So your business has grown from a little single-table grooming shop with a workforce of one to a burgeoning salon with a crowded groom room, retail fare that you can’t seem to keep on the shelf, and a fiercely loyal following of clients. Clearly, it’s time to think about expanding your business. But as you will read in our cover story, deciding the right direction to take your business and executing an expansion can be filled with challenges. For many small business owners, the opportunity to expand their companies may come just once in a lifetime.

A friend of mine used to operate a retail video store during the heyday of that industry. One day he called me up and asked if I would help him out. The deal was that I would get all the video rentals I wanted for a full year if I worked for him every Sunday during the summer months. He would even pay me above and beyond the free rentals. I respectfully declined. Frankly, I had better things to do with my summer weekends than work at his video store, even though, at that point, I really could have used the money, not to mention the movies.

Diversify your portfolio.These are words of wisdom that anyone who has invested his or her hard-earned money in the financial markets should live by. A time-tested strategy that lowers the risk of investment by spreading your money across a variety of areas–such as stocks, bonds and other types of investments–portfolio diversification is often the key to an investor’s ongoing financial security. But this concept applies to more than just the investment game. It should also be part of the business model for any successful grooming salon.

One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. That old adage is relevant to many subjects, a barrel of fruit being just one usually insignificant example. In the grooming industry, a bad experience at a grooming salon, or worse a bad groomer, can ruin it for everyone else who is doing a great job in the industry. Thanks to the Internet, the editors at Grooming Business have received a number of emails and other correspondences from people who want to share their bad experiences with us. Usually, it is about a bad groom for their favorite pet, or rude, unprofessional service from the groomer.

When my wife and I took my parents up on their offer to provide daycare for our son, it took a big load off our minds. Not only did this arrangement save us a ton of money, it made it a lot easier for my wife to deal with leaving the baby in someone else’s care when she rejoined the workforce. However, it wasn’t long before my wife began having second thoughts about even this situation.A few weeks into our arrangement, my son came home with a small, shallow scratch on his cheek.

Looking at the split ends of my own long-neglected hair, which is well overdue for a cut, it’s easy to relate to the many pet owners who, in recent times, have been letting the time between groomer visits lapse quite a bit more than they normally would. Some, in an attempt to hold on to their discretionary dollars for as long as possible, have even taken matters into their own hands–a do-it-yourself grooming job may not yield glamorous results, but sometimes that’s all you can afford. But, it seems we’re about to turn a corner.

What’s the difference between a gimmick and a solid strategy for making your grooming business stand out from the pack? Ultimately, it will be the quality of service you provide. My wife and I recently had experiences with two different (non-grooming) service providers in our new hometown that really drove this point home for me. In the first case, my wife was looking for a jeweler to fix her watch and came across a business called the Jewelry Hospital. Intrigued by the name, as well as the unique design of the storefront, she decided to give the place a try.

Should you take credit cards or not? It is a simple question without a simple answer. While virtually everyone in the retail world understands the importance of credit cards to their business, many merchants say that they are unsure whether the benefits of credit-card transactions outweigh the costs.On one hand, allowing purchases to be made by credit card will provide a convenience to your clients and usually add more to the total purchase. Numerous independent studies show that when consumers use a credit card, they purchase more products then when they pay with cash or by check.

Here we go again... It’s only been two short years since we last faced a global energy crisis and we are already on the precipice of another. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is sure to have catastrophic repercussions on many levels. Of course, the first victims of the spill have been the inhabitants of the Gulf Coast ecosystem, as well as the local fishing and tourism industries. But make no mistake; this tragedy will extend well beyond the coastline and right up to your local gas station.

 "Keep your receipts!” That was the message I got at a wedding I attended nearly 20 years ago from an accountant after I told him I was in the midst of starting my own business. It seemed like a scene out of a movie, but it may have been the most sage advice I have ever received.  My accountant friend told me over a cocktail or two that a lot of things matter when starting a new business. A business plan is most important, of course, because it points the way as you build a foundation. A marketing plan is next on the list.