Business School: #6. THINK Like a Businessperson

Businesspeople READ, hobbyists look for PICTURES. So you decide…

The best way to make sure you go out of business as a mobile pet groomer is to FOLLOW THE CROWD. Instead, here’s an idea, make smart business decisions!

The single most common BAD decision mobile groomers make is the salon they purchase. Let me rephrase that, it’s the salon they finance, stay up-side-down with, go out of business with, and can’t sell. Take a quick look at how many new, low-mileage vans there are on the market and you can see just how many hobbyists think they are businesspeople. They even try to sell their own “graphics” on their vans because they were duped into lumping them in with the van loan—as if that adds value.

GT is different; we encourage our customers to start their business without obscene trailer or van payments. Some grooming van companies actually try to sell you $100,000 units using used car salesman language like “everyone else is doing it!” YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THAT!

REALITY CHECK TIME. Smart mobile groomers can profit 100K per year but hobbyists go out of business. Smart mobile groomers realize that they will be averaging around $65 per grooming stop—pretty good money but not if you are paying close to 2 grand per month just for your salon. One grooming van company even tries to get you to purchase a 90K van because it’s a diesel that gets “good” mileage. Keep in mind that the engineering involved with that particular van requires you to idol your engine all day! This kind of language is rarely questioned. Idling your engine alters the REAL mileage, ruins the life of your engine, and makes your salon depreciate much more rapidly.

Conversion companies frequently COUNT ON GROOMER IGNORANCE to sell you their products. How else do you think they sell sump pumps (they call them bathers) for $500 that you can purchase for yourself for about $90? The examples are ENDLESS, and it is this same philosophy that saddles groomers into THINKING they need to spend 80-100K for a grooming salon when they DON’T.

No, you shouldn’t just look for the cheapest salons because those tend to be garbage. Every business student learns a basic rule, “Companies can be fast, good, or cheap; never all three.” Therefore, cheap is never the best choice. GT isn’t the cheapest, but we are good—actually our quality is unmatched. GT’s price is FAIR and our fairness allows you to use your capital to invest in other important business expenses, like advertising, insurance, supplies, and the like.

Something mobile groomers excel in is deceiving themselves into thinking that BIGGER IS BETTER. The opposite is true. I’ve seen mobile groomers actually get stuck in parking lots because their rigs are so huge. I’m talking RVs, double axle trailers, gooseneck trailers, and colossus behemoths. It makes no sense, and the only other people on the planet who thinks It’s a good idea to be driving those things for BUSINESS are other duped groomers. Business is about EFFICIENCY, EASE, and PROFIT. Pulling a 3,000 or 7,000 pound trailer around for business is ridiculous, but some mobile groomers actually do it. They are the kinds that then go to the on-line “social sites” and complain about NOT making any money. Meanwhile, there is probably a GT customer zooming around the same city, making quick and easy stops for $65 a pop about 7 or 8 times every day. Yes, the GT groomer is making money, and they ARE NOT getting stuck in parking lots. They are able to drive, park, turn, and groom quickly and comfortably.

The GT design allows for EASY grooming, GREAT comfort, QUICK trailer cleaning, BEST equipment, LOW payments, and HIGH profits. Not to mention GT’s excellent customer care!

Some groomers actually call us and ask us, “Where is the toilet?” YES, some groomers believe the key to success is having a toilet in your grooming salon. There are also groomers who think the key to success is having a flat screen TV, a coffee maker, a fridge, and other irrelevant-to-business items. If you’re already a millionaire, then go ahead and splurge; but you sure aren’t going to BECOME a millionaire if you start your business with this mindset.

The “bigger is better” phenomenon is absolutely crazy. There is one grooming trailer company (horrible quality) that converts a 12-foot long trailer. The GT is 8 feet long (see other articles on how this is best) and has 5 feet of floor space from the tub to the front cabinets. The competitor’s trailer, although 4 feet longer, only has 6 feet of floor space from the tub to the cabinets. Yes, they had to add 50% of length to the trailer to gain 20% of floor space—ONLY ONE FOOT! The sacrifice is huge because gaining that ONE FOOT of space forces you to have an AC unit with only a quarter of BTUs per cubic foot as the GT. You are also forced to have 2 axles (adding weight has a funny way of burdening the business person) a lower quality trailer shell, cheaper wheels, cheaper equipment, cheaper cabinets, cheaper everything. And yes, in this case, cheap equals CHEAP. But hey, bigger is better in the mind of the hobbyist.

Conclusion. BEFORE going into business, learn to THINK like a businessperson. Realize that mobile grooming is a business—not a hobby. Your salon should be well built, fairly priced, and designed in a way to keep you comfortable and happy. Also, don’t saddle yourself with obscene payments for a salon. One UNsuccessful groomer on a grooming “social site” was lecturing the other forum members about the nature of grooming. She argued that groomers MUST have a MERCEDES sprinter van so potential customers will think she’s “a good groomer.” Today, she’s going out of business. Yes, I saw that coming a year ago. Her philosophy is rampant, and the on-line “social sites” offer no help or attention to the BUSINESS of mobile grooming. So, educate yourself, read everything you can, and study what makes groomers successful. The great thing about mobile pet grooming is that it IS such an easy business to start. Don’t mess it up by thinking like everybody else.