Dog Grooming Success: Adria Shook's Journey to Business Ownership
Episode 183 • 25th October 2024 • Total Michigan • Cliff Duvernois
00:00:00 00:29:08

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Adria Shook, owner of Grooming with Adria, shares her amazing story of growing up on a beef farm to becoming a successful dog groomer.

Key points include:

- The influence of her entrepreneurial stepdad and community support in her business journey.

- Strategies for managing customer expectations and handling anxious dogs.

- The use of technology and future plans for expanding her business into a comprehensive pet care facility.

Links:

Grooming with Adria Website: https://www.groomingwithadria.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groomingwithadria

Subscribe to our Email Newsletter: https://totalmichigan.com/join/

Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichigan

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichigan

Show Notes:

00:00 The Science Behind a Perfect Haircut

00:17 Introducing Adria Shook and Grooming with Adria

01:26 Adria's Journey: From College to Grooming

02:38 Starting the Business: Challenges and Successes

05:11 The Rapid Growth of Grooming with Adria

10:04 Navigating Client Expectations and Policies

13:24 Finding the Perfect Location for the Business

15:26 Unexpected Business Boom

15:43 Training and Expanding the Team

16:41 Handling Anxious Dogs

19:24 Grooming Tips for Different Breeds

24:03 The Role of Technology in Grooming

25:58 Future Plans and Business Growth

28:01 Support from the Tribe

28:42 Contact and Closing Remarks

Transcripts

Adria Shook:

So you have to have a Science behind your cut because

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if you make one wrong cut the

whole haircut could be horrible.

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yeah, he knew it all along and told

me my entire life This is what I

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need to do and I finally did it.

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And he was like How's

it working out for you?

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And i'm like, it's great.

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I love it.

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I don't I don't know why I

didn't do this from the start.

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Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone, and

welcome back to Total Michigan, where

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we interview ordinary Michiganders

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

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I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

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A lot of the times on the show, we

talk about people that have spent

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probably a good portion of their

career, a good portion of their life,

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really exploring their passions and

shaving it, sharing that with people.

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One of the things that I love to do

from time to time is poke my head

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especially into the young generation.

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Cause you always find those people

out there that are really, uh, sharing

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their passion with the world as well.

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So today to help walk us through this

a little bit more, is a cute little

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story that's come my way, and I'm

talking with Adria Shook, and she's

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the owner of Grooming with Adria.

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Adria, how are you?

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Adria Shook: Good, how are you?

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Cliff Duvernois: I'm doing

awesome, thank you for asking.

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So why don't you tell us,

what is Grooming with Adria?

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Adria Shook: We are a

dog grooming business.

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We focus on just grooming dogs.

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A lot of groomers can do cats as

well, but we stay away from that.

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We bathe cats.

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Nail trims, haircuts, ear

cleaning, everything you could

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think of that your dog might need.

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We work with nervous dogs, anxious dogs,

we have some aggressive dogs, and we

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have some really, like, great dogs that

don't even care what's happening to them.

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Cliff Duvernois: Certainly And so

why don't you tell us where are

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you from and where did you grow up

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Adria Shook: I am from Sault Ste.

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Marie, Michigan, where

my business is located.

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I grew up here most of my life,

halfway through high school.

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I moved down to Brighton,

Michigan, and graduated high

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school from there, and then came.

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back up here and went to college

and then have just stayed I guess.

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Cliff Duvernois: So then, so you

graduated from Brighton, which

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is a little bit of trek from and

then you decided to come back.

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Why?

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Adria Shook: whole family's here.

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You can't beat summers up here.

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Northern Michigan's beautiful.

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I love the people.

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I love the town.

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So it's just home.

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Cliff Duvernois: Nice.

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And so now your parents, are they still

in Brighton or did they move back as well?

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Adria Shook: My mom and my stepdad are

in Brighton, and my dad's in Cedarville,

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which is 40 minutes south of here.

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Cliff Duvernois: Okay.

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Alright, perfect.

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You said you went to college up here?

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LSSU?

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Yes.

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Okay.

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What did you start to study there?

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Adria Shook: My freshman year I

started off as a pre vet major.

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Worked at a local vet clinic here in town.

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Realized that's kind of not the

speed of life I wanted but I

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still wanted to work with animals.

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So at the time, going into my

sophomore year, I switched over

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to just business, normal business.

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Met a few groomers, got hooked

up with one down in Ohio, I moved

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down there for three months.

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I moved down to Ohio for three months.

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And she taught me

everything I needed to know.

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Then I came home.

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Worked part time downtown

at a coffee shop.

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Made my Facebook page.

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And then, like, overnight

it was like, boom.

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I want my dog done.

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Cliff Duvernois: So there's

a lot to unpack there.

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You said before you wanted

to work with animals.

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Why?

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Where did that come from?

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Adria Shook: I actually grew up on a farm.

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So, like 15 minutes out of

town, it's called Dafter.

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It's a beef farm, so that's

where my love of animals started.

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I was in 4 H all my life.

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I've shown rabbits, pigs,

lambs, horses, cows.

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I just love, love animals.

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Cliff Duvernois: Love animals.

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Nice.

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And then, so, I guess the question

I gotta ask is, because you grew

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up on a farm and you love animals,

you went into veterinarian, why

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not become like an animal farmer?

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have like pacas or chickens or something.

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Adria Shook: It's a lot of work.

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It is hard work, and it can be dirty work.

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Not that grooming's not, because

you do get the occasional

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accident that happens on you.

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But, it's a lot of outside, working

with your hands, and I enjoyed the,

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more of like a 9 to 5 I get to send

you home after I'm done with you.

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Cliff Duvernois: send you home

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I'm done with you.

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I did

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Adria Shook: you No, I did drop out

'cause the business took off so quickly.

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It was either I chose school

or I chose the business and

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Cliff Duvernois: Now you said you

were meeting groomers that was

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there and this is when you dropped

out and you moved to Ohio, which is

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interesting because I have to imagine

there's groomers that are closer.

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Adria Shook: Yes, so I reached out to

a couple of our local groomers to see

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if they'd let me shadow to see if it's

just something I'd be interested in.

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None of them were open to it.

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And then my boyfriend's friend, Garrett,

his sister is a groomer down in Ohio.

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And Garrett was like, here's

her phone number, call her up.

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They would love to have you down there.

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So I called her and she

was like, yes, come down.

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We'd love to have you here, and

my boyfriend's from Ohio, or his

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parents are from Ohio, so I stayed

at his grandparent's house and just

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did my thing and then came back.

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Cliff Duvernois: came back.

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So, I think it took me two months.

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So I was doing it like part time.

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I was

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Adria Shook: I think

it took me two months.

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So I was doing it, part time.

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I was working down at the

coffee shop, part time.

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I made my Facebook page in May.

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And then, come July 4th, it was

like, I can't do the coffee shop,

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I have to pick one or the other.

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So I just picked grooming,

and just did that full time.

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Cliff Duvernois: that full

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Adria Shook: it's just gotten

busier and busier since.

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Cliff Duvernois: now when you

talk about before, and this

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is actually cool to explore.

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Talking about before about how

business just exploded, right?

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You put up a Facebook page.

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You mentioned that there's other

groomers that are in the area.

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So the first question is, is

that how, like when you put your

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Facebook page up there and all

of a sudden people are booking.

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Appointments with you.

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Did you have location?

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Did you have any equipment?

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Adria Shook: I had equipment.

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I did not have a location.

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I just did it out of my house, would

bathe dogs in my bathtub at home.

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I had a little fold up table that I

would pop up, put them on, dry them,

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and clipper, scissors, whatever I had

to do, and then would send them home.

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Cliff Duvernois: And I could

imagine that people just didn't

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care as long as their dog got clean

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Adria Shook: Yeah, yeah,

no, they didn't care.

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And a lot of them around

here are word of mouth.

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Most of them knew my

mom or knew my grandma.

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So they're like, oh, we're

going to give her a shot.

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And very supportive town.

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Like everyone supports local

businesses and all that kind of stuff.

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So it was easy.

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And then the hair got

out of control at home.

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So I was like, I have to find somewhere.

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Cliff Duvernois: that's how I got in here.

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Yeah, and like, we use

a high velocity blow

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Adria Shook: Yes.

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Probably not

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Cliff Duvernois: when you have

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Adria Shook: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And, we use a high velocity blow

dryer, so when you have, like, an

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excessive shedding dog, like a golden

retriever, the hair will fly everywhere.

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And it's, I've, even after I moved in

here, I was still finding hair in my home,

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like, two months

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Cliff Duvernois: two months later.

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But like mist when I'm cleaning.

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Yeah, I mean, I didn't

know what I was expecting.

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Like, I just made the Facebook

page, opened it, like, didn't

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Adria Shook: was it one of these things

like, holy cow, this actually might work?

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I mean I was just winging it.

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I just

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Cliff Duvernois: pricing set

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And so I was like, go,

I was just winging it.

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And I just, went off of

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Adria Shook: Only one located in town.

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Cliff Duvernois: Only

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Adria Shook: There's one on Nine

Mile, which is 15 minute drive.

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There's one out in Pickford.

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And then, I think there's

one on Seven Mile.

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There's one in Kinross.

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There's only like five or six of us.

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And we're all really busy.

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I know that.

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I do talk with the one

on Pickford frequently.

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She's been really supportive.

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She's great.

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And there's just not enough

groomers and too many dogs.

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So like I have a three month, I'm

booked out three months right now.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And then there's me, one other groomer

and Chloe who is here and we have a bather

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that we're just starting to train grooming

so we can maybe have three groomers.

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So we can cut back wait time a little bit.

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Cliff Duvernois: Maybe

have three groomers.

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So we can cut back on

the time a little bit.

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This is my first.

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I didn't grow

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Adria Shook: this is my first.

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I did grow up, my stepdad is an

entrepreneur, so he's got, uh,

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yeah, so I lived in a home with it.

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He has, I think, five, I might

be wrong, he might have more

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locations in like metro Detroit.

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And he, it's like music.

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Kids come and teach music.

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Or he teaches music, not him, but

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Cliff Duvernois: That's cool.

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Adria Shook: independent contractors that

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Cliff Duvernois: Yes.

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Adria Shook: for him and

teach kids music, so.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, that's kind of cool.

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So, so like, you know, when you get your

business up and running, was there like

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any like piece of advice that he gave you?

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Adria Shook: My entire life he told

me that I should just own a business

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because I couldn't work for anybody.

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Cliff Duvernois: I was like

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Adria Shook: He knew it.

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He knew it all along, but I was stubborn

and I was like, no, I'm gonna be a vet.

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This is what I want to do.

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And I was great at art.

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He was like, you're gonna be an artist.

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This is what you should do.

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He knew it all along.

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And grooming is art.

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It takes a lot of time and skill,

especially when I, you think

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about it, dogs move constantly.

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So you have to have a Science behind

your cut because if you make one wrong

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cut the whole haircut could be horrible.

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Yeah So yeah, he knew it all along and

told me my entire life This is what

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I need to do and I finally did it.

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And he was like How's

it working out for you?

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And i'm like, it's great.

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I love it.

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I don't I don't know why I

didn't do this from the start.

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Cliff Duvernois: Nice.

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That's really great.

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Adria Shook: yeah, no whenever I

have advice I call him up and he

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has knows everything to say so

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, that's great.

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And it's nice to have that, that

family support too, So let's kind

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of explore a little bit about, cause

when you get the business, you've

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got people that are like lining up.

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Yeah.

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Starting to take off.

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Mom, Mom's Network friends,

sharing this all over the place.

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Talk to us about some of

those initial challenges.

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Did you get to a point where you

thought, this is too much, too fast?

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Adria Shook: no.

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No.

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I never got to the point where

it was like, too much, too fast.

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There were scenarios that I have not

been put in, where you get maybe one

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unsatisfied client, or you accidentally

nick a dog and have to send it home

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and tell it, oh, you got a vet visit.

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And it's do I pay the bill?

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Do I not pay the bill?

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So like, when I first started,

I had no policy set up.

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And through mistakes and learning, From

experience, I was able to build a policy.

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I had one time one person came in,

wanted her dog shaved when it was a

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dog that shouldn't have been shaved.

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And I talked her through it and

we decided not to shave the dog.

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And then a month later,

she wanted a full refund.

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And the dog would have probably

needed a bath after that whole month.

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And I didn't know what to do, because

it's like, it's already been a month.

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And I didn't have my policy really

set up, so that's when I started

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doing the 7 day if you're not

satisfied, let me know within 7

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days and we will fix whatever it is.

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Anything after that we're going

to treat as a new appointment.

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But yeah, it was just like trial and

error from experiences that I'd done.

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Didn't have when I was training

under somebody because they handled

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their business side and I was just

there So yeah, that would probably

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be the most challenging part

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Cliff Duvernois: And actually, that's

interesting because when I see people

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with their pets, it literally is

they're treating their pet like a child.

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Adria Shook: i'm guilty.

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I have two dogs.

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They're my babies

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Cliff Duvernois: So, you know, yeah.

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And that's gotta be tense when, you

know, somebody comes in here with

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high expectations or something.

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And like you said, you

talked her out of it.

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Adria Shook: Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: often does that happen?

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Adria Shook: Pretty often.

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So any of your double coated breeds

like Australian shepherds, golden

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retrievers they should not be shaved.

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Their double coat actually

controls their temperature.

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So when it's shaved, they don't

really know if they're hot or cold.

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And it can damage their coat.

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So their coat will never

grow back the same.

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And sometimes they'll get alopecia, which

means their hair won't grow back at all.

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And I just can, then they're more

prone to getting sunburn in the

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summers, all that kind of stuff,

which people don't aren't aware of.

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They're just like, Oh, let's shave my dog.

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Cause it'll help with shedding

and it doesn't help with shedding.

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It just makes the hair shorter.

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So I just explain all of that to them.

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And most of the time they're like, Oh

yeah, like I don't want to do that.

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Like I want to keep them

healthy and keep a healthy coat.

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Cliff Duvernois: that.

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For our audience, we're going to take

a quick break and thank our sponsors.

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When we come back, we're going to talk

with Adria a lot more about growing her

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business and also what you can expect

when you bring your furry friend here.

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We'll see you after the break.

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Hello everyone.

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And welcome back to Total Michigan,

where we interview ordinary Michiganders

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doing some pretty extraordinary things.

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I'm your host, Cliff Duvernois.

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Today, we're talking with the

energetic Adria Shook of Growing

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with Adria in, uh, Sault Ste.

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Marie.

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And Adria before the break, we were

talking about how your business started

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taking off, it's growing, you're

getting clients, you're working on

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getting your policies in shape and

learning how to deal with customers.

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The nice ones that are not nice ones.

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And at some point you made

the decision that this isn't

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working in my house anymore.

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So you went on the hunt, talked to

us about those first steps in finding

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A location that you could use.

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Adria Shook: was difficult.

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have any experience renting or

anything, because I was lucky enough

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to live at home my entire life.

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So I started driving around, looking

at buildings that said for rent,

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and started calling people up.

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First couple of Landlords were like, yeah,

no, we're not having dogs in our building.

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And so then I found this one.

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He answered, he was like,

yeah that's awesome idea.

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Like come in and let's talk.

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And so,

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Cliff Duvernois: owns a dog too.

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Adria Shook: No, not anymore.

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No, no, he is retired now.

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There's snowbirds, so they go south in the

winter and then enjoy the summers up here.

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all their kids are out of their house,

so they don't have a dog anymore, but

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they have, they told me they had a lab.

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So, Met him here, kind of walked in and

was like, yeah, I can make this work

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and he was like, yeah, I'm cool with it.

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So called the city to make sure I could

do what I wanted to do where I was

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doing it and it was in the right zoning.

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So I put down my deposit and

started moving things in that week.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, did you

do a lot of renovation to the

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space or did you just come in and

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Adria Shook: I just came in.

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All I had is I had a plumber

come put in my bathing tub.

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And that was it.

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I just moved my tables in, and it was

literally, when I first came in, it

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was one table, one tub, nothing else.

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And I did that for about a year and

then Chloe had reached out to me,

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like, oh, I'm interested in what you

do, like, my grandma did it growing

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up, and I watched her, and so then

Chloe started with me, probably,

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Just like a year and a half ago.

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She started July of last year, so she's

been over a little bit over than a year.

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And when she started, it like doubled

the amount of dogs I was doing a day,

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because I had an extra set of hands.

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So like, I was doing 6 8 dogs a day

by myself, depending on their size.

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With her I could do like 10 12.

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No.

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No, I wasn't, I wasn't really,

I was booking out maybe

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like two weeks at that time.

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Right.

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And I was just like, yeah,

extra help would be great.

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And then after she started, it

just took off out of nowhere.

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I don't know why.

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I was open for probably a year, a

year and a half around that point.

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And we got like super busy through

November and December out of nowhere.

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and then just kept

getting busier and busier.

376

:

So I was like, all right, Chloe,

you got to start grooming.

377

:

Like you got to help me out.

378

:

You can't just bathe my dogs

and have me groom all of them.

379

:

So, I started training her and

she started grooming on her

380

:

own in February of this year.

381

:

And then we just kept getting busier

and busier and busier and busier.

382

:

So I just started hiring people.

383

:

Cliff Duvernois: and when you're

384

:

Adria Shook: Yep.

385

:

And when you're good at what you

do, when you're good with the dogs.

386

:

You can make dogs look pretty when they

come in, not looking pretty, whatever.

387

:

When you're good at what you do

and you're a people person, which

388

:

I am, I strive to make you happy.

389

:

So I want your dog to be happy.

390

:

I want you to be happy.

391

:

Like we're gonna make

best outcome of it, right?

392

:

I don't like turning people away.

393

:

Like I will work with our dog

if their dog's aggressive, like

394

:

more times than most groomers.

395

:

I'm very patient, so yeah, I don't

like turning people away and.

396

:

It just keeps getting busier.

397

:

And now I'm booked three months out, so.

398

:

Cliff Duvernois: booked 3 months

399

:

Adria Shook: and Chloe.

400

:

And we both do probably

eight to ten dogs a day.

401

:

Cliff Duvernois: both do

probably 8 10 dogs a day.

402

:

You know, so before we set up

the microphones, you know, you

403

:

had a good customer here that was

just singing your praises, right?

404

:

According to her, you walk on water.

405

:

she made a comment about her dog is,

you know, super anxious and she would

406

:

take to the vet and they're giving her

tranquilizers, trying to keep her down.

407

:

Apparently she doesn't

have to do that here.

408

:

I'm, I'm a dog person myself.

409

:

I love them and I think that

dogs reflect what it is that

410

:

they feel and the people that

411

:

Adria Shook: Mhm.

412

:

Cliff Duvernois: but

how do you handle those?

413

:

Anxious dog.

414

:

Those robunctious dogs.

415

:

Those Uh, sometimes it takes

416

:

Adria Shook: sometimes

it takes a couple visits.

417

:

for her example, the first time

she came in, I was only able to

418

:

clip one single nail on that dog.

419

:

Really?

420

:

Yeah.

421

:

Okay.

422

:

And she was like, are

you willing to try again?

423

:

Because obviously she was desperate,

didn't want to go back to the vet and

424

:

have all of the sedations and all that.

425

:

And I was like, yeah, absolutely.

426

:

And it took a couple of tries.

427

:

I think the second time

we got two paws done.

428

:

And then third time we were

able to get three paws done.

429

:

So it took a couple of times.

430

:

So, yeah.

431

:

And dogs, they know when

you're a dog person.

432

:

And a lot of them have

maybe a bad experience.

433

:

So then they will.

434

:

Bring that bad experience here.

435

:

And it's like a learning to trust thing.

436

:

So she's been coming to

me for I think a year now.

437

:

I've been doing that dog's nail

trims and she does great now.

438

:

I mean we still muzzle her for safety and

it takes two of us to do her because she

439

:

likes to move a lot, but we can do her.

440

:

Like it was a whole 15 20 minute process.

441

:

Now I can get it done in five.

442

:

Yeah, a couple of them.

443

:

Anxious dogs some of them you can

go through the whole process and

444

:

they'll be fine others it'll be

like we have to slowly work into it

445

:

Cliff Duvernois: Right.

446

:

Adria Shook: and have a couple

times of meeting and Maybe just

447

:

doing the bath today and not the

haircut and then doing the haircut

448

:

the next appointment type thing

449

:

Cliff Duvernois: I can imagine with

doing, like you were talking about, 10

450

:

12 dogs a day, that after a while, you

can determine pretty quickly if this

451

:

is a dog that you'll be able to do in

one visitor if it's going to take a

452

:

Adria Shook: Oh, I know.

453

:

As soon as I walk through the front

door, I can tell, I can tell as soon

454

:

as I walk in the front door of the dog,

it's going to give me a problem or not.

455

:

Yeah.

456

:

Yeah.

457

:

Cliff Duvernois: the signs that you see?

458

:

Um,

459

:

Adria Shook: their demeanor, like

a lot of them can be run up to you.

460

:

Super excited to see you go on a lot.

461

:

We'll try to not even walk in the door.

462

:

And most of the ones that are scared

are the ones that, when you get them

463

:

on the table, they, feel unbalanced

and the table is shaking and you

464

:

gotta calm them down like you're

not gonna fall, like you're all

465

:

Cliff Duvernois: going to

466

:

Adria Shook: or in the tub, like

a lot of times we start the water

467

:

and the next thing you know the

dog is trying to fly out the tub.

468

:

Cliff Duvernois: of times

469

:

Adria Shook: I can normally tell

as soon as they come in the door.

470

:

Cliff Duvernois: bugs.

471

:

Um, I can normally tell

as soon as that happens.

472

:

taking their pet to a

473

:

Adria Shook: like the dog

474

:

Cliff Duvernois: to the groomer,

uh, cause you don't do cats.

475

:

Um, what are some of the things

that they should be thinking about?

476

:

Adria Shook: When you get

a dog, you should do your

477

:

research before you get a breed.

478

:

Because a lot of them just get a dog

because they think it looks cute.

479

:

Um, doodles have become really popular

and a lot of people don't realize

480

:

how high maintenance a doodle is.

481

:

they like, oh, I want this cute

fluffy dog, but it needs to be

482

:

brushed daily and brushed correctly

and come in every four to six weeks.

483

:

Yeah.

484

:

or people will get like golden retriever,

for example, like we're talking

485

:

about earlier, a long haired dog that

does shed and then want it shaved.

486

:

you should do your research that

they aren't supposed to be shaved.

487

:

that's probably why I would do your

research before getting a dog and then,

488

:

know what it needs done at a groomer's.

489

:

And when you go to the groomer,

like, doodles and stuff, you can do

490

:

thousands of different haircut styles.

491

:

The most popular one's a teddy bear cut.

492

:

but a lot of people, they'll come in and

they'll have pictures on their phone and

493

:

be like, this is what I'm looking for.

494

:

Um, and I'll be like,

okay, yeah, we can do that.

495

:

Or, no, we can't do that.

496

:

Cliff Duvernois: no,

497

:

Adria Shook: A lot of doodles, they all

have different coat textures because

498

:

they're mixed with different breeds.

499

:

And I'll say, yeah, like we can

do this haircut, but it's not

500

:

going to match that picture just

because their texture is different.

501

:

Cliff Duvernois: texture is

502

:

Adria Shook: we do a lot of

communicating before we get started so

503

:

they can have an idea of the outcome

504

:

Cliff Duvernois: outcome.

505

:

Adria Shook: and we can adjust things.

506

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now, let me ask you this

question here, because you were talking

507

:

about breeds before, like, the golden

retriever, talking, you mentioned doodle.

508

:

What about, because this is

like, this is crazy popular.

509

:

People are all fanatical

about getting these shelter

510

:

right?

511

:

And they're nine times out of 10.

512

:

They are mutts.

513

:

They're like, 50 different

breeds mixed into one.

514

:

So in those particular cases, how do you.

515

:

I guess do research on the mutt,

or is it just something where

516

:

it's a case by case basis, bring

it in and let's talk about your

517

:

Adria Shook: don't know, uh,

we have tons of knowledge here.

518

:

They can come in, we'll

share everything we know.

519

:

You can tell a lot by,

like, the coat, too.

520

:

Our local shelter, most of the dogs that

come out of there are short haired dogs.

521

:

so they mostly just need baths and

nail trim, occasional ear cleaning,

522

:

teeth brushing, all that kind of stuff.

523

:

longer haired dogs, if you don't know,

has a double coat, and you're not familiar

524

:

with the breed, you can get, um, a DNA

test for them, or see what your vet

525

:

thinks, or what the shelter thinks.

526

:

That's most of the time they'll be like,

oh, this dog is mainly German Shepherd

527

:

mixed with, we don't know what, but we

can just see that out of the dog, so.

528

:

it varies.

529

:

If you don't know what the breed

is, the coat type has a lot to say.

530

:

what should be done and what not.

531

:

And

532

:

Cliff Duvernois: And this is something

where if they did bring it in, you would

533

:

look right at it and understand the coat.

534

:

Yes.

535

:

Right away from your experience?

536

:

Yes.

537

:

Cool.

538

:

Cool.

539

:

And then, so let me ask

you this question here.

540

:

So if somebody is like at home, they

come in, they bring their dog in, get

541

:

it groomed, then they take it home.

542

:

what are some simple tips or whatever,

whatever, when they get home to help their

543

:

dog to, stay healthy, to look healthy?

544

:

Adria Shook: depending on the dog

and what the maintenance it needs,

545

:

weekly, daily, monthly brushing, keep

brushing it, feed it a healthy diet.

546

:

there's a lot of Human foods that

dogs can have, like coconut oil, makes

547

:

a dog's coat really shiny and soft.

548

:

I give my dogs coconut oil.

549

:

any fish oils, like salmon and all

that kind, like supplements, you

550

:

can add to dog food and it will

keep their coat shiny and healthy.

551

:

So diet plays a big role in it.

552

:

other than that, keeping them clean.

553

:

Like if they go roll in the mud.

554

:

Cliff Duvernois: a bath at home, or

555

:

Adria Shook: to the pet store.

556

:

They have a self wash station there.

557

:

I think it's five bucks.

558

:

So,

559

:

Cliff Duvernois: self wash station there.

560

:

Adria Shook: opened

that, I think, last year.

561

:

So,

562

:

yeah.

563

:

Yeah.

564

:

Cliff Duvernois: I think, last year.

565

:

We happened to be

566

:

Adria Shook: Yes.

567

:

Cliff Duvernois: so I kind of knew her.

568

:

Didn't know

569

:

Adria Shook: We happened to

be friends before I hired her.

570

:

So, I kind of knew her.

571

:

I didn't know what it was like hiring an

employee, didn't know how to do it really.

572

:

Just wung it, and we were friends,

so she stuck through the, Oh, I

573

:

didn't get paid this week, um, I'm

like, oh, I thought I ran payroll

574

:

correctly, apparently I didn't.

575

:

So, she's been a trooper

through it all, And, I've loved

576

:

having another person here.

577

:

Somebody to talk to, instead of

me sounding like a crazy lady

578

:

talking to the dogs all day.

579

:

and she's helped a lot, Taken a lot of.

580

:

Not stress, but more

responsibilities off me.

581

:

Because she can help do the same thing.

582

:

She's kind of like my

manager, I would say.

583

:

Now, she's been here forever.

584

:

She knows every answer

that anybody would ask,

585

:

Cliff Duvernois: Right.

586

:

Adria Shook: If I'm not here,

she's your person to ask.

587

:

But, yeah.

588

:

So, let

589

:

Cliff Duvernois: let me

ask you this question here.

590

:

You've done really well for yourself.

591

:

if you're booked out for three

months, you're managing your employee.

592

:

why don't you talk to, cause you mentioned

something about this during the break.

593

:

And I do, I would like to explore

this, but the role that technology is

594

:

playing in your business, cause you're

running everything through square.

595

:

Adria Shook: Yes.

596

:

Cliff Duvernois: Talk to us about that.

597

:

Adria Shook: Um, so not a lot of

groomers have an online booking.

598

:

Like you have to call

to book an appointment.

599

:

So I offer online booking.

600

:

You can go to my website

or my Facebook page.

601

:

see all my services.

602

:

Click whatever one applies.

603

:

And click a staff member.

604

:

And find a time that works best for you.

605

:

And just book it all online.

606

:

You don't have to call me.

607

:

You don't have to text me.

608

:

Nothing.

609

:

If you have questions or not

familiar with technology.

610

:

phone is open.

611

:

We answer the phone

probably 20 times a day.

612

:

So, yeah, I use Square for

all of my booking purposes.

613

:

I use Square for my website.

614

:

I use Square for payroll, all of

that, like all through Square.

615

:

Marketing, everything.

616

:

Cliff Duvernois: So when you talk

about actually, let's explore

617

:

that because I love marketing,

618

:

Adria Shook: love

619

:

Cliff Duvernois: how do you

do marketing through Square?

620

:

Adria Shook: They have

text message marketing.

621

:

I can send mass text to all of my

clients, like they set up a profile,

622

:

they have their phone number and email.

623

:

So I can send text, or I

can send email marketing.

624

:

And, you just make your campaign, send

it out, and they actually collaborate

625

:

with Instagram and Facebook too.

626

:

So if I make one on Square,

I can share it to my Facebook

627

:

and my Instagram page as well.

628

:

That

629

:

is so

630

:

Cliff Duvernois: all

of your reporting too.

631

:

So I can see

632

:

Adria Shook: Yes.

633

:

And they do

634

:

Cliff Duvernois: in

635

:

Adria Shook: all of your

reporting too, so I can see.

636

:

Which months I did best

in throughout the year.

637

:

I can see whether cash or

card sales are doing better.

638

:

I can see what, service is

getting booked the most.

639

:

Like they do like tons of reporting

for your entire business to be

640

:

around and share it with you.

641

:

Cliff Duvernois: Right now, is this

something your stepdad recommended

642

:

or just something you stumbled on?

643

:

Adria Shook: he did.

644

:

He recommended square.

645

:

Cliff Duvernois: That's perfect.

646

:

We got that wealth of knowledge.

647

:

Might as well take

648

:

Adria Shook: Yeah.

649

:

Yeah.

650

:

Yeah.

651

:

Cliff Duvernois: So let me

ask you this question here.

652

:

what's next?

653

:

What are you thinking

about for the future?

654

:

Adria Shook: I've been working on

typing up a business plan to grow

655

:

my business into a boarding and

daycare and grooming location.

656

:

So it'll be like an all in one stop,

um, shop where you can bring your

657

:

dog for daycare and get groomed

the same day, or bring your dog to

658

:

board for a week while you go on

vacation and have your dog groomed.

659

:

everyone can come to like one area.

660

:

So I've been looking into doing that

and in hopes, I'm hoping to find a

661

:

building by next year and get that going.

662

:

So

663

:

Yeah.

664

:

Cliff Duvernois: a lot with people.

665

:

You're the first one that's ever

said, I'm working on a business plan.

666

:

Most people like jump in with both feet.

667

:

So why did you feel that a

business plan was the best route to

668

:

Adria Shook: the best route to go?

669

:

Um, I wanted to see numbers.

670

:

So when I go to ask people for help.

671

:

So I'm a tribal member, so I

belong to Sioux Tribe here.

672

:

and our tribe really does help, tribal

business owners, especially women.

673

:

So I wanted to have a plan, so

when I go to them, being like,

674

:

What can you give me to help me?

675

:

This is what I want to do.

676

:

This is my numbers, this is

what I need to get started.

677

:

Like, all that kind of stuff,

because there's tons of

678

:

equipment that goes into daycare.

679

:

And boarding, kennels and all that.

680

:

And I want, top quality stuff.

681

:

I don't want to be just like a

random border, you know what I mean?

682

:

I want it to be like, a nice

location that people, I would

683

:

feel safe bringing my dogs to.

684

:

So I wanted a business plan that

I could be able to talk to people,

685

:

and they can see the numbers,

and I will know the knowledge.

686

:

cause I obviously did the

research and typed it up myself.

687

:

That's why I wanted it, and I

wanted it cause it's great to look

688

:

back on when you are working on a

business, For example, this one,

689

:

I didn't type up a business plan.

690

:

I didn't have short

term or long term goals.

691

:

So I can't really tell you what they were.

692

:

But with the one that I'm typing up now,

I do have short term, long term goals.

693

:

And I think it'd be nice to be like,

oh wow, like I met that goal, like

694

:

way faster than I thought I did.

695

:

Cliff Duvernois: way faster than I thought

696

:

Adria Shook: Yeah, so that's the whole

backstory of the business plan and stuff.

697

:

Cliff Duvernois: So when you're

working with, because you're talking

698

:

about how you know, you work with

the tribe, is there like, is there

699

:

resources that they have available?

700

:

Do they provide financial support at

all, like in the form of a grant or

701

:

Adria Shook: a cross?

702

:

Yeah.

703

:

the one page that I've been

following is Soo Tribe Thrive.

704

:

Um, They are newer, and they give grants

and will help you, look into grants with

705

:

the state of Michigan and stuff like that.

706

:

I think I haven't done so

much, too much research and

707

:

haven't talked to anybody there

708

:

Cliff Duvernois: know

709

:

Adria Shook: but I know

it's available to me.

710

:

And the tribe is very supportive

for all their tribal members.

711

:

even outside of business, if you're

looking to get a home, um, a lot

712

:

of them, first time home buyers

will let you, help you with the

713

:

down payment and stuff like that.

714

:

Cliff Duvernois: like that.

715

:

Sure.

716

:

And if somebody did want to reach out,

contact you, follow you online, what's

717

:

the best way for them to do that?

718

:

Adria Shook: can look up.

719

:

Grooming with Adria on Google.

720

:

I should be the only one that pops up.

721

:

Nobody else has my name.

722

:

You can look it up on Facebook

723

:

Cliff Duvernois: Adria, thank you so

much for taking time to chat with us

724

:

Adria Shook: Yeah, of

course, thanks for having me.

725

:

Cliff Duvernois: And for audience, you

can always roll on over to Total Michigan.

726

:

com.

727

:

Click on Adria's interview and get

the links that she mentioned above.

728

:

We'll see you next time.

729

:

When we talk to another Michigander

doing some pretty extraordinary

730

:

things, we'll see you then.

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