"Once In A Blue Moon" Might Mean:

[Jenneversage64]

Clients are not having their dogs groomed very often and I have not heard from them in a long time now. This is not starting out well so far. I have Saturday free, and I never have Saturday free. I am waiting for those newish people to call for that January appt they said their dogs would need. I am getting things organized around here however. Folded laundry I toss on the floor in the guest room, tossed a lot of stuff out from the laundry room shelf, cleaned the bathrooms.....vacuumed, and more. Folded groom towels and put away. That laundry room shelf has not be oragnized in many moons. LOL I actually believed 2010 was magically going to be different in a good way.

[RudyRoo]

Don't wait for them to call, get on the phone and start calling them. Let them know your schedule is starting to fill up and you want to make sure they get their Jan appointment. Don't tell them you are at home folding towels,,lmao

[PAWS]

I am finding that many of my regulars chose to have their pet groomed early in order to be fresh for christmas. This week and next week are full of open spots that would have been filled by those that I squeezed in before the holiday. On top of that, I had numerous cancellations in Dec due to last min travel plans - which is unheard of for me, I tend to get maybe 2 cancellations per month. About half of those rebooked, the other half, said they would call when they got back, which is strange because nearly all of my clients book that next appointment in advance. I wasn't taking new clients almost all of last year because I was too booked, and lately I have been taking as many as I can get to fill the open spots. I see one of two things happening next:

1. All those that have gotten off schedule are going to call all at once and want in and be upset when I can't please them all.

2. This is a slump where I may not hear from those people who have finally decided they need to cut costs and find a salon groomer and save a little $$.

P.S. I had a price shopper call today. I rarely answer my phone when it is not a friend, family member or an existing client, my voicemail is my secretary. I answered the unknown number this time. She LAUGHED her butt off when I gave her my price...in the past I would have taken it as some kind of insult and maybe even cried in private being a sensitive girl, but today, even when I am not fully booked like usual, I felt totally fine. I suppose I can finally feel confident calling myself a real business woman to let such a thing roll off my shoulders. This kind of thing is the precise reason why I state my price on my voicemail and let the caller choose whether or not they want me to contact them.

[celebpet]

I have only been mobile since Mid August and have gotten a lot of regular clients since then, but am still looking to add many more new clients. But I agree get on the phone. Dec didn't start off too well for me, so I called all of my clients and left them a friendly voice mail reminding them of the date of their pets last groom and how many weeks it has been. I told them that my schedule was filling up and I wanted to ensure that their pet was clean and fresh for the Holidays. After that the next two days my phone was on fire and I also picked up four new clients that found me through google search.

The upside was I made lots of money before the Holidays. The down side is I'm like you things are now slow. However I am getting calls here and there and booking appointments. Today I booked in what should be a long term new client after he described the last grooming ordeal he had been put through.

In the mean time I too am getting lots of stuff done around the house. It's been colder than heck right now and I have been fighting frozen water lines in my trailer, which I figured out and fixed today. So not all is lost.

[baddog]

I have 26 calls to return, I am just not motivated....sucks.......I feel guilty

[Jenneversage64]

Paws wow!

What a pretty lady you are! Nice to put a face with your name. I have seen your album but, this is a very nice photo of you. I can't make out the dog however. I did call over 25 people in Nov, before TG stating book now or run the risk of waiting til after Holidays. I said it better than that. Few call backs. I got along fine in Dec, tho I stopped Dec 22nd so it was a low income month. A new town phone book showed up at my door today. I am in it free and I don't see any other mobiles listed. I notice people just don't understand mobile costs more for us to use gas and drive maybe 30 minutes to a client where another dog in a shop could be getting groomed. I have to wonder if age and looks are factors in getting and keeping clients. Based on looks, PAWS and MYLADY are both young and cute. They also happen to be very GOOD groomers too. I am experienced but menopausal now. LOL I am sure others of you are also cuties I see the Yorkies in the Profile pic and a better pic size of you.Your trailer looks clean and organized. I could move right in. LOL

Keep your new Avatar PAWS.....love it! Now I want a new one of MYLADY.

[PAWS]

Tee hee! Aww thanks. I found that pic yesterday when my hubby was uploading all of our digi pics onto a new central hard drive. i was actually looking for a client's photo to paint from for a gift, and decided that i just really like this photo. My hair is actually long past my shoulders, but smashed into a bun in this photo. I shalack it down with hairspray in order to work so it's out of my face. It is two of my cutest lil' yorkies all piled up in my arms! You can see it better in the larger photo on my profile page, these two are so CUTE.

I had a new client yesterday state in mid-conversation, "You are MUCH younger than I thought." She was being very pleasant, so I just told her I am 28 if you are wondering and have been grooming since I was about 16 years old. I told her I had been in our valley since March 06 and started the biz all by myself with a big, proud grin. She was very happy with the groom, tipped me well, too. It just made me stop and think: A lot of people say I look very young, like under 18 and usually it drives me nuts. I wonder if I ever miss out on opportunities because young is perceived as less experienced? I work very hard to come across professionally and courteous, so on the phone is better than in person for me : ) I think looking young is a road block sometimes.