My paycheck just keeps growing...

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Now THIS pay period was my biggest pay period. I've been working smarter, not harder, and getting to work right away when I arrive, and it's helped me become more focused. There was a time when I thought, "I just can't groom any more dogs, I'm doing everything I can, and I'm stuck right where I am."

Many of the tricks I've either learned, or that I already knew but I'd forgotten about, I learned on these boards.

Thanks everyone, maybe I should give you each a dollar. Nah!!

Tammy in Utah

[DAPER DAWG]

Congratulations!!!

I am waiting to be there. So hard within the confines of someone elses guidance.

[sheilabgroomer]

Bigger paychecks AND you win a shopping spree!! Boy, some groomers have all the luck....lol... Keep up the good work. I seem to be doing the opposite. I am trying all of these new "techniques" that I have been learning and it is slowing me down. I know it is only temporary till I get back in my groove but it is aggrivating. I am seeing better results w/my grooms though so I will stick with it. Oh well, I guess advancing in technique and practice takes time and it is hard to teach an old groomer new tricks!!!

[CountryCanines]

LOL Way to go! Its so funny cuz I was doing my books the other day and flipped to sept. when my shop opened and wow........I cant believe how much it has grown! I was so slow then......I am so glad now I am actually MAKING money! LOL

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Sheila, what are you doing differently? I know how it is to have "habits" and then trying to re-train yourself, LOL, that IS difficult! I've already begun to speed up, but I'm still trying to get into a groove. I swear there is always something that goes on, or comes up, or throws me off.

Yesterday a lady wanted her cat groomed, but she was in a room with the vet when I walked in. Her kid was throwing things, loud and noisy, I could barely hear her! She kept talking and talking and I finally said, "I have to get back to my dog grooming." (She had wanted the cat groomed THEN!)

I have never really won anything so I was very happy to have won the shopping spree. I'm excited to spend my money already, lol.

Tammy in Utah

[keachy18]

wow, well u know u are doing something right then!! Definitely keep up the smart work!! And the hard work. lol. And if you want to, you can give everyone a dollar, LOL. I am sure noone would complain!!

[hairdevil]

well geez Spikey...all that money now...and the shopping spree.....things must be going well for you!!! Im glad cause you're such a sweet person...we should all thank you for your help and ideas!! YOU DESERVE IT GIRL!!

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

well geez Spikey...all that money now...and the shopping spree.....things must be going well for you!!! Im glad cause you're such a sweet person...we should all thank you for your help and ideas!! YOU DESERVE IT GIRL!!

Sweet? Hmm, I'm not sure if my husband would agree, LOL. I have NEVER won anything, at least nothing more than a few bucks, but I married into "luck" because my husband has always won contests and such.

He entered a national drawing and WON a free trip to Disney World for his entire family, flights, hotels and everything.

He won an X-box, which we now have as our DVD player (works great).

And he's won all sorts of other things, but those are the two biggest prizes. And he OFTEN wins free lunches by dropping in his business cards at local restaurants. So I started doing that too. One night we both dropped our cards in at dinner, later I got a certificate in the mail for a free meal. We went back, used my free meal certificate, we both dropped our business cards in again, then HE won a free meal. We went again, ate, dropped our business cards in again and I WON AGAIN. So we went again, ate, entered are business cards, HE WON AGAIN. After that we stopped winning, we think the restaurant (a nice restaurant!) started to realize that our last name was becoming all too familiar, lol. Total of FOUR free meals, lol.

And recently I won another free lunch at a sports bar/grill place where we get delicious Philly cheese steak sandwiches. Unfortunately, it went out of business a few days later. WHAT GIVES?

Oh well, if anybody needs the winning lotto #'s just call and my husband will probably give them to you. My grandma asks for them all the time, LOL.

Tammy in Utah

[Gracy Rose]

Tammy,

Please share:-) What tips have you been applying and noticing the greatest return of time?

[sheilabgroomer]

Tammy

Hmmmm, lets see what new things have I been doing. Well, the iVac is new to me and while I love the results I do move slower w/it. I never used to go ATG and do it all the time now but I take my time so I don't do any "oopsies". The GH is new to me and I find myself spending a lot of time working around it and changing the dogs position. Don't know what I am doing wrong but I hope w/practice this will get easier and quicker because it does get me aggrivated. I am using thinning shears and/or the Coat King and doing carding and some hand stripping, again, new tools that I am adjusting to (thinners aren't new, I just never used them much). I am completely hand drying dogs that I used to let cage dry most of the way, and I have also changed my record keeping which both my staff and I are adjusting to.

Like I have mentioned in other posts, I admit that I was a "know it all" old timey groomer until I started visiting this site and I realize how much I don't know and how many new and wonderful techniques and tools there are. I feel all of my changes are for the best, but there is an adjustment period that I have to work through.

PS, if I am ever in your area I want to come by and rub your hubby's head for luck....lol

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Tammy,

Please share:-) What tips have you been applying and noticing the greatest return of time?

For winning prizes or for grooming faster?

I'm assuming you mean to get things moving quicker. I read this first in Notes from the Grooming Table, but really didn't give it a lot of thought, until Edderland on this board mentioned it and he/she was the first I'd seen mention it and say it worked. So what I do is bathe a dog, towel dry it, wrap it in a towel or two, place it on another towel in its kennel and then go to another dog. Repeat the same thing, and either bathe a 3rd dog and wrap it in towels, or just go back to the first dog and hand dry it. Dried a yorkie in 2 minutes, a sheltie (not a big fluffy one, a smaller one) in 10 minutes, he usually takes me 20 minutes. Another yorkie that has that thicker, cottony black hair dried very fast also. It just decreased my drying time by about half! Hope this helps.

Tammy in Utah

[Yorkie_Gal]

Good for you

So glad to hear your good news Tammy!!!!!! I've learned an awful lot from this board too that has helped me improve. I believe I'm my own worst enemy at times though, because I really thrive on the "no stress" way I work, which probably makes me a bit of a doddler......but oh well, for now it's ok.

Vicki

[petgroomaustralia]

I have also cut grooming time down by using the towels this way and by using a vac. Another big time saver is putting the coat spray into the shampoo or the bath system, it really works much better than spraying it on. The coats dry very quickly and come up beautifully fluffed with much less effort, even cockers!!! And the large dog undercoats just fly out. You can also leave many short clips to dry just about all the way and just fluff for a minute to finish and they will come out as if you have completely hand dried.

Linda