How To Face Biz Emergencies Head-On (and keep more of your 💵 and sanity 😉)

Life happens, equipment fails, tools break, groomers get injured or sick... At any point in time one or more of these things will happen to you or your business. I'm not here to feed your inbox with negativity or jinx your good luck, instead I'd like to address how you can face these challenges and keep the impact on your bottom line to a minimum.

Let's start with a challenge almost every mobile groomer gets to face at some point: generator or inverter failure and repairs. If you can, have a secondary power source installed in your van (like a way to hook up a power cord to your clients home). And if your mechanic needs more than 1 day, ask him to take it out of your van so you can continue working (if possible).

In addition, it pays to have a generator in storage as a backup. Ask your mechanic to remove the generator from the van that needs work on and to hook up the temporary one. I have a hitch on my van and a heavy duty custom made rack that I can easily install and place my back up generator on, which is a Honda. It does take two strong adults to do this.

These days though, I prefer to use a heavy duty electric portable power station. You easily charge it at home and you can simply place it inside your work space without having to worry about harmful fumes. You do have to pick and choose what equipment to use at the same time, but with some considerations you're able to continue working while they're working on your main power source.

The same counts for shop owners or home based businesses. Power outages happen, so investing in generators or larger electric  power stations to continue the groomings is something worth the investment.

Yes these power sources are a big monetary investment, but keep in mind that some repairs can last days and sometimes even weeks! So if you're able to continue to work, even if it's less dogs a day, you're continuing to create income and keep (most of your) clients happy.

If you take good care of your equipment and tools, most will last a very long time. Cleaning, sharpening, oiling, disinfecting your blades, clippers, brushes, tubs, shears and more will extend the life of them. Your pet dryers will need regular filter cleaning throughout the day and once in a while you'll need to replace the motor brushes. Mobile groomers, clean your A/C filter daily and do a coil cleaning at least twice a year. Shop owners, clean your A/C filters daily and change the filters regularly.

Double up on everything! Have back ups for everything you need : extra clippers, batteries, blades, pet dryers, tub hoses and spray nozzles, wash mittens, shears, and more. Clippers stopped working? You've got a back up!

Have spare parts in stock for your clippers (e.g blade drives, hinges) and your dryers (e.g motor brushes) and other equipment you use regularly, so you can act swiftly when something needs attention.

Groomer sick or injured? If you're a business owner and you don't groom yourself, it might be beneficial to educate yourself on grooming. Even if you're able to do a bather course and learn the proper techniques so you can jump in and do the bath-only clients while your groomer gets back on her feet, that will help to keep your business going.

In addition, hiring an assistant to help out and reduce the strain on the main groomers can help prevent burn-out and injuries prompted by fatigue. That same assistant can jump in when the groomer is out for any reason.

With preparation you can keep the financial impact of a business emergency to a minimum. When you're prepared, you'll also be able to remain calmer to face the situation head on! You got this 💪, business owners!

With respect, admiration, and a firm belief in your worth,

Your Fellow Business Thinker & Pet Groomer:

Marilou Lekanne

Marilou’s Method & Successful Grooming

https://www.successfulgrooming.com

Text COACH to 310-922-0282 for your FREE 20 min introductory coaching session

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