I'm jobless!!

[twodogs]

Well my boss has decided to close her shop during her chemo treatments and possibly sell it. We went in the other day to clean our stuff out. It was sad. On the flip side though I think I'm going to open my own shop hear at my house. My husband wants to close in our carport and make a little shop(he's handy he built our house) I only want a small intimate place where I can do maybe 5-6 dogs a day. There are a few groomers in the area but I'm not opening to compete with anyone, just to make a litttle $, be home for my daughter and do what I love. I've already checked with zoning in my town and it's ok. I'd love to hear from others with home based businesses.

[RevWind]

I'm sorry to hear about your boss' illness and your job loss. There are several people here who do grooming at their house. I hear they love it. I'm sure you'll get great info from them. The nice thing is, you can fix the place ANY way you like, make it totally efficiant and personal to your liking. Just remember to have all your ducks in a row as far as research before begin building and such. There's always something you overlook. Good luck.

[elliesmom]

Home Based business

Im sorry your losing your job, but maybe there is a silver lining to all this. I had a home based grooming shop for 2 years. It was very convienent and you can do as much or as little as you would like with little overhead. My problem was I couldn't retail anything out of my house and I had a very small place to groom and I knew I wasn't going to stay in that house forever so I didn't want to invest alot of money into fixing my grooming area. And the only other real problem I had was some people thought because I groomed out of my home, that I was available all the time. As long as you set the rules to start you'll be fine. Maybe you can work out a deal with your old boss about the client list so you won't have to start over getting new clients?? Just a thought. Hope this helps and good luck!

[FozEBear]

I groomed at home for two years and the clients LOVED it. I didn't "stack" dogs. Everyone had an appointment time and they were in and out within an hour to an hour and 1/2. I let the dogs run free in the house because A) I only had one dog here at a time and B) I chose my clients very carefully and they were all very well mannered.

I did have kennels here in case I needed them.

Good luck. You can do really, really well with a home grooming business! Just make it as personal as possible and the word of mouth business will spread like wild! I had all good clients...all good dogs!

[baddog]

Are you nuts? hello, this is an opportunity staring you in the face....buy the shop!!!!!!!!!! It already has a name reputation and location, buy the shop!

[Helly]

Are you nuts? hello, this is an opportunity staring you in the face....buy the shop!!!!!!!!!! It already has a name reputation and location, buy the shop!

That's a little hard to do if the owner hasn't decided to sell it yet.

[Raggs]

Working from home is a plus. No commute, so you save on gas.

I'm sorry to hear about your boss, hopefully all works out and he/she gets better. I love to groom from home. I work at a shop and do some dogs from home after work just to fill my time. That way people have to make appointments so joe schmoe wont be walking in with his GP that hasn't been groomed in a year.

[Fluffy Puppy]

Are you nuts? hello, this is an opportunity staring you in the face....buy the shop!!!!!!!!!! It already has a name reputation and location, buy the shop!

That's what I was thinking!

[Nettie906]

Good luck!!!

Sorry to hear about your boss, and your job. I'm sure that it was a very hard decision for her to make.
I glad to hear that you are starting your own business.
Working at home is great! I love it, and have no regets about my decision to do so.
I love the more intimate relationship that I have with my clients, both 4, and 2 legged. No rushing around, and I have never had a client take advantage of the home grooming situation.
I've had my shop at home for a year and a half. I worked for 15 years in a very busy, crazy shop, and I can now exhale!
I wish you the best...enjoy!

[twodogs]

Helly is right, she doesn't know what her plans are with the business. She said when she gets better she might want to go back to grooming just on a smaller scale. I'm not looking for that anyway. I want a small, personal, one-at-a-time kind of shop.

[misscatahoula]

I love working from home! No commute, flexible hours, I'm in a very relaxing atmosphere, and I have great clients with good dogs.

[Pixie]

I work from home and love it. No drive time, no one else telling me what dogs I have to do. I schedule when I want to and take what I want to. I don't do big dogs. No overhead to speak of. I've been doing it for almost 14 yrs. I only do about 3-4 dogs a day. It's just GREAT!!!!!

[baddog]

I would never have a home based shop, I wouldn't want people knowing where I live, I can just see a client showing up on a Sunday morning at 8am with an "emergency" , no thanks!

[ejmj30]

But...buying a shop means lots of money to start, and sticky business when boss gets better and wants it back, or to come work for you. I'd say open your home shop, but maybe work at another shop til you get yours running. You said you were new, so this would give you some experience, plus an income while you get your place started. I'd say work a little distance from your home so people don't think you're trying to steal their customers. Tell your employer your plans and that you just want to work for several months, or whatever.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

I would never have a home based shop, I wouldn't want people knowing where I live, I can just see a client showing up on a Sunday morning at 8am with an "emergency" , no thanks!

I will be grooming out of my home next year, if all goes as planned. If they show up on my doorstep on Sunday morning, they will find that I'm not home. And if I am home, they will be told, "Here's the skunk treatment recipe, good luck." (That's the only "emergency" groom I can think of).

There are benefits to having your own shop, but for many, an at-home shop is the way to go. Also, if your neighbors are your clients, they already know where you live, lol.

Tammy in Utah