Lexington Township woman starts at-home dog grooming business
LEXINGTON TWP. – Lydia Rigby has usually liked animals.
The 22-year-old Marlington Substantial School graduate owned far more than 20 unique animals when she was a teenager, including lizards, rats and Guinea pigs.
“I nevertheless have two lizards,” Rigby mentioned. “I have downsized really a little bit given that then.”
Rigby’s passion for animals influenced her to turn out to be a canine groomer. She started Hair of the Canine Grooming Parlor, a modest pet grooming business she operates out of her house.
Acquiring started
Rigby started out doing work at Pet Link in Alliance when she was in higher school. She aided the store’s groomer with nail trims and other services, which fostered her fascination in animals.
Just after she graduated significant faculty, Rigby grew to become a veterinary assistant and labored in the business for 4 many years. She determined to swap to pet grooming in 2021 and used various months operating as an apprentice for a groomer in the Canton South region.
Launching a modest business was challenging, but, she reported, “I have learned that you are likely to find out together the way much more than just about anything.”
Rigby started having clients in October. She did not anticipate that her business would develop as swiftly as it did.
“I began grooming just two dogs in my basement with a foldable desk just to get extra exercise,” she reported. “I was seeking for folks to permit me function on their canine and find out. And then, in advance of I knew it, I am booked out 3 months with 3 to 4 canine a day.”
Rigby, who offers whole groom, nail and bath products and services, mentioned her social media is a key rationale for her early results. She helps make an hard work to share photos of her clients’ dogs on Instagram and Fb and typically attire the puppies in festive props. She also does nail portray and momentary fur coloring utilizing chalk.
The thought, Rigby said, arrived from her individual encounters using her pet dogs to groomers and pet day treatment facilities. She enjoyed looking at them article about her pets on social media and considered it would be a great concept “to display men and women that I really like their canines.”
One of Rigby’s to start with customers, Janelle Jones, mentioned it’s distinct how a lot Rigby cares for the puppies. The Alliance resident brings her Maltese, Finn, and her American Bully, Mama, to Hair of the Canine.
“Lydia is absolutely remarkable with the canine,” Jones said. “She tends to make them comfortable from the complete beginning, and she functions quite perfectly with the clients. She’s very accommodating with your timetable.”
Jones mentioned that her American Bully tends to be skittish all-around groomers, but Rigby manages to preserve her tranquil when she cuts her nails. She suggests Rigby to quite a few pet dog house owners, she said, and thinks Rigby’s social media technique can help her enterprise mature.
“Men and women can go to her web site and see all her posts and all the different grooms she’s done on distinctive styles of puppies,” Jones mentioned.
Rigby said she enjoys finding to do the job a person-on-a single with the pet dogs and prides herself on getting a calming, tension-no cost setting. She only will work with 1 client at a time, this means canine don’t have to sit in kennels although many others are finding groomed.
In the upcoming, Rigby options to broaden her small business and create a doggie day care facility that gives boarding and coaching.
To program an appointment, contact Rigby at (330) 614-3297 or on the Hair of the Dog’s Facebook site.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @paigembenn.
