Steps to Recovery When Trouble Arises in Your Pet Grooming Franchise

It’s normal for any business to face difficulties. In fact, as trouble arises, it’s more of a reassuring health check that one’s business is open and operating. A pet grooming franchise is no different. As you plan, open, and run your own pet franchise, you should always hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. It doesn’t matter how well things have been going so far, at some point, some kind of disaster will hit and if you’re unprepared, even the smallest issue will seem unsolvable as you shuffle to fix whatever went wrong. As you run your pet grooming franchise, keep these things in mind for when trouble arises.

Know That Problems Happen

The best thing you can probably do for your pet grooming franchise is to acknowledge that trouble happens and to just be mentally prepared. By acknowledging that everything will not be 100% perfect all of the time, you set yourself up in a prepared mental state so that when something does go wrong, you’re not panicked because it’s a moment you’ve known was coming, even if the problem itself is unexpected.

Find the Problem

So now that you’re mentally prepared for the problem, when you see one, find out where it’s coming from and destroy the bottleneck as quickly as possible to slow down the problem’s effects. It can be difficult to diagnoses a problem in a pet grooming franchise, it can be even harder to fix it, especially if that problem is an employee who is not picking up the store culture, rules, or responsibilities like they should have. This is why you have spent time mentally preparing. You need a solution, and depending on the problem, you may need it fast. Identify who or what’s contributing to the problem and what can you do to slow it down. Even if that means termination.

Make a Decision and Do It

Now that you’ve identified the problem and its cause, you have to make the decision of what to do about it. Sometimes consulting your team for multiple perspectives is alright, but at the end of the day as the owner of a pet grooming franchise. It’s up to you to make the decision that will affect your business and sometimes the opinions of other can hold you back. Do what you think must be done, even if it’s hard. It’s always much better to make a wrong decision and learn than to do nothing at all.

Smile and Be Confident
You are the brain and backbone of your pet grooming franchise. As you go face-to-face with trouble, don’t let your employees, clients, or consumers know that you may feel intimidated. Put on a poker-face, be respectful if you’re terminating an employee, and be confident in the moves you make. People will always follow a confident leader who is making the wrong move over an unconfident leader making the right one. As you remain professional, you’ll set an example for your employees and show you can be trusted and followed, even in the worst of times and this will create a stronger team out of something that was once a problem.

Dan J. Barton CEO of Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique

Splash and Dash for Dogs

Dan J. Barton, CEO – Splash and Dash for Dogs – St. Petersburg, FL. – Business Superstar

 

Last year, Dan J. Barton’s Splash and Dash for Dogs was featured as one of Inc. 500’s America’s Fastest Growing Companies for 2014. This followed a three-year growth rate of over 2,000% annually.

 

Barton is now seeking to expand the franchise network for his canine-care operations. We spoke with him recently on his plans to bring Splash and Dash for Dogs to a retail center near you.
Q: What inspired you to create Splash and Dash for Dogs? And what inspired you to spin this business out into a franchise network?

 

Dan J. Barton: I have always had a business mindset and a love of pets. I combined these two together when I opened my first pet store, Hollywood Premier Pets. While this was a successful business venture, I wanted to do something that was different, something unique.

 

The inspiration for Splash and Dash is taken from my experience in the fitness industry in the form of gym memberships and the idea of allowing dogs to still be dogs. As pet parents we want our dogs to look immaculate, yet we want them to be healthy and run around, which is messy. The signature bath service I created allows pet parents to achieve this without spending a fortune. Our unlimited monthly use is the key difference in our pets clean and fresh.

 

Q: What are the advantages of potential entrepreneurs going into a franchise rather than starting a standalone business from scratch?

 

Dan J. Barton: There are many benefits of buying a franchise compared to buying a small business. You get the support, national branding and best business practices that are proven to work. What’s more is that the membership program offered at Splash and Dash brings a recurring revenue model that potential business owners would be hard pressed to find in a standalone business or even know where to start with the implementation of it.

 

Q: What are some of the most common mistakes that new franchise owners make when opening a business for the first time?

 

Dan J. Barton: There are a few mistakes I have seen new franchise owners make. One is not having enough funding. Many new franchisees think they only need enough to cover the startup costs for the business. This alone is not enough. You need to have enough to cover all the costs for the first three – six months while the business getting started and established.

 

Another area where new franchise owners tend to fail is in the marketing department. They tend to think a grand opening celebration combined with the national branding they receive from the franchisor is enough to give them the exposure they need. Marketing is the lifeblood of any successful business, including franchises. If marketing wasn’t necessary, even for successful brands, then you would never see advertisements for large corporations such as McDonald’s or Walmart.

 

Q: How lucrative is the pet industry for franchise opportunities?

 

Dan J. Barton: The pet industry is growing like crazy. The projected sales for the pet industry are $73 billion for 2014. The pet industry has a lot going for it that other industries do not. As of now, there is not the huge saturation of pet businesses like what is seen with restaurants. It also is a lot less costly business to run and operate.

 

Moreover, when industries across the board were seeing a decrease in revenue during the recession a few years back, the pet industry actually grew. This is because people are willing to cut their other expenses to ensure that their pets are pampered. It was eye opening to see that this industry is recession proof.

 

Q: What are your plans for Splash and Dash for Dogs in 2015?

 

Dan J. Barton: We have very attainable goals for 2015. We plan to open 75 new franchise units across the U.S., and we are also working on opening our 3,000 sq ft training facility based out of Tampa. We know it will be an amazing year and we are excited to see what it has in store for us.

 

Splash and Dash for Dogs is online at http://splashanddashfordogs.com.

 

Article source: http://www.business-superstar.com/superstar-of-the-week/dan-j-barton-ceo-splash-and-dash-for-dogs-st-petersburg-fla/