The Barkroom Chat

Ep 32 - How to Get Recommended by Everyone in Your Local Area

• Linda • Episode 32

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0:00 | 17:37

In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most powerful (and underrated) ways to grow your home-based dog grooming business — local partnerships.

You’ll learn how to connect with businesses already serving your ideal clients, build trust faster, and create a steady flow of loyal customers… without relying on social media or paid ads.


 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why local partnerships build trust faster than marketing alone
  • The best types of pet businesses to collaborate with
  • How to approach partnerships without feeling awkward or salesy
  • Simple ways to create mutually beneficial relationships
  • What to watch out for (and why not all partnerships are worth it)
  • How to protect your reputation while growing your business

💛 Final Thought

 Sometimes, the simplest actions create the biggest results. 

 Next Steps

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe and share it with another dog groomer who’s building a business with heart.

And if you’re ready to create a more polished, professional, and aligned grooming business—keep an eye out for more resources from Glossy Pup Academy ✨


Resources

SPEAKER_00

Hey there, welcome to the Barcrown Chat Podcast, the show for women who dream of building a thriving dog grooming business from home. Whether you're just starting out, already seeing clients, or somewhere in between, this is your go-to space for real talk, practical tips, a little bit of gossip, and a whole lot of encouragement. I'm Linda, the founder of Glossy Pop Academy, a former dog groomer, turned business mentor, and your biggest cheerleader. Let's turn your passion for pups into a profitable, feel-good, successful business that you've always dreamed of. Grab a copper, get comfy, and let's dive in. Hello and welcome back to the Barkroom Chat Podcast. My name is Linda, I'm your host, and this is a place where we make building a home-based dog grooming business feel simple, doable, and actually exciting. Today we're talking about something that can completely change the game for you when it comes to your business. And honestly, it's one of the most underrated growth strategies out there. Because today we're talking about local partnerships. Because here's the truth: running a home-based dog grooming business doesn't mean you have to do it alone. In fact, some of your best clients are already out there. They're just being served by somebody else right now. So let's get into how you can tap into that in a way that feels natural, not salesy, and actually builds long-term trust. So, first let's talk about why partnerships work so well. Think about it. If someone sees your post online, they might just scroll past. But if their vet or dog walker says, I know someone amazing, that instantly carries more weight. That's trust already built for you, and that's what partnerships give you. They help you to build credibility quickly, it helps you to reach new audiences without paying for ads, create a steady flow of ideal clients, and become known in your local pet community. And the best part, you don't need to be pushed your salesy to make it work. Okay, now let's talk about who you should actually be connecting with. So, first of all, is your vets. You probably already have a vet. If you already have dogs, you already have a vet, and you probably know them quite well, so you could easily let them know about your new business. Now, how I did it was I had a vet and I also worked with a local rescue, and the local rescue worked with the same vets, which is how I was introduced to them in the first place. And when I started my business, I brought in my cards, I brought in a flyer, and I said, Do you mind if I hang this up? I'm after starting a dog grooming business, and I got so many referrals from that veterinary practice. Vets see dogs all the time, especially the ones who genuinely need grooming. So they're the ones that are going to be recommending that the dog gets groomed, and in turn, they can recommend you. Now I kind of had some trust built up with my vets already because I knew them through the rescue, and also with my own dog at the time, and then two dogs. But if you don't have that already, you can easily just go in, let them know about your business, ask if they have cards or anything that you can put up in your uh reception area, and yeah, just start the process from there. Like when they see dogs, they see dogs that with like matices, skin conditions, hygiene problems. When their vet recommends you, that's a high trust client walking through the door because usually people really trust their vets. So if your vet gives you a recommendation of a dog groomer, you already go in the door trusting this person, expecting a positive experience to come out of it. The next business to partner up with are local dog workers. Dog workers are having conversations with your dream clients every single day. They hear things like I really need to get Bella groomed, or oh, I'm getting a new puppy and I don't know where to go for grooming, or oh, I tried this place but they're fully booked. Can you recommend another groomer? Or oh, I don't get on with this groomer for whatever reason. Can you recommend an alternative groomer? You see, that's your opportunity. If you've connected with them and you're recommending them as well as them recommending you, that means you're getting in with these ideal clients as well. So if they trust you, they'll recommend you again and again. We didn't really have dog walkers near where I was, so I didn't actually get in on that. However, the next one I did, and I've already mentioned it, and is local rescue center. This one is a powerful one. Rescues are full of dogs who need patience, care, and a gentle grooming experience. Now, like I said in the past, I did actually knee into grooming, we'll say uh more reactive dogs, more nervous dogs. I did one-to-one grooming, I had experience because of working with the rescue. I also just had sp experience with dogs in general. I've grown up with dogs my whole life. Um, this might not be the road you want to go down immediately. However, if you start offering occasional free grooms to dogs you are comfortable with grooming, this is just like a win-win situation for everyone because you build up your confidence, you grow your portfolio, you also get seen by anyone who's looking to adopt a dog. If your rescue center promotes the fact that it was your business that did it, and then on top of that, the best part is you genuinely can change that dog's life. They may have never got groomed in their life, maybe they're finally going to feel comfortable in their own skin depending on the condition that they're in. Because of your groom, maybe some families see that dog and fall in love with that dog instantly. Now I'm not saying they wouldn't have fallen in love with the dog without the groom, but certain breeds, maybe if they were really in a scruffy state and not taken care of, maybe that family might have bypassed them just by accident. And because they were looking so adorable and fluffy and cute, it made that family stop and take notice. So, yeah, it can even help them get adopted faster, and that's just incredible to be honest. Breeders are another one if you've got any good breeders around you. New puppy owners, dream clients, they're right at the start of their grooming journey, and a good breeder partnership can bring first grooms booked early, long-term loyal clients, and a steady stream of puppies. Good breeders will always give their puppies go home bags, and in them, they usually put in a lot of recommendations for you know vets or uh groomers, boarding kennels, all those kind of things. If you can get your name in there and it's a local breeder, then high chances are you are going to get some well-bred poppies that will be with you throughout their entire life. So it is good to look into that. Another one is pet shops. Now I want to say with pet shops in Ireland, and I'm sure the UK is exactly the same actually, but I don't know about any other countries. We don't actually sell puppies or kittens or anything like that in um our pet shops. Our pet shops would sell really small animals like hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, or birds like budgies, small birds as well, or fish. Other than that, it would sell pet bedding, pet food, pet toys, um, pet accessories in any way, all of that. So I am not advertising that you should go out and partner up with a pet shop if they actually sell puppies, because that is just not good in my opinion, because those puppies generally come from bad breeders, backyard breeders. I just wouldn't have my business associated with it. I don't even know if that's really a thing anymore in other countries. But when I say pet shops, I mean mainly ones that don't sell animals, um, or they only sell like really small animals or fish, you know. But yeah, a lot of times people in there, especially when they get new animals, they might talk to people at the desk and they might say, Oh, I've got a new puppy, but I'm not sure where I should get them groomed, and they'll ask for advice. If you can get your cards there, your flyers there, your posters, whichever, it will be good for your business. You will be seen by a lot of pet owners, even if they own a cat, their sister might own a dog. You know, you never know what situation people are in. So that's why I always say it doesn't matter if the person you're advertising to has a dog or not. I mean, it does, uh you know, in the sense of um if you're paying for advertising, then yeah, you want to target people who have dogs, obviously. But I mean, in general, if you can get word of mouth out there, it doesn't matter if they have a dog or not, because nine times out of ten, their brother, their parents, their sister, their best friend, their auntie, their co-worker have dogs, you know, and all it takes is one of them to say, God, you know, Levi needs a groomer and I don't know where to take him. And all they have to do is say, Well, I saw this flyer there, or I saw this card there, and they're gonna give you a call. So pet shops are a bit a little bit like community hubs, so they can display your card, they can recommend you in conversation, or they can even collaborate on small events as well, do you know? Because a lot of time they will have days where they have the local rescue there, or they will have kind of just some fun event going on, and you can also get in on that a lot of the time. So, now let's talk about how we're actually going to build these partnerships without feeling awkward. This is the part where some people will get stuck, but I promise you, it does not have to be that complicated. One, just introduce yourself, just pop in, say hello, keep it simple, say something like, Hi, I run a home-based dog room business, I'd love to connect. That's it. There's no pitch needed. Like, you literally buy something, go in there, buy something for your dog, or if you don't have a dog, your friend's dog, your sister's dog, whatever, and be like, Oh hey, my name is whatever. Um, I have some cards. Would you mind if I put them up? Or I have a flyer, would you mind if I put it up? I actually run a local home-based dog grooming business. Like, really simple, like, doesn't have to be, you know, so dramatic or awkward, or hi, my name is Linda. Here's a short 14-slide presentation on my business. You know, it's really doesn't have to be that that awkward. Two, you focus on mutual benefit as well. Like, this is important. You want to create value as well. Now, in saying that, we're like I said, we're not going in asking for favours, we're just simply saying, Oh, would you mind if I had put up my poster or give you my cards? But you can also say, if you have cards, I can put them on my side, or I'll share your posts, or offer their customers a small perk or something, you know, like ask them if they want to collab or sit feel out the conversation, but like it doesn't have to be so awkward, you know. Just start off by asking, Can you leave a card? A lot of times, dog people are cool, you know. It's a cool community, the dog people, and generally they want to talk about dogs a lot of the time. So if you get chatting, tell them about your business, a lot of time they'll be like, Oh my god, really, that's so cool. Usually they'll just kind of like get into a conversation with you about it, and then it'll be really easy to kind of go on from there. Um, but yeah, don't go in without anything though. So, like make it easy for them to refer you, like leave your business cards, leave a leaflet, leave like a new client offer or poster or something, whatever kind of the situation calls for, then do that because you don't want to walk in with nothing because the problem is people forget. So they'll probably think, Oh, that girl's great, but then absolutely forget to like create something to advertise you or tell people when you're there. Whereas, like, if you have that card, that post or whatever sitting next to them, somebody asks you, it's right there, you know. So it kind of prompts them to remember and it prompts them to recommend you. Now, four is building the relationship. So this one isn't about quick wins, you know. You follow them online, you kind of engage with their content, you pop in now and then. It's all about like connection, not transactions. So, you know, I'm not saying that you have to become besties, but it's good that you have some sort of relationship that when you pop in, you're like, Oh, hey, how are you doing? How's your mom? You know, if something was going on with her mom or something, you know, or how's your dog, how's this, whatever going on. If you don't have a dog, just buy something for the shop, buy some treats that you can add into the go-home bags, you know, buy something for your brother's dog, you know, just pick up something, support the business, especially if it's a local one and it's not a chain, just support them, check on them, see how they're doing because that relationship could bring you in a lot of money over time. Now, I do want to say something though, not every partnership will work, some people just won't be interested, and you'll get that from the first conversation. That's why I kind of always went in with hi, I've started this. Do you mind if I put up a poster? Do you mind if I put up a card or something like that? And feel it out. Feel out the conversation, see what they're thinking, gauge with their responses. You know, some connections will go nowhere, and that's completely normal because not everybody gets on with everybody all of the time. Because you don't need loads either, you just need like a few strong relationships in a few key kind of complementary businesses, and it's all about planting seeds. Another thing I want to bring up is about choosing the right partnerships. Now, this part really matters because when someone recommends you, their reputation transfers to you, so and it works both ways. If you're connected with a business with poor standards, like the easiest one here would be like a bad breeder. If you are connected to a breeder that's known for neglect, backyard breeding, and just animal abuse in general, you being tied to them is like the worst thing ever because you are now connected to their reputation. Um, but it's the same for everything, you know, it's the same for any business. If there's a vet practice with really poor standard of cleanliness or really bad reviews online, and you're now connected to them, people are not going to want to go to you because you were recommended by someone that they don't view as quality. So it reflects back on you. So before you partner with anyone, ask yourself do they have happy customers? Do they treat their dogs well? Do you do their values match your values? And would you trust them with your own dog? You know, kind of feel it out. I mean, if you're from the area, then you'd already have a good idea of this already. I didn't because I was not from the area, so I had to kind of gauge all this for myself over time and through my customers and through you know research online, different things. But yeah, if you're from the area, you'll already have an idea, so just be wary of who you actually do partner with, because it could come back to bite you, and that reputation will last as well. Everybody knows a bad reputation will last a lot longer than a good one, even if the reputation isn't valid or justified. So just trust your gut if something feels off, it probably is. You don't need every opportunity, you need the right ones because the goal isn't just more clients, it's the right clients coming from the right places. Remember, we do not want to be busy fools, we do not want to be taking in a load of bad clients that will really just run us into the ground and our business into the ground as well. You don't need a huge following, you don't need loads to spend on ads, you just need to get in front of the right people. Those people are already being served by someone else. And when you build genuine supportive partnerships in your local community, you're not just growing your client list, you're also building a business that feels connected and trusted and sustainable. So there you have it. That's my uh little episode for you today. If this episode helped you out, I'd love for you to share it or send it on to another groomer who needs to hear this. So, yeah, that is the next installment of marketing using traditional media, and next week we are talking all about how going door to door might just be the game changer you were looking for. Honestly, I think that combined with this are probably the two biggest things to bring revenue into my business. I'm not gonna lie, it was not online, it was being in my local community and actually getting to know the people that were surrounding my business. So stay tuned for that. That's gonna be the next episode. So until next time, remember together we can change the world one dog at a time. Bye, friends. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Bark Room Chat Podcast. If today's episode gave you a little boost or a new idea, I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with a fellow groomer who needs to hear it. And don't forget, you can grab my free resources and join the Glossy Bob Academy group anytime for more support on your journey. Until next time, keep going, keep growing. You've got this. I'm cheering you on every step of the way, and remember, together we can change the world. One dog at a time.