In this solo episode, Bill Betts encourages pet grooming business owners to take a step back and reflect on how December really went. After the hustle of the holiday season, now’s the time to ask: What worked? What didn’t? What would I do differently next time?

Bill shares practical advice on how to learn from last year’s challenges – including weather issues, burnout, and overloaded booking schedules – and how to turn those lessons into better boundaries, clearer plans, and more professional systems moving forward.

He also talks about the power of taking time off without guilt, the importance of setting up savings pots, and why defining what you want from your business is key to long-term happiness.

Whether December went smoothly or left you feeling overwhelmed, this episode will help you start the new year with clarity, confidence, and control.

💬 Key Takeaways

1. Reflecting on the past year helps you improve your business strategies going forward.
2. Clear boundaries are essential for maintaining professionalism and avoiding burnout.
3. Taking planned time off improves your energy, decision-making, and customer service.
4. Setting up savings pots can help you create financial breathing space during quieter periods.
5. Knowing exactly what you want from your business helps you make better decisions and build a business that fits your life.
6. Learn from what didn’t go well – so you’re not repeating the same patterns next December!

As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn!

You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here: https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500, where listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions!

And of course, if you feel like you could benefit from Bill's business programs for the Pet Grooming industry, visit our website: https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

Welcome to the Pet Grooming Business Podcast with me, Bill Betts, where we give practical business advice to help you grow your pet grooming business.

This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay, the low rate payment app that gives you more.

So without further ado, let's get going.

Hello and welcome back to our podcast.

Happy new year.

I hope you had a chance to rest, reflect and take a breath after what is often one of the busiest months of the year for yourselves.

December can be intense in business.

I know there's a lot of demands placed on you for grooming the dogs and I understand that you want to have a nice little break as well.

So you often have to cram in or make sure you get lots of the dogs in to cover the financial side of you having a bit of time off and hopefully you're coping.

Now, as I sit here recording this podcast, it's minus five outside and I know several of our clients like mobile clients and also people that work from home.

Salons are reporting frozen pipes and no water and all the challenges that that that brings.

But my message to them at the moment is like, you know, this doesn't happen every year, but it's time to have some kind of contingency plan for when the weather turns nasty and turns cold.

So taking the time to reflect on what's gone wrong, as in the pipes are frozen and how can they overcome it so that next year they don't have the same issues.

But so, you know, it's time for learning, isn't it?

It's start of the new year, it's time for learning.

And that's what I want to start this year with a bit of reflection.

So I want to ask you one question for you to sort of start pondering whilst you listen to this and whilst you work throughout the day, what did you learn from working in December?

Maybe it was your 25th Christmas of the of your business, or maybe it was your first Christmas of the business, but what worked well for you, what didn't feel good?

Where did you feel stretched and rushed or maybe undervalued?

And more importantly, like reflecting on what, how you felt about December, what we do differently next year because of what you've learned.

And this is always really important.

We don't fail.

I don't believe that we fail in business, but we have to reflect and we have to learn and we have to take action on that.

So to prevent us from tripping over next year, we need to think about what we want to do differently and then how we're going to implement that for the next year.

I asked my clients this yesterday on our coaching call and some of them were some of the things that they've learn not to take on new business during December.

So sort of keeping the time available for current clients and not taking on new dogs, unknown dogs, because maybe your diary is going to be a bit busier because you're trying to fit the dogs in and so you don't want to take on unknown dogs especially there's potential there, isn't there, for groomer hoppers as well that perhaps can't get in at their usual groomers or maybe have neglected their, their golden retriever for the last eight months and all of a sudden want their Christmas pictures to be to look really well.

Something to reflect on maybe is going back.

I wrote a post in our Facebook group about beware of the, of the Christmas Doodle.

Tell me, have you, have you, did you fall foul of the Christmas doodle?

The, the doodle that comes in completely matted, completely unrealistic expectations by the owner.

And when you do the thing that you quite rightly should do and you know you're trained to do, shave that, that doodle off, you get a real sort of earful from the owner because you've ruined their Christmas photos.

Did you fall foul of that?

Maybe.

Go back and, and read the blog, read the post about the Christmas doodle.

It was shared across a few, a few groups, but it's also in my Facebook group as well.

So what did you do different?

What are you going to do different me next year because of what you've learned this year?

Some of the other things was taking deposits.

I know people that take full payment for Christmas appointments because that's really important that people show up.

And I think the majority of the comments were actually not working as much.

So taking Christmas Eve off or taking a few days off before Christmas Eve so that there's time to sort out the, sort out the home Christmas, you know, sort out the family's Christmas and prioritize a bit of family life.

And also I think majority of my clients took the period off between Christmas and New Year.

So it's important that we work out finances wise that we have the ability to take that time off and can afford that time off.

So yeah, it's an interesting one and maybe this is a good time if you're using like a challenger bank to start setting up those savings pots.

So something that I did for my, with our bank account for my personal life is I've set up some saving pots for the kids Christmas presents.

So we save £13amonth per child and by the time we get to December, I'll have £160 for each one of them, which I feel is enough for them, to be fair.

But you can start doing that.

And if you want to take the time off between Christmas and New Year in your business, then work out how much that's going to cost you in your business and then you can start saving for that.

Now, now be intentional about your savings.

Set up those saving pots and, and start looking at it.

So what have you learned that's, that's the reflection for you to start looking at what worked well, what didn't feel good, where did you feel stretched, rushed and undervalued.

And it's really important to start writing this stuff down because I know that your, your diaries get really busy and I know that some of you book the whole year out, book all your clients in.

So if you don't get ahead of your diary, if you don't make those changes sooner rather than later and get ahead of your, of your diary, then I'm afraid you're probably going to end up doing the same thing next year and regret it or the same thing in December and regret it and go, why didn't I listen?

Why didn't I change?

I will next year, but get ahead of your diary and make those, make those changes.

So my theme, I try and have a little theme of the year for myself and my business and my clients.

Last year was kind of looking at other ways to market our business away from the social, social media because, you know, Facebook owns our business.

We don't really own what Facebook.

We don't know what Facebook's going to do.

You know, we store so much of our information on social media and stuff.

So, so my theme of the year last year was kind of looking at email marketing off social media presence websites, search engine optimization, Google and stuff like that.

And that will, that will carry on to con, that will continue as well because this is a constant marketing is a constant, moving, moving beast that we need to sort of keep up with because we don't want to be left behind.

But I also wanted to bring in another, another theme for the year.

So we get a lot of people ask in the Facebook group, how do I stand out from a crowded market?

And my belief is that if you can stand out with the value that you offer and the level of professionalism that you bring to your business.

So when I talk about this, I'm sort of talking about, like, how you show up day in, day out really matters.

It's a very competitive market out there and there's a lot of choice for customers.

So there's going to be days where you're not going to feel it.

There's going to be days when you're going to be like, oh, do I need to answer this message?

Or I'm overwhelmed.

And maybe that's the day where you just need to take a pause and either put your professional head on and answer that message or deal with that customer.

Or maybe just say, I'll deal with it tomorrow when I feel I'm feeling that professionalism.

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So the value that you offer your customers and the level of professionalism your business brings not, I don't mean like undercutting, I don't mean like the old Tesco's blue stripe value.

I'm not talking about being cheap.

I'm not talking about that kind of value for money.

I'm talking about how you show up and how you run your business and how you make your customers feel.

So we're looking for like, nice, happy customers.

Nice, happy, you know, happy pets, good, consistent work, professional greetings, you know, answering the inquiries promptly and professionally.

But not, not outside of your boundaries, though.

Remember, if we're messaging like big corporate companies at 10 o' clock at night, do we actually expect to reply or do we expect to apply when they're back open again at 9, 8 o', clock, 9 o' clock in the morning.

So being professional also means about having clear boundaries that you stick by and run your business by as well.

So not doing more for less, that's not what it's about.

But by being clear, by being confident and consistent in what you offer and how you show up.

I believe Consistency is so important.

People love it when they know what they're going to get, when they, when they looking for it.

So professionalism isn't all about policies and pricings.

It's about how you communicate, how you respect your own time, how you treat your clients, how you seriously take yourself as a business owner.

And I believe things like, you know, do you have a uniform?

Do you, do you, do you look smart when you go to work?

And I know it's like by end of the day you're all hairy and itchy and you know, finding dog nails all in all sorts of places.

I understand that.

But you know, what does the front of your premises look like?

Do you have flowers outside, do you have signage?

Do you have hanging baskets?

Does it look nice?

Does it look inviting?

This is all value that you can offer.

And taking pride, taking pride in your business and being professional I think is going to be really important this year because there's so much competition, there's so much choice and I want you to be at the top of that choice.

I want you to be at the top of there.

I was talking to a client yesterday who has a grooming salon opposite them that offers grooming for dirt cheap prices.

And my client, you know, offers grooming at very good, like competitive, high prices.

And she's never been busier because, and I believe this is because of the value, the consistency, the professionalism that she offers to clients and people will decide to use you over other businesses when you start to show this.

Another question I think it does all sort of tie in with this is like, what do you want from your business this year?

You know, what, what do you want your, your business to do for you?

You are taking on a lot of work when you're running a business.

So we've got to make sure that it works for you.

So what do you want?

Do you want more time, do you want more money, more flexibility or more structure?

It's just as important as, you know, how you present your business to your customers is how you present your business to yourself as well.

You, you've got to be, you've got to be clear as to why you're running your business.

Why is it go and, you know, go and have a look at Simon Sinek's book.

It starts with why, why are we getting out of bed every day?

Why are we turning up every day?

Why are we putting on our, our smiley face every day?

You know, it becomes so important so that you have those clear understanding as to what you're running that business for and that will help you to provide more value and provide a better, more professional service as well.

And also when you're that confident and you understand your why and you have your drive and your vision, it becomes easier to make those tough decisions in your business because you've got a reason for making those tough decisions.

You've got a reason for putting your prices up, you've got a reason for turning up every day.

So boundaries become easier.

You got a reason to be more boundaried if you're one of your whys is to, to be there for your family.

So that's a really important question to start reflecting on as well.

What do you actually want from your business and what is stopping you from getting that from your business?

That's often, people often say it's themselves.

So this is all about personal development, isn't it, when you're running your business?

So personal development for me is extremely important and I've been on a journey now for probably the last five years of personal development and I remember the day quite clearly when I was driving home from dropping my kids off at school and I was on the, the hands free to my mum, I like to add.

But yeah, I'm driving home from school, from the school and personal development wise, I've been doing a lot, been getting some business coaching and stuff like that and my mum just sort of said I don't know who you are.

Like in a good way.

I've changed so much and I have changed so much over the last few years.

I mean, look, I'm recording a podcast.

I is just fantastic in its own right, isn't it?

And helping the pet grooming community.

But personal development is really, really important and don't, don't think it's selfish, don't think it's, you know, you're not worthy of it or you're not, you're not, it's not for you.

Because when you develop yourself, you then start to develop the people around you as well and you start to change their lives as well as your own life.

So start thinking about what kind of personal development would you like to do this year I'm continuing my focus on growth, not just in business by mindset and wealth building.

I'm learning more about creating multiple streams of revenue and income just from business growth, but also investing in the stock markets and even learning how to trade the forex market and to give me some flexibility and some more freedom as a, I mean I'm older but also once I've learned how to do the trading, trading the forex markets.

I'm going to teach the kids as well because I don't want my kids to be a slave to the wage.

I've got a bit conspiracy theory here, but, you know, stepping outside of the system, the system that teaches us to, you know, come out of school, get a job, get a mortgage, get a house to rent, get a big TV, get a pension, do 30 years in a, in a job which they don't really enjoy, and then retire.

Well, 30 years, they might even have to do longer these days.

But.

So I don't want, I want them to have choice.

I want them to understand that, yes, working is really important and they want to fulfill their, you know, what makes them happy and fulfill their purpose, but I don't want them to be a slave to the wage.

So once I've really nailed down the forex trading, I'm going to be teaching them as well so that they can generate money wherever they are for themselves and also be a lot freer.

If they don't want to work for that boss anymore, they have a choice, they can walk away and do something else.

So that's for my sort of development this year.

Practical skills.

I'm also challenging my, my beliefs as well.

Because growth always starts internally.

The stories we tell ourselves about money, success and what's possible shape the results we create.

So I forced myself to go and go to a business growth meeting last, last month in London.

You know, it's quite scary stepping outside of your comfort zone, going to meet new people, going to meet people that you look up to and respect, you know, being in the same room.

And I forced myself, it was a meeting with Jason Greystone and I forced myself to take his book with me and I asked him to sign my book and I got a photo with him.

All these things I'd never really sort of think about and, and do when I was, when I was younger.

So it was fortunate I did know a couple of people, but I would have gone anyway just to start developing myself and stepping outside of my comfort zone.

It's really important.

So I'm starting to challenge my own beliefs and the stories that I tell myself around all that, because it's all possible.

I've just sat down and over the Christmas break started working on our new vision board for the year to see what we want to do both in personal life and in our business as well.

So that's really important as well.

A little bit of vision to drive us forward.

So lots of, lots of questions in there.

For you to start the new year, I'm afraid, lots of reflection, but they're really deep questions that are important to start looking at.

A couple of book recommendations for you to start to help, maybe be useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I love listening to that.

To start looking at our, our vision going forward.

My Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel that's really eye opening as well about how money moves around the world, moves around the markets and looking at building wealth and not trying to be rich.

Now I'm going to let you sort of ponder on that because wealth building and being rich, I feel are two completely different things and they can lead to different things as well.

Maybe go and read the book Psychology of Money and see what you think.

And then obviously the Always Free book with Jason Gradestone if you want to start thinking about how to manage your finances differently.

He's sort of like one of the people that have challenged me to sort of think about, think outside the box and think about the system that we live in and how there's something completely different, a different way that we can do it.

So I hope you enjoyed that.

I hope you are starting to get back into the swing of things.

Remember what I've been talking about.

Remember how you're going to show up professionally for your customers.

Remember how you're going to look to add value to your business and leaving your customers feeling that warm fuzzy feelings when they leave or leave your business.

But also remember to start thinking about what do you want from your business that's really important.

I've got some great guests coming up over the next few months, which is always fantastic.

Once again, I always open my arms and offer the invit to yourselves if you've got an amazing story, or it doesn't even have to be an amazing story, if you've got a story about your grooming journey or you've got a product or a service that you'd like to talk to people about on this platform.

And please do drop me an email or send me a message and see if we can get you on here.

All right, take care everyone and I'll see you on the next episode.

Bye bye.

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