Starting my new business FAQ's

The first question you should ask is whether you want to be employed by someone else or whether you would like to run your own business.

There are three main employed options:

• Work for a shop salon.

Depending on the salon, this could be a fast paced express service or it could be a style based boutique with high prices. Either way, with the right leader it could be good for your future skills and career. You really need to be selective because there are many salons with quite low standards. If you have been trained by GroomArts Academy then you will be coming with a reputation for style and precision, you will have a reputation for a depth of knowledge and most employers will snap you up based on this alone. However, there are some that could be a little more negative as they may not have had the same professional foundations when starting out. Know what your skills are and be confident.

• Work for a daycare/kennels.

Working for a daycare facility or kennels can be more basic than you can find in a salon/boutique, because the grooming aspect of the business is not front facing. This can mean that there can be less emphasis on internal style and branding. However, kennel/daycare customers are no different to anyone else and can be very demanding. You will still need to produce a high standard of work.  When looking for work, remember that some employers don’t actually know that they need someone until it’s already too late. So, be proactive and approach them with an invitation to do a half day tryout. You’ll know after a half day whether this environment is the right one for you.

• Work for a large chain like Pets At Home/Tesco’s

Now I’ll bet you didn’t know that Tesco’s is now trialling out pet grooming in selected stores. Well, get ready because the word is that they will start rolling out more of them to rival Pets At home. The big advantage of both of these employers is that you will get a reasonable wage, standard hours and a clean and professional environment to work in. However, the main drawback is that there are very few opportunities to learn from a senior stylist or to take time out to perfect your techniques. Most senior stylists are highly self-motivated and usually end up owning their own salon. A good salon owner will encourage you to develop your skill and start competing in national competitions. If this is something that interests you then working for a large chain might not be the right option. But if you want easy then….

If you want to work for yourself then there are 4 main avenues:

Each one of these options are discussed in detail elsewhere and during your course, but for now it is mostly important to think about how you see yourself and what type of business you can see yourself running.

1) Set up your business in your own home with a low volume of dogs to begin with.

2) Set up your business as a mobile operator travelling to your customers.

3) Set up your business as a salon in commercial premises.

You can actually set your business up in a variety of premises, for example:

• A farm building

• Industrial/ Light Industrial unit

• A traditional retail unit (shop/salon)

4) Partner up with an existing kennels/ boarding/ behaviour training/ dog sanctuary/rescue centre and provide a dog grooming facility for them.

Well according to Entrepreneur magazine, you can set up a business for under $2,000. However, practically, this depends on several factors. The three principal questions you should ask are:-

1. What type of business do I want to run? (Salon express/ Salon boutique/ Mobile/ home based/ partnership)

2. What is my budget? (In other words what can I afford and what can i borrow if needed)

3. And finally, what do you want your business to say?

We have had students who have managed to buy all of their equipment,  set up in premises for free, advertised on social media, organised an open day and all for under £3,000. It can be as cheap as that, however,  we have had students who have spent £15,000 alone on their mobile vans and we have students who have spent nearly £25,000 to open their salon boutique.

If you embark on a GroomArts Academy intensive programme then we have an extensive checklist for you to open your salon.

• Well, how much will you charge? (How much do you think you can charge? Exactly what type of service are you offering? IOW how will you position your business?)
• What other goods or services will you sell?
• Have you thought about upselling opportunities?
• What about online services?

As a basic example; you will be able to groom around 4-6 dogs per day depending on the breed and the requirements. With each customer there is an upselling opportunity (teeth descale, nails, special perfumes, doggy treats, collars, eye/ear cleaners etc). Ok, lets say £10 margin on perfume and just £10 for a teeth descale. So in this very simple case the potential reward is between £220-£330 per day.

We have a Marketing and Upselling workshop which shows you many ways of how to maximise your profit.

The short answer is yes and no.

Here are the summary points:

• Every business has a usage classification.

• Mobile is fine so long as you are truly mobile.

• Home based requires cooperative neighbours and planning permission.

• A pet grooming parlour is classified as Sui Generis.

• Most shops and retail properties are classified A1.

• So technically you would need to apply for planning permission (A1 to “Sui generis”).

• But there is a way around it - “The pet services boutique”.

• You should always consider the impact on your local environment.

We have a comprehensive guide to planning which is available when attending our courses but here is an extract that explains some of the main points.

“...Firstly, to set up your business you have 3 or 4 main choices as follows. The first 3 are the traditional ways:-

1) Set up your business in your own home with a low volume of dogs to begin with.

2) Set up your business as a mobile operator going to your customers' homes.

3) Set up your business as a salon in commercial premises.

You can actually set your business up in a variety of premises, for example:

• A farm building

• Industrial/ Light Industrial unit

• A traditional retail unit (shop/salon)

The only one from the above that can really draw attention from planning departments is setting up in your own home as it is within a suburban dwelling area. If your business is considered "light hobby work" then you don't have a problem. You just need to comply with planning laws.

To set up a business in your home, you would need to apply for planning permission for a change of use. The application process usually takes about 8 - 10 weeks. You don't really need any special requirements to fill out a planning application and providing you make a good statements regarding the mitigation of noise, waste and traffic, then nearly all applications are successful. You just need to keep people happy around you and present an application for a 'low traffic' business. In other words you would make an application for a hobby-type business stating that if numbers increase then you will move into commercial premises.

From option 3 above, whilst officially you may need permission for change of use for some options, 99.9% of occasions you can move into a farm/ light industrial/ mixed usage and most shops without a problem.

It is also possible to partner up with an existing business. For example, to set up in the back of a hairdressers/pet shop is a little easier because the building is already equipped for traffic, safety, waste, noise mitigation and so on. Just as a side point, there are many people who begin their business and retrospectively apply for permission when the council insist. I don't want to officially say that this the best choice but you might be surprised about how many of our students just open their business and deal with things as and when they arrive. Remember, it is just planning law. So long as you can show that you are running your business in the right way then you are usually fine.

The main problem of setting up a dog grooming salon in terms of planning lies with its "usage class".  A business has a usage class which is determined by the type of business, for example, offices, retail, industrial, academic, healthcare and so on. The types of business that have not been defined within the main classes fall into a class known as "sui generis". Sometimes it is because a business has a "mixed use" and sometimes because it has not yet been defined correctly.

Dog grooming salons fit the latter. What we have found is that unofficially, there are many many businesses that have been set up in a standard shop (A1 class) without going through a planning application and the local council never get involved. For example a hairdressers has the class A1. Most shops come with planning for A1 and A2. Therefore you should be able to move into an A1 facility without too much bother. If you really need planning permission then, as i said before, it is a simple and straightforward application that takes around 8-10 weeks weeks to complete.

There is also another way around the planning issue of "sui generis". If your business intends to sell products to the public and you can show that it is upfront within the business and "technically" occupies the majority of square footage/meterage of the space then it can be deemed to fall into the class "A1".  For a council planning department to prove otherwise is a very lengthy and expensive business. Therefore, in this case it just needs to look like the majority of floor space is given to retail.

There is a 4th option for you to get going which is only now becoming popular. So...

4) Partner up with a existing kennels/ boarding/ behaviour training/ dog sanctuary/rescue centre and provide a dog grooming facility for them.

In this way you will not have to apply for any permission, you will have a plentiful supply of dogs, you can keep your costs low and when you are ready then you can grow into more salon-type premises.

The fact is that you are someone who wants to work and set up their own business, and the government have sent a planning directive to all councils in England and Wales to allow you to do that. Whichever option you take, you will need to spend some time planning it out in terms of finance, customers, services and so on. If you have to add a planning application then let me reassure you that you can do it, but our general advice is to ensure that each application provides much more detail than required. You want your application to be passed at the first round as any time spent at a subsequent planning committee meeting can also include members of the public with any further potential issues that they can raise and must be resolved before proceeding/ granting an application. Therefore, provide all the necessary information required and also try to answer any possible issues that may arise with good, solid information. Try to think of any concerns that anyone might have and then provide an answer. Provide as many benefits too, for example, benefits to the local economy or benefits to local employment situation as this can also be very helpful in avoiding going to the planning committee stage.

We have plenty of students who have in fact made planning applications and as an example we had a mother and daughter on our May course who applied for planning permission and of course were successful as a result of a comprehensive application. As far as I remember the cost of submitting an application is around £300.

You can achieve what you are looking for and within your budget. In our opinion it is most important to have the determination to succeed and then the rest will follow with a little hard work.

“...Planning use classes are the legal framework which determines what a particular property may be used for by its lawful occupants. In England, these are contained within the text of Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 764)....”

The main problem of setting up a dog grooming salon in terms of planning lies with its "usage class".  A business has a usage class which is determined by the type of business, for example, offices, retail, industrial, academic, healthcare and so on. The types of business that have not been defined within the main classes fall into a class known as "sui generis". Sometimes it is because a business has a "mixed use" and sometimes because it has not yet been defined correctly.

Finding the right property can either come from lost of research, trawling the web and digital networking or it can come by simply being in the right place at the right time and speaking to the right people. The most important thing to remember when considering a property is “Will it fit my business positioning?” and “Will it attract my customers?”.

Here are some of the main avenues when searching for properties:

• Go out and search by foot/car.

• Get in touch with farm owners.

• Speak to the property manager at your local garden centre.

• Check in with the council. Look for vacant or unoccupied properties.

• Search local agents and surveyors websites

• Search commercial agents websites

• Get on the mailing list of the national agents (LSH, Brasier Freeth, Strutt and Parker)

• Subscribe to digital magazines (shopproperty and estates gazette)