I grew up on my grandparents’ farm. I grew up with every farm animal you could think of. In March of 2002 I started my first full time corporate job. Worked as a bather for nearly a year. Watched every groomer style of work soon enrolled into their grooming school. I had a great grooming mentor and also got to work along side 7 other great groomers. Picking up tips and tricks and finding my own style. And all the while continued to explore the education of grooming.  I moved up to salon manager and stayed just a couple more years. Beause the clients I loved and dealt with for several  years were no longer welcomed because of their age. I found a small mom & pop shop. I found myself working alone and running the show. Running the show and getting paid groomers commission. I started to gather all info on how to start my own business and being mobile. I didn’t have a clue where to really start. I enrolled into Green River Community College business classes. I took the course and made some great connections with the teacher (who later asked me to come back for free during 2 other similar courses). I somehow stumbled on a local mobile groomer who helped me make even more connections. From the start of business idea to launching. Its took me 18 long months. 12Th Paw Mobile Spa launched Aug 2016. Made many mistakes those first couple years. As I am 20+ yrs. into my career my body is asking for a different pace. Over the last couple years I realized I had other want to be mobile groomers and a couple shop owners ask me for advice on starting ,building and giving a bit of a face lift to their business. Also helping to respond to a negative review or unhappy client. I find myself enjoying helping others. And decided to launch Pawsitive Approach Coaching. Help guide others thru the process of starting and growing a successful business.

During her 34 years in the grooming industry, Anjie spent as much of it learning about every aspect of not only grooming but about business. She knew she had to share the knowledge she had gained and began teaching grooming, and business so others could learn the secrets of her success. This has also led her to teach Pet Tech First Aid & CPR classes for pet professionals and pet owners alike. Her passion for continuing education shows through in her achieving CMRG  (Certified Master Rabbit Groomer) as well as CCE, ACG, and PGC. This brand ambassador for All For Groomers is currently publishing the first rabbit grooming book in the industry.

Chris Anthony, weary from her travails in retail management and office work, found her calling when she discovered pet grooming. Her near 20 year journey in this career has led her through many opportunities, experiences,& life lessons; including grooming and managing in both s mall and corporate salons, and starting her own successful house call grooming business in New Jersey. Supplementing those life lessons by educating herself on the varying aspects of her career she always sought out innovations in pet care, education, grooming techniques, tools and products. Now her passion for grooming & education has added more in depth knowledge on scissors, scissoring techniques, ergonomics and self care to help preserve her own health and longevity in her chosen profession. She is the owner/groomer at Have Shears Will Travel, customer service/sales Vp at Evolution Shears. Chris is also honored to have co-founded the New Jersey Professional Pet Groomers Alliance and serves as its current Chairwoman.

Denise Heroux has over 25 years of grooming experience, is an educator and speaker, and owns Awesome Paws Pet Salon; a Cleveland-based chain with 3 locations with active plans for expansion. Awesome Paws fosters a healthy environment for employees and pets with a focus on employee investment and learning. While managing all locations and a staff of over 25 employees, Denise finds time to work with the local pet pantry to help with donations, attends events to aid local pet charities and founded the Ohio Professional Pet Groomers Association. This association focuses on setting a higher standard for pet safety, business-building opportunities, versatile learning experiences, and creating legislative fluidity in the industry. Denise has given live seminars on business subjects at industry events that focus on business owners expanding their salon with employees, building a sustainable work culture, and how to handle employees within the workplace. You may have listened to her on both the Women PetPreneurs and Small Business Hiring podcasts. She is passionate and dedicated to help create good work environments for business owners and employees.

Kate Klasen, born and raised in Illinois, is a veteran of law enforcement with a career in the Chicagoland area.  Now making her home in Arizona, she is the owner of Balanced Paws pet spa. Kate is also certified through Science Dog on canine nutrition and teaches classes on pet foods. Outside of the grooming salon, Kate brought her passions together when she also founded  H.E.L.P  where she brings in her past experience as a first responder and teaches emergency preparedness skills for people and pets, including Pet Tech CPR/First Aid.

During her tenure with the Police Department, Kate has been a certified EMT, 9-1-1 dispatcher and police officer. Kate had been responsible as a field training officer for dispatchers, and had taught at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy (SLEA) where she taught first responders CPR/First Aid. Kate also was responsible for teaching defensive tactic topics at her department, and assisted other departments with their training. 

H.E.L.P  offers human & animal CPR/AED First Aid, Advanced Bleeding and Active shooter training and is an official training center for the Health Safety Institute. H.E.L.P also offers Emergency Preparedness consults & training.   Kate is a certified instructor through Health Safety Institute, American Heart Association, AVERT, and Pet Tech. She has also completed training with K9 Medic, USCCA Practical Tactical Medicine Courses and Stop the Bleed.

Kate, since leaving law enforcement, has continued her passion for teaching and serving by providing the lessons learned over decades of training and experience to clients of all backgrounds. She believes wholeheartedly in collaborative learning and hopes to see you in the classroom

Multi-award winning, Certified Master Groomer, Marcia Strong has been an accredited Professional Pet Groomer since 2008 

With a keen eye for detail, and competitive spirit, Marcia began her grooming career 14 years ago, training under two of the world’s top groomers. 

After gaining experience in the salon, Marcia decided to take her skills to the competitive grooming ring in 2011. She brought home multiple awards and titles in various Poodle and Mixed breed classes. As well as having her asian fusion work published in Modern styles magazine.

In 2015, Marcia became a Certified Master Groomer through the Canadian Professional Pet Stylists (CPPS), the only legal certification board in Canada. After becoming a certifier for this board, Marcia spends her weekends educating and doing examinations for other groomers across the country. 

By the age of 30 Marcia owned and operated a busy salon in St Albert “fairy tails dog spaw”  It quickly grew an amazing name for itself but Marcia and her family decided to move back east and Fairy Tails was sold. This would be the first of two salons Marcia would build from the ground up and successfully sell. 

You may recognize her from tiktok account (i like dogs more than you) where she loves to make relatable, funny, content for other dog groomers. In 2021 Marcia was awarded with a Barkleighs honours award for best entertainment video of the year for her “dog breeds at the salon” videos. 

These days Marcia can be found working from her home based salon with her incredible team of staff. Her future plans are to compete at some American grooming shows and to branch out more into conformation shows with her Kerry blue terrier puppy Ayla.

Meg Ioffredo has been a pet professional since 2012, beginning as a bather at a corporate salon. Since then, they have taken every continuing education opportunity available to them and proudly have numerous titles under their belt: certified Pet Tech instructor, certified feline master groomer, rabbit groomer, certified canine esthetician, fear free certified, and more! Now, they turn their gaze on being an educator to give back to their grooming community, with a focus on cat and rabbit grooming. They also run Elevation Media Management, a small business that can do everything from managing social media posting to graphic design. This interest in social media blossomed when Meg ran a successful house call business in Florida. They realized how powerful of a tool social media can be for businesses, and now they want to share with you!

Starting out as a career woman, she worked in both Law Enforcement and the corporate world. After overcoming cancer in 2006, She decided she was going to do something that would truly make her happy. She quit her current job and began working under a local groomer to learn the tools of the trade. Now owning her own family run grooming business, she has worked hard for the high standards of comfort and care that they give all their canine clients. Every chance she gets, she still works to further her education of new techniques and tools. She also travels variously throughout the year to help in the education of others in different topics of grooming. These include Asian Fusion, Tools and Products of the Trade, and my most popular, Caring for Geriatric and/or Obese Dogs.

My name is River Lee and I’m on a crusade to help fellow pet professionals! My broad and niche pet industry background lend a unique perspective to help busy pet professionals live a life they love. I am the founder of the Savvy Groomer, a business where I teach groomers about personal finances and business growth on their terms.

Social / Website links:

www.savvygroomer.com

www.youtube.com/savvygroomer

www.facebook.com/growwealthygrooming

www.instagram.com/thesavvygroomer