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Is That Grooming Course Worth It? Working Out the Payback
A new skill can raise what you charge or how fast you work. Before you sign up, it is worth checking how long it would take to earn back.
Groomers have many ways to keep learning: hands on workshops, trade show seminars, online courses, certification programs and private lessons with experienced stylists. Many are excellent. All of them cost something, both the fee itself and the grooming days you give up to attend. A little math before you enroll helps you choose the training that is most likely to pay off for your own book.
Count the full cost
- The fee for the course, seminar or exam.
- Travel and lodging, if it is not local.
- Lost grooming days. On commission, each day away usually means a day without commission. Use what a typical day pays you in gross pay, before taxes.
- Tools or products the course requires you to buy.
Add these up for a total cost. Lost grooming days are easy to forget and can be the largest piece.
Estimate the gain
A new skill can raise your pay in a few ways. Be honest about which apply to you:
- Higher prices for services you could not offer before, such as specialty trims, hand stripping or work on a breed you rarely see now.
- More dogs if the skill makes you faster or lets you take dogs you currently turn away.
- A higher rate if your salon pays more for certain skills or credentials, or if the skill strengthens your case in a pay conversation. The guide on how to negotiate a higher commission rate covers how to use a new credential.
Estimate how much more you might earn in a typical week from the skill, once you are comfortable with it. If you are unsure whether your clients would pay for a new service, ask the front desk or a few regulars before you commit.
Work out the payback
Divide the total cost by the extra weekly earnings. The result is roughly how many weeks it would take to earn the cost back. For example, if a course cost 600 dollars in fees plus two lost days worth 150 dollars each, the total would be 900 dollars. If the new skill added 45 dollars a week, it would pay for itself in about 20 working weeks. Those figures are only an illustration; use your own.
A short payback is a good sign. A very long one does not mean the course is a bad idea, since skills can also make the job more interesting, safer or easier on your body, but it does mean the money case is weaker.
Ask about help with the cost
Some salons pay for training, share the cost or give paid time to attend. Ask before you book. Paid education is a real benefit worth counting when you compare jobs; see putting a value on benefits. For how experience and specialty skills tend to relate to pay, see average dog groomer pay by experience level, and if you are the one doing the teaching, training a new groomer.