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In a recent Facebook Live, Melissa Verplank, CMG and Founder of the Paragon companies, shared some of her time-tested tips to master speed and efficiency in grooming. Boost your profits while freeing up more time for work-life balance by becoming the most efficient, productive groomer you can be! Stay tuned for future installments!

Roundup of Blog Posts – Set 1:

• Speed and Efficiency: Clocks Are Your Scorekeepers
• The Need for Speed

• How Many Pets a Day Should You Groom (Opens Learn2GroomDogs.com)

• Time = Money in a Pet Grooming Salon
• The Importance of Canine Anatomy
• Grooming Efficiency Versus Grooming Fast – What’s the Difference?(*Opens Learn2GroomDogs.com)

Download Time Frames for Proceedures

Do you enjoy learning something new? Figuring out how to do something easier. Faster. Give you a more satisfying result? Expand your knowledge base. Build your confidence.

Sure you do. We all love learning when it’s easy right? But most of the time learning takes work. Effort. And sometimes it’s difficult and confusing.

I mean – really learn. Absorb it. Get it. Can do it and achieve results you are happy with?

So, what’s the best way to learn?

There are lots of different learning methods, but most fall into two categories. Passive or active learning.

What’s the difference?

Passive learning is when communication is mostly one-way for the sole purpose of gathering information.

Active learning includes doing anything interactive with the content to enhance your understanding of the topic and/or skill.

Passive learning examples:

• Listening to a lecture
• Reading
• Audio visual
• Watching a demonstration
• Watching a video

Active learning examples:

• Group discussions
• Practice by doing
• Hands-on workshops
• Visualization
• Activities apply the new material
• Present the freshly learned material to others

Which is best? It depends on what you are doing and how you need to apply the information.

Not everyone learns at the same pace. Nor does one technique work the best for everyone. Learning is a personal effort. Your level of involvement combined with a variety of learning techniques will greatly influence your long-term results.

Think back to a time when you learned something.

I’m talking about a time when you were curious about something. You wanted to know more. You researched it. Maybe you watched a few videos on the topic. Talked to people. If it was a skill, you tested it and practiced it, right?

You thought about the topic a lot. You wondered how it related to you or how you could apply it in your life. As you explored, you uncovered more and more on the topic. Connections were made. Dots were joined. You discussed the topic with friends and co-workers. You strengthened your understanding even further.

When it comes to learning retention, hands-down active learning is far more effective than passive learning. However, both have their place in your learning toolbox. Personally, I like to use more passive methods of learning first to familiarize myself with a topic. However, I almost always tuck a bit of active learning into it to ensure I can recall the information more readily.

Active learning promotes a deep, understanding of a topic. For most people, this is how we learn the best. In an active learning environment, you are engaged, empowered, and excited to learn.

Active learning occurs through collaboration, discussion, critical thinking, problem-solving, and connecting new knowledge with your own world.

Passive learning is all around us. But it’s not the best way to truly understand a topic or test your skills.

8 Learning Methods to Turn Passive Learning into Active Learning

1. Highlighting & Write Comments

While reading, you can highlight, tab important passages, take notes, or write your own comments. When you do this, it becomes more of a two-way conversation in your head instead of passively reading the material.

2. Take Time to Question

After learning, take some time to think about how you can apply the information. Ask yourself questions to obtain the most out of what you just learned. Here are a few thoughts to get started with to help cement the learning in your own mind.

• “How could I apply this?”
• “What benefit would it give me?”
• “Why would it help me?”
• “What would it look like if done perfectly?”

3. Tracking Your Progress

When you are working on a new skill, break down the steps. Think about how you could follow you progress. Track you progress by simply jotting it down, use an app or create a spreadsheet to monitor your progress.

This is a great way to improve your speed, track your progress when mastering a new skill or learning a new breed, or ensure the effectiveness of new sales techniques. You could even make a game out of the learning.

4. Immediately Apply What You Learned

The sooner you can apply a new skill or technique, the better. Test it out while it is still fresh in your mind.

Studies show even within 20 minutes of learning something new, you will forget about 40% of the details! After 2 days, you will forget up to 70% of what you learned.

The saying, ‘Use it or lose it’ certainly applies when learning a new skill!

• If you have just listened to a lecture – Have an immediate follow-up discussion with your friends, co-workers or colleagues.
• If you have just read a book – Highlight the pages and make detailed notes. Discuss what you have just learned with others. Imagine yourself applying the skill successfully.
• If you have just watched a video – Make notes as you watch. Stop and listen to important points again. Or following along by DOING the skill as the teacher teaches.
• If you attend a dog show or grooming contest – Sit ringside. Focus on the best in the ring. Study what it looks like when done right. Take photos. Take detailed notes. Critically analyze how YOUR work or knowledge stacks up against what you are seeing.

5. Work with a Coach or a Mentor

Coaches or mentors can help you fast track your learning.

Why?

Because they give you instant feedback helping you improve your skills immediately. A great coach will help you take years off the learning process verse trying to learn on your own.

• Attend hands-on workshops and clinics
• Study firsthand with someone more skilled than yourself
• Train with a master
• Shadow a master as they work
• Work with a virtual mentor or coach

6. Create a Vision Board, Notebook or Collection

If the learning revolves around a skill, a technique or a thing – collect images of what it looks like when done correctly. Assemble the images into a grouping you have easy access to. Actively work on building your collection. As you add images, think about HOW the results were achieved and visualize yourself achieving similar results.

7. Test Yourself by Explaining

To find out if you have really absorbed the knowledge, explain it to someone else.

Go step-by-step. Describe the details of the lesson. Keep it streamlined and simple so whomever you are talking with can absorb correct information.

If you struggle anywhere, go back and review where there are gaps in your own understanding. Continue to share with others your new knowledge until you can explain the topic confidently and the listener understands clearly.

8. Validation

To verify you have positively progressed in your learning or mastered a skill, go for validation. How? There are many ways.

• Graduate from an established training program
• Earn promotions at work
• Aim for certification testing via recognized national organizations
• Enter grooming contests
• Exhibit at canine or feline conformation events

You need discipline and nerve to admit what you don’t understand. What you find hard to do.

Ignoring those things is the worst mistakes a learner can make. You’ll need a strong foundation before you move on to a more advanced level.

When you’re self-learning, you’ve got to go the extra step to gauge yourself. It’s the only way you can learn improve and develop faster. Validation is how you’ll find your strong and weak points, so you know what to focus on.

Learning a subject or skill takes time and effort. You will never thoroughly understand something if you only use passive learning.

By utilizing a few of the active learning method outlined above, you will create shortcuts to your own growth. Mix and match these methods based on the skill or subject you want to learn – or come up with other ways to retain new information.

The team at Paragon’s “Hey Joe!” Podcast by Pet Professionals for Pet Professionals is pleased to announce that the popular show will now be available on Spotify and Google podcast platforms in addition to its current distribution to Apple, Stitcher and Tunein.

The podcast, introduced earlier this year, features Paragon’s VP, Joe Zuccarello and guest industry experts who examine trends, products, tips and techniques in the pet grooming, pet care and pet supplies industry.

Episodes cover a wide range of informative and entertaining topics, from interviews with grooming icons such as Victor Rosado to deep explorations of deep conditioning with Dave Campanella. Many episodes give practical ways to increase revenue in grooming salons or to improve health and endurance for groomers.

Prior to joining the Paragon team in 2018, Joe’s rich career spanned managing luxury pet resorts, bringing pet supplies products to market, and coaching a wide range of pet business entrepreneurs. Learn more about Joe.

He is a sought out International Speaker and author, providing management, operations, and sales guidance tailored specifically for the Pet Industry.

Check out “Hey Joe!” in our Resource Center, or Subscribe on your favorite platform using the links below.

Pet Grooming By the Numbers:

• According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, (BLS) the employment outlook for animal care and service workers is projected to grow 16 percent over the next decade – much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment growth along with high job turnover should result in very good job prospects.
• The pet grooming and boarding market has virtually doubled in size over the last decade, from 4.56 Billion in 2009 to 8.38 Billion in 2019, according to Statista.
• Today, 68% of US Households have a pet (85 M).
• According to PetGroomer.com‘s annual survey, 64% of Groomers earn $30k to over $50k.

These trends make the potential for success in pet grooming highly likely when combined with a great education and opportunities for continued skill development. In pet grooming, once you have a happy customer, you’re likely to keep a happy customer for life. The more breed profiles you know, and the better your speed and technique, the more happy customers you’ll have, and the more profitable your solo or salon team will become. That’s why at Paragon, Education is Everything.

It’s About More Than Numbers:

Choosing a career in pet grooming is more than just the numbers, though. It’s about doing what you love AND earning a great living doing it. The best way to maximize your earning potential is to constantly challenge yourself and learning from others who’ve achieved top recognition. It’s also about having access to great business advice.

Many of our students and community members go into the field because they LOVE working with animals, and they love the independence a well-trained groomer can achieve. Read their Stories here.

How We Serve Groomers Throughout Their Careers:

The Paragon family of companies can teach absolute beginners to become professional groomers through its On-Campus and Online Dog Grooming courses, voted #1 Dog Grooming school by the Pet Groomer Industry Educator Awards. Our award-winning textbooks, Notes from the Grooming Table and The Theory of Five are invaluable reference materials that groomers will use throughout their careers. But our support of novice groomers doesn’t end there.

Learn2GroomDogs.com – Live Stream Learning On Tap

Through Learn2GroomDogs.com, Paragon encourages the continued professional development of any skill level, with more than a thousand instructional video episodes available to members. These videos feature tutorials by our Industry Training Partners who represent the very best in the industry. Many are GroomTeamUSA alumni, authors, and are in-demand on the workshop and seminar circuit. Membership includes access to business coaching advice to help you succeed. Learn2GroomDogs.com members also have the option of belonging to a closed Facebook group that is designed to help networking and problem-solving in your day-to-day work life. Fresh content is served up every week.

Explore membership in Learn2GroomDogs.com

We Exist For Your Success:

Our mission, whether through books, professional grooming courses, or streaming instructional videos and our community, is simple. We’re here to help YOU become the best, most successful groomer you can be.

Reach out to our specialists if you’d like to know more about the wonderful world of professional dog (and cat) grooming, or would like to learn how we can help you achieve your dreams.

Save the date to check out this colorful documentary that chronicles a year in the visually stunning world of competitive and creative dog grooming. WELL GROOMED follows the lives of a group of creative groomers whose dedication to their art is “bold, imaginative and eye-opening.” Learn2GroomDogs.com Expert Angela Kumpe is one of the four co-stars of the film, and you might catch a glimpse of several “friends of Paragon” during filming in the competitive ring. After making the rounds at SXSW and several film festivals across North America, the film was picked up by HBO Sports for a debut Dec. 17th on all platforms.

According to director Rebecca Stern, “The film explores a world where competition, art and animals combine in the most vivid color and is a perfect match for the HBO Sports ethos of innovative programming.”

Here’s a sneak peak of the trailer used for SXSW:

Accompanying a group of champion groomers and their gorgeous, vibrant dogs for one year on the technicolor competition circuit, WELL GROOMED effervescently explores creative grooming. From South Carolina to California, New York to Arkansas, the film follows the group from their homes to large-scale dog grooming competitions and showrooms where their communities meet, discuss, and compete with technicolor exuberance.
Kudos to Angela and her crew for bringing a slice of groomer life to the American public!

Fuel a prosperous New Year and create a dream with a deadline! A recent study divided people who made New Year’s resolutions into two groups.

• Those who made New Year’s resolutions and wrote it down.
• Those who made a New Year’s resolution but neglected to write it down.

You know what? The results were amazing. For the group that did not write down their New Year’s resolution, only 4% of them kept their resolution. However, for the people that wrote down the resolution, a whopping 44% of them had kept their New Year’s resolution.

Increase Your Odds

“You can’t hit a target you can’t see” says motivational speaker Brian Tracy. And he is so right. A dream is a wish. Most people don’t write down their wishes – Thus, most wishes don’t come true.

Another one of his famous quotes is, “Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines.”

So have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Have you put pen to paper or your fingers to keyboard? If you’ll just take a few minutes and get your dreams down on paper, your odds for success are going to increase tenfold. Let’s get started!

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If you’re a salon owner, do you struggle with keeping employees? Have you created a culture that employees don’t want to leave? Paragon VP Joe Zuccerello is a regular speaker on this topic, and shared his insights with Profit Network Members during a private session to launch the @The Dog Gurus Business Breakthrough Workshop. You can download free highlights of his talk at by entering your information below.

Paragon People bring passion to the art of grooming instruction to help our students succeed. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome award-winning competitive groomer and instructor Courtney Ramstack, CMG, to our DLP Online Grooming Mentor team! Courtney has trained more than 150 students throughout the midwest, coaching them through grooming competitions and successful salon management. Her own rise from bather to industry-leader came through her strong sense of style, attention to detail and outstanding customer service. We’re delighted to have her on board!

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The autumn leaves may still be turning, but the sweet jingle of the Holiday Rush cash register will soon ring out across the land. Are you — or your salon — ready for the holiday rush? In this excerpt, CMG Melissa Verplank outlines tips and questions to ask yourself to ensure a smooth holiday season. If you need to hire help, train them now with Paragon’s Groomer Education & Training Program, and you’ll be set to ring in the New Year with record profits!

Ten Tips & Questions to Help You Get Through the Dogs During the Holiday Season

1. What are the pros and cons of working extra hours? Do you have enough staff to handle the volume?
2. Should you take on new clients?
3. Make sure all your regular clients have their holiday appointments BEFORE taking on new clients or ‘non- regulars.’
4. Hiring extra help – is there something you can easily delegate with some basic training that would free you up to deal with clients?  Cleaning? Answering the phone?  Taking out the trash? (Or adding a bather/stylist who has completed level 1?)
5. Have you worked out a system to maximize the types of pets you take per stylist?
6. Work out a drop-off and pick-up schedule that allows you to stay focused on grooming pets.
7. Stay calm, cool, and collected no matter what happens during the course of the day.
8. Set realistic time goals that push you, but stay on target.  Use an egg timer if necessary or place a clock where you can’t miss it – no matter what.
9. Use every speed trick in the book from prepping – to bathing – to drying – to trimming.
10. When clients pick up their pet, are you offering a promotion to assist in re-booking 6 weeks down the road when it can traditionally be really slow?

Correcting Behavior During Grooming – Learn the 4 Keys to Successful Pet Handling

If you are a long time pet professional, you’ve probably mastered today’s topic. If you are fresh to the industry, you are probably struggling with it. How do you handle the dog that does not want to cooperate with the grooming procedure?

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How is your summer going? Busy?? Overworked? Feeling stressed? Not being able to ENJOY your summer because you are too busy?

Having too much work can be just as frustrating and scary as not having ENOUGH work. I get it. As groomers and service providers, we want to keep people happy. That’s how you build a thriving business. However, if the business is thriving – and you are not – how can that honestly be good for your business? How can that be good for your customers and pets in the long run?

We all have the same number of days, hours and minutes each year. Everyone wants to maximize their time to make the most out their lives. How you schedule appointments, how many hours and days you work each week and how much time you allot for yourself will contribute to how you feel at the end of the day.

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As summertime approaches, so does the anniversary of the worst outbreak of Canine Influenza the country has seen. In the summer of 2018, numerous pet care facilities in Paragon’s home state of Michigan closed temporarily, required vaccinations and/or orchestrated mass vaccination efforts to slow down the spread of Canine Influenza H3N2 strain, including our own Whiskers Pet Resort and Spa. Is your facility ready for 2019?

By now, you have probably heard about the newest illness threatening our pets. Canine influenza (CI), or dog flu, is a highly contagious infection that can have serious implications not only for our pets, but for your business and our industry.

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