good About Charging Their Worth As pet groomers, you play a vital role in the well-being and care of animals, and it's important to recognize the value of your work. In this episode, we'll be discussing the reasons why pet groomers should feel good about charging their worth and how to confidently communicate and negotiate your rates with clients. 1: The Importance of Valuing Your Time and Expertise As a pet groomer, your time and expertise are valuable assets. You have spent countless hours training and learning about the proper techniques for grooming and caring for animals, and this knowledge and experience is something that should be respected and compensated accordingly. Charging your worth means recognizing the value of your time and the services you provide, and not undervaluing yourself or your work. It's important to understand that your time is limited and that every moment you spend working is time you could be spending on other things, such as with your family or pursuing other interests. Charging your worth also means being compensated fairly for the value you provide to your clients and their pets. When you provide high-quality grooming services, you are helping to improve the health and happiness of the animals in your care. This is something that should be recognized and compensated appropriately. 2: The Costs of Running a Business In addition to the value of your time and expertise, it's important to consider the costs of running a business as a pet groomer. From equipment and supplies to rent and utilities, there are many expenses that go into running a successful grooming business. Charging your worth means taking these costs into account and making sure you are compensated fairly for the services you provide. It's important to remember that you are not just providing a service to your clients, but also running a business and incurring costs along the way. It's also important to remember that charging your worth does not necessarily mean charging the highest possible rate. It means charging a rate that reflects the value of your time and expertise and takes into account the costs of running your business. 3: Communicating and Negotiating Your Rates with Clients So now that we've established the importance of charging your worth, how do you go about communicating and negotiating your rates with clients? First and foremost, it's important to be confident in the value of your services and the rate you are proposing. Be prepared to explain to clients why your rate is fair and reasonable, and how it reflects the value of your time and expertise and the costs of running your business. It's also important to be open to negotiation and to be willing to listen to your clients' concerns or questions. Be prepared to have a dialogue and to find a mutually acceptable solution. It's also helpful to be upfront about your rates from the beginning, rather than waiting until after the grooming service has been provided. This can help to avoid misunderstandings or issues down the line. 4: The Importance of Self-Care As a pet groomer, it's important to remember that charging your worth is not just about the financial aspect of your business, but also about taking care of yourself and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Working long hours and undervaluing your time and expertise can lead to burnout and negatively impact your well-being. It's important to prioritize self-care and make sure you are taking breaks and allowing yourself time to rest and recharge. Charging your worth means valuing yourself and your time, and being willing to set boundaries with your clients to ensure that you are not overextending yourself. This can help to prevent burnout and ensure that you are able to provide high-quality services to your clients and their pets. 5: Overcoming Fear and Doubt It's natural to have fears and doubts when it comes to charging your worth and negotiating your rates with clients. You may be worried about losing clients or not being able to attract new ones if you increase your rates. However, it's important to remember that you are providing a valuable service and that there will always be clients who are willing to pay a fair price for high-quality grooming. It's also important to remember that by undervaluing yourself and your work, you are not only doing a disservice to yourself, but also to the industry as a whole. One way to overcome fear and doubt is to educate yourself on industry standards and to surround yourself with supportive colleagues and mentors who can offer guidance and encouragement. It's also helpful to have a clear understanding of your own worth and to be confident in the value of your services. 6: The Benefits of Charging Your Worth Charging your worth has many benefits, both for you and your clients. By valuing your time and expertise and being compensated fairly, you are able to run a sustainable and successful business. This can lead to greater financial stability and security, which can in turn allow you to focus on providing the best possible care to your clients and their pets. Charging your worth also helps to establish you as a professional in your field and can attract clients who are willing to pay for high-quality grooming services. This can lead to a more positive and rewarding work experience and allow you to build a strong and loyal client base. Finally, by charging your worth and valuing your work, you are helping to elevate the industry as a whole and demonstrate the value of pet grooming as a profession. Conclusion: In conclusion, pet groomers should feel good about charging their worth and valuing their time and expertise. By doing so, you are not only taking care of yourself and your business, but also providing high-quality services to your clients and their pets. Remember to be confident in the value of your services, be open to negotiation, and prioritize self-care in order to achieve a healthy and rewarding work-life balance. If you guys are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Why Pet Groomers Should Feel Good About Charging Their Worth. We hope this discussion has been helpful and that you feel empowered to confidently communicate your rates with clients. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. Today's episode is sponsored by the Price Increase Masterclass, a 6-module masterclass where we teach you all about increasing your prices. Let's talk about today's topic: Why Pet Grooming Business Owners Should Increase Prices Before the Recession Hits In today's episode, we will be discussing the importance of increasing prices before a recession hits. As a pet grooming business owner, it's important to be proactive and prepared for economic downturns. We will explore the reasons why it's crucial to increase prices before a recession, as well as some strategies for doing so effectively. The consequences of not increasing prices before a recession Before we dive into the reasons why pet grooming business owners should increase prices before a recession, let's first discuss the consequences of not doing so. During a recession, consumers may be more hesitant to spend money on non-essential items such as pet grooming. This can lead to a decrease in demand for services and a corresponding decrease in revenue for pet grooming business owners. If demand for services decreases and revenue decreases, it can be difficult for pet grooming business owners to maintain the same level of operation. This may result in the need to cut costs, such as reducing the number of employees or lowering the quality of products and services. These cost-cutting measures can ultimately have a negative impact on the overall customer experience and reputation of the business. In addition to the potential loss of revenue and negative impact on the customer experience, not increasing prices before a recession can also lead to financial strain for pet grooming business owners. If expenses remain the same or increase while revenue decreases, it can be difficult to maintain profitability and pay bills on time. This financial strain can be especially difficult for small business owners who may not have the same financial resources as larger businesses. Why pet grooming business owners should increase prices before a recession Now that we've discussed the consequences of not increasing prices before a recession, let's talk about the reasons why it's important for pet grooming business owners to do so. One of the main reasons is to ensure the sustainability of the business. By increasing prices beforehand, pet grooming business owners can buffer against potential losses and ensure that their business can weather the storm of a recession. This can help to prevent the need for drastic cost-cutting measures and allow the business to continue operating at a high level. Another reason to increase prices before a recession is to take advantage of the current economic climate. During times of economic growth, consumers may be more willing to pay higher prices for services. By increasing prices now, pet grooming business owners can capitalize on this willingness to spend and potentially increase their profits. It's also important to consider the long-term impact of not increasing prices before a recession. If prices are not increased during times of economic growth, it can be difficult to make up for lost revenue during a recession. This can lead to financial strain and potentially even the failure of the business. By increasing prices beforehand, pet grooming business owners can set themselves up for success in the long term and be better prepared for future economic downturns. Strategies for increasing prices effectively Now that we've discussed the reasons why it's important for pet grooming business owners to increase prices before a recession, let's talk about some strategies for doing so effectively. One strategy is to introduce new services or packages at higher price points. For example, a pet grooming business could offer a simplified deluxe grooming package that includes additional services built in such as teeth brushing or nail grinding. By offering new, premium services at higher price points, pet grooming business owners can increase their overall revenue without alienating their existing customers. Another strategy is to implement moderate, incremental price increases over time. This allows pet grooming business owners to gradually adjust to the new price points and gives customers time to adjust as well. Communicating price increases to customers Effective communication is key when it comes to increasing prices. It's important for pet grooming business owners to be transparent and explain the reasoning behind the price increase to customers. This can help to build trust and understanding, and may make customers more willing to accept the changes. There are several ways that pet grooming business owners can communicate price increases to customers. One method is through direct communication, such as by sending out emails or letters to existing customers or posting announcements on social media or the business website. It's important to provide clear, concise information about the price increase and the reasons behind it. Another method is to provide value to customers in exchange for the price increase. This could include offering exclusivity through a membership. By providing value and exclusivity to customers, pet grooming business owners can help to offset the impact of the price increase and make it more palatable to customers.If you're interested in learning about memberships in the grooming industry check out our free workshop, “Does your grooming business need a membership model?”www.savvygroomer.com/mw It's also important to consider the timing of the price increase. Pet grooming business owners may want to consider increasing prices during slower periods, as this may be less disruptive to business operations. It's also important to give customers advance notice of the price increase so that they have time to prepare. At the Savvy Groomer we suggest having yearly increases in march or september. Potential objections and how to address them It's natural for customers to have objections or concerns when it comes to price increases. Pet grooming business owners should be prepared to address these objections and reassure customers that the price increase is necessary and justified. One common objection is that the price increase is too high. In this case, pet grooming business owners can explain the reasons behind the increase and highlight the value that customers will receive in exchange for the higher price. They can also point out any additional services or perks that are being offered as part of the price increase. Another objection may be that the price increase is not fair or justified. In this case, pet grooming business owners can provide examples of how the price increase is necessary in order to maintain the quality of products and services and ensure the sustainability of the business. They can also emphasize the importance of investing in their business in order to continue providing the best possible service to customers. Thank you for listening to this podcast on why pet grooming business owners should increase prices before a recession hits. If you are interested in learning more about the Price Increase Masterclass, be sure to check out savvygroomer.com/pimc. This is a 6-module masterclass where we teach you how to formulate and implement your price increase so you can finally make money and grow your business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, Why Pet Grooming Business Owners Should Increase Prices Before the Recession Hits. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming

Some of you may be asking, “Why does my daily routine matter?” So let's talk about what would constitute a daily routine when I talk about it. I talk about a morning ritual, a workday start up ritual, a workday shut down ritual, and an evening ritual. What is a routine? A routine is a sequence of actions regularly followed. What is a habit? A habit is a subtle or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. So by having rituals to start your day, before your workday, after your workday, and before you go to bed it allows your body to shift into different modes or different head spaces. Multitasking can actually reduce your productivity as much as 40%, unless you have certain learning disabilities that make bouncing from one thing to another a positive thing. You're probably getting yourself out of the groove otherwise. Much like our zone of genius, this productivity groove feels effortless and makes us either produce a better quality of work or simply more work. The goal for this is to allow our body to adjust accordingly. Your brain is not here to make you happy, it's not here to make you productive, no matter what we wish. Our mind is here to keep us from dying. It's going to assume that things are scary, and if things are energy draining they're going to lump that in with scary. It'll tell you to avoid them. Remember, decision fatigue can be life or death during ancient times. If you were being chased by a lion or a tiger, you'd be able to quickly think and get out of that. But generally the decisions that we make nowadays aren't life or death. You need to be able to save your brain power for when you need it most. So with these rituals and routines, you're going to train your mind like Pavlov's dogs. Remember, he would hit the bell and then the dogs would start salivating because they knew the meat powder was coming. This is called classic conditioning. You're going to teach your brain when it needs to be productive and when it can shut off and recharge. Having a workday ritual to start your brain up, you're going to start warming it up, and let it know it's got to get to work. If you've ever taken your dogs through agility, or ridden horses, you know that you need to warm up to stretch the muscles. What if you don't? You're going to get a cramp. Think of your mind like a muscle that needs to be warmed up, stretched out, and cooled down. What are some examples of rituals? Now the truth is that everyone has different goals and different types of goals. For example, are your goals physical like working out? Are they mental, like reading 4 books a month? Are they spiritual, like meditation or praying? Are they family oriented goals, like having breakfast with your spouse or children every morning? Creating goals is not just for your business. It's also for your life, which will allow you to find balance. Knowing what is important to you and setting those goals. Those goals need to be reinforced by your rituals. If you don't reinforce your goals with rituals, they're going to fall to the wayside. So let's say your goal is to lose weight. Well, if you don't make it a ritual to wake up early and go for a run or go work out, you're probably going to stop doing that. The goal of rituals is to make things habits. Going from a routine, having a ritual, to reinforce that routine, that way it becomes a habit. Here are some of my personal morning rituals. Every morning, I wake up and I spend a minimum of 5 minutes snuggling and petting my cat. It's very soothing and relaxing for me personally to start my day like this petting him. I generally then do 15 minutes of stretching or 30 minutes of yoga, depending upon how ambitious I'm feeling. Then I'll take a shower. I'll take 15 minutes with my journal where I write about things in the present tense. I'll write about gratitude. I will also write about things that I know I want because I want to be grateful about the things that I will have in the future. It allows me to align with those goals. For example, you could write: I am grateful for the wonderful business that I have. I'm grateful for the wonderful employees I have. It allows you to put yourself in the headspace of where you will be once all of those things have come to fruition. When my son is home, I love to have breakfast with him and then do a morning walk with him. Now when I start my workday here are some things that I like to do. I like to start out with my planner. I use a Full Focus planner by Michael Hyatt. When I write in my planner I prefer to do it somewhere in nature. I make sure to get really clear on my goals and decide what I can honestly accomplish. I write in the planner what I want to get done today, and I have a very specific way that I organize things in my planner. We may talk about that another time. I then go through the Facebook groups and post when I can help. The other thing I like to do is check my email. I have a specific playlist that I listen to while I'm getting these things done. And I know that once my playlist is over, my day has to begin. When my day is coming to a close, I have different rituals. When I was in my van, I would pull into a Starbucks on my way home, then I would sit somewhere with a view while having my drink. Then I'll drive back, shut down the van. If I'm ending my day in my office, I'll begin checking Facebook groups again because I want to help people. I'll look in my planner and whatever I didn't accomplish I'll move over to the next day. I always have a specific song, 15 Tons, that I listen to at the end of the day. I'm signaling to my brain that it's time to do anything but work. Here are my evening rituals before bed. I am not as good at evening rituals, and it is something that I do need to get better at. Because Savvy Groomer has been growing a lot, it's harder for me to get into the headspace of having bed time. I shower at the end of the day. I generally read for about a minimum of an hour. I prefer to have a physical book, but if I can't, I have my Kindle. Or if I'm really exhausted I'll have my Air Pods in and listen to about an hour of a book. Right before bed I always meditate or pray. I project any ideas or dreams that I have. I say that this is what I'm going to do and this is how I'm going to do it. From there, I kind of just let my mind wander and daydream. I fantasize about what I want. Then I will slowly fall asleep.

I have always hated the saying, “Old dogs can't learn new tricks.” We all know that isn't true. The old dog simply knows that eventually you'll give up and probably give him the treat anyway. Now in this instance, you have trained your brain to avoid doing a budget. Let's start by first making a conscious decision that you will take firm control of your personal finances. Business finance and implementing an accounting process can take a back seat for 90 days, while you tackle your personal finances. It's like learning to groom. If you don't first understand the bath, you have no hope of ever creating the perfect groom. Before starting your day, look at your appointment book. Don't just look at the names and the haircuts, but how much the grooms cost. Are there any upsells? Are you charging based on time? Spend a few minutes each morning to make a note of your balances and your debt. If you use the envelope system, how much is in each envelope? The more you pay attention, the more comfortable you'll become with money, and the more open you will be to receiving it. In this line of work, there are always ebbs and flows - from where the phone is ringing off the hook to picking it up to make sure there's even a dial tone. Just give it a few weeks, or months, before it booms again. Knowing exactly where your money is coming from, and how much expenses you have each month, will help you prepare for those slow months. Financial knowledge equals financial power. If you guys are interested in learning more about Personal Finance on a Leash, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/enroll. This is a 12 module masterclass where we teach you how to get on a personal budget, learn how to work with your money, and change your relationship with money.

Intro: Hello hello and welcome to Greedy Bitch, a podcast where groomers stop apologizing for charging their worth. I'm your host River Lee, founder of the Savvy Groomer. This episode is sponsored by the Business Workshop Library where you can access all my favorite workshops, seminars and guides in one place. Let's talk about today's topic: 3 tips that made a difference in my pet grooming business Are you running a business and it really feels like your business is running you? I'm going to share 3 tips that will help get your business back under control. These 3 tips made a difference in my pet grooming business. Tip #1 - Basket it! Organizing your loose items into containers or baskets will make a huge difference. Consider what your desk or salon currently looks like. Having things put away will melt away stress. The saying “a place for everything and everything in its place” has a lot of merit. For example, I personally have a place to put my keys when I get home, otherwise I spend a few hours a day looking for my keys. What do you often lose? What could you put away in a basket that would allow you to find it more quickly? Tip #2 - Prime your day by setting expectations You don't need to be a morning person to prime your day for success. For example, I personally start my day by journaling and filling out my Michael Hyatt Full Focus planner. It makes me reflect on what I'm grateful for, what I have to do in the day, and lets me snuggle my cat for a few more minutes in bed. I find when I start my day reminding myself of all the beautiful things in my life it's easier to get the day going. I have a list of things that are a mile long to do, but I get to do them. What I choose to focus on defines my reality. Tip #3 - Schedule repetitive tasks There are so many things that we waste our time on that we simply hate to do. For example, mine is taking out the garbage and laundry. I didn't actually mind doing towels for my pet grooming business - I actually found rolling up the towels to be really relaxing. What I don't really like trying to match socks. In the morning when I'm planning my day, I schedule these tasks. I give myself a set amount of time to do them so they don't drag on. If I give myself 30 minutes to do laundry and I haven't matched all the socks, that's okay. I'll do it tomorrow or I'll schedule it around a time I can multitask so it's not eating into my day. How about my business? How does that work? I scheduled certain times of the day to check my business phone and email to reply to clients. Days when I was in my van, I had a list of things to do. It just helped me to schedule them so I didn't forget about them. What are some repetitive tasks that you could schedule to get them over with and make them easier? Outro: If you guys are interested in learning more about the Business Workshop Library, be sure to visit me at savvygroomer.com/gwg. This is a library that has all favorite workshops, seminars and guides all in one place. It tackles simple yet effective business topics to organize and grow your grooming business. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast, 3 tips that made a difference in my pet grooming business. Be sure to visit me at SavvyGroomer.com to see my current opportunities to work with me in growing your pet grooming business plus more free resources for you to learn. See you in our community on Facebook - Savvy Pet Professionals! As always, Happy Grooming