The Good Life Mobile Dog Grooming

The Newest Mobile Dog Groomer on the Block
by sourtosweet

Meet Christine the owner of The Good Life Mobile Dog Grooming Company. Christine is a trained and certified dog groomer who travels to her clients’ homes and provides grooming services to their furry loved ones. She resides in Rockland County, New York and The Good Life operates locally, serving customers in Rockland County , New York and Bergen County, New Jersey.

When Christine talks about her company, her face lights up. She is animated, enthusiastic and happy. To her, The Good Life is not a job, grooming dogs is her pleasure and joy. “When I have a dog in front of me, I know that is where I belong. I don’t look of these animals as a business. There are a lot of injustices done to animals in this world. I won’t be part of that.”

Christine has an eclectic employment history. “I’m the kind of person who always looks for a window when doors seem to be slamming. I’m a survivor.” She worked as a manicurist, freight auditor and, most recently, a telecommunications salesperson, before pursuing dog grooming.

After eleven years as a telecommunications salesperson, Christine realized that she had had enough. She thought seriously about pursuing a dog grooming as a career path. She did her research, made phone calls, and discussed her thoughts and dreams with her loved ones. Finally, in January of 2011, she pulled the trigger. “I threw it up in the air like confetti and walked away,” she said. She described how  other employees who heard her story followed her lead and left the company to pursue other options. “It was crazy. You could feel the energy.”

When Christine left her job in January, she had already put a deposit down on the biggest investment for her future, the truck. She ordered the truck from Wagon Tails, a family business in Michigan that manufactures grooming vans. During her planning phase the previous year, Christine determined that she could pay for the van and pay her living expenses while her company got off the ground by cashing in her pension. Although this was a gamble, she was committed to her plan.

It was a good gamble. She learned that the dog grooming industry has not suffered during this economic downturn. “It just snowballed,” Christine explains. After completing training at New York Dog School of Grooming, Christine spent some time  with another local mobile dog groomer. “She could have looked at me as a competitor but she did not. I rode in the truck with her. She was very helpful.”

Finally, through word of mouth, Christine obtained her first client. “I received a phone call from a woman who asked me to come and groom her cockapoo. The truck was just delivered the day before. I was thrilled.” Christine drove the truck around as an advertisement for her business. With the assistance of a friend, she created a company website, http://www.goodlifegrooming.com.

She obtains most clients through word of mouth, good work, and personal service. “I’m looking to at it as treating people fairly,” she explains. “I charge a fair market price. Anywhere from forty and up. I can’t tell you what I’m going to charge you until I see the animal.”

Just a few months into the business, Christine is working with a reputable accountant to help her manage her company’s financial success.

Christine’s story is atypical for this blog because she made the independent choice to leave her job in telecommunications and pursue her dream. Nevertheless, her story provides a useful lesson to those interested in pursuing their dreams – look for an industry unaffected by the economic downturn.

There is another lesson to be learned from Christine’s story as well – go after your dream. If you are happy doing what you are doing, then your chances of success increase exponentially.

Christine, best wishes for continued success!

If you have, or someone you know has, successfully pursued their passion despite this tough economy, please contact me here.

© sourtosweet