fancyfeathers

We were thinking of doing a deal for winter similar to that and offer money off grooming in may june july. I have been trying to coach them into a longer clip in winter. I think most of our regulars will keep coming in. We will be in the yellow pages by then so hopefully that will get us through

Six dogs gets us through a day. As long as I get $200 in the bank a day, mortgage and shop rent plus bills related to home are paid. the rest goes towards shop bills. Im scared of winter not sure how we get through that, but groomers around me tell me not to worry. But as long as we can get through to next september we will be laughing as we will get our dog washer in regularly and be able to take more bookings, plus hopefully another groomer. At the moment it is just me with my brother coming in once in a while when we have the demand for it. We do have a retail side as well which supplements a small bit. Selling science diet, huge range of dog clothing and bling, collars, leads, NRL jerseys for dogs, dog bags, things you can only get on the net. Hopefully in winter the jackets will help keep the money coming. Last year I spent all weekends sitting outside woolworths supermarkets around canberra selling our stuff before we opened a shop so can see I will probably have to do that again.

Definitely a good choice to do the course first. We decided to do open a salon, then signed on for the course. Shop opened after the course but it was hard yakka. Fortuneately it turned out that I "have it" but would have been a huge mistake if it proved that I didnt. Even though it has worked out well it is really hard work physically and mentally. There were days when I just broke down and cried my eyes out. Fortunately my sister was there each time this happened and helped get me through it and to finish the groom, but boy there were days when I said, what the hell was I thinking. Started off doing only 2 dogs a day now can do 6 on my own from wash to clip. Most days I work on my own, and it is really hard. I feel like a truck has hit me over night when I wake up. I dont know your age, but I started this at 42 after 20 years in office jobs sitting on my arse all day. six months later my body is still learning to cope. I am managing quite well now, but there are still days where I want to curl up in a corner and sleep for days. Its a big move. Prepare for it as much as you can. You cant have a sick day, you just have to go in and do it or the bills dont get paid. I lost my dog the week before christmas to cancer and we were grooming 9 dogs a day. I had to put my dog to sleep in the morning and go to work 20 minutes later and get through 13 hour days. By Christmas eve I just cried my eyes out. So you gotta think of how it is going to effect all aspects of your life. We were open for 7 days a week. Grooming 7 days a week was a mistake. We now operate 6 days, every week needs to have an ending or you get burn out. I love the job now and do beautiful grooms and love the satisfaction I get when I see them walk out the door happy and beautiful with really happy owners, but I tell its a shock to the system when you first start. Also give a lot of thought to opening a salon opposed to mobile or home salon. We now have to work harder because we pay almost $2000 a month in rent, thats a lot of dogs. I wish we had done up the garage and worked from home it would have been a much better idea.

My dogs mean the world to me and unfortunately I have lost two of my best friends to cancer in the past 12 months. Both dogs were cremated and I have them in boxes in my salon guarding me and the salon. Anyway Ive decided that when it is my turn all the dogs I have owned and loved who are waiting for me on Rainbow Bridge will be cremated with me and sprinkled somewhere together for ever. Each dog in its box will be at the funeral and we get sent off together. I miss them so much xxx

Good luck with it. I opened one 4 months ago in Canberra and we hit the ground running. I had never done any grooming prior to opening our doors, had a cushy job in the public service. I did a grooming course and with help from fellow groomers in our district open the doors and we have been flat out ever since. I caught up speed quickly which was great. Very nervous about how we survive the colder months coming but fingers crossed we will make it to the next spring ready and better and bigger than we were last year. Advertise as much as you can. Get good relationships with groomers near by. they have given us probably 75% of our business. They are booked out and been referring customers to us. Its very exciting, very tiring, very challenging but hopefully all worth every bit of it. Great seeing the doggies needing a bit of TLC and trotting out looking wonderful and the smile on their owners faces. All the best of luck

I miss him so much. He came into my life 7 years ago. I saw his mug shot on the pound page and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately I was looking for a missing dog at the time so left him there for two weeks before ringing them up to find out how long he had left. When they told me he was being put down in 2 days I went in and bought him home. We bonded immediately. He was very timid and frightened of other people but glued himself to my hip from day one. By the time he died he trusted me completely, loved meeting new people and was so well balanced, however a little on the obsessive compulsive side, but what do you expect from a working dog, not working. He herded the birds around the house and was fixated on the birds in the aviaries. Our relationship was so special. I must have known somewhere inside that our time together would be short. Daily I would look down at him trotting by my heels on our walks and telling that he was never allowed to leave me. Anyway took him into the vet to see if he had a grass seed in his nasal cavity. Vet rang to say there was a large mass in there and he would need to see the specialist. Three operations later and only four weeks and the aggressive cancer had taken him to a point where I couldnt let him go on. So 8.30am on tuesday before christmas I took him in, sat on the floor with him, he gave me a huge lick on the face then dropped. I had to go to work that morning and 20 minutes later groom my first dog for the day and somehow get through 8 more. That was the hardest week I think Ive ever had. Had to put it all behind me and had a bit of a delayed reaction. Last groom Christmas eve, half an hour or so to go before we closed up for the xmas holiday, the tears started coming and dont think theyve stopped. I had him cremated and when it is my turn I want to be cremated with my dogs in boxes and be scattered somewhere with them. Hopefully I will end up with them for eternity. My heart is broken I miss you so much. You were my little white angel. I would do anything to have another day with you. But I guess I will have to wait a bit longer but you better be waiting for me. Damn that cancer! It was too soon! I miss you and love you so much! I think he is still with me, and usually at Woolies for some reason. Not long after he died, I went shopping and got teary and stopped where I was, shut my eyes and had a cry, I looked up and the very first thing I saw was a coffee mug with a border collie with a pink rose in his mouth, the next time I went in same thing again, got teary stopped, shut my eyes, opened them and a packet of "Jacks" chips stared straight back at me. Silly I know, but I'll take it as a sign he is still watching over me.

A good way to prevent it if you can afford it is get clipper vac. Groomers Friend in Ulladulla sell them and they are awesome. They keep the blade cool, keep the room tidy and stop things like fur getting in your skin, plus they really cut down on clippng time. Im on the list for one for my salon and cant wait to get it!

Hi there My name is Penny and I own Fancy Feathers and Fur. Glad to see you are excited about grooming services and DIY on the northside and hope you will come in with your dogs and have a look around. We will be open 7 days a week from 10 October and staggered over the next 3 weeks. if you see the flowers out the front then you are welcome to pop in. Besides grooming we have a huge range of doggy products and clothing. We stock Doggles, Dog Backpacks, the toughest toys you will find, tested on tigers, cooling bandanas for the coming summer and some fun super hero costumes and santa suits!! We will also be stocking Science Diet and Royal Canin. Hope to see you soon!!