Why are dog groomers made to feel guilty over their pricing? -
Dog grooming charges. The Whippet media.
Ellie Stanford and Hannah Conlan
Grooming for love…I’ve recently been flicking through the grooming groups on social media and the more time goes on, the more acceptable it seems for groomers to be working for cheap, for zero profit, or for FREE?!
Now I’m not saying we all should charge the same. We shouldn’t. It’s not only illegal (did someone say “price fixing?!”) But it is also a ridiculous notion because the groomer down the road may well have far higher costs and living expenses to you. If they charged low, they may not be able to afford to keep going. dog groomers made to feel guilty
Not all groomers are equal BUT they all have value and should charge accordingly.
Being new doesn’t mean you should charge tuppence. Being 15yrs in doesn’t mean you should be the most expensive in the area. If you want or need to be, crack on. Power to you!
I’ll admit I didn’t always charge what I should. I was scared to up prices and started too low. Many of us did, and now we try to educate newbies to the industry that this is NOT a solid business plan.
We don’t do this to be an arsehole. We do this to stop you making the mistakes we did. 10yrs in and I am still not happy with all my prices. It is hard to break the habit of low-balling yourself. It is hard to see your own value.
But why is profit such a dirty word?dog groomers made to feel guilty
Do we have an issue with Steve Jobs for making millions on something that he felt passionate about? No. Do we have an issue with a surgeon, working for human welfare, who lives in a mansion with his Jag out front? No. It’s not even about just making a profit. There also seems to be this unwritten issue with us even charging our worth. Why are we working for nothing?! We work hard! Just because we love dogs, and care about their welfare and well-being, doesn’t mean that we should be doing it out of the goodness of our hearts.
Sit down and look at your costs, business and home.
Look at what you need to earn a month or year to afford your lifestyle. Work out how many dogs you want to do a day and the hours you want to work. And BOOM! you have the price you need to charge an hour to make that. If you haven’t done that, how do you know if your business is sustainable?dog groomers made to feel guilty
Stop undercutting your local groomers.
You’re giving the public an excuse to undervalue our industry. We deserve to make a good profit. We deserve to have thriving business’. It’s not acceptable to be made to feel like we are ‘robbing people’. Especially when we all have that one groomer down the road who does “Any dog, £20”
If that’s you, I just want to say this… It doesn’t help your fellow groomers and it doesn’t help you.We work hard, we spent years and thousands getting to where we are. Isn’t it time we reaped the rewards
Rethink your prices. dog groomers made to feel guilty
I know it’s scary. I promise you I do. I’ve been there. I’ve been that fresh faced groomer being told by seasoned pros I’m too cheap and getting defensive. However, I listened. I just wish I’d listened sooner.
Don’t be like me. Don’t take years to earn a good living wage. Ultimately, you’re only making your own life harder.
To help you work out what your hourly rate should be, Katie Rourke Dowding and Jackie Grimmet provide a formula to help you with your prices. For a small fee you can buy it HERE
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