Monday, April 26, 2004
The First Idea, Part II (Where to Start?)
After getting home from Delaware, I emailed my friend Kim in Canada. I told her what I had begun thinking of, and asked for any resources she could provide on where to start. Her reply email had this to say about learning the trade:
"#1 - - - learn how to groom. There are good schools out there - AND BAD! Wish you were here - I'd teach you! Most grooming schools cost around $5000 for less than a year - comes with the VERY basic tools to get started. With no GOOD school around - apprentice somewhere.... there is no governing board over grooming schools. ANYONE can open one and give anyone a certificate and say - there you're a certified groomer. It means about as much as the paper it's printed on and that's it. There is no body that states you must know XXX and be able to do YYYY before you can graduate - like high schools, colleges, etc.. So be careful!!!"
Eeeek. That's kind of scary to me. Kim also let me know about some mailing lists she's on, and I joined one. My first post was an introduction:
"Hi, all- Kim S in Canada recommended I join this list, so here I am. :-) I live in Columbus, Ohio and am considering a career in dog grooming. Can anyone give me any information - good or bad - as to grooming schools in Central Ohio? House-call grooming sounds very appealing to me, but I've got to learn how first!"
And very shortly after that I got a reply from Valerie
"Hi Kimberly, welcome to the list! I have been grooming so long I really don't know of any schools around, unless I have heard of them here. I am not real far from you, (just checked it's about a 3 hour drive) and I have considered in the not so far future taking on an apprentice. Maybe we could get together sometime for lunch and chat?"
Kim was SO excited for me that Valerie had replied to me! Kim could not say enough good things about Valerie. She's vastly experienced, very helpful to the grooming list, and on and on! It really excited me to have someone so well-thought-of by someone I have known for many years show an interest in getting to know me. So I replied via email to Valerie that I'd love to drive down to WV, see her shop, and talk to her.
I'd also got some replies about grooming schools in the area. I was very wary, especially since Kim had told me that there's no universal governing body for groomers. So I looked at as many websites as I could, and saw stuff that was great, as well as stuff that made me shudder. Here's a school that has a written test before graduation, and here's one of the requirements on the test: "Testimonial: This should cover what you liked about [redacted] Dog Grooming School, Inc. and what you will do with your new career. Please sign and give permission to recopy for distribution to new students." Wait. Let me make sure I understand this. If I go to this school, in order to graduate, I have to suck up to the owner AND give her permission to use that suckuppage to lure other students? There's a highly-thought-of school in the NE corner of Ohio, but nothing close to me. Apprenticing with someone is looking better and better.
"#1 - - - learn how to groom. There are good schools out there - AND BAD! Wish you were here - I'd teach you! Most grooming schools cost around $5000 for less than a year - comes with the VERY basic tools to get started. With no GOOD school around - apprentice somewhere.... there is no governing board over grooming schools. ANYONE can open one and give anyone a certificate and say - there you're a certified groomer. It means about as much as the paper it's printed on and that's it. There is no body that states you must know XXX and be able to do YYYY before you can graduate - like high schools, colleges, etc.. So be careful!!!"
Eeeek. That's kind of scary to me. Kim also let me know about some mailing lists she's on, and I joined one. My first post was an introduction:
"Hi, all- Kim S in Canada recommended I join this list, so here I am. :-) I live in Columbus, Ohio and am considering a career in dog grooming. Can anyone give me any information - good or bad - as to grooming schools in Central Ohio? House-call grooming sounds very appealing to me, but I've got to learn how first!
And very shortly after that I got a reply from Valerie
"Hi Kimberly, welcome to the list! I have been grooming so long I really don't know of any schools around, unless I have heard of them here. I am not real far from you, (just checked it's about a 3 hour drive) and I have considered in the not so far future taking on an apprentice. Maybe we could get together sometime for lunch and chat?"
Kim was SO excited for me that Valerie had replied to me! Kim could not say enough good things about Valerie. She's vastly experienced, very helpful to the grooming list, and on and on! It really excited me to have someone so well-thought-of by someone I have known for many years show an interest in getting to know me. So I replied via email to Valerie that I'd love to drive down to WV, see her shop, and talk to her.
I'd also got some replies about grooming schools in the area. I was very wary, especially since Kim had told me that there's no universal governing body for groomers. So I looked at as many websites as I could, and saw stuff that was great, as well as stuff that made me shudder. Here's a school that has a written test before graduation, and here's one of the requirements on the test: "Testimonial: This should cover what you liked about [redacted] Dog Grooming School, Inc. and what you will do with your new career. Please sign and give permission to recopy for distribution to new students." Wait. Let me make sure I understand this. If I go to this school, in order to graduate, I have to suck up to the owner AND give her permission to use that suckuppage to lure other students? There's a highly-thought-of school in the NE corner of Ohio, but nothing close to me. Apprenticing with someone is looking better and better.
