I’m sure my career started out like many of yours. I’m self-taught. I was an animal crazy kid that begged for a job at a kennel when I was just 16. I did typical kennel work for a few years and then one day the groomer was fired. My boss called me that night. I had a new job title. I was no longer kennel help — I was the new groomer. Whoa…
The first day in my new position I had six dogs to do and very little idea how to do it! But you know what? I jumped in and figured it out as I went along.
Were my early dogs well groomed? Heck no!! They were atrocious! And I had no idea how bad they really were until I looked at the photos years later. (terrifying – really)
Luckily, I was blessed with a boss who was progressive in the kennel industry. She got all the trade magazines that were available (remember we are talking the mid 70’s here!) and never threw them out. She kept them neatly stacked in a storage room on the upper level. Whenever I had a few moments, I would sneak into that storage closet and thumb through the magazines.
It didn’t take me long to find my first trade show. See my first grooming competition. And discover voluntary certification testing was on the horizon for groomers! (I told you I was in the industry for a long time, right?)
But with all successes – there are always a TON of mistakes, times you were hard on yourself, and plenty of lessons learned the hard way. I’ve experienced plenty of joy and gratification in this field. But those rewards did not come without loads of work, lots of sacrifices, frustration, and even a few tears.
If I’d had the resources and the talent found here at L2GD early in my career, I bet I would have avoided a lot of those stupid mistakes. I bet you can too. If you spend time learning from the top pros in the pet grooming industry – my guess is you’ll move at a much faster pace than I did in my grooming career!
With L2GD, I want to help you AVOID as many of the mistakes I made as I expanded my grooming skills and pet service businesses. I’ve personally selected the best of the best to be our Training Partners. Think of them as your ‘personal coaches’ as you expand your grooming career.
Our Training Partners are simply the best of the best. Every one of them are Certified Master Groomers, award winning competition pet stylist, members of the exclusive GroomTeam USA or even part of GroomTeam USA world-traveling competition grooming team.
At L2GD, we bring you up close and personal to these phenomenal stylists. We have over 600 professionally shot streaming video lessons for you to choose from. There is no other video library like this in the world! In every video – you get a front row seat to learn from the best.
Our goal is to help encourage YOU become the best you can be.
All our Training Partners love helping people improve their grooming skills. Become more efficient. Become smarter business owners. Become better managers. There is nothing more inspiring than watching people become stimulated. To grow. To progress. To advanced their careers. Bottom line; to become the best YOU can be!!
It’s a well-known fact. The more you learn – the more you earn. By becoming a member of Learn2GroomDogs (and cats too), there is no limit to what you can earn – and learn!
Happy Trimming!
Melissa Verplank, CMG
Founder & President
