The Barkroom Chat

Ep 36 - The Small Habits Every Successful Home-Based Groomer Swears By

• Linda • Episode 36

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0:00 | 22:40

Success isn't about finding a magic formula—it's about doing the little things consistently.

In this episode of The Barkroom Chat, I'm sharing ten simple habits that successful home-based dog groomers build into their daily routines. None of them are complicated, but together they can completely transform your confidence, your customer experience and your business.

We'll chat about why planning your day matters, how small systems reduce stress, why communication builds trust, and why working on your business is just as important as working in it.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed or wondering why everyone else seems to have it all together, this episode is your reminder that every thriving grooming business is built one small habit at a time.

In this episode we cover:

  • Why consistency beats perfection every time.
  • The ten habits successful groomers practise every day.
  • Simple ways to reduce stress in your salon.
  • How client notes help build loyal customers.
  • Why reviews and communication matter so much.
  • The importance of learning and improving.
  • How one hour a week can transform your business.

Other Resources

Quote of the Week

"Success isn't built in one day. It's built one habit at a time."

If you enjoyed today's episode, I'd be so grateful if you could subscribe, leave a review and share it with another groomer who could use a little encouragement this week.

Thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you next time on The Barkroom Chat.


SPEAKER_00

Hey there, welcome to the Barker and Chat Podcast, the show for women who dream of building a thriving dog grooving 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 Glassy Pop Academy, a former dog grover, 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 coffee, and let's dive in. Hello and welcome back to the Backroom Chat Podcast. My name is Linda, your host, and today we're talking about something that every successful home-based dog groomer swears by, and that's those habits, those habits that compound over time in order to build great success. So this week has been a bit of a hard week. I actually put my back out by doing absolutely nothing, so um I don't know how I did it. Basically, I just got off the couch, was walking towards the bathroom, and I was like, Oh, my back feels a bit strange. Oh, that kind of hurts. And then by the time I got to the end of the night, I couldn't even walk. So obviously, I must have done something to it, tweaked it. I mean, it's really easy to have done that because I'm moving house, I have a toddler, I have two dogs, I have a lot of active things to be doing, and um, yeah, obviously, I did something, and over time it just got worse. So, this is kind of my second full day of it now, and yeah, it's getting old. Um, but anyway, let's talk about what we're here to talk about today. And as always, I am so grateful that you've chosen to spend a little bit of your day with me. So, whether you're walking the dog right now, you're grooming, or you're driving to pick up supplies, or just enjoying a well-earned break or day off, I really hope this episode leaves you feeling encouraged and inspired. Today we're talking about something that I honestly think is one of the biggest secrets when it comes to building a home-based dog grooming business, and the funny thing is it's not even a secret at all. We're talking about small habits today, the small habits that successful groomers seem to do with without even thinking. If you've ever looked at a groomer and wondered, how do they have such a full diary? Or why do they have so many loyal clients? Or they always seem so organized. Then this episode is for you because I promise you this is not luck. It isn't about having loads of money to invest, it isn't about being naturally gifted, it's about consistency. So let's have a chat about it. When we see people, we always think success happens overnight. I think social media has a lot to answer for here because we scroll through Facebook or Instagram and we see the beautiful salons and the gorgeous before and after rotos, the glowing reviews, and people that just seem to have it all together. And what we don't see is the years of tiny decisions that got someone there. We don't see the evening spent planning out their social media posts, we don't see the admin after a long day's grooming, we don't see the mistakes, we don't see the doubt, the quiet moments when they wonder if they should just pack it all in. You see, success rarely happens overnight. Rarely. It's like a less than 1% of that happening. It grows little by little. So let's go through these habits one by one. One is start with a plan. One of the biggest stress relievers is simply knowing what your day is going to look like. Instead of arriving at the salon, feeling like you're already behind, you spend 10 minutes planning, look at tomorrow's dogs, check if anyone has special requirements, make sure you have the products you need, think about when you'll fit in your lunch, decide when you'll answer those messages. Those 10 minutes can save you so much stress later down the line. Two, keep your salon looking professional. Now, before anyone panics, I'm not saying your salon has to look like a showroom every minute of every day. Look, dogs are messy, hair gets everywhere, we all know the drill, but the habit successful groomers build is staying on top of things throughout the day rather than letting them just pile up. A quick sweep, fresh towels, disinfecting equipment, tidying worktops. You know, clients notice how a salon feels, and a clean, organized environment quietly builds confidence. And if you need help with this, I do have the Glossy Pop blueprint that has all your systems SOPs ready for you, checklists there. All you have to do is go and print them out. You can use them straight away, you can laminate them, you can edit them, you can add in your own tasks, you know. Really, it's all about your business, but the structure is in place for you so that if you're looking for that guidance, it is all there for you, so you don't have to do all the thinking when it comes to creating all those checklists of what you need to get done. So if you think that's something that's going to help you, I'm going to leave a link to that down below. The next habit is all about communication. Communication builds confidence. One thing clients absolutely love is good communication. Even a simple automatic reply can make someone feel looked after. Something like, thanks so much for the message, I'm grooming at the moment, but I'll reply between 4 30 and 5 pm this afternoon. It sets the expectations. People know they've been heard and it stops you feeling guilty checking your phone while you're away, and it also stops a negative first impression. Because if people feel ghosted, then they may look for another groomer because they may think you're never going to reply, or they may just decide not to bother with you because you didn't bother replying to them, so they don't feel like they're valued as a customer. Now, the next thing is successful business owners never stop learning, they never think that they know everything, they're always learning. They listen to podcasts like this, they read blogs, they watch demonstrations, they join webinars, they take courses, they watch YouTube videos, they do anything they can to get inspired, motivated, and learn more about building a more successful business, and that's why you're listening today. Every little thing you learn adds another brick to your business. Next tip is systems beat memory. I've said it before, and I'm gonna say it again. Your brain was not built to remember every single thing that happens in every single day, in every single moment of your life. It is not a filing capital, it wasn't designed to remember every dog's favorite biscuit, preferred haircut, or whether Max hates the dryer or not. That's why client notes are so valuable. I used to keep notes on every single client that I had. So then before the owner arrived, I used to check the notes, check anything I needed to know. I also used to write down uh any kind of personal stuff too, not really personal stuff, but like if they said they were feeling under the weather or there was something about the dog that might seem trivial, but when you ask about that when they come back, they're gonna feel so valued because you remembered. They're gonna be like, Oh my god, they remembered that I had that done, or that my horse was sick, or you know, it wouldn't have anything to do with the dog, but maybe they told you something, and the fact that you remember that they're gonna feel like a more valued customer. Like, imagine greeting customers six months later and and remember something very specific about their dog that makes people feel genuinely cared for, and all those personal touches create a loyal clients. Next small habit is asking for reviews. This is one that so many groomers avoid, not because they aren't good enough, but it feels awkward. But here's the truth: most happy customers are delighted to leave a review, they just need reminding. And if you really do feel awkward, I do recommend that you put it on whatever literature you send them home with. Have it on your business cards, you know, on the bottom. Please leave us a review, or on your newsletter, put it on there. If you have any aftercare notes or any loyalty cards, put it on there. That way, people can be prompted without you having to say it. Although I do recommend that actually saying it is the quickest way to get a response. Those reviews will then go on to reassure future customers before they've even spoken to you. Now, the next habit is showing up online. You don't need to become like a full content creator, you just need to stay visible, like one post at a time. You know, before and after picks or videos with the owner's consent, of course, you know, grooming tips, so informational pose, entertainment posts, question and answer, like polls, type posts, um, announcements, seasonal posts. And the thing is, you don't have to do this every single day, like you can, but you can just like sit down for an hour at the end of each month and get a cup of tea, get a nice snack, you know, like the nice biscuits or chocolate or whatever, and just sit down and plan out your post for the next month and schedule them out. Once that's done, you don't even have to think about it and you get to stay visible. The before and afters, obviously, you're not going to you know have them to do them beforehand, but if that's all you have to do, then that's not a lot. Whereas, like, if you have to do all these other posts as well, you're not gonna do anything because well, if you're anything like me, because you're gonna be like, Oh, that's just too much, like I just actually can't do that. So, genuinely like sit down, take time to do it, but like be genuine about it in the sense of you're not just throwing stuff up, really look at each post that you're scheduling and say, Is this gonna add value that day? Like, is this something I actually want to say to these people? Uh, is this something I want to share with them? Is it going to help them? Is it going to entertain them? Is it going to give them inspiration? Like, what value is it going to add? Like, just because you're scheduling something doesn't mean you just throw it up and forget about it and you just do it for the sake of it. But in saying that as well, you don't have to be perfect either. You know, I mean it's a hard balance, but like if you look at something, you say, Yeah, that's good, yeah, they're gonna learn that from me today with that, or that's gonna entertain them, or that's gonna be interesting to someone, then that's good enough, you know. These days I feel like the very idea of being online all the time is exhausting, and it puts so many people off, and you feel like you have to compete and you have to like have all these skills, but you don't, you can do it simply, and as long as you're visible, people are remembering you because that is the goal. You want people to remember your business, remember to re-book, remember to refer you if someone's asking for a groomer. You don't have to be a full-on content creator, you know, like being online 24-7. That is not what we're about here. So little and often is far better than just like disappearing for three months and then trying to post every single day. Again, consistency is always going to win. Now, the next habit is they stay calm when things go wrong because they will. Things will go wrong. Dogs will have accidents, appointments will run lay, someone will cancel, the clippers will decide today is the day, it doesn't want to work anymore. You know, every business has problems. Successful groomers aren't successful because nothing goes wrong, they're successful because they've just learned how to respond to it calmly and with a level head. And that's because nine times out of ten they have systems in place so it doesn't worry them. They know that if an appointment's late, they've already put a buffer in place, so they don't have to worry about that. They have cancellation systems in place, you know, they have uh enough notes taken that they know what to do if something happens with a dog. Again, like I will always swear by systems. If you have those systems in place, you're less likely to forget things, mistakes are less likely to happen, you're not as stressed out because you know everything is in order, you have your routine, you're not wasting time redoing tasks or like wasting 30 minutes trying to look for something because you don't have a definite place for it, so it could be anywhere in the room. You know, systems are just they're the key to giving you the mental bandwidth and the physical energy to do more with your business, and that's why I always recommend the Glassy Bulk Blueprint because it's just there for you, you know, you don't have to even create it yourself because it's all created for you. Like I said, I'm gonna leave that link below if you think that's going to help your business. The next habit is they do try to make every client feel important. One of my favorite things, and actually, I don't even know if this is like the way the saying goes, but it's along the lines of make people feel important and you'll never go hungry, in the sense that you know, as long as you make people feel good, feel important, you will always be successful in your business. Because you know, people may forget what you did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. Every customer deserves that same warm welcome, whether they're spending 40 euro or 100 euro, because even if it's 40 euro or even less, if they come in for a nail trim or something, that customer, you have no idea how much that customer really is going to be worth because from that initial meeting, if they don't spend that much, they could come back the next day and say, Yeah, I want to book in my two dogs, because maybe they had two dogs, but only one needed a nail trim, and they were actually kind of like interviewing you, we'll say, without you really knowing it, and then they come back with two or three or four dogs that they want grooming. They could be someone that is really involved in the local community, and they could recommend you to people for you know your services, maybe they're connected with a business that could partner with you, you don't know who's who, you know. Um, of course, if you've been working in your local area quite a long time, maybe you do know someone who comes in the door, but regardless of who they are, if they're spending their money and they have chosen you to take care of their dog, that's really kind of an honor in itself that they trust you that much with someone that is so important to them. It's all the little moments that people remember. The final habit I have for you today is work on your business, not just in your business. You know, this is probably the habit that changes everything. I read a book uh not so long ago. Well, I say not so long ago, it was a couple of years ago maybe, and oh I'm trying to think of what book it was. This is so frustrating. I'm gonna leave it in the show notes, I think, because I'm gonna have to think about it. But basically, you you might know if you've read it by you know the way I'm gonna describe it, but basically they were saying that the reason why uh so many people fail in their business is because they're really good at their job, but they're really not good at being a business owner, and they're two different things. Basically, kind of the point is I mean, I'm really bringing it down to like a sentence or two, but this book is like really good overall, like you know, it's got so much insight into it, so I'm really not doing it justice here. But the biggest takeaway I had from that book was the reason that businesses fail is because let's say you're a baker and you're really good at baking, and you bake cakes like amazingly, and yeah, you're like the best baker in the whole country, but you're not a good business owner, but you open up a bakery because you're such a good baker, and I guess it's strange to use that term because we're this is the same thing as what we're doing. If you're a groomer and you're the best country, but you cannot run a business, then your business is gonna fail. So many people are working in businesses that require creative and talented people like groomers, like bakers, like people who create pottery, people artists, and they probably are unhappy in their job, they don't like the way it's being run, they're maybe their boss, they're unhappy with their co-workers, and they know they're good enough to just you know go out by themselves. They know that. So they plan to do that, they're gonna leave and they're gonna run their own business. But the issue is they're not a business owner, so even though they're super talented, it's unlikely their business is gonna be a success if they don't gain the knowledge and skills to actually run a business. Because running a business and a successful business of that is a very different set of skills than from grooming a dog, and you as the business owner have to do both. If you have a home-based dog grooming business, you have to do both, so you can't just work in your business. If you work in your business, you're an employee, you know. You're you're grooming your dogs and you're taking your clients, that's employee work, but that's not the business owner's job, you know. If you're doing everything, then you have to do the business owner's job as well, and that's the marketing, the finances, the accounts, the everything that it takes to have a successful business in place so that you have a service to sell, and that might seem overwhelming, and quite frankly, it is when you're starting out, but that's what I want Glossy Pop to help. I want Glossy Pop Academy to be here to help those that are very talented and love their job and really want to make this a success, but maybe they just don't know the skill set yet. Maybe they just need to put more structures in place, maybe they just need to help with ideas for marketing and you know, pricing and all that stuff that you would never have to think about as an employee of that job. Most groomers work every day in their business and then wonder why their business isn't growing. They're cleaning, they're answering messages, they're doing admin work, you know, they're doing all the tasks that work in their business but not on their business, like the bigger picture, the goal setting, the investing. So, successful business owners have to spend time working on their business as well as in their business. So, planning the marketing, reviewing the finances, learning new skill sets, setting the goals. You know, even just one hour a week can completely change where your business is headed. So, there you have it, they're the small habits. In fact, this week my email subscriber list got a checklist in their emails of all the small habits so that they can just print it off, laminate it, check it off, or just have it for reference. Um, I actually do this every now and then. I don't have like a set routine when it comes to like we'll say freebies, but whenever I just feel like something goes with the topic that week that could really help my you know email subscribers, I usually just send that out. So last week I actually sent out a list of all the signs of an overheating dog. So if you're in a heat wave or in hot weather, you can just have that kind of like stuck up somewhere so you can reference it, and it's kind of just like what to look out for, what you should do, all of that stuff. And I just felt like I went with the hot topic because we were talking about how to stay safe in a heat wave, and this week I just felt like yeah, it's great to talk about all these habits, but let's create a checklist where you can visually see it and take these off and see how you're doing on it. Maybe you do this all the time, maybe you need a little bit of a reminder, and it's just there for you. So, yeah, I just kind of add these in when and where I feel to be honest with you. Um, and if you want to be included in that, I'm gonna leave a link below to that email subscriber list, and you can hop on there and get even more tips, and also the monthly newsletter is gonna be sent out next week, which I'm super excited about because I always add in way more like extra tips and things than I do in just kind of the blog or even here, really. That's just for my you know, my dog grooming besties, you know. Um, so yeah, I love it. Anyway, like I said, leave all links below. I'll leave the links below to other resources in case they might help you out, and um, yeah, so for final thoughts on today, it's just really that the small habits rack up the compound, and just by adding a few in, you know, to your routine every day, not only is it gonna streamline your business, not only are you gonna feel better, you're gonna feel calmer about everything, but it's actually going to improve the viability of your business and the overall success of your business as well. So, yeah, you don't need to become a different person overnight, you just need to keep taking small steps because one day you're gonna look back and you're gonna realize that all those tiny habits quietly built the business you have always dreamed about. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be so grateful if you could leave it a review. It really helps more groomers to discover the podcast. And like I said, I'm gonna leave all the links to any resources I have for you down below. And until next time, keep believing in yourself, keep learning, keep showing up, and 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 Glassy 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.