The Pet Groomers Business Dilemma -- Time Management -- Is the Internet the Answer ?

As Pet Groomers know, there is one fundamental fact: you only get paid when you deliver services. The customer does not care about your Sales/Marketing costs.  Given the fact that most Pet Groomers operate their own business, the same person often has to handle cutting and trimming or bathing a pet as well as Sales/Marketing. Thus, these functions literally compete for the same time, and because only a very unusual person is an expert at all business functions, generally most Pet Groomers are not very efficient at these tasks.

The Internet has been a massive force for change, and one of its key values has been to democratize access and capability. With Internet capability, everyone can be a publisher (blogging systems), build a video channel (YouTube), or sell to the world (eCommerce).  With this backdrop, one might well expect the Internet to solve the fundamental issues of better efficiency for Sales/Marketing.  However, the rate of change of Internet technology has been so rapid that most Pet Groomers simply are not in a position to absorb the technology.  Further, the technology is generally built to be consumed by more sophisticated clients. Thus, larger Pet Grooming companies can indeed use Internet technology for deep data mining and analytics or sophisticated targeted marketing. However, this capability is largely out of reach for most small Pet Grooming businesses.

What would be an appropriate solution for a small Pet Grooming business?

1.    Simplicity: A reason for Pet Grooming is a matter of convenience-- something that provides maximum benefit with minimum complexity.

2.    Cost: Most of the major software systems are out of reach or do not exist for the pet grooming industry, so there is a need for a "Facebook" -type business model to help them.

3.    Training: Integrative training and updates for pet care and referrals for Veterinarians are critical for closing the gap for most Pet grooming businesses.

After addressing these three issues, Pet Grooming businesses could increase their productivity dramatically and shift their focus to what drives revenue, keeping pets beautiful for their families.

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