Managing Your Money: Practical Financial Advice for Dog Groomers

At Christies, we’re all about pet grooming excellence and want to help you make the most of your money by providing relevant, practical advice that can help you cut costs and make the pennies stretch that little bit farther.

Whether it’s through savvy spending, making use of financial services, or simply snapping up deals where it’s possible, we want to share a few tips that will save you money.

Setting off on any kind of new career can be daunting, and even more so if it involves opening your own business. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to pricing your services, it can depend a lot on the services you offer, the products you use (specialist, spa, sustainable) or the locations you operate. 

With the help of two of our favourite groomers, we’ve outlined a few key recommendations for getting started and how to position yourself in the market.

• Network
  • Talk to other groomers. Whether you’re gathering feedback on pricing in your local area, or looking for advice on products, other groomers can be a great source of advice and recommendations!
• Be Financially Savvy
  • Make use of the advice in this blog and in the others we reference at the bottom. Track overheads, plan your budget and check out financing options!
• Take Your Time
  • Don’t rush yourself, you’ll know better than anyone else when you’re ready to take the leap and open your own grooming salon. Everyone moves at their own pace!
• Stick at it
  • A great piece of advice from Anna Mulholland. Things might not always go to plan, but being consistent and sticking at it can lead to success, even if the road is bumpy along the way.

Being prepared can make all the difference when it comes to financial security and management. A few tips that everyone should keep in mind are as follows:

• Create and Manage Your Budget
  • Develop a comprehensive budget that outlines your income, expenses, and savings goals.
  • Categorize expenses to identify areas where you can cut back
• Emergency Fund
  • Build an emergency fund with at least 3 to 6 months' worth of living expenses.
  • Keep this fund in a readily accessible, interest-bearing savings account for unexpected emergencies.
• Set Clear Financial Goals
  • Define your short-term and long-term financial goals, such as buying a new bath, expanding your business or even opening up another salon!
  • Break these goals into actionable steps with specific timeframes.
• Seek Professional Advice
  • For any high-risk financial plans, we’ll always recommend working with a professional who can help you plan a path to your goals.

Combining preparation with organisation is the best way to maintain a healthy financial plan that will serve you well into the future.

• Stay on Top of Debt
  • Debt is usually an unavoidable part of running your own business, as a result, tracking and managing debt will help to prevent you from slipping into “negative” debt.
• Regularly Review and Adjust
  • Periodically review your budget, investments, and financial goals to ensure they are aligned with your current circumstances.
  • Make adjustments as needed to stay on track.
• Regularly Track Your Progress
  • Periodically review your budget, investments, and financial goals to ensure they are aligned with your current circumstances.
  • Make adjustments as needed to stay on track.

Debt is often seen as a purely bad thing, but when running a small business, it can actually be seen as a useful tool if used wisely. Many groomers start out thinking it is best to pay everything upfront to avoid debt but they inevitably end up leaving themselves short when it comes to their day-to-day running costs. Rather than doing this, spreading out payments into manageable chunks can help to prevent this issue, helping you keep a good cash flow for running costs and deal with any unexpected expenses that may arise. At Christies we have two primary options which can allow you to do this.

Klarna is a payment service provider that takes full end-to-end responsibility for your payment. Klarna is the de facto provider of smooth payments to more than 200,000 online stores. Over 85 million consumers worldwide have trusted Klarna to securely handle their payments.

When selecting Klarna as payment you have two options,

• Pay Later in 3 Interest-Free Instalments
  • E.g. spread £600 over 3 months at £200 per month
• Pay Later in 30 Days.
  • Get your products right away with 30 days to pay

These options are available interest-free and can really help a business owner manage purchase costs.

DivideBuy provides an easy way to spread the cost, interest-free. By paying in instalments, you can reduce the financial pressure of high ticket items, having the option to split payments between 3 and 10 months. With Divide Buy you can check your eligibility for credit without any effect on your credit score, and then with automatic repayments, you can relax and look forward to your goods arriving.

• For larger items, Rather than spending £1500 all at once, you can pay in instalments of £150 per month for 10 months.

Have you been using our Pawsh Perks rewards programme? If not, you have been really missing out! Active customers will earn redeemable Paw Points every time they shop with us directly online, on the phone, or in person, so by being a signed-up member of Pawsh Perks you will also receive a host of Perks depending on what tier you achieve.  So there's really no reason not to! 

For any students out there, you could also be saving! Our Pup Star tier of Pawsh Perks is exclusively for students. Not only will you receive bonus points on all purchases but, 10% off all orders and loads more! Signing up is simple, anyone who is currently enrolled in, or has completed a relevant Dog Grooming course within the last 6 months can sign up via an application form. Once approved by our team you are a Registered Student (Pup Star) for 365 days. 

With Black Friday just around the corner, Christies Black Dog Tag events are on the horizon, and with that comes a heap of savings. Tier members usually get some additional benefits, so if you’re a Pup Star, Pampered Pooch or Top Dog, expect even more savings!

As I’m sure you’re aware, we aren’t the only company to do Black Friday deals, so keep your eyes peeled wherever it is you get your supplies, as savings you can make now will do you well into the future. And while that obviously applies to business expenses, it definitely also applies to Christmas presents!

To summarise, whether you’re buying supplies or just managing your personal spending, we hope this blog has outlined a few tips that can get you started on the right path. The key things to keep in mind:

• Know Yourself and Know Your Worth
• Be Prepared
• Be Organised
• Make use of Smart Credit Options
• Be Savvy With Deals and Perks
• Don’t Forget Black Friday and Other Saving Seasons

No matter what your goals are, everyone at Christies is proud to support groomers and supply each and every one of you with the products that will allow you to succeed!

Financial advice not provided by experts. It is always best to consult a professional before making any high-risk financial decision.