PetGroomer.com Magazine Fall 2020 - National Covid-19 Grooming Industry Survey Results

October / December 2020 Vol. 10, Ed. 4 eGroomer Journal January / March 2014

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M A G A Z I N E

National Covid-19 Grooming Survey Results

Groomers Tell Us How Covid-19 Will Change the Grooming Industry?

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE FALL 2020 Up Your Marketing Game to Pack a Big Punch 4th Quarter!

How Petco is Helping Protect People and Pets at Their Salons BATH DOGS: The Gravy of Profit-Ability (2020 Update) Finding Your Footing: GroomFit What is the National Beauty Tools Sharpeners Guild (NBTSG) How Many Dogs Should You Groom a Day? Results of the National Covid-19 Groomers Surveys Employee Survey: Groomers and Bathers Results Self-Employed Survey: Business Owners Results Discussions • Financial Impact • Operational Formats • Personnel Management • Customer Demand • Summary of Changes • More Groomer Commentary About the Covid-19 Surveys

12 17 23 35 90 94 43 45 54 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

Approximately 7,200 surveys were completed in total. All surveys were taken anonymously and no private information was asked or recorded. No personal health questions were asked.

The average surveyed groomer completed 89% of the survey questions.

The surveys for grooming employees and business owners were available for approximately 4 months online at PetGroomer.com during Spring/Summer 2020. We also sent related short surveys on specific subjects by invitation to groomers on Grooming Business in a Box® mailing lists. When you read the results here in Discussions and we mention “side surveys” we are referring to the short surveys on additional topics. Responses came from the 48 U.S. states and some foreignCopyright countries.

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INDUSTRY CALENDAR

FEBRUARY 2021 GROOM EXPO WEST February 11-14, 2021 Pasadena, California See www.groomexpowest.com

APRIL 2021 INTERGROOM April 15-18, 2021 Secaucus, New Jersey See www.intergroom.com

MARCH 2021 NORTHWEST GROOMING SHOW March 25-28, 2021 Tacoma, Washington See www.nwgroom.com Send your grooming industry event info to: contact@petgroomer.com

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MAY 2021 WORLD DOG EXPO May 22-23, 2021 Secaucus, New Jersey See www.worldexpo.dog

JUNE 2021 ATLANTA PET FAIR June 24-27, 2021 Atlanta, Georgia See www.atlantapetfair.org

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UP YOUR MARKETING GAME TO PACK A BIG PUNCH 4TH QUARTER! As we’ve heard a million times by now, We’re all in this together.” This pandemic has drastically changed or closed businesses forever. Fortunately the pet industry although not completely untouched (Chewy & Petsmart break up) is one of the industries that are doing quite well!

How many animal shelters were emptied out across the USA? Even living from employment check to employ-

ment check, new dog owners nationwide are still finding some extra cash to not only provide for but spoil their new furry family member.

If you have your doubts, all you have to do is wander over to Tiktok to see how many serotonin inducing pet accounts exist and growing by the minute. Scrolling through my #FYP page, apparently we just can’t get enough of those pet accounts. When the world is going through one of the worst economic disasters in our history…the emptied pet shelters prove that a daily dose of serotonin inducing pet stories is just what the nation needs.

So how do you and your business capture the attention of these new pet owners you ask? I highly recommend 2 lesser known social media stepsisters…

Tiktok and Pinterest! Now hold your horses, I’ve got some pretty good reasons for both.

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cember 2009. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard of Pinterest. You’ve probably searched a Pinterest worthy idea for your store, your kids party, interior design, and all things well designed and pretty! Many people use Pinterest personally but not as many small businesses give Pinterest the clout it deserves. Is Pinterest social media? Kinda, but not really and that’s a good thing!

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Facebook and Instagram.

My new favorite social media platform goes to Tiktok? Being that I am not under the age of 30 (which is 66% of it’s monthly users)…you might ask why I would want to have my business on Tiktok?

According to strongcoffeemarketing.com “Pinterest is an excellent tool to help increase links back to your website, which, in turn, drives more traffic. It is more effective at steering traffic back to a website more than any other social media source. (Thank you, rich pins!)

This uptick in traffic obviously relies on good content.”

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Leel Michelle is the owner and designer behind the award-winning pet groomer apparel brand, Retro Stylist Wear and the grooming salon and boutique; Bow Wow Beauty Shoppe. She is a San Diego native

that has also called Los Angeles, New York and Italy home. Formal

education in fine art, art history, and I have had my business on Pinterest for fashion design led this animal lovyears with up to 150,000 monthly viewers. There have been times that over ing entrepreneur to bring all her 80% of my monthly website traffic passion, talents and knowledge tocame from Pinterest. Does Pinterest gether to create a memorable and traffic come easy? No. Pinterest is definitely a long term strategy. Keep plugbeloved retro business for pets and ging away posting your well designed their owners. content with back links to your website, blog, or store, and you will see those numbers increase steadily. I feel like Pinterest is one of those lesser known search engine power houses that many small businesses don’t talk about as mucheGroomer as their more desirable sisters; Journal Copyright © 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved 13 PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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Tiktok is still new-ish and growing extremely rapidly. If I want my business to be around for more than a few years, I must curate my business profile on this platform in order to attract my young and future pet owning clientele. Premarriage and babies…we spend a lot of money on silly things for our pets and your business should be where your future clients feel comfortable.

According to Esquire Middle East, “Tiktok has over half a billion users, more downloads in 2018 than YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and is worth more than US $75 billion. Why do people love this app so much and how can your business benefit?

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Essentially Tiktok is just plain fun. It’s all about the videos but without the 5 minute intro we have to wade through on Youtube. Just 15-60 seconds of videos dancing, learning, singing, animals, or whatever kind of Tiktok you’re into! Additionally, there aren’t as many “Karens” as Facebook, and it’s not as pristine and polished as Instagram.

Tiktok is a great place to allow your clients to see the real “you” in your business. People buy from people, not businesses so letting your hair down and letting the authentic you (without all the polish & makeup) shine through will be well received on this platform.

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Although I’ve just dipped my toes into Tiktok, I know that the most successful profiles are the ones where people working at their business gain the greatest following (and sales) simply by being themselves and showing the “behind the scenes” look at how the magic happens.

People are by nature voyeurs. Being stuck at home months on end, we still want to relate to one another and get a sneak peak into someone else’ life and experiences around the World in manageable bite size bits.

I’ve seen business profiles sky rocket from zero to millions of followers at a pace faster than any other social media platform which is why it’s great to get in on this bandwagon now.

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it’s that we can grow, change, and pivot ourselves and our businesses in order to meet the demands of this new World in which we live. Sometimes putting yourself out there and leaving your comfort zone might be the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself and your business.

Go on and try these new strategies to drive more traffic to your business.

What’s the worst that can happen? You might drive more traffic to your business website? How about making more sales? How about being invited to be on a new TV show?

You never know unless you try. Go get em’ girl! You be you!

Until next time… XXOO Leel Michelle ▀

If this pandemic has taught us anything,

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How Petco is Helping Protect People and Pets at Their Grooming Salons During COVID-19

As news and information around COVID19 continues to evolve, all of us at Petco are doing everything we can to take care of pets, pet parents and our own Petco employees (we call them partners!) during this time. We’re proud to remain open and continue serving pets’ grooming needs, and have taken the following proactive, precautionary steps to protect everyone in the broader Petco family.

CLEANING All Petco stores are cleaned and sanitized daily as part of our normal business operations. In an effort to keep our

salons safe as we all navigate COVID19, we’ve increased the frequency and extent of those cleanings. This includes sanitizing after each pet and soaking all equipment in a pet-safe disinfectant after each use. Additionally, our grooming salons hold 15 to 20-minute windows in between each grooming appointment to properly clean and disinfect the work area (counters, stations, and equipment) before welcoming the next pet. To add some fun to the mix, multiple cleaning dance parties take place throughout the day with mops doubling as great microphones!

MASKING UP Based on guidance from the CDC and other public health experts, and to help protect the health and safety of our Petco partners, guests and the broader communities we serve, we respectfully require CDC-compliant facial coverings in all Petco stores. We’ve made 11.7 million disposable gloves and 4.4 mil-

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lion disposable facial coverings available to all Petco partners, and installed 4,500 register lane acrylic guards in Petco stores nationwide. Our grooming partners have been showing off their impressive creativity by personalizing their facial coverings, with many of them showing off the fun and festive masks we have at Petco.

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TEMPERATURE CHECKS We conduct health screenings for Petco partners, vendors and volunteer staff in all Petco locations. Upon arrival to our stores, our grooming partners’ temperature is evaluated using non-contact thermometers. Anyone who may be experiencing a fever is sent home to rest out (Continued on page 19)

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of an abundance of caution.

Option 3: Inside the Salon

SAFETY

If a guest is comfortable bringing their pet into the building, they are instructed to wait outside of enclosed reception areas while our Petco grooming partner completes the seven-point pet care check.

To help our grooming partners and guests maintain a safe distance from each other, we’ve restructured our Petco grooming salons, schedules and processes. In our salons, all grooming partners maintain at least six feet of distance from each other. When possible, we're scheduling pick-up times to limit the number of pet parents waiting for their newly groomed dogs, and have also implemented curbside check-in options to help ensure the safety of Petco grooming partners and guests.

Option 1: Outside the Store Petco partners can greet and check-in pets outside of the store. Both our partners and pet parents maintain a safe distance between each other and are protected by a clear barrier.

Option 2: Outside the Salon

Option 4: Salon Exterior Reception Guests comfortable with bringing their pet to the grooming salon reception area are asked to maintain at least six feet of distance from our Petco grooming partners while the seven-point pet care check is performed.

We’re proud to be the grocery store, pharmacy and doctor’s office for many four-legged loved ones. As a health and wellness company focused on improving the lives of pets, pet parents and our own Petco partners, we're here for our Petco grooming partners because they’re there for our communities’ pets – always.

In certain salons, Petco partners can Together, we are #petcoSTRONG! meet pet parents at the door and take ▀ the pet inside to complete a proper seven-point pet care check before admiteGroomer Copyright © 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved ting the petJournal into the grooming salon.

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BATH DOGS

®

The Gravy of PROFIT - ABILITY Updated 2020 Report by Grooming Business in a Box ® In 1961 we opened our first grooming business on the West Coast. It was a two-person operation, husband and wife. With 5 children the pressure was on to maximize grooming and bathing quality and demand to afford a modern family home. Opening one of the first

shops on Main Street was a challenge.

There were no road maps for moving grooming largely from kennel departments to standalone operations along commuter expressways. Grooming in-

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dustry books were rare let alone publications on the business side.

In the Sixties pet grooming businesses were often stereotyped as “poodle parlors.” We noticed some men on their first visit felt uncomfortably shy visiting one of these new beauty parlors for dogs. Seeing a man grooming at our business helped and pleasant customer service by a dedicated attendant on the front desk helped a great deal too. Everyone was put at ease immediately, and soon the place became the talk of town.

Thousands of cars drove by daily and drivers couldn’t miss our billboard.

Ninety-five (95) percent of the demand was for full grooms, with Poodles and Terriers being the most popular. Bathonly dogs were far fewer. When we did groom them most customers were keen on having nails done without visits to their vets. Word spread about our equal focus to groom dogs not normally associated with full groom styling.

Aha! The trigger was pulled. Bath dogs doubled, tripled and quadrupled in less than a year. Our advertising featured Shih-Poo, Cockapoo and similar mixes,

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plus doxies, beagles, shepherds and labs. Boomtown! We actually had to move the entire business to a larger location just two blocks away to handle the demand. In the first year we gained about 1,000 new clients.

Other groomers in the region also adapted their advertising with not only pictures of beautifully groomed purebred dogs like poodles, cockers and terriers but a myriad of bath-only dogs. Today, most groomers do not realize the boom of commercial grooming on Main Street started in the Sixties. The message was every dog, tall and small and every breed and mixed, could benefit from professional grooming. It gave the industry the viability of to prove grooming in shopping centers and along major road routes would work.

Now 2020, the first step of any grooming business planning to grow into a small or large staffed operation is to communicate they are “family” groomers, meaning they groom them all, tall and small (as long as you have the will and capable staff to safely serve the large breeds). Cat grooming is an added plus of course.

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went on to sell over 30,000 copies, followed by 4 more titles in the Grooming Business in a Box® series.

At first we did not realize bath dogs could be almost twice as profitable as Now 2020, the key to above-average full grooms! Here is where the financial profitability, what we call the gravy in genius begins of The Madson Managethe business of grooming, remains bath ment System. Remember, this dogs strictly groomed in a humane, safe knowledge was largely unknown in the manner of operation we describe here. industry in the Sixties. Business books We counsel a large number of operaand articles were relatively unknown.” tions with one full-charge stylist, assistThe void led us to 29 years later publish ed by 3 bathers. These stylists/owners the original edition of From Problems to earn net operating incomes up to and Profits: The Madson Management Sys(Continued on page 27) tem for Pet Journal Grooming Businesses which eGroomer Copyright © 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved 25 PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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Bath-only Golden Retriever

Bath-only Golden Retriever

Est. 1 hour labor

Est. 1 hour labor

FEE: $55.00

FEE: $55.00

50% Stylist Gross Wage is:

$18 Hr Bather Gross Wage is:

<$27.50>

<$18.00>

Adj Gross Profit

Adj Gross Profit

$27.50

$37.00

If the 50% Stylist (W-2) employee had groomed the Golden, the $37.00 gross profit generated by the Bather (right column) would have been lowered to $27.50. That’s $9.50 of extra gravy for one bath dog! That’s a $9,500 savings in gross wages for the business from 1,000 bath dog services (roughly 3 a day over a year), and nobody suffered a pay cut. Did you notice the bather’s wage? How many bathers get $18 an hour as shown, and similarly high in rural areas too? Bath-only dogs done (Continued from page 25)

exceeding $100,000 a year without another full-charge groomer. That is takehome income prior personal taxes.

Some do even better adding a fourth bather/assistant groomer. Get this! The bathers are paid well over the hourly average of other businesses. The best wages in town!

Come get your gravy! Pay close atten-

tion. We know pet owners pay more to have their pets not only bathed, but styled by professional groomers. It seems logical to expect your business would earn more net operating profit by selling higher-priced full groom services.

Not so. Profitability per grooming service soars 30% or more with bath dogs.

It is critical who grooms the bath dogs!

You must establish your pro Bathing Department that solely serves the bath (Continued on page 28)

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dogs. Staff it with what we call Pro Pet Bathers. They can neaten feet, bun and bow, ours could even touch-up cleanfaced poodles, and other scissor neatening here and there, and an advanced pro bather could do a basic sanitary and deshedding. While we did hire and train assistant pet groomers documented in our books, they did some finish work too. Therefore, we did not title our Pro Pet Bathers as assistant groomers who did some level of finish styling.

The premium financial purpose of a bathing department is 1) to employ pet bathers to bathe all pets, even the complete grooming pets finished by stylists is possible, and 2) to boost profitability by having only pro pet bathers complete the bath-only dogs.

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ers. Accountants hire bookkeeper employees and attorneys hire paralegals to maintain competitive prices by reducing labor costs. Similarly some hairstyling salons hire shampoo staff.

Want More Gravy?

The savings for one bath dog service may not seem like a lot, but when you annualize hundreds even thousands of bath dog services over a year the savings in wages can be many thousands of dollars, even tens of thousands. Take a closer look at another example.

If a full-charge groomer earns 60 percent commission and grooms a $50 bath-only pet without the help of a pet bather, the groomer earns $30 gross wage (assume 1 hour labor). It is the same as saying the owner paid the groomer $30 in wages to groom the bath-only pet.

When a full-charge groomer bathes a pet, the business loses its profit edge on that service order because a professionIf the same pet is done by a pro pet ally-trained pet bather could do the bather paid well at $18 an hour, the pet bathing duties for less wages, and still bather earns $18 in gross wages. The be paid quite well too. Your gravy boat empties its potential. Think about it. Pet pet bather reduces gross wages from $30 to $18 for just one bath dog. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bathers earn wages typically lower than $12 reduction in gross wages, and nostylists. We had our stylists only do finbody took a pay cut. Multiply that by ish styling every work day. They did not 3,000 bath dogs in one year and the do bathing and drying, ears and nails duties; that was assigned to pet bath28 Copyright Š 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved Subscribe www.egroomer.com (Continued on page 29) PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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business saved $36,000 in gross wages and further reductions in employer contributions and employment taxes. Thousands of shops walk the knife’s edge using disputable 1099 classifications.

Couldn’t they resolve their profitability issues leading them to avoid employer contribution taxes by filling up their gravy boat with our bath dog system?

Large operations could perhaps use some gravy for benefits not common in independently-owned grooming businesses. Don’t overlook the gravy! Employees have no valid issues to balk. Our bath-dog system pays well, no commission cuts. Pro bathers should be among the best paid in your region. Keep the best by paying them the best.

Do train bathers to earn that tag “pro” on their job title. Your full-charge stylists should not have to worry about the quality of the bathing assigned to pro pet bathers. Certainly there are stylist that do experience this worry. There is no excuse! This is a management issue!

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stylist, post haste. No kidding, and that ends that problem quickly. Never allow anything less than perfect bathing.

Gimme Some More Gravy

Here is another great solution. Our lead bather was given the title, Bathing Department Supervisor. This position bathes two less dogs a day, and with the time saved supervises the quality and safety of the department. Supervisors provide reinforcement training and initial training. Stylists never have to worry about returning pets not meeting their standards for properly prepped, bathed and dried pets. Business owners enjoy the peace-of-mind from knowing their supervisors are also safety experts.

Bath dogs should only groomed by pro pet bathers. It’s a no brainer for experienced business owners with financial acumen. It does not take long for the gravy boat to add up to many thousands of dollars a year without cutting pay levels. Learn more with Grooming Business in a Box® products. Get your gravy! ▀

In our shop stylists had the right to respectfully return dogs to bathers who did not stretch dry every curl on a poodle. Immediately the bather got a spray bottle of water, wet the curls, stretched dried them and returned the dog to the eGroomer Journal www.egroomer.com Subscribe Free PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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BATH CLUB MEMBERSHIP New e-Book Now Available for Download by Leel Michelle In the uncertainty of the world in which we live, small business owners must craft new ways to improve our profit margins. Your Bath Club Membership is a great service that your clients need now! It creates a consistent revenue stream month after month and is a win-win for your grooming salon & clients. Through my ebook, I share ways to keep your income flowing while you gear up your business to full steam ahead! You already have nearly everything it takes to implement this additional revenue stream right now! CLICK HERE to learn more & download.

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By Vera Needham It's a great feeling to kick off your shoes off at the end of a long day in the puppy parlor. This is partly because shoes can hurt and misshape our feet. Foot pain affects at least one in four groomers.

Female groomers have more foot pain complaints than males probably because of the shoes we choose.

Placement of footings is crucial to provide the proper support for the foundation. The design of the foundation is executed to sustain and transmit the imposed forces evenly to the ground. Improperly built footings can bring down a house. This concept is very important in our bodies as well.

Today I want to focus on how we place If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen a house being built our footings when we are standing at you will notice that workers pay special the grooming table. attention to the foundation. Part of the eGroomer Journal Copyright Š Find A Groomer All rights process of building a foundation is2011 buildOurInc. feet arereserved our footings, our founda-35 ing footings.

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tion, and our first contact with gravity. If you are standing for much of the day and are out of alignment every joint above your foot will be affected.

Foot pain is something that many groomers ignore. If achy feet have been with you for quite a while, it could be causing problems in your ankles, knees, hips, and even your back.

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you walk, it changes the way the bones of all those other joints move with each other. Cartilage in the joints can wear down, ligaments and tendons can be stressed beyond their normal range and arthritis can set in.

Straight Feet: Have you ever seen someone walk or stand with the feet toed out in a ducklike foot position? Many of us toe out a bit as we age. The angle of our foot will

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impact the forces within your foot, knee and hip. Standing for hours in this toed out position while we create the perfect clip increases the probability of bunions.

This position changes the alignment of the rest of the leg, putting increased pressure on the inner part of the knee.

This is a common pattern seen in groomers with knee osteoarthritis.

To reduce stress on our joints, our feet should be facing forward with the bone on the outside of the ankle lining up with the little toe. Next time you are around a toddler, take a minute to look at their feet. In most cases you will see that they are perfectly straight.

Most of us start life with great alignment. It's the hours we spend of sitting, standing, bending, leaning, and carrying that can throw that alignment out of whack.

You can check your foot position by placing the outside of the foot on a line in the sidewalk. You may notice when you put feet in the correct position that it may feel like your feet are pigeon-toed and your knees may want to fall in and face each other.

To turn your knee caps forward, tighten your gluteal muscles. Often when you 38

tighten up you will feel a lift in the arches of your feet. The goal is to have the foot and knee facing forward when we stand in front of a mirror.

Foot width: In a perfect world our feet should be placed directly under our hips, with the

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October / December 2020

knee in line with the ankle. Standing for hours with the feet too narrow or wide creates an imbalance in the use of the muscles of your hips.

A plumb line is a great way to check the width of your feet. To create a plumb line all you need is a string with a weight on the end of it. Anything you can find around the house will do. You can use nuts or bolts, fishing bobbers, etc. In the photos below I tied a small screwdriver that I found in my grooming kit to a piece of string.

Once you have your plumb line stand in front of a mirror. Find the bony part of your hip on the front, called the ASIS, and drop the plumb line down from this point.

Next notice where the weight falls at the ankle. The plumb line should be in the center of the ankle. If the plumb line is to the outside of the ankle, move your foot out until you find this alignment. If the plumb line is to the inside of the ankle, move your foot inward.

Weight over Heels: With all of the hours we spend on our feet, weight distribution has a major impact on painful paws. eGroomer Journal

To check where you carry your weight over your feet we need to use the plumb line again. Stand to your side, looking in a mirror. Find the bony part of the outside of the hip and drop the plumb line

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down from this point. The end of the plumb line should fall in line with the outer ankle bone.

Adjust your body until you find this alignment. When you try this new alignment out at first, you may feel like you might lose your balance backward. Years of leaning forward over the grooming table has an impact. Keep practicing this alignment gradually until it becomes more comfortable for you. Placing more weight on the forefoot places more stress on the knees.

At first, some of the alignment checks may feel “wrong” when making adjust-

October / December 2020

ments. That doesn’t mean that it’s not the proper position. Imagine an elderly person with a hunched forward posture.

If we asked that person to stand up straight it would be very uncomfortable.

They wouldn't be able to hold that position very long because all of the posture muscles have become weak.

Misalignments take years to develop and they won’t be corrected overnight.

It’s a work in progress and we need to really pay attention and be persistent.

Think of it like you were training a puppy. It will take lots of repetition and patience. Next time you are at work please pause to check your paws. ▀

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vera Needham is a Medical Exercise Specialist, pilates trainer and has been a dog groomer for over 35 years. Vera invented the Tubee-Fit training tool for groomers. The Tubee has proven to be a wonderful addition to her older adult classes and in long term care facilities.

If you have any Goomfit question or want more information about the Tubee contact Vera at groomfit@yahoo.com 40

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October / December 2020

National Covid-19 Grooming Survey Results Groomers Tell Us How Covid-19 Will Change the Grooming Industry?

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October / December 2020

National Covid-19 Grooming Survey Results TABLE OF CONTENTS Employee Survey: Groomers and Bathers Results 45 Self-Employed Survey: Business Owners Results 54 Discussions 81 • Financial Impact 82 • Operational Formats 83 • Personnel Management 84 • Customer Demand 85 • Summary of Changes 86 Copyright © 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved Subscribe www.egroomer.com • 44 More Groomer Commentary 87

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #1: As a grooming employee, which best describes your grooming employment in early 2020 when CV-19 precautions affected the industry and groomers’ working lifestyles? Select one only.

34%

Independently-owned Grooming Business (only grooming)

3%

Independently-owned Mobile Grooming Vehicle Business

1%

Independently-owned House-Call Business in Pet Owner

37%

Independently-owned Pet Business with Grooming

17%

Pet Store Chain with Grooming Services

8%

Other

Employee Survey #2: Which best describes your grooming employment position when CV-19 first affected the grooming industry in early 2020?

Select one only.

84%

Full-charge pet groomer or stylist

9%

Assistant pet groomer or stylist

4%

Pet Bather

3%

Brusher/Bather

Employee Survey #3: Which best describes your grooming employment working hours? Select one only.

82%

Full-time (usually 32 hours or more a week)

9%

Part-time

9%

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #4: Was, or is, your grooming employment in an area with a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order? Select one only.

91% 9%

Yes No

Employee Survey #5: Which best describes your employer’s status when operational limitations were first ordered? Select one answer only.

18%

The business was deemed essential because it sold pet

55%

The business was deemed essential because it sold pet

0% 20% 7%

The business was primarily grooming and deemed essential The business was primarily grooming and deemed nonIf other, please specify.

Employee Survey #6: If your employer’s business closed or cutback its hours of operation to meet compliance with orders, which best describes the effect on your employment? Select one answer only.

10%

I was laid off.

50%

I was furloughed.

0%

46

My employment was terminated by my employer.

33%

My work hours were reduced.

1%

I terminated my employment.

6%

If other, please specify.

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #7: If your employer was able to continue and remained open during a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order, what was your opinion of continuing to work there? Select one answer only.

11%

I did not want to work but I felt I might lose my job.

22%

I did not want to work but I felt I needed the income.

2% 56%

I was fearful of working and wanted to be laid off or furloughed.

I wanted to continue working.

1%

I terminated my employment because I felt safer sheltering or staying at home.

8%

If other, please specify.

Employee Survey #8: Which best describes your future in the pet grooming industry? Select one answer only.

56%

I think the pet grooming industry will eventually return to normal and I will return to (or continue) working.

22%

I will continue to work in this profession but based on the Covid-19 experience I want more control of deciding whether I am willing to work during a pandemic (more like a selfemployed person).

2%

I am uncertain if I will continue (or return) in an employed grooming position because of my experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.

11%

I am likely to open my own grooming business based on my experiences as an employee during the Covid-19 pandemic.

1%

I am switching from employee to grooming business owner based on my employee experiences during the pandemic.

8%

If other, please specify.

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #9: Which best describes the financial impact (so far) as an employee during the Covid-19 pandemic?

17%

I am financially hurting with little or no new income or unemployment benefits.

25%

I am moderately hurting but assisted with some unemployment-related benefits.

2% 17% 1%

I cannot meet my household budget without additional financial help of family or friends.

I am only getting by with some assistance of benefits and the help of family and friends.

I am financially hurting from being terminated and not qualified for unemployment-related benefits.

38% If other, please specify.

“I always plan for the worst, so while I have had to dip into savings, I feel financially secure.”

“I am financially stable, my employer supplements any loss in normal wages from cutback on hours with a PPP loan from our local bank.”

“My corporate position has been chaotic and I am affected negatively.”

“Unemployment insurance has kept me afloat.”

“My employer took a PPP loan and I am doing OK. We are now essential.”

“I work for a mobile employer so I am doing fine since we went back to work in 3 weeks.”

“I really don’t want to work, I am scared of the virus.”

“The pandemic unemployment saved my ass.”

48

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #10: In previous Question #8, if you indicated your interest in self-employment in the grooming industry, how motivated are you to act on that interest? Select one answer only.

23%

A little.

11%

Middle of the road.

23%

Very motivated.

23%

I am actively planning self-employment.

1%

I am now newly self-employed.

19% If other, please specify.

“As a corporate groomer I qualified for unemployment plus the pandemic unemployment. Also Petsmart paid our medical benefits the entire time we were off. I also took a payout of vacation to help me through. If I were selfemployed I could not have done this.”

“I am going to go self-employed mobile because it is essential here. I am looking for a used van now.”

“I am trying to find a grant to go self-employed.”

“I work for Petco and I got by. I don’t think I would have got by selfemployed.”

“I want a mobile business eventually.”

“My business plan is done for opening a small shop and will open by September. I own a home so that made it possible.”

“I am only interested in home grooming or mobile. Being responsible for Journal is not my Copyright 2011tea.”

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #11: In previous Question #8, if you indicated your interest in self-employment in the grooming industry, which sectors of the grooming industry interest you the most? You may select more than one answer.

44%

One person shop/salon in a commercial location.

31%

Shop/salon in a commercial location possibly with staff.

11%

Mobile grooming vehicle business.

10%

Grooming business on my property or within my home.

0%

House-call grooming inside the homes of pet owners.

3%

Leasing a department within a pet business (vet, boarding, daycare, pet hotel etc.

1%

If other, please specify.

Employee Survey #12: Did your employer ask you for any ideas or comments related to operating within social distancing requirements? You may add comments to your answer.

56%

Yes.

44%

No. Additional comments.

“We had staff meetings twice and she did listen. Reduced hours were bad for some, good for others. Some were scared to work and took time off so that gave some extra hours.”

“We all helped with ideas for curbside and how not to exchange cash.”

“Nope we were told what to do.”

50

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October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

Employee Survey #13: Please describe the changes in the grooming industry you predict will come about because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Please comment below.

“I think things will eventually go back to normal.”

We had staff meetings twice and she did listen. Reduced hours were bad for some, good for others. Some were scared to work and took time off so that gave some extra hours.”

“I foresee an increase in mobile groomers since these were relatively unaffected by the restrictions placed on brick and mortar shops. Housecall grooming will probably decrease except for cat grooming. Many groomers will not want to take the chance of interacting with owners. There will also be a greater awareness, for awhile, by owners as to the sanitation of grooming facilities.”

“More people will realize the difficulty and skill required for professional grooming.”

“One man shops will close. The older lady shops will close. I hope and pray that prices will increase to reflect our worth. Only the truly professional salons will survive.”

“I believe the biggest change we will see is more groomers requiring clients to maintain a set schedule. This will alleviate the headache of redoing our entire schedules should this happen again. All clients will be on a maintenance schedules in my business and will be booked out 6 to 12 months in advance.”

“It is never going the same again. As a group we need to work together to keep grooming essential. What we have seen after returning after 8 weeks is unreal.”

“I see more groomer protection being used by groomers in the future. I think States will require it for groomers.”

“I think groomers may be forced to wear masks all the time.” eGroomer Journal www.egroomer.com Subscribe Free PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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January / March 2019 October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

Self-Employed Survey Business Owner Results

About the Surveys The surveys for grooming employees and business owners were available for approximately 4 months online at PetGroomer.com during Spring/Summer 2020. We also sent related short surveys on specific subjects by invitation to groomers on Grooming Business in a Box® mailing lists. When you read the results here in Discussions and we mention “side surveys” we are referring to the short surveys on additional topics. Responses came from the 48 U.S. states and some foreign countries.

Approximately 7,200 surveys were completed in total. All surveys were taken anonymously and no private information was asked or recorded. No personal health questions were asked.

The average surveyed groomer completed 89% of the survey questions.

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October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #1: Which best describes your grooming business? You may indicate more than one answer.

48%

Salon or shop in a commercial location.

29%

Salon or shop on my home property or within my home.

11%

Mobile grooming vehicle(s).

5%

House-call (grooming inside pet owner homes)

3%

Leased department within a pet business (vet, boarding, pet hotel, daycare, retail pet store or boutique, etc).

1%

Pet massage, sitter or walker that also provides grooming.

3%

If other, please specify.

Grooming Business Owner Survey #2: How many years experience do you have as a grooming business owner, or pet business with a grooming department?

5%

1 to 2 years.

11%

3 to 5 years.

84%

Over 5 years.

Grooming Business Owner Survey #3: Do you employ one or more employees?

45%

Yes.

55%

No.

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October / December 2020

Employee Survey #4: This is an entirely anonymous survey. This question is not mandatory. If you will please share the U.S. state where you are located or international location please write it in below.

Alabama

Maine

South Carolina

Alaska

Maryland

South Dakota

Arizona

Massachusetts

Tennessee

Arkansas

Michigan

Texas

California

Minnesota

Utah

Colorado

Mississippi

Vermont

Connecticut

Missouri

Virginia

Delaware

Nebraska

Washington

Florida

New Hampshire

West Virginia

Georgia

New Jersey

Wisconsin

Hawaii

New York

Wyoming

Idaho

North Carolina

Puerto Rico

Illinois

North Dakota

Indiana

Ohio

Japan

Iowa

Oklahoma

Brazil

Kansas

Oregon

Canada

Kentucky

Pennsylvania

Louisiana 56

Rhode Island

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #5: Was pet grooming deemed nonessential in your area?

86%

Yes.

14%

No.

Grooming Business Owner Survey #6: Were most citizens ordered to shelter-in-place in your business market area?

98%

Yes.

2%

No.

Grooming Business Owner Survey #7: If pet stores with food and supplies were deemed essential and allowed to remain open, which applies best to the situation in your locality?

59%

Pet stores selling foods were deemed essential and those with grooming did not operate their grooming departments.

39%

Pet stores selling foods were deemed essential and those with grooming did continue to operate their grooming departments at least part-time.

2%

If other, please specify.

“Grooming shops had to close, no choice but stores did stay open, but some closed grooming.”

“We were upset we were forced to close but stores had options.”

“We were happy to close our shop in order to stop the spread of Covid.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #8: Further to Question #7, did you have to close your business while other “essential” pet stores with grooming could continue to offer grooming? If no, you may skip this question or leave a comment.

45%

Yes, I really didn’t care.

34%

Yes, I didn’t think it was fair.

9%

Yes, and I took action with local an/or state government to point out my disagreement with it being unfair.

5%

If other, please specify.

“Several places operated illegally.”

“Some groomed illegally, that was unfair.”

“We were a shop and mobile, and so we switched over to mobile only within 2 weeks it was OK.” “I closed to prevent the spread of Covid, not whether it was fair or not.”

“We were allowed to stay open.”

“Nothing said we had to close, and the spread was very low, one of the lowest, and still is in our area. Taking precautions worked fine without closing.”

“We were careful with masks and sanitation. Local enforcement did not enforce mandates because they are not enforceable law, so they could not close anyone anyway. That ruling was held up in our state courts.”

“I felt closing either way was helping to stop the spread and glad we did.”

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October / December 2020

Grooming Business Owner Survey #9: If you indicated you took action with local and/or state government were you received well and did you attain satisfactory results? You may use the comment box to share briefly what you sought, such as being deemed essential.

54%

Yes.

46%

No.

Additional comments.. If other, please specify.

“Town hall was a mess. No one knew anything.”

“Sheriff did not know what do or the city. It was ridiculous.”

“More people will realize the difficulty and skill required for professional grooming.”

“I had to close and wrote letters explaining why grooming was essential.

Finally weeks later were ” “We had a good experience with our mayor. I demonstrated what became known like curbside and the mayor gave us the okay to stay open.”

“I contacted state prosecutor for a decision whether we could operate and his interpretation was grooming was essential.”

“We were deemed essential eventually but had to keep after the city every day.”

“They left out listing grooming as being essential or not. Until they made a determination we continued to operate. No one bothered us except once. I asked can you show me where it says we are not essential? The city worker backed down immediately.”

“I called the police and sheriff and they said they would not ask us to close because they can only enforce laws. Mandates are not law here.”

“We did notJournal want to argue.

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #10: Did you have to terminate, furlough or layoff any employees? Please explain in comments box.

28%

Yes.

72%

No.

Additional comments.. If other, please specify.

“I had to layoff my staff for 5 weeks.”

“The PPP program let us avoid layoffs.”

“Yes a furlough.”

“No we got the PPP.” “I laid off for 8 weeks until we could be essential operation. I offered to rehire then.”

“I felt we would be able to reopen soon to full load of grooming. So I did some furlough cutting back hours and days. Two ended up quitting.”

“We did not have to layoff anybody. We were allowed to stay open the whole time.”

“My CPA helped process a PPP and we were only closed for a week.”

“I laid off the whole crew. We could not operate.”

“I have 2 mobile employees and after a crazy week of not working they allowed us to start doing no contact mobile. I gave them a week’s pay to help them.”

“I laid off and did not hire back. I am going to go mobile and work alone. It is hard enough to find groomers this just showed me it was time to work alone.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #11: If you have employees did any of them ask to be laid off or furloughed?? Please explain in comments box.

28%

Yes.

72%

No.

Additional comments.. If other, please specify.

“Yes. I think she wanted time off and unemployment with bonus and thought I would later rehire. I let her go and did her grooming, and I did not rehire her.”

“Some volunteered to be furloughed because they were scared of Covid.”

“One of my groomers was so frightened she thought about quitting. So I did furlough her to one day week.”

“I had a bather ask to be laid off.”

Grooming Business Owner Survey #12: If your business became essential qualified and you had laid off employees which had qualified for bonus unemployment payments for a specified period did they return to work or did they want to stay unemployed for additional time.

39%

Yes.

61%

No.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“Yes! They didn’t want to come back soon.” ”Getting almost $900 a week during unemployment for not working made it hard for them to come back to work when I offered. I didn’t have to rehire them so they tried to make a deal. I hired a new groomer instead.”

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October / December 2020

Grooming Business Owner Survey #13: Did you demonstrate to local authorities that your system of social distancing while grooming pets was effective and they allowed you to resume operations even before grooming was deemed essential again? Skip question if your grooming services are still considered nonessential.

53%

Yes.

47%

No.

Grooming Business Owner Survey #14: Did you develop a contact-free system at pet owner homes? If yes please share comments.

76%

Yes.

24%

No.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“It was easy being mobile. We got the dogs from their backyard and returned there. They paid over the phone.”

“I had a cage on the porch the pet owner put it in and picked back up later.

I sterilized after every use. Owner paid on phone.”

“All my mobile customers adapted very quickly. No issues at all.”

“Mobile made it so easy.”

“I miss talking in person with my mobile customers but that’s it. We were all safe.”

“A few adjustments here and there and we were in business with no complaints by anyone. I love mobile.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #15: This question is for grooming business owners working out of their personal homes. What type of social distancing do you use to access and return your customers’ pets? If you developed a system, click yes and please comment.

76%

Yes.

24%

None.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“Yes! I had a cage outside they put their dog into and went back to their cars. They waited or came back later and I put the dog back into the cage for them. We wore masks and I asked them to wear masks too.”

“I bought a large chain link cage for my porch and grass. Owners put them inside it and got them out when done. We kept it sterilized. We communicated by cell. We used masks and gloves and customers used masks.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #16: Have you experienced any of these experiences and feelings about your business? You may select more than one answer.

34%

I considered selling my business now, or after grooming becomes essential again.

3%

II considered closing my business now, or after grooming becomes essential again.

1%

I considered changing careers now, or in the future. I don’t want to go through this again.

37%

I may have to close my business for financial reasons.

17%

I am not sure I will be able to recoup my business savings being depleted by not being able to operate.

8%

If other, please specify.

“I am reopening soon. I was depressed a short time but safe. I am so happy to be going back to work!”

“I was going to sell my business in a couple years. I am doing it know. Not going through this again.”

“I owned my building so no burden of having to pay rent. Got by with savings.”

“I used this opportunity to reset my business. I downsized my client list.”

“I had to reschedule 280 dogs and have been busier than ever having to work with less employees.

“I had only been open 6 weeks prior and was afraid the business would fail.” continued eGroomer Journal www.egroomer.com Subscribe Free PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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New Jersey - www.clipshoppeschoolofdoggrooming.com

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October / December 2020

Grooming Business Owner Survey #16: CONTINUED FROM PAGE “I am in debt for taxes due to losing half my income.”

“Simply frustrated over the lack of recognition of grooming as essential.

Concerned it may happen again. Financially I am lucky. But knowing the dogs actually need my services and being able to provide it has been difficult. I thought this was a bulletproof industry. People will always have pets.

People will rarely care for their pets coats and are happy to pay someone else to do it. But there is a bullet and the name on the bullet is “nonessential.” Because this can happen again.”

“I believe brick and mortar is not the way to go. Once the lease is up or it doesn’t sell beforehand, I’ll be going mobile. The landlord has been relentless.”

“I have to say none of the above. I honestly do what I do because I love dogs and what I do. The only thing that would force to close would be my health and even then I would try to find a way.”

“My business supplements my husband. It was a hit financially but not devastating. I am keeping curbside MO in place for the future.”

“I was book solid even before the government allowed us to work again.”

“I am at least glad being self-employed I had control.”

“Well this made it easy for me to downsize again.”

“I had some savings which I had to get into. I have a lease and the landlord offered no kindness or understanding. The EIDL grant didn’t help much. I feel so tired of worrying.”

“They had better not try a lock down again. We can work safely.”

“ThiseGroomer whole thing stinksCopyright of politics.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #17: If you are an employer of groomers and/or bathers did being an employer make management of your business more difficult or disadvantaged during the Covid-19 crisis, compared to being a one-person business instead. You may share comments.

36%

Yes.

64%

No.

Additional comments.. If other, please specify.

“I have separate vans so it was pretty easy.”

“The local shops were more challenged than larger stores.”

“Sure it is more difficult. I care about my employees. There is only so much I can do for the. It is challenging. If we cannot be open, we cannot.”

“I laid off my employees, that is worrying. Financially unemployment is being good for them. I am more concerned paying the overhead I am committed to financially, and not bringing in any money.”

“It is much more difficult. If I was working alone it would be easier.”

“We can operate so the PPP is helping at least.”

“I can reopen now but some of my laid off staff are not coming back. I cannot do all the demand. How many customers will I lose. Much harder on employers.”

“I am not going through this again. I am downsizing to me and a bather.”

“I am going out of business.”

“I will be putting my business up for sale.”

“Being an employer is more work than ever.”

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October / December 2020

Grooming Business Owner Survey #18: Assume the Covid-19 pandemic crisis is entirely over. Are you going to keep any practices in place, such as some forms of social distancing, mask-wearing, increased wiping and sterilizing of tools and work areas after every pet? Please share your thoughts and operational practices you may keep in place.

94%

Left comments.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“All of the frequent sanitizing will continue. I am mobile and will continue to no longer enter the homes of pet owners.”

“Which ones will I leave in place? Not sure, but likely plenty.”

“Not curbside. I find it is dangerous getting dogs out of cars on the busy street.”

“I will keep the social distancing for some time after not being required.”

“We don’t keep collars and leashes any more, I love that.”

“Masks while grooming we will keep.”

“I am not keeping any. We already sanitized between grooms very well. We do not like social distancing but follow it for the time being.”

“We will keep contact-free mobile operations place at the request of the pet owners.”

“Right now we do every dog to the tub immediately. We want to drop this when the time is right.”

“We will simply clean the work tables and tools between pets, everything new else will not be kept.”

“I will take down the protective shield first thing and social distancing but enhanced cleaning will forever stay.” eGroomer Journal

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #19: Most U.S. states make determinations of which trades are essential or not. If grooming was (at least at first) not considered essential, and you did not fully agree, how could the grooming industry come together and have more control in the decisionmaking process. For example, does your state have a strong statewide business or grooming association that you feel should get involved and work with your state government to have policies in place for now, and in the future should a similar crisis return? Please comment.

58%

Left comments.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“The California groomers association said grooming was not essential.

They didn’t ask me. They decided for us. That is not fair and they were wrong. If associations don’t survey their members first what good will that be?”

“We don’t have any associations here. Seems we should.”

“Time for grooming to have state licensing.”

“Florida has a new nonprofit association that seem to be helping.”

“It won’t matter here. Our governor doesn’t like small businesses.”

“I am very doubtful about most groomers coming together to cooperate with an association of them.”

“I am hopeful the New Jersey association.”

“Our governor ignored many letters written to her office. It won’t matter with her.”

“Groomers should never be indefinitely closed. We are not essential enough to not have to close a short period, but not more than a month.”

“I had no problem being considered non-essential.” eGroomer Journal

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #20: In some U.S. states early indications showed that mobile grooming was easier to be deemed essential or acceptable for operations with social distancing. Mobile is perhaps more readily adapted to social distancing, even 100% contact-free distancing between per owner and groomer. We have heard comments from some non-mobile grooming business owners intent on changing their businesses to mobile operations. Are you one of them?

12%

Yes.

88%

No.

Additional comments.. If other, please specify.

“I am already in the process of buying a van. I had about 250 customers for my shop and I think I can get up to 50% of them to go mobile with me.”

“Actually mobile was not allowed in my area until shops could reopen.”

“No I will not change but I am a one person shop and will take my chances since we are finally essential now.”

“I don’t want to go mobile, I love my shop and it works for me.”

“I am so excited about going mobile. I was an employee when Covid first hit and got a trailer for $7,000 and had customers in 2 weeks.”

“The very long harsh winters we have worries me about going mobile. For that reason alone I will keep a shop through thick and thin. But it is a great idea.”

“Well at first I thought about it with but with social distancing we are in business again and keeping them spotless. Nothing against mobile, I am just set in my ways. Mobile will grow for sure.”

“No I won’t go mobile, but one of my groomers quit and she now owns a mobile business doing super.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #21: If you are an employer of groomers, please answer this question. How would you describe the impact of the Covid-19 on your personnel management? You may indicate more than one answer below, and comment.

22%

Deeply impacted with extra paperwork and research with appropriate agencies.

21%

Moderately impacted with extra paperwork and research with appropriate agencies.

8%

FMLA duties increased.

42%

Unemployment-related duties increased.

57%

SBA EIDL (“grant”) or PPP duties increased.

21%

If other, please specify.

Additional comments: “More paperwork. Now about 30 hours a month.”

“I had to do a lot of loan paperwork, 50 to 60 hours.”

“Nothing really changed. We were allowed to stay open.”

“More paperwork and more time to complete paperwork.”

“We appreciate the PPP offer and gladly will do the paperwork.”

“Mostly time issues is all. Just part of it.”

“We’re committed to being a responsible employer. We take time away from our time off to do what must be done to keep the business going.” eGroomer Journal

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #22: If you are an employer of groomers, please answer this question. We often hear employers complain of the chronic shortage of skilled groomers and mention they might return to working alone as business owner/groomer. Have any complications of personnel management during the Covid-19 pandemic lead you to consider cutting back to a one-person business (no other grooming staff)?

34%

Yes.

66%

No.

Additional comments: “I did just that! Just me and a bather now.”

“I gave the option to staff to stop working during Covid but they wanted to work, so no problems.”

“I already have my shop for sale. I am going mobile.”

“I was forced to let go my groomers. They didn’t want to work. So I am automatically now a one person business.”

“Definitely had a cutback in staff but after 3 days of bathing and drying my dogs...NO WAY will I work without 1 assistant.”

“Me and a bather yes, not alone. No other groomers.”

“Working alone doesn’t create the income I need. I live in a state with super high cost of living. I own a home so I have a mortgage, and rents can be more than a mortgage too. So no cutback to working alone without moving out of state. That may happen though. Our state government doesn’t care about helping us the little people in business.”

“Because I have years of experience in grooming and paid off my home, I am letting go employees and going to work out of my house. Thank God.”

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #23: If you would please, share your vision of the “new” pet grooming industry following the Covid-19 pandemic.

27%

Left comments.

Additional comments. If other, please specify.

“There was nothing wrong with the “old” grooming industry.”

“More precautions but the prior ways overall will come back.”

“I think we will beat the odds and survive any recession of the shutdown and just clean more.”

“I think we may groom a little less dogs to maintain the safety.”

“To me I now see a mask as imperative forever.”

“I think we will be a stronger industry.”

“I can see us being licensed with proper education on chemicals, sanitation and business smarts, no more illegal 1099s...a lot of education has been missing...we need to evolve as a profession.”

“I believe that true state licensing will not be far off with standardization across the board. The fight that groomers put up will have the government taking a good look at the industry and see that we have been flying under the radar.”

“I see more and more mobile groomers.”

“We were headed for more 1 person businesses and mobiles and now more than ever.”

“I feel (hope) that than deem businesses essential or not, it will come down to how businesses operate and can be “safe” for the general public. Therefore groomers that operate small (1 pet at a time) will become the norm, and large businesses will restructure to follow similar models.” eGroomer Journal www.egroomer.com Subscribe Free PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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Grooming Business Owner Survey #23: CONTINUED FROM PAGE

“As long as you act responsibly and run a clean safe environment, at least in my salon, I don’t see why it needs to change.”

“I want to retain curbside keeping the inside clean from what owners can bring in.”

“I think that our industry may attract even fewer new people. Many in the public have commented that they would steer away from entering nonessential jobs. But I also think that in general, the public may have found new respect for our skill set, after this shutdown. Less dogs, higher prices and a slower pace is the new norm.”

“There will always be viruses. I would hope we learn a lesson from this one and you cannot keep shutting down and hope it goes away. Not happening.

Our bodies were made to adapt.”

“Stronger.”

“Like it or not it is time for state licensing and common standards of operation.”

“I hope to see a stronger, more unified industry. We need a collective and authoritative voice. Which would mean we might have some say in decisions that affect us. My heart breaks for my regulars who now need the “Covid Special” a 7 blade.”

“I don’t know what will happen.”

“I think what groomers are doing now will become the norm.”

“I think we will do less dogs but be a stronger industry.”

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Foreword Discussions are primarily our comments on the survey results. Some statistics stated in the Discussions come from short side surveys we conducted outside of the main online surveys.

Survey Discussions appear in the order of the list in the right column. Groomer comments are their words, the groomers that took surveys and were given the right to make related comments. All of these comments are solely theirs and do not necessarily represent our viewpoints or those of our sponsors.

About the Surveys The surveys for grooming employees and business owners were available for approximately 4 months online at PetGroomer.com during Spring/Summer 2020. We also sent related short surveys on specific subjects by invitation to groomers on Grooming Business in a Box® mailing lists. When you read the results here in Discussions and we mention “side surveys” we are referring to the short surveys on additional topics. Responses came from the 48 U.S. states and a few foreign countries. eGroomer Journal

Financial Impact Operational Formats Personnel Management Customer Demand Summary of Changes Groomer Comments

Approximately 7,200 surveys were completed in total. All surveys were taken anonymously and no private information was asked or recorded. No personal health questions were asked.

The average surveyed groomer completed 89% of the survey questions.

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Financial Impact Few members of the grooming industry escaped any financial hardship from the Covid-19 Pandemic during the survey period. Some more than others, and some greatly affected.

Surveys indicated employed groomers with personal savings dipped into them and said they were fine. We cannot conclude they were not impacted because now they have less savings than prior the pandemic lock down.

About 28% of surveyed employees endured minimal to modest financial disruption because their employers applied for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) assistance. We also heard of stories where business owners came to the rescue and used business savings to help their employees financially.

Almost 10% of surveyed employees said grooming went on as normal because there were no stay-at-home or lockdowns in their region. Business was a little slower but not enough for any to say they were negatively affected to the point of concern.

15% said they would have been severely affected and unable to pay mortgages or rent.

About 17% endured financial hardship.

They did get behind in various payments, and required assistance from others, including family and friends.

About 3% found some additional nongrooming work in essential-rated businesses to help.

Self-employed groomers, with or without, employees faced financial disruptions but not evenly. About 11% did not get a break from commercial landlords and past due rent accumulated on their shops.

Because most areas quickly or reasonably resumed mobile grooming, most mobile groomers with auto financing were able to maintain payments. However, 2% indicated mobile grooming was not deemed essential in their areas until commercial located groomers were also deemed essential.

Ironically, pet ownership increased modestly to significantly depending upon Over 41% of surveyed employees were U.S. region and potentially the grooming furloughed and laid off. Unemployment industry will enjoy more demand for assistance including bonus add-on ungrooming than ever before. Various pubemployment actually boosted normal lications are estimating 5% to 8% earnings.

Without the assistance some growth in 2021 grooming sales income.

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Operational Changes The Covid-19 Pandemic dramatically changed the grooming industry. There are two categories of changes: 1. Operational Format

2. Internal Operations We will start with operational formats.

In a recent side survey conducted during October 2020 by Grooming Business in a Box® staff, (after the main survey had closed), over 21% of grooming business owners said they knew of a local grooming business that closed or did not resume operations if they had been closed by order of not being an essential service provider. A surprising 33% said they knew of two or more business closures.

Here is where things get sketchier. How many of these closures were permanent? How many of these closures were shops closing but their owners were instead changing their operation format?

Our main survey and the side surveys indicate that at least 300 commercial shops were closed with their owners’ intent to “go mobile.”

trol of earnings. Twenty-four (24) percent expressed they are strongly moving toward their self-employment goals this year. The most popular operational formats were: 1. One person shop (44%).

2. Shop with staff (31%).

3. Mobile grooming (11%).

Take note! The group indicating mobile grooming format comprised 85% of the above-mentioned 24% who expressed they are highly-motivated to make the change in 2020. No wonder our sales of Used Mobile Grooming Vehicles in the PetGroomer.com Classifieds has been wild at times, and busy even during the lockdown or stay-at-home peak of 2020.

Internal Operations have changed for every grooming operation. These changes include sanitation, payment for service options, curbside offers and contact-free systems even among homebased groomers and mobile groomers let alone commercial locations. Virtually We discovered a strong uptick in the every grooming vendor was impacted in number of grooming employees that exthe United States. Based on survey repressed an interest in self-employment sults more groomers than ever will conwith most of them wanting more control tinue to use masks even when not manin choosing whether to work or not durdated, and more sterilization is the new eGroomer Journal and to feelCopyright 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved 83 ing a pandemic, more©in connorm.

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Personnel Management Anyone with some seasoning of experience in the grooming industry knows that finding adequate skilled groomers and keeping them employed is up for a challenge. Is the Covid-19 Pandemic changing the personnel challenges?

Yes and no, of course.

Estimates of 2,000 to 3,000 U.S. grooming businesses closed or closing are somewhat matched with about the same amount of new grooming businesses opened or opening.

One of the key issues for 7% of grooming business owners surveyed was downsizing. In fact, some even said they were happy to have another excuse (pandemic) to downsize with the most popular downsizing goal being 1 groomer/owner and 1 bather.

In general, employees are still in need as much as ever. That’s our prediction.

In fact, a growing number of grooming employees said converting to selfemployment would not include hiring staff.

ing up and sanitation.

Several owners we worked with recently were unaware of the American Disability Act. Employees have the right to not wear masks due to overriding health conditions when properly accompanied by medical documentation. One employer had fired such an employee and is now facing a wrongful termination suit.

The owner feared customer retaliation when they saw an employee without mask, and instead of explaining the employee’s rights, she terminated.

While more than 44% of groomers are considering wearing masks continuously in the future even when not mandated, they should know that employees indicated over 55% of employees say they will refuse to wear masks if not legally required.

Over 61% of employers in independently owned grooming businesses indicated they are not adequately informed about employment law and resources.

More important nearly as many do not publish and provide employee handbooks which should detail nongrooming procedures such as social distancing, sanitation and mask requirements and exceptions. It is time for change here like never before.

The complicated issues are likely to remain with managing personnel. Some employers have found complications in the need for more enforcement of mandates grooming business owners must 84 such as social distancing, Copyright © 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved meet, maskPetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Customer Demand The grooming industry clearly showed how amazingly adaptive it was to get back to work and serve pets and owners. The biggest insult, in our viewpoint, was how the issue of “essential” was applied early on, and much later for some.

To be clear we are not stating it was all one way or another. Indeed there were states that minimized the issue and the lockdowns, and did they really fare worse as a result? Nope.

Was it ineptness, political or simply a serious folly that many groomers experienced quite extensive closures with questionable backup reasoning. We will let everyone figure that out for themselves and allow their opinions.

The lockdowns and essential issues deeply impacted customer relations for many groomers. In a side survey over 60% of grooming business owners said that their clientele contacting them were not in agreement with pet grooming assigned non-essential status. Further 72% reported client confusion from grooming being allowed in some stores but not to grooming only vendors.

elsewhere, and hopefully return when their businesses could or would re-open.

Did their clientele come back? In a side survey conducted shortly after we closed the main survey we asked 100 groomers what has been their experience.

Fortunately, 81% said the large majority of their clientele had returned and 44% of their clientele had gone to another groomer while they were not in operation. That’s good new for customer relations and something perhaps to be proud of, obviously well-earned.

By the way, 77% of these business owners said they did not charge extra for dematting their regular clientele upon their return. It was an expression of gratitude. Some had to be stripped or shaved because it wouldn’t have been humane to demat coats too far gone.

Customers have faced inconveniences too. Some groomers went out business.

Estimates range from 2,000 to 4,000 of businesses. At GroomerTALK℠ members report businesses that closed or didn’t reopen and yet seeing new businesses opening, most often new mobile operations.

In areas where this confusion was especially active over 78% of grooming business owners said they faced having to realize that their regular clientele were Copyright © 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved going eGroomer to haveJournal to use grooming services PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Summary of Changes Boom in Mobile Grooming Awareness Nationwide media attention for restricted availability of grooming services and eventually essential status created significant public awareness for pet grooming.

Leading the way were contact-free mobile grooming services often allowed to resume operations early on while commercial shops remained closed until curbside and essential issues were resolved.

New and Closed Grooming Businesses Unofficial estimates range from 2,000 to 4,000 grooming businesses have closed business in the U.S. There is evidence from our surveys of business owners closing businesses for various reasons. Some closed staffed businesses to either retire earlier than expected and others resizing to one-person businesses. On the flipside there is evidence of new businesses, especially mobile. With new demand projected from high adoption rates of dogs during the 2020 lockdowns logically we could see annual sales for grooming industry increase by 5% to 7%.

Future of Essential Grooming is Uncertain Should we feel confident that any future calls for lockdowns won’t close some or all grooming businesses? Only 11% of commercial grooming business owners felt that essential status meant they will be likely to be able to operate during lockdowns.

Spokespersons for the Industry Today, who do you think are the spokespersons for the grooming industry? Surveyed groomers indicated the industry needs them, but who will it be? With little to say about the essential nature of grooming, groomers feel someone must represent their interests in any regulation of the industry.

Employee Work Rights During Pandemics The confusion of the early pandemic for both employers and employees exposed a new issue. What are the rights of employees to choose not to work for personal safety without losing jobs. Our employee survey showed their confusion and questions that still may not be answered.

Employed to Self-Employed Since 1998 PetGroomer.com has done annual industry surveys. In 2020 striving through the pandemic a record number of groomers said that eventually being selfemployed appeals to them, and 24% veryInc.motivated and Subscribe working on it now.

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Additional Commentary “I don’t think we should have to work during a pandemic. I lost my job after grooming became essential and I didn’t want to work again. My employer asked how much more time off I needed. I don’t know when the pandemic ends. When it is over. People should not have to work during a pandemic but we need more government support beyond unemployment.”

”I barely get more than minimum wage while putting myself in harm’s way just leaving my house to work.”

”I felt sorry for my employer. She took good care of us until we could return to work. We were closed almost 3 months and the landlord demanded rent on time.

“I was forced to close while other businesses selling pet food as well as grooming could stay open.

I lost $21,000 income from grooming.

I had to layoff employees. I am glad they got unemployment and more.

What about us business owners? Sure I can get a SBA loan but now I owe thousands which will take years to payoff. All because I didn’t sell pet food! Outrageous! I could have done better as an employee. Why not sell the business?” ”We all lost our jobs. We got some severance which was nice and not required. The owner did not want to use up her retirement income at 62 years old. I get it. But this has been terribly hard as unemployment will end. I hope more jobs are out there soon. Not so many right now.”

I helped her apply for an EIDL emergency grant she got $4,000. That ”No one should decide for us if groomhelped with a month’s rent and utiliing is essential or not. Not a vet, not a ties. She got the additional loan but doctor, not anyone in grooming. Tell doesn’t know if she will ever make up us what we need to do like sanitation the sales to pay it off. We may lose and masks but don’t let people withour jobs even with the great PPP asout any pet care background tell us sistance.” eGroomer Journal Copyright © 2011 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved what is essential. We are pet pros.”87 PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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October / December 2020

SURVEY DISCUSSIONS

Additional Commentary “I had to close my business after 2 months with no opening in sight. I could not get the EIDL help more than $1,000. I had just gotten my new business open and suddenly had to close doors. I had invested thousands. The only good thing was I was on just a one year lease. I still owe the lease and just may go bankrupt.”

“I felt guided to be a mobile groomer after 3 years as a shop employee. I just got my van. At first I was dumbfounded why is this happening to me?

But in a couple weeks it was OK to do mobile. My phone was ringing off the hook within days and I think I will have a full clientele very soon, much faster than had the pandemic not happened.

You just never know but I feel bad for groomers that rent shops and cannot operate.”

“Thank god for mobile grooming both for the pets and their owners.“ 88

“I have a doctor’s order that I not wear a mask due to asthma and breathing passage issues. I tested negative and went back to work. I get tested once a month. But some of the public are so rude they don’t even ask but tell me I am killing people.”

“I have a doctor’s order that I not wear a mask due to asthma and breathing passage issues. I tested negative and went back to work. I get tested once a month. But some of the public are so rude they don’t even ask but tell me I am killing people. So I cannot be let go from my grooming job for such reasons. What a life!”

“I am furious if we ever have to have local officials or government tell us what is essential or not. I hold the same line with groomers telling other groomers what is essential. As we have seen with extensive but practical precautions there was no need for the extended lock down and the financial harm of their opinions. Never again.”

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Northern Tails Sharpening, Inc. You Now Have a Better Choice!

Specializing in Animal Care Tools

Mail-in Prices Steel Blades

$7.00

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$6.00

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Clipper Repair ● Veterinarian Equipment ● Beauty Shears We are an Andis & Furzone Regional Distributor and Repair Center Jeff is a Master Sharpener and Certified Pet Groomer with over 35 years experience. He knows how your tools should perform. He won’t sharpen worn out tools which could harm animals. His office will call you if any of your tools look bad. Long-time member of NDGAA, IPG and the BBB. Please call or visit our website for mailing information. http://www.northerntails.com/

(479) 498-2367 Russellville, Arkansas

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90

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October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

What is the National Beauty Tools Sharpeners Guild (NBTSG)

By Jeff Andrews, Northern Tails Sharpening The National Beauty Tools Sharpeners

ing abilities. The guild also provides re-

Guild (NBTSG) was started years ago as

sources assisting certified sharpeners

an industry trade

with support for op-

group established to

timum business

advance the

practices, training

knowledge and skills

and the advance-

of beauty and groom-

ment of the sharp-

ing tool sharpeners.

ening industry.

The organization certifies sharpeners of

Seminars are held in different areas of

shears, scissors, thinning shears and clipper blades in order to establish a fair and

the country allowing all sharpeners to test and hone their (Continued on page 91)

unbiased evaluation of their sharpenJeff Andrews is "One of America's Favorite Sharpeners." Along with his years of grooming experience in two of his own shops, he is a "World Class Sharpener" that can sharpen all grooming equipment to better than new condition. Jeff is an author and pioneer of many maintenance and grooming video's and articles. They are for groomers who want to make their equipment last longer and save money on their sharpening costs. These videos and articles are on his website free to download and keep for reference. www.northerntails.com eGroomer Journal www.egroomer.com Subscribe Free PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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PetGroomer.com Magazine eGroomer Journal January / March 2014 (Continued from page 90)

abilities.

91

October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

91

proved procedures sharpeners may develop bad techniques which lead to poor sharpening.

Many sharpeners promote themselves as “factory trained,” but what does that mean? To most people it likely means the sharpener was trained in every aspect of the sharpener’s job, and the company deemed them an “expert” with their products and services.

I have been factory trained by eight different companies. The factory invites you to their technical department, or they send a factory representative to your shop. They show you the procedures to maintain their products. For example, they showed how to sharpen a shear and a blade. When they are sure you understand the procedures, and can acceptably observe you performing the procedures, they give you their certification. Nothing else.

Perhaps it would be otherwise if the factory checked back with the sharpeners ensuring they are still restoring

items to factory standards. But they don’t.

Factory-trained sharpeners may be sharpening incorrectly because no one checks up on after initial certification from the factories. In fact there is no continuing education. Factories have never checked up on me or even called me about my training and present status.

Enter the NBTSG Why is the NBTSG different? To begin with they promote continuous improvement with regular training and several levels of certification. They don’t take

Is being certified by a factory

sharpening lightly. They offer the train-

enough? NO!

ing to get a sharpener to a “Master Lev-

Even after being shown factory ap-

el” and beyond. It is simply up to the

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(Continued on page 92)

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92

October / December 2020

You can feel very confident when you

(Continued from page 91)

sharpener to continue training and test-

give your tools to them sharpening.

ing.

They will not destroy your tools like so

The NBTSG holds seminars and train-

many have done to you in the past.

ing all over the country to its members

The NBTSG has several levels of certifi-

and prospective members.

cation. The first level is “Journeyman.” It

Certification testing is not easy. You have to bring tools back to factory

means a passing score in sharpening shears or clipper blades.

standards within a time limit. Shears or

The next level is “Certified.” This means

blades used for certification testing are

a passing score in sharpening and re-

bent, scratched, out of alignment and

pair of shears or clipper blades.

dull. The insides of blades are messed

up too.

The “Master” level represents a superior score was accomplished in sharpening

Taking these tests you have to figure out what the problems are, and bring shears or blades back to the same condition it was when it was manufactured.

and repair for shears or clipper blades.

The top level is “Grand Master” when the sharpener obtained a superior score to become a “Master” in both shears and clipper blades.

So why am I bringing up the fact that the NBTSG exists? Any sharpener that becomes a member, takes the training and gets certified is not only held to a high standard, but regularly encour-

The next time someone comes into your shop and asks if they can sharpen your tools, think twice. Remember this article and what you learned about the NBTSG.

aged to maintain their high standards.

(Continued on page 93)

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October / December 2020

Now you have information about the

good sharpeners out there who don’t

standards of training and certification.

belong to the NBTSG. However I would

Protect your investment in your expen-

trust NBTSG members to sharpen my

sive tools.

tools any day of the week.

I would trust a sharpener who has un-

Sharpeners that rely on their past

dergone continuous improvement train-

“factory trained” designation and have

ing and testing and can prove it with

no recent continuing education are a

documentation. Are you sure being fac-

cause of concern. If they don’t do a

tory- trained is adequate for you.

good job your tools may pay the price.

I am not advocating that you should on-

Ask about their training status. You

ly use NBTSG sharpeners. There are

have the right to protect your tools. You

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99 94

October April // June December 2019 2020

How Many Dogs Should You Groom a Day?

By Melissa Verplank of Learn2GroomDogs.com Classic Article Reprint

I often say there are shades of gray in pet grooming. How many dogs a day you should groom is one of the BIG gray areas! The number will be different for everybody. Some people feel overwhelmed grooming even three dogs in a full day. Other people can do 16 while barely breaking a sweat. Here are just a handful of the scenarios affecting the number of dogs in a day.

• Level of grooming experience • Work space setup • Equipment

• Salon location • Salon type • Size of salon/mobile setup • Working solo or with assistance

• Personal motivation • Your personality • Financial need I'm sure you could add a few more to this list!

Typically, when someone first graduates from grooming school or is new to the industry, productivity is not high on their skill list. Rather, their focus is on thoroughness, quality, and safety.

New groomers will improve their speed as they develop skills and confidence.

They need experience. They need coaching. They need guidance to create an effective grooming system. The system allows thoroughness while enhancing the quality of their work and the pace in which they do it.

• Pet size

If you're a seasoned pet stylist, you've learned many of the tricks that allow • Type of grooms - low maintenance, you to be efficient.

You've learned how bath styles 94 and brush, show trim Copyright © 2013 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved Subscribe www.egroomer.com PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com Subscribe Free

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PetGroomer.com PetGroomer.com Magazine Magazine eGroomer Journal January / March 2014

to quickly assess a pet and easily determine its grooming needs. You are thorough. You work safely. You have a strong base of repeat customers.

Over the years I've seen beginners struggle to get through three dogs. I've seen highly efficient, seasoned stylists get through 16 or more dogs in the single day and still have the time and energy to have a little "me time" that evening. Where do you fall on the scale? Where would you like to be?

Being able to work quickly and skillfully can also be impacted by the layout of your work space. Are you set up for maximum efficiency? A bad layout will add unnecessary footsteps to your day and waste your time and energy.

Your equipment, tools, and products will also help or hurt you. Many products will enhance your speed and the quality of your final product. Do you have access to high-quality, timesaving, products and tools? When used correctly, they are well worth the investment and can help you groom more pets efficiently.

If you are a solo stylist either in your own salon or mobile setting, 6 to 8 dogs will likely be your maximum. In

95 62

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October January / December / March 2018 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

addition to grooming pets, independent business owners have a wide range of duties and responsibilities. They are the receptionist, the bookkeeper, the marketer, the janitor, and the record keeper - along with every other task it takes to run a successful business. If you are a mobile stylist, you also have driving and van maintenance added to your list of responsibilities.

Efficiency comes into play when pet grooming establishments start building a team. You cannot build a successful business or team with inefficient team members. Inefficient teams will not be able to groom as many pets as their efficient counterparts. Financial need affects dog numbers. To get a decent paycheck, everyone needs to pull their weight. If you are hired onto a team or work with an assistant, you will have quotas to meet. Some quotas are determined by dog numbers. Other businesses use financial sales volume.

Both help determine how many dogs are groomed each day.

Typically, once you start working with others, dog volume increases. In most salons, a team of people working together will be expected to do a minimum of eight dogs a day or more.

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The Dog Spa Academy Norwood, New Jersey NASH APPROVED Stacey Herbert, owner, is a: • • • • •

Nash Academy Graduate Professional groomer with over 25 years of experience Show Groomer Certified Grooming Instructor Online Course Instructor for Nash Academy and Dog Spa Academy

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When you're working within a team, everybody has a specialty. Each person can focus on what they do best, whether it's customer service, bathing and drying, or pet trimming and styling. If you have an assistant doing the bathing and drying for you, the number of pets might jump from 6-8 to 12-14.

Let's face it - bathing and drying dogs takes time! If a shop has a good bather/prepper, you can easily groom more pets in a day.

The type of trim combined with the sizes of dogs being done will make a huge difference in how many pets can be done each day. A #7F All on a six-week regular Shih Tzu is much different from a longer guard comb trim with stylized scissored legs. What happens if you increase the size of the dog? Larger dogs simply take much more time. To me, a Doodle is the equivalent of two or three smaller dogs, depending on the type of haircut it is getting.

For many pet professionals, WHY you groom pets will also influence how many dogs you groom in a day. One of the amazing things about our industry is we all love dogs. There are those who really enjoy taking their time with the grooming process and will groom fewer

97

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October / December 2020 PetGroomer.com Publications

pets. There are those who will try to help as many pets as they can in a single day. Others enjoy the creativity.

Some enjoy the flexibility the career offers while others are motivated by the career opportunities. There are also groomers that simply enjoy earning a living by doing something they love.

How many dogs should you groom each day? There are lots of gray areas so there is no right answer. Whatever your motivation, no matter how many dogs you groom each day, the most important thing should always be the health and safety of the pets entrusted to you. ▀ Melissa Verplank is a Certified Master Stylist with over 30 years experience in the professional pet grooming industry. In 2009, she operated three pet-related companies, a luxury boarding facility called hiskers Resort & Pet Spa and two companies that are involved with educating the professional pet groomer and stylist; The Paragon School of Pet Grooming, Inc. and White Dog Enterprises, Inc as well as her products and services web site MelissaVerplank.com. In 2010 Melissa expanded her product line, with training to help business owners to “grow your own groomers” and she premiered Learn2GroomDogs.com, an extensive, unique streaming video web site for groomers.

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January / March 2014 103 is not commonly known relates toPetGroomer.com It’seGroomer commonly Journal known that all brands of A-5 blades fit any brand of A-5 clippers. What blade sizes. Most Publications brands of A-5 blades have similar sizes, but how they perform varies. Manufacturers must use design differences in order to avoid patent and copyright infringement. The most common difference between brands is the blade thickness. Similar manufacturer sizes may cut at different heights. You could be in for a surprise if you change brands of the same size blade only to discover the cut is different! For your convenience Jeff at Northern Tails Sharpening prepared the multiple manufacturer reference charts below for blades and snap-ons. Be sure to check Jeff’s web site at www.northerntails.com for more helpful articles, videos and descriptions of his mail-in services. ♦

Clipper Blade Cutting Heights by Manufacturer BLADE SIZE

BLADE CUT

MASTER GRM.TOOLS

LAUBE

WAHL

KLEAN CUT

OSTER

ANDIS

#

Inches

MM

MM

MM

MM

MM

MM

50

1/125

0.2

0.2

0.5

0.2

0.2

0.2

40

1/100

0.3

0.3

0.6

0.1

0.3

0.3

35

3/50

—

—

—

—

—

0.4

30

1/50

0.5

0.5

0.8

0.2

0.5

0.5

15

3/64

1.2

1.0

1.3

1.0

1.2

1.2

10

1/16

1.6

1.5

1.8

1.5/1.6

1.0

1.5

10W

3/32

2.4

—

—

—

—

—

9

5/64

2.0

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.0/2.0

2.0

8.5

7/64

2.8

2.8

—

—

2.0

2.8

7

1/8

3.2

3.2

4.0

3.2

3.0

3.2

5

1/4

6.4

6.4

6.0

6.3

6.0

6.3

4

3/8

9.5

9.6

8.0

9.5

9.0

9.5

3

1/2

12.7

13.0

10.0

12.0

13.0

12.0

5/8HT

5/8

15.9

16.0

—

—

—

16.0

3/4HT

3/4

—

—

—

—

—

19.0

T-84

3/16

—

—

—

—

—

2.4

Snap-On Comb Sizes & Cut Lengths by Manufacturer COMB SIZE

LAUBE SELF ADJ & X-LARGE

WAHL STAINLESS STEEL

MDC ROMANI

OSTER UNIVERSAL

MILLERS FORGE

#

Inches

MM

MM

MM

MM

1/16

1/16

1/8

1/8

1/4

1/4

1/2

3/4

9/16

1/2 3/4

3/4 0

7/8

5/8

5/8

1

5/8

1/2

1/2

1

5/8

1 1/4

1 1/4 1 1/2

1/2

2

3/8

3

5/16

4

3/16

3/8

3/8

7/16

1/2

3/8

3/8

5/16

5/16

1/4

3/16

5

1/16

1/8

1/16

A

1

3/4

B

1 1/4

C

1 1/2

PetGroomer.com Magazine www.petgroomermagazine.com

D

1 3/4

E

2

eGroomer Journal 1 5/8Subscribe Free S www.egroomer.com

7/8 1

Charts courtesy of Northern Tails Sharpening 251-232-5353 www.northerntails.com

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