The first step is to form a legal entity. Establishing a legal business entity prevents you from being personally liable if your pet grooming business is sued.
Obtaining a grooming certification can help establish the legitimacy of your business and bring in more customers. Observing and “shadowing” another groomer is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the business. Consider setting your business apart by offering sales and free samples of “extras” such as dog cologne, toothbrushes, and ear cleaners, which helps promote you as a kind of one-stop-shop for pet grooming and cleaning.
As a Pet Groomer you will find many diverse job opportunities. Veterinarians, animal hospitals, pet shops, boarding kennels, grooming salons, pet supply stores, animal shelters are examples of those looking for pet groomers. There is a great demand for qualified pet grooming professionals in many places.
The costs of opening a pet grooming business can be particularly low if you are able to operate out of your own home or operate in a mobile fashion (such as visiting pet owners’ homes or working with local kennels). Doing so eliminates most of the overhead associated with the business and reduces the start-up costs primarily to obtaining high-quality tools and advertising your services.
The costs of the tools you will need (which include clippers, shears, slicker brush, blades, smock, and greyhound comb) can cost up to $1000. Additional grooming supplies (including shampoo, conditioner, nail clippers, safety supplies, hydraulic drier, and a grooming table) can cost a little over $1000. These represent the bare essentials for your business, and if you choose to specialize in certain services (such as the aforementioned pet facials), it will necessitate additional tools and supplies.
At the most basic level, a pet grooming business makes money by charging different charges for its various services. In this way, it is not too dissimilar from a regular salon. So, you would charge customers a fixed amount for a haircut on their pet, and another amount for things like baths, facials, and so on. This means that becoming more proficient at completing these services will translate to more money each month for your business.
Professional groomers usually work with a large organization like a chain pet store, or with a smaller pet grooming business. They need to be able to have the communication skills in order to work with the dogs, as well as the dog owners, to make sure everyone’s needs are met. Word of mouth is how this type of business grows, so in order have repeat business and referrals, both the dog and the owner need to have had a pleasant experience.
