Slow Days

Sometimes grooming can have it's slow days. This is a problem for any small business owner. January and February can be like that. One reason is that every single dog gets groomed for the holidays so by January 1st all the dogs are in the same great condition! Another reason is that Winter in NY is cold. Pet owners are thinking it's too cold for a hair cut, we'll wait for Spring. Then there's the snow and rain. Rain and snow can make pets dirty so this may cause a pet owner to get the dog groomed BUT the opposite happens too: a person decides to reschedule because of rain or snow. No one wants to pay for a clean dog just to end up with a dirty dog tomorrow! Rescheduling at the last minute is a another problem. Until you have such a great business that you have a waiting list, you can't really fill that appointment with another dog. To charge a cancellation fee is a tricky thing. When biz is slow I think I should just take a vacation.

Instead of taking a vacation I end up thinking of ways to improve my website, my search engine optimization, and my presence on the web. I'm thinking of new ways to get the word out to dog owners that I'm a house call dog groomer! Recently I found that one of my clients put a posting about my service on her apartment building's "Building Links" system. And I ended getting two new clients in just a month's time. So now I've started asking all my clients if their apartment building has such a system and if they can post a note about my service. One of my clients is going to put something in her building's newsletter.

The hardest thing for me is following up when someone offers to put up a flyer. I don't carry flyers and to print one and make a special trip to drop it off is not so easy. I should probably mail it but then I don't want to fold it and I'd have to mail it in a big envelope. It's probably worth it though. At least blogging about this has made me remember to bring one on Monday to a client who said they'd help me by posting it. In the past, flyers have not resulted in any clients. I posted flyers in many hi-rise buildings when I was just starting this business. It's a lot of work walking around, talking to the doorman, finding out if a flyer can be put on a bulletin board somewhere. I have a bulletin board in my own apartment building and I rarely call about anything on there although I read all the flyers and business cards that are posted.

Blogging is another thing to do when I'm not grooming but I don't know if it helps business. Only time will tell.