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Welcome to the Pet Grooming Business Podcast with me, Bill Betts, where we give practical business advice to help you grow your pet grooming business. This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay, the low rate payment app that gives you more. So without further ado, let's get going.
Cool. Welcome, everyone. Welcome to our chat with Lexi. So Lexi is a client and friend of mine. She runs Dainty Dogs and has been grooming for now around 13 years. Doing dog grooming and cat grooming now. So welcome, Lexi. How you doing? I'm good, how are you? Very good, very good. I see you've got your nice posh microphone on there. I know I thought I best invest in one at some point because of future endeavors. So here it is. The PC one didn't work out for me, Bill.
I don't have a PC. I did wonder that when I seen that link, but we'll talk about that later. Actually, maybe we can tell the listeners to this about our. Our new project that's hopefully coming in 2025. But first of all, maybe we should start with your. Your dog, your pet grooming journey. So, you know, what was it like? How did you get into pet grooming? What did you do before you were a pet groomer? So I was a very young mum. I was 19 and pregnant and scared.
I worked in pubs, I worked in nightclubs. I also was a qualified personal trainer. Did that for five years. I also mucked horses out for money and rode horses and did some stable management jobs. I also ran my own stables. I was never. I had three jobs at once, at all times. Did you think about, were you, did you think about you're gonna get. When you're at school? I'll get my words out in a minute. When you're at school, did you think that you were gonna get into the pet industry?
Was there a big draw into the pet industry, you know, or did you want to be a scientist, pilot, space? No. So I came from a family where my mum ran a business and my dad worked in finance. And my dad was desperate for me to get a degree and work in finance, and I just hated the thought of that. So I had horses from a young age and was, you know, all right at horses. So I did that, got myself a little yard, had some liveries, rode some people's horses for them and stuff.
And it just was. Or, well, anyone that's got horses will know that there's no money in that. I also qualified as a personal trainer randomly at the back of my A levels, and that was my job For. For a long time I worked in a gym, mostly full time for a long, long time, from when I was 16 to when I was like 21. So I did. I've done a bit of everything. I also worked in nightclubs at nighttime for Ash. So, yeah, I've worked hard. I've worked really hard.
And I had a bichon cross, Jack Russell. And she was old. I adopted her from a lady at the stables because she had 20,000 dogs and this poor dog was the smallest one. And I, my friends, one of my really good friends, Mum was a dog groomer and she groomed from a shed in her garden. But back then it was very unheard of, like there was not hardly any dog groomers around, as she was the next town over. So I asked her to go and do a day.
So I went and did a day and loved it. But she worked, she did two dogs a day and they'd be in for four, five hours each and we'd do a bit and then have a cup of tea, then do a bit and have a cup of tea. And, you know, she charged me 20 quid, I think, to do my bichon cross. And it took. She didn't bath there, she just clipped her off and gave her back to me. So it's like 40, 45 minutes work. And I said to my mum, I reckon I could give this a bash because at the time I was working in bars and I had a baby.
So I was like, I don't know what to do with my life. I was in a really crossroad moment. Yeah, I couldn't have horses and the baby. It just wasn't working. You obviously were, you know, grassing hard. Like you said, you have three jobs. What was the, Was the driver behind that? You know, you got a high work ethic or did you have a lot of fear around money was money sort of the driver to go out and get. Get more jobs money. Yes, because we grew up fairly poor until my dad got landed himself the, the dream.
So I grew up in poverty as a child, but as from like a teenager, we were all right. And I always just. I always knew I wanted to earn my money. I was so independent. I had a car way before I was 17, sat outside ready for me. I was saving my pennies. I worked in the corner shop every weekend without fail. I saved up every penny I ever had back then. So I just always had this crazy drive to work. I don't know where it came from exactly, but it was always in me.
But owning a business Was not, I did not think that was my path. I worked in this pub down the road from my house and the landlord was horrible and we were on less than minimum wage because we took it as cash. And one day he pulled us all in and said, you're not getting paid this week because there's 27 pints missing out of the, what was it, the Fosters. And we were all like a Foster's drinker.
And he, he turned around and said, sorry guys, but your wages are going to cover this missing stock. And that was the moment. I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do, but this is not it. And I had a one year old little tiny baby at the time and I was like, I just, what am I going to do? And my mum and dad coincidedly to this, got divorced at the same time. So I was 19, parents divorcing and we had an extension done on our house years ago and I was still living at home at the time and we had a spare room in the garage.
It's not the garage, it's the back of the garage which was my dad's workshop because he was a carpenter by trade years ago. So we, I said to my mum, Liz's mum does this dog grooming thing and we looked it up and lo and behold, there was a course at the college and I was like, we're in. So I went along, toddled off to college and one of my best friends now was my tutor then and I learned to dog groom at the age of 20, 21.
I was, I think, and I set up my business three weeks into my level two. You're such an action taker. What, what was it like? Were you fearful about setting up your own business or you were just like, I can't to lose, I'm. I'm just going that, no fear. I had no idea what I was doing. The naivety was a bonus because I just thought, I'll just advertise that I bath dogs. So I did. And I had three pugs and a poodle in, I think was my first shift at my own place and I made about 70 quid I think that day and was like, I have to work a whole day at the pub to earn 30 quid.
Yeah, I'd more than doubled my wages in a day and I thought we're in. And I tell you something, I started and it's never been not busy since and that was 13 years ago. So I'm 34 now, so. So what sort of year was that 2000. It must have been 2011. 2012. Around then. 20. Yeah, around then. So you've done. You did your. Your level two at your. @ your college. Local college, and you set up in your. I couldn't work. I couldn't work out how to word this on the.
On the advert, like, garage Salon, I thought was quite, Quite a good way of recording it because some people say, oh, I work in my shed in the garden. I'm like, I don't like that because it doesn't sound very, very nice work in my garage. You know, it doesn't sound appealing, does it? But, yeah, we need to think of ways of making this sound glamorous than what it is. Yeah. So that. And I moved out at 23. I got my own flat. But my mum was like, listen, you're.
You know, we live in the same town. She was like, you stay. You stay with work. She was more than happy. She. She. My dad had gone. He'd lived in. He went to London. My mum works full time, so she didn't mind at all. And here I am, 13 years later, no plans to leave yet.
Can you remember, like, when you're. When you were looking to set up your business, obviously there was Facebook and Google. Did you. Did you know what to do with these things? How did you come up with your. With your business name, logos, things like that? Oh, if you look at my Facebook, the logos I've had over the years, oh, my. They've been hilarious. So I think I made my own one first with my brother, because my brother's actually now a graphic designer. But back then he dabbled in.
He was only young, he was probably about 17 at the time. My mum actually came up with my name. I can't remember why it was Dainty Dogs, but it just stuck. We were like, oh, pretty Paws. Well, Pretty Paws was first. That was my creation. And then we Googled it and there was another one. We Googled Dainty Dog. My mum was like, what about dainty dogs? And I was like, ooh. And we Googled it and there wasn't another. So we took it. I was like, I'm having that.
And my brother helped me draw a poodle, I think, and we just stuck it on Facebook. But back then it was Facebook, predominantly. And Yellow pages. Oh, nice Yellow pages. So the physical yellow pages. Yep. Like the thing that. And if there's any children or, like, young people listening, the Yellow Pages was a really thick book of businesses. Hence why our business is called A to Z Animal Care. So we could get to the very top of the. The animal section ever. Yeah. D. Dainty dogs wasn't far down, but, yeah, I was.
And then I remember just. I remember the Yellow Pages were expensive. It was expensive for me back then, but that was predominantly what I did. And Facebook, I must say, it's. It's still my main go to because I know it so well. But I'm branching out. I'm doing my best other things. So how old was your. Was your child when you. When you started your business? One. She was one. She was tiny. She was little. And I had not qualified. And I was just so good at.
I. I don't. I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I don't pretend to be an amazing dog groomer, but I. I took to it like a duck to water, and I was so confident that I could do it. So we bought the cheapest table I could find, a plastic bath on stilts, and that was it. I painted the brick purple and off I went. That was it. And can you remember what kind of prices you were charging back then? This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay. Low pay is half the price of sum up and zettle.
So you keep more of the money that you earn. Rate starts at 0.79%. Think the three pugs used to give me £60, so 20 each. Oodle. I don't think I charged him any more than 20. 25 pounds. A Shih Tzu was 25 pounds. Was there such thing as a cockapoo then? I don't know. Not really. They were around, but not where I lived. They came a little bit later. They were more fashionable probably four or five years into my business, and then I was only charging like 30 maybe.
Okay, so there's, there's like, fast forward this. How are you managing, like your business and your. And your little one, was she coming to work with you? Was your mum helping out? Were you working six days a week? How was that? How was that work? Because I lived at home at the time. I had flexibility of when my mum was home, she could help with my daughter. So I did do evening because I'm a grafter. I was used to it. I was like, yeah, we'll work evenings, we'll work daytime, we'll go do the horses, come back, do more dogs, work till 10 o'clock.
Like some of my clients, if you ask them, they'd be like, yeah, I used to Turn up at 10:00 at night and I'll do it. So she went to preschool when she was 2. So I did a year of like nursery and her dad was actually really hands on back then. We didn't last long. We only lasted about a year into her life. So actually he was a 5050 dad and always has been. Sorry. Yeah, he had her 50% of the time. So I could work. I worked really hard and I still kept my nightclub job for years.
Wow. Yeah.
How does that, how did you. So how, what sort of effects did it have on you? Like working this hard, what, looking back at it, you know, and it's easy to work hard when we're young.
Side Bill. I, I was a massive drinker back then. I, I, I could work the nightclub and not get smashed like most of my mates. I was like the designated driver at work. So we'd work 10 till 5, 10pm till 5am I'd come home, I'd sleep for two hours, she'd be up, I'd be up. I'd either have the day off with her or I would drop her wherever she needed to be and work, work, work, work, work. And what did you think about the money at the time?
Like, how did you. Oh, man, all in. Appalling. No, like balling. I felt like a baller. I was, wow, I am earning the big buck because I was so used to minimum wage. I was so used to minimum wage and even charging 20 quid a dog is still more than minimum. I know it's not good, but it was so much more. And because I worked hard, I could pull in 100 quid a day. £100 a day. And what would that look like? Like six, seven dogs maybe, or.
Yeah, probably, yeah. Five to seven dogs a day. Yeah, yeah. From the get go, I was, I was okay with standing up for hours at a time because I had horses. It made no odds to me. I was great, I was, I was fit, healthy. Ah, yeah, it was, it was, it was mad. It really was. So when did things start to change and you start to think, oh, actually can I do this for, for the rest of my career? Yeah, the tiredness. And actually I went on to do my level three, three dog grooming.
No, I'm sorry, the dogs are gonna go mad. I went on to do my level three and I got asked if they I would aid in teaching the Level 2 at the College and I said yes. So I did my teaching qualification and I actually taught level two dog grooming alongside finishing my level three and working for myself and working at a nightclub. So I've been to the nightclub and I worked at Plumpton College for a couple of years. I did one and a half days a week and teaching.
If, if teaching could have made me a millionaire, Bill, I'd have, I would have done it forever because I loved it. I loved it. I was a natural at it. I had some wonderful students who have gone on to be amazing local dog groomers who I'm still really good friends with and I adored teaching. But then I, I met my now ex husband and I got pregnant. I had another, I had another child. So I, like I said, I was a serial worker. So I always had two jobs until I had my son, he's now 8.
So the day I had him, I went back to the college for about a year, I think. And then I binned that. I was like, right, I'm going to do full time dog grooming on my own because the demand was so high for my services at the time. Okay, and where, where do we come up to? How was Covid for you and your business? Where did we get to with that? So it actually wasn't horrific. I, I was off for nine or 10 weeks, I want to say in the first lockdown I took a, what were those loans called?
Was it about. I took a bounce back. I didn't take much. I only took like three or four grand at the time because I, I was married and had a double income household and had a husband with a great job. So we'd bought a flat by then and we lived in it and actually Covid for me, the floodgates opened when I reopened. So Covid for me was really not. I know I'm very mindful that it was horrific for most people, but for me, I can't lie, that year wasn't a bad year until the end of the year.
So I mean my wife loved Covid because it was just like a sit home. Yeah, I had a great break. We'd actually sit in this summer house in the mornings, have breakfast and she loved it. And over Covid, that's when we found out business mentorship. So we started to change things and. But it's always interesting. I always ask about it, although it's becoming, you know, it's five years ago now. But I always ask about it because everyone's got a little story around it and it sounds like you've got one coming that where like Covid was an opportunity to, to stop, reflect, you know, and say is this, you know, this is the way I want to go forward.
So a lot of people left their like careers and then come became Dog groomers. A lot of people I've met on the program are those people. And I was like, wow. Like it really was pivotal. Wasn't had a big impact, good and bad for a lot of people. But it sounds like at the end. Of that year my life fell apart. At the end of that year, we moved house. We were in a two bed, first floor flat that we bought from the council. We paid peanuts for it.
My really good friend said to me, look, I'm buying a second home. We want to rent out our other home. It's a. It's a very spacious, lovely house. I'll give it to you half price. And we were like, we're in. And with the view to buy. So we moved in. And three months later I came home from work one day with my son and my husband had left us with no warning. Wow. Yeah.
Packed his stuff and we had no idea. And my next door neighbor came round the next day and said, why were there removal vans here yesterday? And I said, we're there now. Wow. Actually that took furniture and tellies and stuff like that.
Left me some stuff. Took all his own belongings. And we had been together for nearly eight years at this point, so that was hard. Very hot. 2020. Yeah. Yeah. November 2020. Yeah. And then two months later, a pregnancy from a new partner was announced. Oh, I see. I was going to say the listeners might want to like, know what you wanted to tell us. And you know, funnily enough, we still have never had a conversation since. Wow. And it's been five years and yeah, he. Yeah. So.
So everything I knew everything I'd worked so like, you know, I, I knew what I wanted. I was married and had a family and a business that was so successful. He'd started a really good business too. I knew we were, we were onto a winner and suddenly we were. Not anymore. But Covid didn't really turn your world upside down. But it was just. The timing was bizarre because of COVID I kind. I don't blame Covid at all. Like that year was just a funny old. A funny old year.
It was bittersweet for me, I can't lie. So how do we recover from that? How, how do you move forward from that? You've got young kids, very young kids. Yeah. I am a soldier because I have such drive, there is no time to stop. I went to work the next day. I worked nine till six grooming dogs the next day. And I just knew I had to put my head down and plow on. And obviously you have no idea what your finances are going to look like when that happens.
So I took out a loan, a £10,000 bank loan, just in case. Okay, that's good.
And yeah, I had. I felt like I had to do that. He then came and retrieved my car. Oh, so thank God for my mum and the bank loan because then we went and found another car for me and then we had to battle divorce how what could have been a very simple divorce took two years and I ran a business alongside it and parented my children. It was mad, mad. And, you know, so for me, it sounds like, you know, you didn't not buried your head in the sand about it because you took really, really strong action.
But was there a period, it's been like going through morning. Was there a period when you suddenly just went, what the.
You know, maybe a year later? Yeah, it actually took about two, three years for me to go, look what's happened to me. And it was only about a year and a half, two years ago, I think, but I was like, oh, my goodness. And then my grandparents died at the same time. I then, oh, the living situation just was awful. I had to give my house back. I did a year on my own in that great big house on my own, trying to pay the bills, but I was drowning.
Then my grandparents died. I had tenants in my flat and I was like, what do I do here? I either move back to the flat, but the mortgage rates, what happened there, bill 9% to 5.2%. I couldn't pay that. I don't want a cease and desist letter from this trust. So I'm not going to talk about Liz Truss and that she may or may not have done to the mortgage bank. It was hell. So my nan and granddad died and I then moved into their empty house until my mum sold it.
Like, it was chaos, like absolute chaos. And all the while I was working full time for myself with two little kids. Like, how. How did I do it? How? I don't know. I think actually it comes back down to our sort of primeval maybe instincts. But you had children under your, under your wing and as such, and you had to look after them and you had to provide for them. So, you know, mentally and physically, you just shut, shut that off, dug deep and did what you had to do and then, you know, deal with the consequences and the emotional consequences later, I suppose.
Yeah. And to be honest, over the years, like, the minute this all happened, I got myself into therapy. I knew I needed help, but I've actually been. I've done okay. It's, it's been up and down, but I ultimately, mentally, I feel very resilient and I feel very mentally capable of, of dealing with it. And yes, I've had my moments, absolutely. Like you actually do go through quite a big morning because it, he was my best friend and my husband and I, you know, I never got closure, I never got answers, I never, I still to this day don't know what happened.
I probably never will now. And sadly he hasn't taken a very predominant role with my son. So I have my son full time. He very, very rarely goes there and it's just been like I was married and then I wasn't and it was weird. But I knew I needed, I knew I needed some mental support. So I went, I, I straight away got myself on the NHS stuff first and then found a therapist locally who I absolutely adore. I still see her now. Um, and then my mum sold my grandparents house and then I live in a house that my mum now owns which I pay her rent to live in it.
And I sold my flat because I just couldn't, I, I couldn't, I couldn't do it all. I just couldn't do it. Or I tried, I tried really hard but I couldn't do it all. So I, I, you have to do something like that. Because I think, and I've certainly learned this myself, is if you don't listen, I don't know if you're starting to get signs from your body like you need to, you need to slow down, you need to stop. But I, I certainly had this where if you don't listen to what your body's telling you or what your brain's telling you, it will find a way just to stop you.
It did.
Yeah. I found myself in a, in a coffee shop crying. Yeah, I can relate. God, people must think I'm insane around here sometimes. But yeah, I, I lived for my kids and my work. I love my job so much and I knew my customers were all unbelievably supportive. I had help. I had one of my clients, I just turned up, she's a multimillionaire, she owns the biggest house you've ever seen. And she just had me in her kitchen sobbing one day and we just sat there and I've groomed her dog for like 10 years and she just was like, come over, babe, come and have a cup of tea with me.
And I did. And I still have her now, her dog. And it, it just wasn't just a business at this point. It was everything, because I work alone and have for a long time. So it became. It just solidified a lot for me. You kind of created a community around your business. And obviously, as humans, we go through traumas, various traumas throughout our lives. And as business owners, sometimes we. We struggle to know how much to let people in. You know, how much information do we share with our customers?
And sometimes you have to, like, you're off at the moment having a head of operations. Like, how much do you share with your country? You tell them that or just say, I'm away at the moment. So when all this happened and your other half walked out, did you tell them, you know, I might be quiet, I might cry. You know, I might. Might be upset when you come and drop your dog off and. And there's reasons why did you. I didn't go forward, thinking into telling them.
It was more when they turned up, how are you and some of the customers? We're not that close. It's fine. I was like, yeah, fine. How are you? See you later. You know, pick Fluffy up in an hour. Other customers turned up and I'd be like, oh, my God, you'll never guess what happened yesterday. Because I went to work, you know, the day after, and I was like, my husband's done one. And nobody could get their head. Like, I'd only been married two years, so nobody could get their head around it.
They were like, you've just got married. I was like, I know. So I had that chat with what, you know, the closer ones, I'd say, the ones that I've built relationships with. But, yeah, not everybody knew about what was going on. But I. I was in a position where I've been doing. I had, like, back then, I'd been doing this for, like, nine years at the time, so I was already in the swing of having relationships, like friendships with customers and stuff, that I knew that some of them were the people to tell.
Yeah, yeah. You know, also just like a. I suppose one of our friends and clients lost her home to a fire, and obviously, you know, lost a home and her pets and stuff to a fire, and obviously she had to tell her customers what happened and she wouldn't be available. But I think later on, within a couple of weeks, she did actually ask her customers not to ask how you. I've got to go to work, I've got to get on with things, and I've got time to mourn.
So maybe that's an idea for people, like, share with the customers and then just say that Please just don't ask me how I am because you might find me crying on you. Yep. I have. I have had to be like, can't talk about that today, but thank you for asking. And I'm read like that anyway, like, I've learned over the years, some of them be like, okay, yeah, I can't talk about that today, but thanks for asking and I'll see you in an hour. No, that's a nice way of doing it as well, actually, isn't it?
Because people want to help. They want to get involved. They want to. They feel awkward. They want to ask you how you are. And I. I said that to Son the other day. It's like, I want to ask you how you are, but I don't know how to ask you because things aren't going great at the moment sort of thing. But that's a nice reply. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like it works too. Like, people are so lovely and they're all very understanding if you just say thank you for asking.
I can't really talk about that right now. Sorry. But yeah, see you in a bit. And they just get the hint and off they trot and everyone's happy. You haven't been rude. You know what I mean? Like, you can very kindly ask them to not speak about stuff. And they're always receptive to that. But that ultimately, Bill, leads down to the client base that I have. That's it. So your. Your community that you're. That you've cultivated. Absolutely, yes. Huh. So I think. I think we kind of met probably listening to your timeline now, because this is the first time I've heard a lot of this, so it's really sort of insightful and.
And interesting thinking about your timeline. I think we met probably just as you were selling your flat. That's correct, yeah. Yeah, we did. Why? You know, your grafter, you knew that you could earn money. You knew you could work hard. You knew you could put in the clients and stuff. So what. What made you sort of reach out and think about changing your business or making some changes to your business? I knew there was more. I knew. I. I was 50, don't get me wrong, I was 50 of the way there.
I. I had three. I. I think, you know. Do you remember Sophie Jeanette James, the cat. Cat groomer back in the day. Her and Ryan Lee ran a little 30 ways to make 30% more profit. This was. Must have been 2018, 2019. I think it was over Covid. I think it was like I went before. Oh, okay. So they did this little tour, and it was definitely before COVID I remember it. And I went and did that and was like, yeah, they're onto something here. And I was like, I think I can do better.
And I was finding myself to be quite cheap in the area. I. I started off as maybe one of four dog groomers. I'm now one of at least 20 that I know of in the same town.
It's a big town, but not that. You know what I mean, like, 20 grit. That is a lot. And I was finding my Senos being a little bit cheap. And, you know, we have Facebook groups and we'd all compare what's, you know, price for this, price for that. And I had taken that loan out, obviously, amid my separation. I'd lost everything in terms of, like, financial security. I had no savings, None, Zero. I moved into a house that I was now paying hefty rent. You know, my mom might be my landlord, but she hasn't let up that much on me.
I was not clearing. I was. Had higher outgoings than I had coming in, and it was terrifying. So what made you. What. When did you have that, like, oh, my God, my prices are a bit cheap. Was it just, like, dawned on you. Or did it just been there for a few years? And I was the typical, scared to put my prices up groom. I was terrified of doing it. All the catastrophicness of it was like, oh, if I do that, they're going to come elsewhere because, you know, the town was get.
You know, people were getting. There was more and more of us around, so it was like, it was fearful losing clients to other groomers. A lot of them are my friends, too. I'm friends with loads of the local groomers. They're the. They're the loveliest. We've now got a great community of us, but there was a lot of fear and there was the shops, and I was just a home salon in my brain, so I didn't need the money because I didn't have the heads. But lovely lady down the road was charging 20, 30 pounds more than me for the same grin.
But she had a shock, so that was okay. She could charge that. I was in that mindset and you were popping up all over the place on social media. And I'm an avid pod. I work alone, so I. All I do all day is listen to podcasts. So I then discovered your podcast and was like, I'm gonna listen. And I listened, and quite frankly, my jaw hit the floor when I heard some figures of some of your clients. And I was like, even if I could earn half of what they're.
They're churning out and they're working alone, you know, I was comparing myself and I was like, I think I could do better, I think I can do better. And I booked a call with you and I had no money, Bill. None. I'm telling you, I was living in an overdraft. I was in debt, I had nothing. I was about to sell a flat. I made a bit of money on the flat, but that was all I was going to have. That was it. And month to month, I had no idea how I was going to pay you, but I knew I needed you.
That was quite interesting because I remember you saying, you know, let me sell a house, and then I'm. And then I'm on board. And obviously I don't get to see these kind of figures. And the I under. I completely understand the upping your prices, fear, because you've got a family, you got a house to have over your head. So that's going to cause a lot of fear, isn't it? But it's the unknown, really. It was the unknown, okay, I do the £2 every two years. I did do that, but it was never in my wildest dreams would I have thought, do you know what?
They need to go up 15 pounds each. Like, that was just. Can you remember what we, like on our initial discussion, like what we talked about and like, what, what plans and goals that we started to think about when we, when we chatted? I remember you saying to me, I said, do I need to expand? Do I need to be moving into a shop? And you said, hold your horses. See what you can achieve on doing what you're doing. And I was like, but I can't achieve anymore, Bill.
I, I'm, I'm where I'm at. I can't. And you were like, mm, just, just, just, just hold your horses because we have some of the home salons that are earning X amount of money or turning over, you know, and we're talking like, like 5, 6, 7,000amonth. And at the time I looked back at my figures just before this call to make sure I was right. I was probably turning over 1800 pounds a month maybe so. 1800 pounds a month? I think you're working sort of five, six days.
Yes.
Days a week. Yes, I was. And what was your, like, relationship like with your family and your kids and. Oh, I mean, we're, we're solid. Like, I get on grit, don't get me wrong. I am an Advocate for the parent. I hear you all when you say, oh, my kids are driving me nuts. I, we're solid. But we lived, sadly, we lived in a bit of a high stress. Single mom, desperately trying to make ends meet. Knew I wasn't making ends meet. I was very angry, I was very sad.
I was getting through things and I was like, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And I just knew a few things in my life had to change to sustain even the basic life that we had. It wasn't like we live extravagantly. We really don't. And it was like, we need, we need to get a handle on this. And I just knew there was better for me. I knew I could do better. So you, you sold your house and you're true to your word.
Sometimes when people say to me, I'll, I need to do this and I'll come back, and then they don't often come back next month. Bill. Yeah. You told your house you're true to your word, sold your house, signed on the dotted line and joined the program. What was your sort of initial thoughts and feelings when you came into the, came into the community and started looking at the program? I couldn't believe it, actually. I was like, what? I can do that. I can, I can put people up.
Like we're talking like 15, 20 quid each. I was like, what? And other mentors, money pricing, mindset, like, everything was just, I am easily mind blown. But I'm telling you, this was like, there's other dog groomers on their own, like me doing half the amount of dogs I do, half the amount of hours I do, earning three times as much as me. This is crazy. And I just actually sadly thought, that will never be me. It was really sad because I thought, okay, I've signed up to this, thank you for having me, but I don't think this is gonna be me for any, you know.
Oh my God. Within three months, I think I'd almost doubled my, I think I doubled my income within three months. So what was your, like, your initial goals was obviously to, to put your price up and reduce your, your working day. How did you, did you still have the same fears when, when it came to putting your price up? Because you're, you're now talking about taking a pug from say 30 pounds to 32 pounds before program, and now you're sort of talking about 15, 20 pound increases.
So how, how do we help you to get over that? See, having the community, seeing other people doing it, that's How I, that's how I held my own hand because I thought if Joe can do it, if this, you know, I've met some amazing human beings on this program and that if they can do it, I can do it. And I did it and guess what? Didn't lose a soul.
How do you can you remember that first day? I, I sometimes things stick in my head and I've had members of the program like phone me up in, in tears on their first day of their, their price increases going I just can't do it. I can't do it. Can you remember your, the first, the, the day when you decided like that pug. I don't know how much they are. Now for you, but that pug to 50 now. Yeah, now 45 to 50 pounds. Can you remember the first time you, you, you went out there and told them your new prices?
Yes, I can. And I was scared but forward facing. I was extremely confident and I remember watching a Robin session of Coach Robin and he said talk to them like you've got 10 grand in your bank. So I did take some of that fear away. Took it, it took it. And even though I stood there with my heart in my mouth, I just said going forwards. As of your next groom, your new prices, 45 pounds. I know you get the odd person go oh, okay. And I say I know you've been, you've had it good for a few years this time.
That's how I put it to them. And what you like with new inquiries are you, did you have room for, did you have space for, for new business? Yeah, they're just, they are full price, you know they are, they are quoted at the full price and if they don't take it, I don't worry. And it can be a bit 50, 50. Some people come to me and, and they do. I still get some triers, some groomer hoppers and stuff but the ones that like me and or it's mainly the recommendations, they will pay it and they do pay it and they are lovely.
I've had some amazing new dogs join me I'd say in the last sort of year and a bit and there's no messing about now. It's this is, you know, they caught we. I've learned not to text people anymore because I was a serial texter with prices. We now speak on the phone and that's the price and I'm very. Have a nice day. If they say no, that's too much, I say okay, no worries. Lovely to speak to you. Enjoy. Good luck. See you soon. Love it, Love it.
So within three months you've gone from so 1800 pounds a month, was it? Yes, to me, literally within like three. Months to four grand a month. Almost. Yeah. I was in the three. I sat in the three eight for a while. Three eight, three nine a month. 3900amonth. Yeah. And then I did another price increase. Tell me about that. What made you do another price increase?
I can't, I can't remember. I think it was partly new clients. So some of the old clients, don't get me wrong, they were not all up to where I wanted them, but most of them were. And then, you know, some pass away, you lose some, some don't come back. So I was then replacing them with the, the 65 to 75 pound dogs that used to be 38 pounds. We're talking like the big bucks now. And I was like, right, yeah, that new cockapoo. Yep, £70, it's big.
It would be £38 to £40 before. So then I think my income naturally jumped up. And then I whacked everyone off another fiver.
I can remember you putting a post in and you're just like, oh my God, I can't believe this is, this is happening. And we obviously, we tackled the pricing issue and if people are listening and thinking, well, okay, you've doubled your, like, you've increased your income. Is that because you've, you've, you've doubled the dogs that you do or you've increased the, the dogs that you do? No, the, the, the part that everybody really seems to struggle with in from experience with knowing other groomers is you're doing how many dogs a day and you earn that much?
Like, I didn't, I actually cut a day a week because it was killing my soul. I was working really hard. And while the money was absolutely great at the time, it was like, oh, everything hurts. I can't, I can't sustain this. So I actually cut down a day and I was still a Saturday worker at this time. So I then thought, you know what, I don't want to do that anymore. And I've done it all my life. I've always worked Saturdays. And I remember bringing that into the group and being like, I'm doing it.
I'm cutting the Saturdays, but I'm going to extend my weekdays by one hour a day, maximum two, because I used to work 10, 9:30 till 2:30. So now I work 9 till 4, 4:30, sometimes 5, 5:30. But no more Saturdays did that held. A Bit of fear for you dropping your Saturdays? Yes, loads. Because I knew what money could come in on a Saturday. I was very aware of what money could come in on Saturday. But I've spread those five, six hours over the week now. And I wake up on a Saturday morning.
Like.
I think quite often people don't want to drop their Saturdays. Some people love Saturdays and that's fine. But if you don't want to do them, some people worry about the customers and not being able to attend the business. Did you lose customers or did they actually find that they could actually use your business during the week? 95% of them could conveniently, funnily enough, move. I have got three customers that I still pop in for on a Saturday morning, but I'm done by like latest half, 11, 12.
And they're not. They're regular, but they're not like, they don't need me. They need me once every two months or whatever. So, yes, I still have them and I love them, which is why I haven't said to them, leave, because they're paying the right price and they've been with me a long time and I. I'm happy to groom their dogs. I like the dogs. If I didn't like the dogs, it probably be a different story. But I do hang around for a couple of them. Yes. But as soon as they things chat, I've said to them both, if your job changes or hours, they actually work in a school.
So they really can't get to me. There is no way.
So half terms and stuff. We can normally figure it out, but I tend to not be here in half terms. So I do a little work here and there on a Saturday and obviously I've just had surgery yesterday. I am going to have to work this coming Saturday, sadly. Um, but I'm not doing another one for a long, long, long time after that. So that's good. So the program has helped you pick your prices up. Gone from 1800 pounds to four. Four grand. I think you're about four grand a month.
Well, no, Bill, I. I'm a bit behind. I was just gonna say last year I had a month where I hit £5,700. Was that a busy month? Was it like where I didn't have it? I am a serial. Take a week off. I do like doing that. I take about 10, 9 to 10 weeks of holiday a year.
And I just had a month where I didn't do that because I think it was like September. They're back at school where there's no Half terms, you're working solidly. And I turned over the most amount of money I could have ever dreamed of turning over. And that's, that will be coming. Hopefully that will become more, more, more the norm for you going forwards. So we helped you with your pricing, we helped you to, to drop a day from your, from your schedule. And you know, this stuff wasn't done overnight.
The pricing, like you said, was like three, six, nine months worth of work. But dropping the, dropping the Saturday, I think I can remember that. That was a few discussions, a bit of like, you can do this, don't worry, go and speak to someone else who's done it recently. You know, find out, understand your numbers. And this, this is the important bit, isn't it? Is that it's, it's working out a plan to do stuff rather than just doing it and then thinking about it later. And I can honestly, hand on heart, tell you that because I work alone, I'm on my own all the time.
I don't know how I ever lived without this because I've now made some lifelong friends. I just know I have. And we're all in it together. We're all the same, we're all working in the same industry. We all understand each other, we all can prop each other up like the craziest. I am such a community person and working alone has been tough at times. I'm very social being, as everybody knows.
I just love that I've got a group chat on, on demand. I've got you if I need you. I've got all the other mentors if I need them. Everybody is so kind and the willingness to help each other. I pick up the phone to other cli, other program members. Sometimes, like, we just chat and I'm like, I need you today. Can you help me or take a look at this. You know, I'm not really a nail grinder person. And Katie sent me a video straight away, like, here you go, this is how you do it.
And God, if honestly it just pays for itself tenfold, just for the community. Tell us how like the other mentors. So it's not just, it's not the Bill show. It's not just about, you know, me. But we love you, Bill. Thank you. It's not just the Bill Show. Tell us how like mentors. Like we had Fanny Slade on the podcast and did a live with us yesterday. How's Fanny Helped you within your, your business, but also your, your personal life. So Fanny's like, I love my mum, but Fanny Snow, I want her to be my mom.
Don't tell my mum I said that. She is a wealth of knowledge and actually has opened my mind and eyes to finances in a way I never ever even would have. I was a berry head in sand. Don't look at the credit cards, don't look at the debt, don't look at the loan, don't look at your current account. Just. And she's just unpicked it. She unpicks it for us once a month. We get, we get together on zoom and she go, right, let's talk about self worth and let's talk about how to get out of debt.
And there's no shame, there's no judgment, there's no nothing. It is just, honestly, I can't believe, like my personal finances, I actually didn't realize how much work this would take to get them done and dusted and tidy. But actually, I'd say I'm 70% of the way there now. And this time last year, oh, God, I was not. And she is just a diamond. And Robin is, I can't even begin to describe him, like the coolest, bravest, most fun person to know and love. And when I say love, I mean that because we meet in person and we all actually really are bonded, like we're a family.
And Robin looks after us with compassion and tough love. But he is a fabulous human being and he just wants us all to do well. That's all he wants for us. And he does it. You can just tell it's his job, but it's his life's work. And Louise will listen to us for hours. We'll get on. So Louise is our mindset. Our mindset coach. Louise will listen to us and we will talk through anything with Louise and she will always help us figure out what we need to do or how that happened or why that happened.
And Zoe is just amazing at social media. She's so, again, a wealth of knowledge that I never knew half of the stuff that she talks about. And then you've got Lauren Simmons, who is just also the sweetest, kindest, most helpful person when it comes to branding. Like you can book a one on one with her and she, you know, she'll talk to you about exactly what you should be doing, how you can create these colors and how to make this look a bit better, that look a bit better.
Like, have I missed anybody out? Is that it? Well, you have a shout out to your accountability buddy this month. Oh, me and sue, my babe. So every month we can pick to have an accountability Buddy and I've had the loveliest people. But me and sue, oh, my goodness, we're like a team in heaven. Like, we've really held each other accountable. We've both done what we wanted to achieve today. We're catching up. I'm going to give her a call later. We just, we just know what to like.
We know how to handle each other. We're like, we're just all really close friends now. How do you feel that your boundaries, and maybe boundaries within your personal life, but also in, specifically in your business, how do you feel that they've changed or grown. They've grown in a way that I know what I want now and I didn't for a long time. I just knew I had a job. Does that make sense? I had a job and I earned money from my job and it was okay.
It wasn't extravagant, but it wasn't. Whereas now I know exactly what I earn per dog. I know my average grooms. I know how many weeks a year, because I do love a holiday. They're always in a caravan. But I do love them. I take that time out. I know that I can pay for them. I absolutely take no nonsense from nonsense clients. I don't have any nonsense clients. I have diamond clients. I've built that for myself. I really have. I, I, I don't let anybody walk all over me.
And there was a time where I did. Yeah, yeah. That's really good, doesn't it? Because going forward, like, we've reduced the stress around finances, we've reduced the stress around sort of marketing and selling your services, and then reduce the stress around handling the clients day in, day out. And knowing what you do and don't want allows you to push people away when you don't want them. That's really important. As well as bringing new people in who you do want. Yeah. And if those people phone me and, or text me and they don't want a phone call, I say, well, it would have been nice to speak to you about this because I can't really deliver you what you need if we don't speak.
And then we speak and say, they're like, oh, how much? I'm like, yep, that's my price. And they will say, some people do say no. And I just say, that's fine, no worries. Good luck. See you soon. How do you feel about the word no now? Were you fearful of people rejecting you around prices and saying no to your services? Once upon a time, but probably not in the most recent years. But yes, there was A time, of course there was. We're all scared of losing customers for some reason.
We all just think they're all going to leave one day and they never do. But no, I'm not fearful of a no at all. Good. So what does dainty dogs look like in 2025 for you? So excitingly, Bill, I came to visit you and your lovely wife and I learned how to groom cats. And my mother is of an age where she would like to retire soon and is also very animally. We're all animal people. We've got horses and dogs and other things. And I said to her, right, if you want to make yourself useful and want to earn a bit of money, let's, let's, let's do some cat grooming together.
And she was like, sure. So I went and learned the skill. She's my holder. And this year my goal with the cat grooming is to just fill one day a month to start with and see what that looks like. And it's like starting a whole new business. It is starting again. Starting from the beginning. Yes, yes, it is. However, I was panicking a few days ago that I hadn't filled my January one. It's on the 31st and I've now filled it. I have one space if, if someone wants.
If they don't like dramas. Excellent. Were you a cat person before this? No. So what, what persuaded you to. To come into the diversification within your business? What, what made your mind up and thought, actually, I'm going to give it a go? And what do you think of it? What do you think about it? Other program members? I actually did used to shave off a Maine coon on my own years ago. One of my first clients, I think was a cat and she was like, just shave him off.
And I used to do it. Oh my God, what was I thinking? Yeah, what was I thinking? So I did. And then I never saw another cat again. And I never took another cat. I don't know. She moved away. She moved to Manchester. I never saw her again. I've never really got that many inquiries for cats again. So I was like, nah. And then I know Sophie Jeanette James, like outside of the, you know, like we, we became friends a few years ago. So, like, we don't see each other often, but we, you know, I know her and I saw that she started.
She actually been to the dog grooming and decided to take the, the cat route. And I was like, interesting. And then I came on the program obviously, and saw what people were earning. Cat grooming and actually, I thought, if there's two of us, I can do this 100%. And it's a very different vibe to dog grooming and I. I actually really enjoy it and I've done a couple of cats, but my first proper cat day is. Is this in the. In a couple of weeks. So that's where your cat day is it?
Various cats, different brush outs, clip offs, what you look. Yes. I've booked in two Lion Cuts because they're both matted solid. I've got one in for a D shed and then one in for a bath and a D shed. So financially, like, what's that day going to look like for you?
4 hours work so far booked in and I think I've quoted just under 500 pounds. Amazing. Amazing. And, you know, these cats unfortunately get quite a lot of neglect at home, so you're going to be doing them a great service by, you know, unleashing them from their fur, in a way. Yeah. This lady that called me, she said, look, that. I'm not going to lie, they're both in a state. And I quoted her, I think 170 each. And she just said, yeah, here's my deposit. Awesome. And how do you feel about the.
The dog grooming business going forward? Will you be more price increases this year? Yes, I've already started January. Every. The day I started back at work on January 5, or whatever it was, I was like, right, let's go again. Five pounds each. So every dog. So I don't do it on the spot. Some people ask me this, I don't do it on the spot. I say, your next green price is going to be X. And they say, okay, see you next time.
Awesome. And I've done it. Every dog that's come in so far. So fre out with you in say, a year or two years time. What does life look like for Lexi and Bonty dogs? Where can you see yourself in a couple years? Put a bit of a spin on this that you don't know about yet. Relocation. Right. And starting again. Where are you looking to go? We are desperate, me and my. My mum.
It's her dream to go and live in Somerset.
And I said, I'll come too.
So dainty dogs and mogs. Dainty dogs and mogs like that. That's what I'm going with. I'm like, I've got to do something about this name because we're not just dogs. I'm going to build. I'm not going to tell anybody of clients yet. I'm going to build my. Keep going, keep building.
And I'm going to teleport my life potentially three hours west. Okay. Maybe in the next two. I think realistically, my daughter's 14. I'm going to wait for her GCSEs, but we will be going that year that I'm thinking that year. So summer holidays. Yeah. Now, the question I've got for you, I suppose, is have you got a picture of a house that you're moving to on your vision board? Yes, Bill, I do.
Excellent.
And I'm in a very privileged position to have a parent that owns multiple properties that she's going to sell. And we are exclusively looking for a property that will house us all. Not necessarily in the same building, but in the same chunk of land that we can have. I was thinking a wet pets pod or something, you know. Yeah. Or a lodge or. Or something like that. You've got. Obviously there's. There's plenty of home grooms on the program. You can ask to. To spy and have a look at their.
Don't you worry, Jo. You know, Mobile Jo, we call her Mobile Jo. She took me on a 7pm tour the other night of her van.
We FaceTimed and she was like, come and have a look. So off we went and it's. I haven't bought it to the program yet because I know it's not happening imminently. I was thinking in a year's time, I need to start planning this. Yeah.
Which is a whole other spin. But my life looks like space, grass, horse grooming. I've got. Yeah, we've got a horse. He's old now, though, and we have spoken about potentially not replacing him. But maybe, maybe if we have the space, maybe. I don't think we want loads of land, but we would like space and just a new. A whole new. I, I just. I'm up for it. I'm really up for it and I'm up for starting again. And I know I would never have said this before, but I've got all of you to help me now and I know you'll get me through this.
And that's the beauty of it, isn't it? Once you, once you join the program, you get that lifelong membership of it. So although, you know, you joined in 20. 23. Yeah, it must have been, because November or December. 23. Yeah. So it's been about a year and two months or something. Yeah. So, you know, it doesn't stop and business never stops. You know, we even this. This month we're looking at different. Different ideas with business and marketing ideas and. And stuff like that. So it's always say this to you, actually, I just wanted to get in there, that this is cyclical.
You do this work and you very quickly realize this work doesn't end. You. You own a business and the business never ends and you have to recycle, renew. Your mindset does deviate, it does get scary and you have to just breathe and power in the pause, as they all say, and utilize what you've got. You really do have to do that. I've had to do that a lot this year. That's it. And we focus on, you know, we can take some of the pressure off us by looking at buffers and savings and.
And things like that to give us a bit more of a reassurance within our. Our animal brain. That's what I'm doing. Aiming to get this buffer that I can afford to move and not have to do, you know, not have to go and work in a nightclub or a pub. I don't think nightclubs exist, but yeah, you know, take the pressure, Take the pressure off you.
It's allowed you to dream, isn't it? Yes, Bill, I. Oh, I. It makes me emotional because things are so different now and I've got. I'm so happy, I can't even tell you. I am single and have been for a long time and I love it and I love my life and I am proud of myself. I look at my bank now and think, don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, but it's not as bad as it has been. And I've booked two abroad holidays this year. How exciting is that?
I have a caravan that I tow myself. I'm very independent. Me and the kids will go off and we have friends up and down the country. We go and visit people in the caravan. I cannot tell you how just great everything is right now. And I know that doesn't always stay that way, but I don't think I would be here without you guys and your hard work. Okay, I'll take a little bit of that. That ultimately I reached out to you after seeing what I needed to see and knowing this was right for me, and I just, I.
I created a WhatsApp group here locally for my groomers here. I actually did it for lone groomers in CRAWLEY and there's 14 of us in that group, Bill. 14. And the mindset makes me want to cry sometimes because I know they're all so capable. We're getting there. I feel like I'm a mini coach to them and I'm like a spin off coach to the locals. And there's another group that I'm in that the mindset is not good and I don't participate as much in that because I get shot down a lot in there.
I get a bit of negativity. But my group, I've created, I can see it. It's gonna be okay. This is what I like about coaching and business advice and help and you create like dents and then that creates ripples and people like yourself take the advice and it ripples out. I need, I need people to understand because if any of us stand a chance at this, we can all be small but mighty. Especially like my sat, my little lone groomers. I said to them all, imagine if we all charged a similar price and we didn't work as much.
There would be plenty of work to go around for all of us. Yeah. And I had the same thought about when I was in, when I was working the police, I wanted to do a little overtime strike. You know, they annoyed me. I didn't want to do overtime. But there's always someone on my team that took the overtime. And that's how they get away with. It is if we can't always change everyone. I know, but I'm, I'm just hoping that I've created a bit of a community in my local area.
And we're all meeting up on Friday night. Yeah. And you can share this, this, this video in this podcast with them as well so they can learn a bit more about what we've got up to. And then going forward, should we talk about the, the new podcast idea? Yes. So on a coaching call a few weeks ago, I, I happened to ask, would I happen to. We were talking about marketing assets, weren't we? We were talking about how to market your business and other things that to think about with your business.
And on my marketing asset checklist is podcast. And I thought, how could a dog groomer create a podcast for their customers? And I just put it out there, didn't I? And asked, would anyone be, be interested in having their own podcast? I was quite blown away by the amount of people that said, yeah, I'd love to do that. So. Oh, I'm desperate. I can't wait. I was one of them. I've actually wanted to podcast for a few years, but I've just never grown, you know, the pair that I needed.
And when you said that, I was like, this is, this is where you take the bull by the Horns. And you say yes, and you. You do it. Yeah. So we've been developing the idea, haven't we? And I think, you know, podcasting is hard work. So we're coming together hopefully very soon, and we're going to release the dog. The Dog grooming podcast community or. Or something similar to that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like it. I like the name. I think we're. I had a little chat with somebody else that wants to do it yesterday.
She's fully on board. And I just know more greatness will come from this. I know it. I can feel it. I know we'll have friendships and chats and all things that can be covered, and I'm excited to see what this could potentially become for. For the greater good of the community of dog groomers and maybe clients. We'll see. We'll see if we can get, you know. Yeah, it's not going to be. This is specific. It's going to be more of a, you know, and the tagline was like, what have you learned this week?
Yeah, yeah, I want it. I want it to be accessible for whoever wants to hear it, really. And I think it'll be lovely. I think I really do. And I listen to podcasts all day at work, so I've got no doubt in my mind that other dog groomers or people, anybody does the same. And even, you know, little nuggets here and there is how you learn. Right. That's it. That's it. You got your new microphone already.
Well, Lexi, I mean, you've done the hard work. We've. We've shown you. We've helped you and showing you how to improve your business. And you actually, you've done the hard work. And I mean, I think the people listening to this can see. Well, if you see this video, you could see the smile on your face. And I'm telling you, I'm. I'm just. I'm so good at the minute. I am. And also, like, seeing you over the months, like, the stress just starting to fall off from, you know, on the coaching calls, like, starting to lighten up and.
And the stress falling away. So hats off to you for. For putting the work in, because that's what taking that action is what changes things for. For your life and for your business. Yeah. But thank you for what you do, because I really needed this. I needed you. I needed. I needed the other program members. And I know in my soul that there are people listening to this or haven't heard this yet or will hear it in a year or whatever. And they will. I really hope, whoever you are, just reach out.
Do it, because you won't regret it. I promise. I promise you, you won't regret it. Thank you. Well, if people do want to reach out, then they can just send us a message. It's not a problem and we can have a discussion. But thank you for coming onto the podcast. Thank you for sharing your story. I've learned a lot about your background and where you came from and. And the trauma that you had to unfortunately go through. Sorry about that. I know. It's okay. I'm good. Here's what it is, that what doesn't kill us makes stronger, apparently.
So definitely. Definitely. So thank you very much. Thanks for sharing and I'll see you soon. You will enjoy your day. Take care. Bye. I hope you have enjoyed this podcast. Please make sure you give us a like or a review to help people find it. The podcast is sponsored by Low Pay. Head over to www.loway.com to find out more about their payment solution.
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