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The creators of PetGroomer.com were owners of one of the world's largest grooming salons established in 1961. In 1989 they become one of the first consultation firms for groomers. Others have followed and today there several more consultants devoted to helping groomers and business owners. They play an important role in an industry working for more professional recognition.

It's been our experience as consultants since 1989 that many career seekers and groomers don't understand the advantages of using a consultant. Here are some reasons to consider using a consultant:

Rapid change: After many decades with little change the 1990's ushered in major changes in the grooming industry. Predictions of pet superstores with grooming would have gotten you chuckles less than a decade before. Mobile grooming was a growing fire and look how it burns today. Vocational licensing is probably going to become a reality before 2010 with legislation pending in 2 states for 2007. Such licensing will have a dramatic impact on pet grooming and affect how everyone manages their grooming business, and the nature of grooming schools and their curriculums is certainly going to be affected. In fact, the demand for grooming schools could soar. Professional consultants understand the nature of change in their industry and the changes that lie ahead. Business owners often don't have the same number of sources of up-to-the-minute information. Keep in mind that the grooming has only 1 major trade magazine and a very few major web sites to disperse information. Consultants can help fill the information gap.

Financial advantages: The owners of PetGroomer.com have been grooming management consultants for over 16 years. In that time millions of dollars were saved for consultation. Some were going to sign a major lease in a building that would require $50,000 in improvements when another similar space with similar advantages needed only $5,000 in improvements. In fact, lease complications amount to a great deal of those millions saved. Other were shown ways to boost quality and reduce payroll without cutting wage levels. Others were shown a way to expand their business with new services, such as consultants like Golden Paws which has an opportunity to expand a grooming business into a grooming school. With the help of a consultant you can usually be in business earning income weeks if not months faster than if you go it alone. The cost of consultants is often temporary, but the financial advantages in savings or boosting sales income can be longstanding.

Breadth of experience: Learning how to open or expand a grooming business by trial and error can be very costly, or delay beneficial returns. Circumvent trial and error using professional consultants who have previously succeeded and gone where you want to go, it only makes sense.

Specific experience: Grooming is a very specific industry. There are books in the PetGroomer.com Bookstore and there are seminar opportunities at industry events. There are no business schools dedicated to the "business side" of Information. What does this mean? You have to look for individuals to assist you that have the specific experience you need. Consultants like Grooming Business in a Box®, John Stazko or Mitzi Parrish of Golden Paws are few and far between and our industry is fortunate to have them.
Potential hazards: All too often consultants greet new customers that already entered pet grooming without the assistance professional consultant. Too many of these customers relied on the advice of skilled pet groomers only to find their skill was in grooming, not business management. Some relied on a relative who had no background with the pet industry. We can vouch for at least 100 consultation clients that listened only to relatives and groomer employees and the result was costly mistakes. You are making a serious investment in your business and career, use a professional consultant. A good consultant will listen to your ideas and review your plans and immediately list the potential hazards and offer ways to eliminate them. The role of a professional consultant is to work for your success, never to introduce hazards that arise from a lack of knowledge about your venture.

Independent perspective: All business decisions such as entering the grooming industry, resolving operational problems like commissions and salaries, expanding into a school or opening a second location have a “political” side to them. They all affect organizational and power relationships within a business. It is helpful to have a perspective from outside the internal politics of a business for making significant decisions that affect the health and future of an enterprise. Business consulting provides perspective from other organizations who may have solved the problems you are experiencing.

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