Dog groomers must keep a clean workspace to prevent bacteria overload.
Dog owners often turn to groomers when a canine's hair becomes unruly, but hair is not the only service that dog groomers provide. From teeth cleaning to overnight boarding, groomers tend to cover a wide base of services. Whether you plan on working from home or renting an office, you need access to a bathing facility to properly clean your canine client's fur. Along with understanding dog grooming basics, dog groomers must also manage business information, from client contact numbers to tax paperwork.
Instructions
1. Enroll at a grooming school or gain an apprenticeship with a professional groomer to learn the basic skills and duties. Grooming requires knowledge of cleaning and cutting hair, popular breed haircuts, handling unruly or frightened dogs and understanding canine anatomy. Some grooming schools provide licenses with the National Groomers Association of America, but a license is not necessary to professionally groom dogs. PetSmart also provides training courses.
2. Clean out a room in your home or set up an office for dog grooming. The room must have tile, wood or laminate floors for easy hair clean-up. Ideally, create a large area for bathing, trimming, brushing and clipping the animal with another area for kennels to keep dogs separated when not on your table.
3. Set up a grooming table. Like a massage table, these are waist-high, flat tables with enough room for a small and large dog breeds. Next to the table, place a smaller tray table for all of your tools and grooming materials, such as brushes, clippers, shears and ear cleaners.
4. Install wall cabinets or buy moving cabinets to store bulk and special items in the corner of your grooming room. Towels, disinfectant, soap, clipping add-ons and other grooming tools can be stored tidily out of sight. Store cleaning tools such as a dry floor mop in a nearby closet.
5. Place two or more kennels in a separate room that is well ventilated. This is your boarding room for clients' pups. In this room, you also want to have storage space that can hold dog food, a sink, towels, food and water bowls, treats, chew toys and leashes. Dog owners tend to drop pets off while at work for grooming.
6. Set up a professional greeting area. Whether your living room or professional office, greet the owners in a space that is neat and shows off your love for dog care. Photos and dog-friendly products in a display case will show your knowledge of canine care. You can sell products like flea protection and shampoos to make even more profit from your business.
7. Clean your work space and facilities often. Sterilize brushes, shears and clippers in alcohol. Wash towels, kennels and food bowls regularly to prevent bacteria.
8. Create a printout that lists all of your services and prices. Some popular services for dog grooming include bathing, boarding, brushing, hair trim, teeth cleaning, ear cleaning, customized cuts and special embellishments, like ribbons or bandanas. Provide a range of prices to target multiple consumers, such as a "Basic" cut that includes a simple bath and trim or a "Deluxe," which includes full grooming, teeth cleaning and ribbons.
9. Place advertisements for your grooming business in the newspaper and online through dog grooming sites. Create a print brochure and post on public bulletin boards at your apartment complex, library, school or family member's office. Advertise your services through friends by offering discounted cuts for referrals.
10. Set up a file process to keep track of your customers and their pets. When new customers arrives, give them a print-out to fill out with name, contact information, name of pet, distinguishing details and empty boxes next to different services. Use manila folders to keep track of services and contact information for future visits.
11. Print out receipts for your customers with your contact information, time of pickup and services to be rendered. The receipt should clearly list each service and price with a total amount that has been paid. The receipt should also clearly state the dog's name.
12. Store all appropriate tax information for your grooming business from customer receipts to supply purchases. Store your revenue receipts in a separate location from your supply and maintenance costs. Organize your receipts by month and day. Pay your taxes according to your federal and state regulations. Hire a consultant to handle your taxes if you find yourself overwhelmed.
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