That’s a wrap on Season 1! To close the season, I’m sharing three changes I’ve made in my own life and business that made a real difference. Take even one of them into the winter and I promise it’ll change things for you.

First, though: if you’re waiting until the week between Boxing Day and New Year to plan 2027, don’t. Q4 is when you have this year’s accounts, customer numbers and results in front of you. Use them to see what worked, what didn’t, and what deserves more of your energy next year.

In this episode:

1. 90-day cycles

• How 90-day cycles differ from calendar quarters, and why they can start whenever suits your business
• A simple T&Cs cycle: prep in December, then hand them out to every client over January and February (most clients on a 6–8 week schedule will be in during that window)
• Why three weeks, or even a month, is too short to judge a new service, and how a 90-day test settles the “just go for it vs. prepare properly” debate
• How one groomer with dog grooming, cat grooming, teeth cleaning and a self-wash station focused 80% of her sales posts on one service per 90 days, and stopped local owners saying “I had no idea you did that!”
• The 90-day cycle hiding in plain sight: this podcast

2. Value over visibility

• Why looking after the clients you already have grows your reputation faster than chasing more followers
• Why I don’t run my salon like a tapas menu: one all-inclusive price, no upselling every extra
• My take on Christmas spa packages, and the small touches that keep clients loyal through price increases
• Why the Academy has never had a minimum term, and how that holds me accountable
• An expensive lesson I learned from a locked-in payment plan
• Why competition in the industry can raise all our standards, as long as you’re one of the groomers improving

3. Change the narrative in your head

• Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to someone you love (or your dog!)
• Why being kind to yourself isn’t the same as being lazy
• Being self-employed vs. being your own boss: you need to play both roles
• Using boundaries around your working hours to protect your home life and avoid burnout
• A gentle reminder for December: something will slip, and that’s OK

Mentioned in this episode:

• Annual Strategy Planning Session: inside the Academy this November. We plot your whole 2027 into your diary, from price increases to policies.
• Monthly membership closes Saturday 31 October at 10pm and stays closed all winter. Annual membership is still open.

Thank you so much for listening to Season 1. I’ll see you in the spring for Season 2, and on social media over Christmas. Have an amazing end of 2026!

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

You love the dogs. You want their owners to like you. But somewhere along the way, being helpful has turned into accepting late payments, overlooking no-shows and apologising for your prices.

So how do you stop being walked over without becoming the groomer who lectures every customer through the door?

In this episode of The Business of Dog Grooming, Karen Fisher explores the difference between excellent customer service and people-pleasing, and how to build client relationships where warmth and professional respect go hand in hand.

From chasing an unpaid grooming bill on Christmas Eve to quietly letting clients assume her partner had paid for a family holiday, Karen shares the moments that exposed how much she was playing small in her own business.

In this episode:

• The three client relationship dynamics: being walked over, becoming resentful and finding professional equality.
• Why people-pleasing is customer service without boundaries.
• How good communication supports your policies, fees and pricing.
• How the way clients discover and choose you can influence the relationship that follows.
• What busy restaurants can teach us about attracting grooming clients.
• The “Cinderella mindset” and why working hard and being lovely isn’t a complete business strategy.
• Giving yourself permission to build a business that supports financial stability and a life you enjoy.
• Seeing other successful women as evidence of what’s possible.

A question to take away:
Are you offering great customer service—or keeping customers happy at the expense of your own time, income and peace of mind?

You can love your work, care deeply about the dogs and still expect to be paid properly and treated professionally.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

You buy your insurance, tick the box and get back to grooming. Each year, the renewal comes through and you let it roll over.

But if something happened tomorrow, would you know what you’re covered for?

In this episode, I’m joined by Kirsty Thorner from Brooks Braithwaite to tackle the insurance questions dog groomers often leave unanswered until they need to make a claim.

With questions submitted by members of The Dog Grooming Business Academy, we explore the jargon, the assumptions and the everyday situations that could leave you wondering where you stand.

We discuss:

• Public liability, employers’ liability, professional indemnity and care, custody and control — what do these terms mean?
• What paperwork you might need when making a claim, including those equipment receipts you’ve forgotten about.
• How to communicate with an owner after an incident and why your insurer needs to be involved.
• Whether a dog’s vaccination status could affect your cover.
• Taking equipment to grooming shows and competitions.
• The familiar claim that an owner staying to watch invalidates your insurance.
• When new groomers should start thinking about cover.
• What to do if an owner alleges an injury after their dog has left your salon.
• Reviewing your insurance when you add dog walking, sell treats or bring someone into your team.

Whether you groom from home, run a salon or work from a van, this conversation will help you ask better questions about the protection your business has in place.

Listener discount
Use code TDGBA10 for 10% off your next insurance quote with Brooks Braithwaite.
Find out more and request a dog groomers’ insurance quote

Kirsty also shares details of a free policy audit for members of The Dog Grooming Business Academy, designed to help identify potential gaps in their existing cover. Contact Brooks Braithwaite through the website above and mention your Academy membership.

Cover varies between policies. Use this episode as a starting point for questions, then check your own policy wording and speak to your insurer about your circumstances.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

Are you spending so much time explaining the importance of dog grooming that you’re forgetting to show owners why they should choose you?

In this episode of The Business of Dog Grooming Podcast, a drive home from the International Grooming Conference gets me thinking about value, choice and what makes someone willing to pay more for a different experience.

Using the M6 toll road as an example, I explore why the same destination doesn’t always mean the same journey and how that applies to your grooming business.

We discuss:

• Why your marketing needs to speak to owners who already value grooming.
• How to position yourself as the obvious choice for those clients.
• The journey from discovering your business to booking and becoming a regular customer.
• Why generic content can make your business forgettable.
• How real salon stories demonstrate your values and build trust.
• Why your own educational content helps owners recognise your expertise, even when it doesn’t attract lots of likes.

Your takeaway this week: Choose one value you want your business to be known for and tell a real story that demonstrates it. Think about a dog you’ve helped, an adjustment you’ve made or a small detail that shows the care behind your service.
And before you publish your next post, ask yourself: “How does this position me in the eyes of my ideal client?”

Resources mentioned
Download my free ebook with 26 educational post ideas: enough for one a fortnight for a whole year.

Catch up with episode 8, “The ‘middle for diddle’ trap: why average isn’t enough anymore,” for the sandwich analogy mentioned in this episode.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

The dog grooming industry is changing.

Dog ownership may still be rising, but in some areas, the number of dog groomers is increasing even faster. Experienced groomers are finding empty appointments harder to fill, newer groomers are struggling to gain traction, and many business owners feel frozen when it comes to raising their prices.

In this episode, Karen explores the economics behind this shift and explains why simply keeping your head down, posting occasionally on Facebook and adding £5 to your prices each year may no longer be enough.

She introduces the “middle-for-diddle” trap: the difficult space between groomers who can afford to charge very little and those who have built strong, financially viable businesses that customers actively choose.

Karen discusses:

• Why competition is increasing in some areas
• What happens when the supply of groomers exceeds customer demand
• Why fears about losing customers shouldn’t simply be dismissed
• The two types of grooming businesses most likely to survive
• Why competing with the cheapest groomer is rarely the answer
• The importance of pricing for genuine financial independence
• Why marketing, expertise and customer communication matter more than ever
• What it takes to become the groomer customers choose—not simply another option

This isn’t about blaming new groomers or predicting doom and gloom. It’s an honest look at where parts of the industry may be heading and what you can do to build a stronger, more sustainable business that can adapt.

Ready to strengthen your business?

Join CORE membership inside The Dog Grooming Business Academy for ongoing business education, practical resources and a supportive community of fellow dog groomers.

Your first business webinar focuses on attracting and keeping customers, helping you understand how to stand out and become the groomer people choose.

Join CORE membership here

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

If your dog grooming business was supposed to give you more freedom, why does it so often feel as though your whole life has to fit around it?

In this episode, I’m talking about goal-setting—but not the rushed, overly optimistic goals we tend to make on 1st January and forget three weeks later.

Instead, I’ll help you think about what you genuinely want from your business, the season of life you’re currently in and how to turn your ambitions into a practical strategy.

We’ll explore:

• Your pinnacle goal: the big ambition you may not be ready to say out loud
• Why three-to-five-year goals should reflect your current season of life
• How to build your business around your life—not squeeze your life into whatever space the business leaves behind
• Why the final quarter of the year is the perfect time to plan for the next one
• How to reverse-engineer goals such as increasing your prices, updating your terms and conditions or finally stopping working Saturdays
• Why copying somebody else’s version of success rarely works
• The difference between a vision board and what I call a build board
• One simple weekly exercise to help you start behaving like the future version of yourself

You don’t need to abandon your biggest ambitions because life is busy. But you do need to plan for them in a way that gives them—and you—a genuine chance of success.

The Dog Grooming Business Academy’s live 2027 Strategy Planning Session will take place in November and will be available to Pro members.

Find out more about joining the Academy here

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

In this episode, I’m joined by my very first podcast guest, qualified Canine Coat Esthetician and experienced dog groomer, Martina Waterman.

Martina explains how studying the science of canine skin, coat and product ingredients has transformed the way she approaches grooming—and helped her build greater trust and respect with her clients.

We strip things back to a practical CCE 101, discussing:

• What homeostasis means and why maintaining balance in the skin and coat matters
• The roles of humectants and emollients in grooming products
• Why silicones aren’t necessarily the enemy
• Why conditioner should be used on every dog—even those with sensitive skin
• Whether conditioner really needs to be left on for several minutes
• Why not every dog needs to be shampooed twice
• The risks of stripping too much of the coat’s natural oils
• When a clarifying, protein or degreasing shampoo may be useful
• Why choosing products based purely on breed or coat type can be limiting
• How targeted and spot washing can create a more appropriate bathing protocol
• Some of the common signs groomers may notice when a dog has a recurring skin or yeast problem
• The importance of documenting what we see without stepping beyond our professional role and attempting to diagnose

We also discuss how increasing your knowledge of canine skin and coat can elevate the service you provide, support better conversations with owners and strengthen your position as a knowledgeable pet-care professional.

A fascinating conversation for any dog groomer who wants to understand what the products on their shelves are actually doing—and make more informed choices for the individual dog in front of them.

Find out more about Martina:
Instagram: @martinawatermanofficial
Website: martinawaterman.co.uk
Facebook: @WatermanMartina

Please remember: dog groomers can observe, document and communicate changes in a dog’s skin or coat, but we cannot diagnose medical conditions. Where appropriate, owners should always be advised to consult their vet.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.

Why do so many dog groomers struggle to charge what they're worth, enforce boundaries or stop last-minute cancellations?

Karen believes these aren't isolated problems at all.

They're symptoms of something much bigger...

A lack of professional respect for dog groomers as an industry.

In this thought-provoking episode, Karen explores why owners often underestimate the knowledge, skill and expertise involved in professional grooming, and what we can all do to start changing that perception.

From the way we market ourselves to the way we communicate with clients, Karen explains how small shifts can have a huge impact on the respect, trust and value our businesses receive.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why pricing problems are often a symptom of a much deeper issue.
• The two ways customers subconsciously categorise service businesses—and why dog groomers often end up in the wrong one.
• How educating clients builds trust, authority and perceived value.
• Why social media should speak to dog owners, not other groomers.
• The hidden downside of chasing likes and followers instead of business growth.
• How working from home can unintentionally weaken professional boundaries—and what to do about it.
• The professional "hallmarks" that instantly increase trust, from websites to terms and conditions.
• Why the way you present your business directly affects the respect you receive.

This episode is a reminder that raising prices alone won't solve the industry's challenges. If we want greater respect, stronger boundaries and better-paying clients, we first need to elevate the way we position ourselves as professionals.

Price Like A Pro, 14th - 20th September 2026

Join me for a 7-day workshop to finally get clarity, confidence & control over your Dog grooming prices before 2026 is out!

>> Join here

Want to dive deeper?

Watch Karen's free Dog Grooming Business Engine training here and discover the framework behind a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Want to build a calmer, more profitable dog grooming business?

The Dog Grooming Business Academy helps ambitious groomers master pricing, marketing, branding and customer experience so they can build a business that works for their life - not the other way around.

Enjoying the podcast?

If you're listening while grooming today, Karen would love to see what you're working on! Share a photo or selfie to your Instagram, Facebook or TikTok Stories, tag @thedoggroomingbusinessacademy, and she'll share your post. At the end of each month, one listener will receive a grooming goodie bag full of treats from some of Karen's favourite brands.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following, rating and reviewing the show. It helps more dog groomers discover the business education they never received in grooming school.