Three months in and gearing up for Summer
Timm joined Dash DogWash Ferntree Gully when he was flicking through Facebook some months back. While searching for a career change specifically with dogs, the algorithms led him to the Dash DogWash Facebook Ad which popped up and immediately grabbed his attention with its bright colours and happy pooches.
Tim was extremely excited and equally nervous when he took the plunge and signed up to buy his own Dash DogWash Business. In mid-2024 Timm completed his comprehensive training to become a fully-fledged professional dog groom.
“It was a whirlwind of emotions as I had been with my previous employer for 18 years and was living my life very much in my comfort zone”.
To take that leap of faith, Timm’s first headed out on the road for an Experience Day with Tracy from Blue Wheelers Rowville. Blue Wheelers and Dash DogWash are part of the same company and many of the Team love taking a prospective buyer out on the road to show them what it’s all about.
“From the moment we went to the first client’s house I could imagine myself being a Dog Groomer and that’s when I started to get extremely serious about this career change”.
All of Timm’s questions and concerns were answered during his Experience Day out on the road. As with any major life decision, from questions and answers, come even more questions and answers.
It took Tim about 2 months to cement his decision after his Experience Day. This time was spent doing further due diligence on the business and getting his finances in order.
In the end, Timm’s biggest decision was based around the lifestyle change and how that would look for his family and himself going forward.
“I wanted to be available on weekends for my children’s sports, family, friends and maybe even some weekend sport and leisure for myself. These were the things I missed out on while working and managing a retail store for someone else.”
Once the decision was made and the Agreements sorted, Timm resigned from his job of 18 years and put his energy into Training to run his own business as a professional dog groomer with Dash DogWash.
Timm loved learning the theory side of the business. It was pretty intense for Timm as considers himself an active and very practical person.
“The highlight for me was definitely doing the dog grooming training at Grooming School. Although there were times I felt completely out of my comfort zone, I just kept at it. I had not been challenged like this in quite some time. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the reason I wanted a career shift in the first place.”
Timm had Training Support during his first week on the road which helped him immensely with his excitement and nerves. This enabled him to settle in with some level of comfort before finally stepping out on his own to run his business.
“Sharon from Dash DogWash was an absolute legend. She was extremely helpful, showing me how to run the business and all it entails for my first few days. I don’t know if I would have coped so well if I was doing this all by myself.
It’s early days of my business and appointments have been a bit up and down but I was expecting this. You can’t have a full client base in the first month of running a business. To be honest, I wouldn’t have handled being much busier than I was in those first few weeks. I keep telling myself it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” 🏃
When not on the road grooming, Timm spent the first few weeks walking his neighbourhood doing letterbox drops. During his Training, Timm was taught to either be working in the business or on business. He knows that any marketing will see him quickly build the customer base to the level he wants.
“I found the marketing extremely helpful as it still felt like I was achieving something even though the money may have not been coming through that particular day. I was investing in the future success of my business”.
When Dash DogWash asked Tim this week how things were going after 3 months?
“The past month has exploded. I didn’t think at the 3-month mark of my business that I would be this busy. With the warmer weather and day light saving, it’s only going to get busier. My calendar is starting to well and truly book up a few weeks in advance now. Putting all that training and marketing into action has paid off for me.”
Timm has no regrets over his decision to join Dash DogWash. Actually, he has just one. It’s the one we hear often from our Groomers:
“I wish I had made this decision many years ago. So that others can make their move quicker than me, I’d say make sure you know what you want to get out of this change in your life. Do your research so you understand what the business is all about. Finally, and the BIG one (especially for me) don’t be complacent and take that leap of faith because you will never know if you don’t give it a go”.
For more information in following Timm’s footsteps please click here. https://dashdogwash.com.au/franchising-opportunities/
