Yes, you heard right!
Kim started The Dog Retreat Spa back in 2020, it was her Lockdown baby! She's been grooming since age 15 when she volunteered at a Grooming Salon in Stockport, so had become quite accustomed to what makes a good groomer and what makes a good salon. We found a perfect little shop, and opened in August to a flood of existing and new customers.
I worked in an Office, I don't really know how to describe what I did on a daily basis, it was basically a bit of everything. To be honest, I absolutely loved the job, and my colleagues were all amazing, but the pay wasn't the greatest, and I had an urge to do something more.
Having 4 dogs ourselves at the time (Minnie, Nala, Lunabelle & Teddy) and seeing all of the cute bundles of fluff Kim was getting to spend her time with made me fall in love with the idea of being my own boss and getting to spend my days with dogs instead of humans. By September I had quit my old job and began dog walking, pet sitting and learnt how to groom.
Dog walking was perfect (if you don't mind the copious amounts of dog hair and a thick layer of mud covering your car most of the time), but I kept spraining my ankle (thanks to my fam for those weak ankle genes) - and I eventually ended up tearing ligaments and having a hairline fracture, which put me out of action on the walking front for a good few weeks. I then had to give walking up, as I was in too much pain walking on uneven ground day in day out, so I took up full time grooming instead.
It was hard.
There were days I could have given up and walked away. In fact, there was one time I was so upset and frustrated that I couldn't clip a Westie properly (I put clipper lines in the coat, and could not for the life of me get them out) that I walked out and went home, leaving Kim to deal with a liney dog. Not my best moment.
Kim's always been a very good groomer, she has the patience of a saint when it comes to dogs (not people though), and always knows how to fix a bad scissored line, or a pointy round foot. I just couldn't see how I could ever get to her level. In my previous job, I was a supervisor, so I had the responsibility of managing other people's workloads and taking charge in difficult situations with customers. It was so strange for me to take a massive step back, and not be the go to person for customers or for knowledge about our jobs. I had to learn, and am still learning, to be able to take a back seat and not be the best at everything.
The hardest thing was the complaints. When I started there were lots - I'd not clipped dogs nails, I'd taken too much fur off their tails, I'd not clipped neatly enough. Every one that came through made my heart sink, it made me think I wasn't good enough as a person and a groomer, and it took a massive toll on my mental health. Kim was always so supportive, and it was actually a godsend working with her, we'd get home, she'd have known exactly what had gone on in the day, and would re-assure me and build me back up. Looking back, I know for a fact that most of the complaints were because I was a new groomer, and people were exploiting that, looking for a cheaper groom or a free one next time. Kim went through 99% of all grooms I did with me, made sure I wasn't missing anything, and made sure I had a set routine I was following with every dog to make sure I covered every part of the dog. She also had the job of checking over all of my grooms before they left to make sure I hadn't missed something. What a champ.
There is no work/life balance being self employed, especially when time together at home is spent talking about who needs to book in, how are we going to get more bookings to pay the bills this month, how can we make our services better, what can we do to get ourselves out there more etc. That's the ONLY downside to working with her, not her 'bossing' me around sometimes, not working all hours of the day. Having the joint stress of having the same job, working the same hours, in the same building, and not having a guaranteed base monthly income. The sheer amount of time we spend together is what most people think is hard about working with your spouse, but lucky for me, I married her because I like spending time with her, so that bit isn't too bad!
In December 2022 we welcomed our little man into the world, and things have changed quite a bit since he arrived. Kim was home and I was in the salon by myself most of the time, it was too quiet (those who know Kim know she's got quite the motor mouth so rarely shuts up). Without her there though I got quicker at grooming! I don't rush dogs, but I somehow developed a more efficient grooming routine, I taught myself to dry dogs faster, and customers finally started to respect me as their dog groomer, not just Kim's busy body. Now we divvy out days where one of us works in the salon, the other spends the day with our now, Toddler! Even though we now have days off in the week, it feels like we work more, which is crazy.
I think about quitting and going back to the 9-5 grind of employed life all the time. It would allow us to both have a better work-life balance, give us at least 1 guaranteed regular income and be easier on my legs. But honestly, when I really think about it, I'd miss talking to her about how the day has gone, and knowing she fully understands everything I'm saying. Plus I'd miss blowing hair off the table in her direction, changing the song that's playing, and purposely not doing admin to wind her up.
The moral to this is, yes it can be very annoying, it's incredibly time consuming and tedious sometimes working with your partner, but working with Kim makes it a lot easier. I'm glad we're not doing it on our own! We're not just 'Groomers', we're (fairly successful) business owners. Having each other to bounce ideas off, to de-stress when one of us is having a grooming related meltdown, and having someone at home who knows the ins and outs of how stressful working for yourself can be is a godsend. So yes, we'll have a brew and a business meeting as soon as we wake up on a Sunday morning, or we'll talk about new Spa Treatment ideas at a family meal out, but there's no way I would want to work in this business without my wife.
If you're thinking about going into business with your wife/husband, do it! But only if you actually enjoy spending 24/7 together.
Hannah Massey
The Dog Retreat Spa
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