10 Essential Traits You’ll Need to Become a Successful Pet Groomer

Becoming a pet groomer and successful business owner can be one of the most stressful things you’ll ever do, but if you’ve decided to move forward and fulfill your dream of opening a grooming salon, here are 10 qualities you’ll need to succeed.

Successful Pet Groomer Traits:

1. Passion

It’s the foundation for every successful entrepreneur. You need to have it for the full experience of being a pet groomer. It will get you out of bed in the morning even if you’ve only had a few hours of sleep because you were up late taking inventory. Passion gets you through bad days and makes good days much more meaningful.

2. Organization

As a small business owner, you are required to juggle personal life, clients, employees, finances, and more. Being organized helps you focus on the task at hand and still have time for some fun. Find a system to keep you and your staff in order and stick with it.

3. Motivation

Drive, being a self-starter – whatever you call it, it’s a must for the successful pet groomer. The important thing to remember is it’s not a finite thing. Increase it through simple everyday things like completing your to-do lists. By completing smaller tasks, you start to build momentum to conquer bigger tasks and challenges throughout the day.

4. Independence

Telling your family and friends you’re opening a grooming salon is a big step in your entrepreneurial journey. Whether the advice they’ll inevitably give is positive or negative, have a clear vision of what you want from your business and how to get there. Be open while remaining true to yourself and vision.

5. Thirst for Knowledge

Ask any small business owner how they spend their day, their answer would most likely sound exhausting. As owner, you’re responsible for every aspect of the business. HR, finance, guest services, marketing, management, and sales are just a few of the areas you will need to be knowledgeable. Being a lifelong learner prepares you to wear all of these hats, and not always at the same time. Understanding the interconnected nature of your business is what will make yours a lasting success.

6. Confidence

Confidence will help you to “bring it all together.” Being confident is more than just being sure of yourself. Confidence comes from knowing you’re prepared, you’ve done the best you can, and you are prepared to take on any challenge you might face.

7. Selfishness

You probably didn’t expect to see selfishness on this list, but as a small business owner, you need to be selfish with your time and resources. There are only so many hours in a day, and you need to be mindful of how you use them. Don’t be afraid to say no. Your time is valuable, treat it so.

8. Delegation

You can’t be everywhere. The ability to effectively delegate tasks and manage your team provides you the most valuable resource of all: time. Remember to let go. Your team members might not complete tasks the same as you, so if you want something done a certain way, coach (don’t command!) on what to do instead.

9. Self-Promotion

Talking to others about yourself can be one of the most difficult parts of building your business. We’re taught from a young age talking about yourself too much is rude. Instead of thinking of self-promotion as a sales pitch, think of it as your way to share your passion with those around you. Grooming is a big part of your life, be proud of it!

10. Resilience

The life of pet groomer can be a roller coaster ride. Some days you’ll feel like you’ve made the biggest mistake of your life, but it’s important to remember bad days will pass and tomorrow holds the potential for greatness.