en·tre·pre·neur·ship
/ˌäntrəprəˈnərˌSHip/
noun
the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
“the new business opportunities have encouraged entrepreneurship on a grand scale”

Here at AGA entrepreneurship is something that happens on a regular basis. Many of our graduates over the years have successfully started, owned and sold Pet Grooming businesses. So what does it take to do something that is arguably the hardest thing in American society, start and run a successful business?

Have A Solid Foundation

Starting any successful business starts with knowing and understanding the trade or business you would like to start. The American Grooming Academy students spend months learning and perfecting their trade. The ins and Outs so to speak of successful, well-balanced pet grooming. Highly educated in their field the AGA graduates have a solid base foundation of pet styling, Health, illnesses, parasites, anatomy, customer service, and cost, among other things. Many of our students may work for a private grooming salon or for a corporation for a short time but business ownership is a dream of many alumni of AGA.

Our Graduates Have realistic expectations

It’s easy to get carried away when you have an idea you love. You might be envisioning yourself happily scrubbing down happy, healthy pets—and, to be fair, that could happen. AGA students know that perfect dogs are not always what happens.

They know and are able to deal with a variety of dog breeds and individual dog personalities. Some dogs love bath time and will be that “dream dog.” Other dogs will fight you, bite you and struggle the entire time. AGA students have the benefit of working in a REAL world grooming salon that prepares them for this very real situation of pet grooming expectations.

AGA students and Personal Traits

To successfully start and run a successful business, AGA students are taught some personal traits while they are attending the Academy

Dedication

Our students have to get up every day, come to lecture, groom dogs, complete homework assignments, tests, and hands-on technicals all while working in a noisy (and sometimes hectic) environment. This gives the AGA graduates a real sense of dedication to their craft. Learning is not easy especially when you can’t explain things like nails to the subject on your table!

Patience

From grooming baby dogs to dealing with an anxious customer, and finding it in themselves to complete homework correctly and study for tests, AGA students perfect the art of patience. Learning that pets feed off of anxiety, anger, trust and many other emotions help students become more in turn with their emotional state. Many of our AGA graduates know that difficult dogs are a result of a difficult feeling in the groomer. They go through a course on Canine behavior and understand what each breeds mentality means to individual grooming practices and needs.

Attention to Detail

Like humans, pets can have all manner of health issues that affect their coat, skin, eyes and other areas of the body. AGA students learn to accommodate skin eruptions, sensitivities, and other medical issues while taking care to give the best groom possible to pets in our care. Students learn how to effectively and humanely deal with matting, old age, and handicapped. Also perfecting the pets groom to the best of their ability is a large part of what AGA stands for: happy healthy students and pets. This attention to detail is one of the biggest attributes AGA alumni carry with them into their own salons.

Love of Animals

This one seems obvious, but AGA students, Alumni, and staff have a genuine love of animals and a need to understand them. Because animals can’t talk, it’s our responsibility to read their body language and listen to what they’re saying. Dogs, cats and other animals who require grooming will let us know when they’re overstimulated. If you’re not “listening” it makes it much tougher on them. This is one of the primary lessons all AGA students learn: how to listen effectively to what the pet’s body language is saying according to their canine mentality. This not only makes our students better pet owners but makes them better at working on harder to groom breeds and those breeds with anxiety.

All of these aspects make successful, educated, and humane pet groomers, but it also makes lucrative business owners who can bring a better style of pet grooming to their communities. Small businesses are the backbone of America, and we couldn’t be more proud of our alumni over the years who have taken the American Dream and made it completely theirs!