Macy Kangas

Macy Kangas is an 18-year-old groomer and business owner of Lumikoira, a dog grooming studio in Houghton, Michigan.  Once she graduated from The Paragon School of Pet Grooming in February 2019, she went home to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to fill a dog grooming need she saw in her community.

“With all the tools given to me at Paragon, I was confident to start Lumikoira,” she said. “[My Paragon instructors] helped answer all the random business question I had. If I didn’t have them there was no way I would have opened my own shop last year.”

The young business owner started learning her trade at the age of 14, watching a groomer in her area and grooming her brother’s dog for fun. Upon graduating high school, she attended Paragon’s grooming school to dive deeper into learning proper grooming techniques and refining her skill.

Even now after graduation from grooming school, Macy continues to listen to podcasts published by Paragon to stay up to date with what is going on in the industry. She says she even has contacted her former instructors at Paragon with any questions she comes across.

“All the instructors were so encouraging and helpful, I felt like I could bring up any question or concern and they would help me,” Macy said. “The whole atmosphere was so encouraging to work in. It helped me understand what the grooming community would be like.”

Macy said she feels like working in the grooming industry was the right career path for her. Even on tough days, Macy loves what she does and feels it is the best possible place for her to be.

“Everything is my favorite part,” she said. “It’s my happy place. I can have a difficult dog and still love doing it. I love the creativity of deciding what haircut works best instead having strict rules.”

According to Macy, being a business owner at 18 has its challenges. She said people tend to be wary of her initially due to her age, but once they see her technique and genuine care for their dogs, a relationship of trust is built.

“[Being a young business owner] is not common and it’s definitely a learning process,” she said. “I take it as an encouragement when people comment on my age. I’ve had multiple people cautious of me because of my age and then they warm up to me and my skills that I learned at Paragon.”