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Webinar: KPIs of Grooming Services with MoeGo

paragon pet school president joe zuccarello photo with moe go software depicting a webinar on kpis of grooming service

Date: April 16 at 10am PST / 1pm EST
Speakers: Joe Zuccarello (President at Paragon) & Brian Krotine (Sr. Manager, Strategic Partnerships at MoeGo)

Do you know which key performance indicators (KPIs) are driving your grooming business’s success? If not, you’re not alone! Many grooming professionals struggle to track and use data effectively—but we’re here to change that.

Join MoeGo and industry expert Joe Zuccarello from Paragon for a must-attend webinar on how to measure, manage, and maximize your grooming business’s performance using KPIs.

What You’ll Learn:

What KPIs are & why they matter
Key grooming industry benchmarks
Financial & managerial accounting made simple
How to track the right data for growth
Smart & simple ways to set goals and budgets
Maximizing your grooming team’s performance
How MoeGo helps you stay on top of KPIs

Register now to take control of your business’s success!

Sign Up Now

President Joe Zuccarello Joins Pet Care Staffing Summit April 7-11

Paragon Pet School President Joe Zuccarello will be speaking at the upcoming Pet Care Staffing Summit, running online from April 7th–11th.

If you’ve ever struggled to hire, train, or keep good staff in your pet care business, this event is for you.

Across five days, you’ll hear from real pet business owners and industry experts sharing what’s actually working right now to:

• Attract better applicants
• Hire with more confidence (and less time-wasting)
• Engage your team and reduce turnover
• Control labor costs without sacrificing care
• And much more…

Joe will be sharing his in-depth recruitment strategy, “Employ Differently” with attendees on April 9th at 4 p.m. EST. This session charts the recruitment journey through marketing for, finding, training and retaining certified professional dog grooming teams.

He joins a seriously strong lineup of speakers, including facility owners, hiring specialists, enrichment experts, and leadership coaches.

This is a rare chance to get focused, honest advice on solving the #1 problem facing most pet businesses: staffing.

You can save $200 on a ticket if you grab the early bird offer.
You can check out all the details and grab your ticket here:

https://www.petbusinessmarketing.com/staffingsummit

Paragon President Joe Zuccarello’s Speaker Sessions at Groom’D 2025

ParagonPetSchool.com president, Joe Zuccarello, has teamed up with our partners at WPA to offer an exciting trifecta of topics for grooming businesses at the GROOM’D trade show and grooming competition in Atlanta, GA, March 7-9.

GROOM’D is the ultimate one-stop-shop for pet care professionals at every stage of the game to discover new trends and tools, the latest in pet wellness, business insights and outstanding competitive artistry. The grooming-focused pet trade show is presented by World Pet Association, the global pet industry’s first trade organization. For more than 70 years, WPA has provided professionals of all experience levels and in a variety of roles with valuable educational resources, industry news and forums that allow our community to promote the health and growth of businesses and our industry.

In addition to exhibiting in Booth #135 with Director of Operations, Cara Evans, Joe will connect with pet pros while leading the following educational workshops:

How to Set, Raise and Correct Pricing

Saturday, March 08, 2025 • 1:30 pm–3:00 pm • Italian Suite

In this session, Joe Zuccarello will help demystify the challenges of establishing the best pricing for your services, who should be setting the prices, how and when to raise prices, and how to correct prices that might be way off where they should be. Joe will also provide some recommendations on how to approach your clients with communicating pricing changes. Believe it or not, many businesses leave a ton of money on the table by missing some basic pricing strategies. And many businesses are inadvertently confusing their clients. If you want to seize every opportunity for every dollar you and your services are worth, join us for this seminar.

Succession Planning

Sunday, March 09, 2025 • 12:30 pm–2:00 pm • Italian Suite

Exit Ramp Ahead. When is it time to exit the “freeway” or traffic of business? What is your succession plan? Description: It’s coming. The day when you feel is best for you to exit your business. But much like driving your car, do you know where you are heading, when, and how to plan to get moved over from lane to lane so you are properly positioned for your exit? What destinations are out there for you to consider? What steps do you need to take to reach your desired destination? And when do you start using your “turn signals” to start maneuvering toward your destination off-ramp? In this session, Joe will identify some of these options for exits, planning, positioning, etc. No matter if your business is new, growing, maturing, or ready for an exit, this session is a must.

Anyone Can Sue for Anything

Sunday, March 09, 2025 • 10:00 am–11:30 am • Italian Suite

While most people we deal with are compassionate, loyal, fun, and responsible, there are times when we are challenged by customers who may see things differently than we do, especially when it comes to their pet’s care and hygiene. In fact, there are stories where clients are threatening (or successfully) suing their pet care providers for haircuts that didn’t turn out the way the pet parent envisioned or worse, if there is an accidental injury to the pet during grooming procedures. During this session, Joe will share some stories and recommendations to limit the chances of this happening to you. Strengthening your client messaging to protect yourself and offer your clients choices that everyone wins is the goal takeaway from this session.

For more business coaching inspiration, visit our Employer Resource section and select Joe’s 10 Minute Coaching for Pet Care Pros.

Looking for a keynote speaker for pet business coaching sessions? Contact Us.

Paragon Teams Up with The Dog Gurus at Breakthrough Workshop

Paragon President Joe Zuccarello joined forces with The Dog Gurus at their annual Breakthrough Workshop to help pet businesses of all types build their teams and boost their bottom line. The Pet Business Growth Workshop is an intensive three-day conference designed to elevate your pet care business. This transformative event brings together industry experts and pet business owners to address key challenges in launching, growing, and building profitable enterprises. Here’s a peek at the workshop topic Joe led.

Growth Workshop: Stop Grinding, Start Growing: A Path to Business and Personal Fulfillment

In this session, Joe guides a conversation focused on getting the most out of the energy you spend building your business. It may sound cliche, but it is true. To maximize desired results, you must work more ON your business and less IN your business. But how can you accomplish this? It starts with a VISION. What does it look like when it is done correctly? Once you have that figured out, then you must execute the plan for your business by identifying why, who, what, how, and when you want to do it. You have a job, and that job is not to do everyone else’s job for them. So, how do you make sure they know what you want? How you want it done? And if they are successful or not? And if they are not successful, what do you do then? With the right approach, what results can you expect? One thing is for sure: if you get caught up spending your energy doing the wrong things, you will never reach your fullest potential and neither will your team or your business.

For more business coaching inspiration, visit our Employer Resource section and select Joe’s 10 Minute Coaching for Pet Care Pros.

Looking for a keynote speaker for pet business coaching sessions? Contact Us.

How to Become a National Certified Master Groomer – What Aspiring Dog Groomers Need to Know

Paragon Pet School is a partner with the National Dog Grooming Association of America’s Workshop and Certification Program.

Hours and hours of practical work have led to this day. A staggering amount of study material has been reviewed and reviewed again, with detailed written exams – comprised of hundreds of questions on canine anatomy and covering all breed standards – completed. Groomers get their dogs to the table, ready to show their grooming prowess to judges, who are selected from nationally renowned master groomers. The goal? To sufficiently impress the judges with their technique to win the coveted designation of National Certified Master Groomer.

Welcome to the world of NDGAA Certification. Paragon has been honored to serve as a workshop and certification partner of the National Dog Grooming Association of America, which hosts certifying and workshop events throughout the country. The organization was established in 1969 to create a forum of educational exchange and industry standardization. Read the rest of this entry »

Paragon Mentor Suesan Watson Wins AKC Leadership Award at Barkleigh Honors Gala

You don’t need to tell Paragon students that Mentor Suesan Watson, CMG, is an inspiration! Paragon is delighted to celebrate Suesan’s recent recognition for her outstanding contribution to the grooming industry. She was feted with the 2024 AKC Leadership Award at the Barkleigh Honors gala in Hershey, PA, earlier this month.

In the words of Mark Dunn Executive Vice President of AKC:

“Leadership matters. Groomers who are educated, knowledgeable and confident can lead their clients, lead in their community and lead in the industry. (Sue has) helped thousands of other groomers throughout her career. Her contributions have changed lives and helped shape the entire industry. She’s been a leader for more than two decades from the AKC Confirmation dog show ring to the grooming show floor. She was an original NDGA certifier. Her critiques, I am told, are always positive, uplifting and confidence-building.”

Dunn noted that the American Kennel Club has sought to improve lives of dogs and people who love dogs for more than 140 years, and that groomers play a vital role in pet owners lives by keeping pets happy and healthy. He called the award “penultimate.”

It’s a fitting award for Sue, whose career has spanned five decades. She is a double Certified Master Groomer with NDGAA and IPG who has competed worldwide, winning multiple placements along with several Best in Show and Best All Around Groomer Awards. She is a GroomTeam USA Alumni and has won three consecutive Cardinal Crystal Groomer of the Year awards and a Groomer of the Year presented by Wahl Clipper at the Westminster Dog Show. As part of the Wahl Elite Team, Sue travels to grooming shows to judge competitions and educate other groomers.

As a Paragon Mentor and Groominar® Network expert from the early days, Sue has literally helped develop thousands of individual professional groomers and groom business teams through Paragon.

“Sue possesses the perfect blend of excellence in terms of technical grooming skills and teaching skills,” said Paragon President Joe Zuccarello. “We could not be happier to have her on our team or prouder of her well-earned recognition and leadership within the industry.”

Sue, who’d just won Best-in-Class in the Model Dog division at Groom Expo, was both shocked and thrilled to receive the award.

“When I was 13 years old and groomed my fist poodle I never thought being a dog groomer could lead me to where I am today. Grooming is not just being a groomer, it’s more – you touch every animal with such care and such love – and it means so much to me,” she told the crowd. “To be in this family is such a special thing – I can’t thank you all enough for the warmth and love that you have shown me over the years!”

Paragon President Speaks at SuperZoo Pet Retail Trade Show

Paragon President, Joe Zuccarello, is scheduled to share his expertise – from perfect pricing to schedule management – during education sessions at North America’s leading pet retail trade show, SuperZoo 2024, August 13 -16 in Las Vegas.

Produced by the World Pet Association (WPA), the trade show historically attracts more than 16,000 pet professionals from 25 countries and features education, new product introductions, a grooming competition and networking events. More than 1,000 exhibitors from every pet product category participate and more than 900 products typically make their debut at the show.

As a perennial presence, Paragon brings education topics designed to help pet grooming businesses, independent and multi-store pet retail companies, and pet boarding and daycare operators discover best practices for a productive and successful pet business.

“It’s very energizing to meet with fellow pet care professionals and share our expertise to help take the headache out of grooming operations,” Joe said. He designs topics to reflect solutions to the pain points the company hears from grooming businesses of all types and sizes. As a pet business coach prior to Paragon presidency, he knows how small changes can net big effects in profitability.

Paragon’s 2024 SuperZoo Education lineup includes the following topics:

Retail Education – 4 Steps to Becoming a Competitive Employer – Aug. 13 – 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.

During this session Joe shares some techniques that business owners and managers can use to become a more competitive employer and reduce the time to qualify and hire quality candidates.

Grooming Schedule Management – Aug. 14 – 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Joe explores the best way to maximize your grooming services production without underutilizing the skills of your grooming staff or overworking them toward burnout or injury. Joe demonstrates techniques for building a scheduling management approach that is customer-centric and balances staff performance.

Perfect Pricing for Grooming Services – Aug 14 – 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Joe unpacks how to know if you are pricing your services correctly. Are you leaving money on the table? Do you struggle with raising prices? During this session, Joe will help business owners and managers understand how to set, raise, and correct pricing for grooming services to maximize financial rewards.

Paragon Groomer Education & Training will also be exhibiting in Booth #1739 and will welcome visits from pet businesses who want to leverage the company’s industry-leading training platform powered by Melissa Verplank’s curriculum to produce highly skilled grooming professionals.

“We are thrilled to share ways pet retail businesses can increase their foot traffic and basket value through the development of grooming services, and to show the latest tools for training professional groomers,” said Annalisa Signorelli, Director of New Business Development.

If you or your associates plan to be at SuperZoo ’24, stop by to say hi and learn what’s new in professional pet groomer training.

Not planning to attend the show but interested in learning more about options that help petcare businesses grow their own groom teams?

Book Some Time with our Sales & Client Relation Specialist!

Paragon & First Financial Bank – Teaming Up for Pet Business Solutions

Paragon (ParagonPetSchool.com) is delighted to team up with First Financial Bank (https://www.ffb1.com/) to bring continued professional education opportunities and outstanding value to aspiring and expanding professional pet groomers and pet grooming businesses. Together, these partners will ensure their respective audiences know the benefits of each other’s products and services so grooming services owners, managers, and leaders can overcome their staffing challenges and grow their businesses through financial services tailored to the pet care industry.

“We are thrilled to publicly demonstrate a strong relationship with First Financial Bank,” said Paragon President, Joe Zuccarello. “First Financial Bank makes it very easy to recommend their services because they share many of the same qualities Paragon does while serving our customers. An obvious dedication to quality, service, and attention to helping pet care businesses achieve their very best successes aligns very well with Paragon. First Financial Bank is a leader in pet business lending because their team knows the petcare industry and actively seeks to understand, meet and exceed pet entrepreneur’s goals,” said Joe Zuccarello.

Together, Paragon and First Financial Bank will help elevate the profession of grooming by connecting their audiences through shared instructional material, opportunities, and guidance for best practices. Read the rest of this entry »

Paragon & Wag’N Tails Team Up to Grow Groomers’ Businesses

Paragon (ParagonPetSchool.com) is delighted to team up with Wag’N Tails (Wagntails.com) to bring continued professional education opportunities and outstanding value to aspiring and expanding professional pet groomers and pet grooming businesses. Together, these partners will ensure their respective audiences know the benefits of each other’s products and services so grooming services owners, managers, and leaders can overcome their staffing challenges and grow their businesses by serving their customers with quality, efficiency, and safety.

“We are thrilled to publicly demonstrate a strong relationship with Wag’n Tails that has spanned for decades,” said Paragon President, Joe Zuccarello. “Wag’n Tails makes it very easy to recommend their products because they share many of the same qualities Paragon does while serving our customers. An obvious dedication to quality, service, and attention to helping their customers achieve their very best successes aligns very well with Paragon. Wag’n Tails is a leader in their area of the grooming industry and this is echoed by every customer Paragon hears from. If mobile grooming is the path pursued by a Professional Groomer, we are beyond happy to recommend Wag’n Tails,” said Joe Zuccarello.”

Together, Paragon and Wag’N Tails will help elevate the profession of grooming by connecting their audiences through shared instructional material, opportunities, and guidance for best practices. Their mission is to help groomers and pet businesses achieve their dreams.

“We’re so excited to celebrate our collaboration with Paragon Pet School. This partnership underscores our shared values and commitment to the grooming industry as a whole. Like Paragon, Wag’n Tails is dedicated to providing outstanding quality and service, ensuring that every mobile groomer is equipped with the tools they need to succeed. Wag’n Tails remains committed to leading the way in mobile pet care innovations, and with Paragon’s support, we will continue to empower them toward achieving remarkable success in their careers.” said Josh White, Chief Growth Officer.

ABOUT WAG’N TAILS
Wag’n Tails is the leader in mobile pet grooming and mobile veterinary clinic solutions. With a heritage deeply rooted in the love of pets and an unwavering commitment to their well-being, Wag’n Tails leads the global industry in mobile pet solutions. Their journey began in St. Paul, MN with a single grooming salon. Since then, Wag’n Tails has grown into a dynamic enterprise that spans across decades, delivering unrivaled quality that is as convenient as it is thoughtful. Today, from their advanced facilities in Granger, IN, they engineer and manufacture top-tier mobile pet care vans and trailers, supporting pet care professionals everywhere. Wag’n Tails’ mission, anchored in innovation and common sense, remains steadfast: empowering pet care professionals to succeed in their mobile operations.

ABOUT PARAGON
Paragon’s best-in-class Groomer Education and Training platform was built on the 30-year, time-tested curriculum developed by Melissa Verplank, author of the “grooming bible” Notes from the Grooming Table and Theory of 5. Revolutionizing online learning through guidance from professional Mentors, the program graduates thousands of Groom Techs, Pet Groomers and Pet Stylists each year for hundreds of pet care businesses and individuals looking for a career they’ll love. Paragon then provides continuing education opportunities through its Groominar® Network at Learn2GroomDogs.com, as well as support with innovations such as a DIGITAL EXPERIENCE of Notes from the Grooming Table.

For more information on our partnership, please contact:

Paragon:
Annalisa Signorelli, Director of Business Development & Innovation
(616)710-0051
Annalisa@petsmv.com

Wag’N Tails:
Jason Mills, Director of Marketing
(574) 381-4828
Jmills@wagntails.com

Paragon President to Speak at GROOM’D – formerly Atlanta Pet Fair

Paragon’s Education and Training for aspiring dog groomers and dog grooming businesses stands out from other trade or vocational schools because its curriculum is developed and delivered by a team of industry experts. One of those experts, President Joe Zuccarello, will be taking his knowledge on the road March 10-12 to share with groomers across the nation at the GROOM’D – formerly known as Atlanta Pet Fair, at the Georgia International Convention Center.

GROOM’D, catering to 2,500 pet professionals and 100 exhibitors, is one of the country’s largest trade show and conferences for professional pet stylists. At GROOM’D, talent meets technique, passion transforms into profitability and professional groomers get the tools to stand out. The show features the latest products, education, pets and employee safety training, and networking opportunities.

Team Paragon and it’s sister division, Learn2GroomDogs.com, will be on hand with show specials and lots of tips – Come visit at booth #331!

Read the rest of this entry »