When the Price is Right

As professional groomers, we’re in business to make money.  This is, after all, our livelihood–the way we support ourselves and our families. Like any other professionals, we look for ways to increase our profits so we can increase our standard of living, take a vacation, send our kids to college, expand our business or save for our retirement. And as we all know, there are only two ways to make more money in the grooming business: raise your prices or groom more pets. 

The amount you charge to groom a dog should be in line with what other groomers in the area command. In other words, if your salon is in Beverly Hills or Manhattan, you can probably charge more than you would if working in a rural region or a city where unemployment is high and major industry is in decline.  The cost of living varies widely in different areas of the country, and prices for our services will fluctuate accordingly. 

If you’re working too hard and not realizing enough profit, it’s time to do some market research.  Although the government frowns upon standardizing prices in any industry–they call it price fixing–when we gather at seminars and trade shows, the conversation usually gets around to, “How much do you charge for a Standard Poodle?  Cocker Spaniel?  Bichon Frise?  Goldendoodle?”  Comparing notes on pricing is a popular pastime, but we seldom hear about how groomers determine their prices.


Do the Math
In any service business, price is based on your cost of operation combined with sufficient compensation to provide a profit.  To do this, you need to know how to figure out the average cost of the services you provide.  Obviously, your profit margin also depends upon how much you spend providing that service.  Sounds pretty elementary, doesn’t it? 

You just did your taxes, so you should be aware of how much money you took in and how much you made after deducting your costs of operation–everything from salaries to shampoo.  Interestingly, the pet grooming professionals with the highest profit margins are not necessarily the ones who charge the highest prices.  They are simply better managers who hold down the overhead costs.  Money management is key to your survival and potential growth.

To arrive at your gross income from grooming, you need to figure out how much you took in last year from this service.  The way to average out your cost per groom is to keep track of the number of dogs and cats you groomed, dividing the amount you took in by that number.  For example, if you rang up $100,000 in grooming–no flea collars, sweaters or chew toys, just grooming–and you handled 2,500 appointments, your average price was $40.  If you want to make more per dog or cat next year, you can either raise your prices or groom more pets.  This might mean hiring another bather, groomer or prep person at a lower wage than what you pay your skilled grooming staff, making more use of your own time and theirs. 

Next, take that $100,000 and subtract your operating expenses to arrive at your net profit.  If you are a sole proprietor, this is your personal income, according to the IRS. Let’s say it cost you $60,000 in salary and overhead. When you subtract that from the $100,000 you took in, your net income would be $40,000.

To figure out your average cost, you would divide your net profit ($40,000) by the number of grooms performed (2,500) to find out that your average cost per pet was $16.  To increase that figure without adding to your staff, you need to raise your prices. 

When you consider the fact that your cost of doing business goes up each year, raising your prices to keep pace is really a no-brainer. To add more revenue, you could also start charging more for add-on services like de-matting, anal glands expression, deodorizing treatments, medicated baths, extra brushing time for packed coats and handling charges for pets that are difficult and sometimes dangerous.


Charge a Fair Price
Making a profit has to do with becoming a knowledgeable businessperson as well as a skilled groomer. When my daughter and partner Missi recently did a consultation with a busy fellow groomer in a nearby state, she found that this skilled and hardworking single mom was 10 years behind the times when it came to pricing.  Missi thinks it probably has something to do with gender.  “Eighty-five per cent of groomers are women, and women have a very different attitude toward asking for what they’re worth in the marketplace than men do,” she says. “So historically, grooming is a skill that has been underpriced because it is largely a woman-owned, women-driven industry. You might say we’ve made our own monster.”

You don’t need to apologize for price increases. Grooming is not something that anyone can do.  It takes dedication, skill and experience to become a topnotch groomer and you deserve to be paid for your services. If you don’t look upon your grooming career with enough pride and self-worth to ask a fair price, then it’s not really a business—it’s a hobby.

In our salon, prices normally go up $2-5 per year, depending upon the size of the pet and time required to do the job.  Every business raises its prices because every business experiences increases in its overhead costs. “If I went to get my oil changed and the price went up five bucks, I wouldn’t carry on and say ‘I can’t believe you raised your price,’ any more than I would for my own haircut or a dental visit,” says Missi. “Actually, human hair stylists and even dentists have it easy.  If they want to know about really backbreaking work, try grooming an unruly dog.”

Pricing is not the only factor that clients consider when choosing a groomer.  They also seek quality, expertise, dependability, professionalism and kindness when it comes to the care of their beloved pets.  Chances are that people who make a decision based on price alone will not become the mainstays of your loyal clientele anyway.  They will probably jump ship the minute someone comes along who will undercut you.  There will always be folks who try to nickel and dime you, but you need to believe in yourself to command the prices that will allow you to grow and prosper, providing the lifestyle you seek for yourself and your family.


Kathy Salzberg is a Certified Master Groomer and writer. She and her daughter, Missi Salzberg, own The Village Groomer and Pet Supply in Walpole, Mass., one of New England’s busiest grooming salons. The winner of two Cardinal Crystal Achievement Awards, Kathy has written extensively on pet care for magazines and authored books on dogs and pet care careers–How to Start a Home-Based Pet Care Career (Globe Pequot Press, 2001 & 2006) and The Everything Small Dogs Book (Adams Media, 2006).