The Bucks in Your Pockets – Benefits of Pet Grooming Training

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Are you fond of animals? Then taking up a career in pet grooming would probably be a good option for you. Of course, you will need to complete a pet grooming training regimen. But that should be a snap for the person who already loves animals.

Pet grooming is a job that involves overseeing the overall appearance and general health of a pet. From time immemorial, there has always been a bond between humans and animals. People love to keep domestic animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, and many other such species as pets. However, maintaining these animals entails lots of care. Supervision in keeping them as healthy and as well-groomed as possible is what pet grooming is all about.

Fortunately there are a number of training schools that conduct pet grooming training courses. Essentially such courses help participants to undergo training in learning to take care of pets properly. This includes checking on the nails, fur or coat, eyes, skin etc. These are part of the pet care training course curriculum and have to be mastered by each student under the general health conditions heading. In addition, the learner must also develop proficiency in the areas of pet safety and pet training.

In other words, the grooming of these extended family members entails much more than simply bathing and clipping the toenails of these precious family members. As a pet groomer, you become part of a system of hygiene and healthy lifestyle of each member of your pet clientele.

During training sessions, learners are taught how to groom in the best possible ways. This include the art of clipping nails of pet animals, how to brush furry coats, and skin maintenance for pets whose coats are not to be brushed. But since the overall health of these furry friends is at the core of the services pet groomers provide, general health issues are also taught as part of the training. So at the end of the training, you will be equipped to be part of the early detection team, able to spot potential problems like eye and ear infection, plus insect infestation. You are not expected to treat many of the issues you may find. Instead, your keen insight allows you to recommend that owners take their pets to a veterinarian in order to avoid chronic or catastrophic problems.

Those looking for a career in pet care usually undergo apprenticeship to enhance their skills and provide necessary hands-on experience. The government-aided training schools also conduct various programs, workshops, conferences, and seminars for further enhancement of knowledge of how to groom pets. Attending such organized programs will no doubt help those interested in pursuing a career in pet care.

Hands-on experience involving direct handling of pet animal related problems is one of the best ways to get educated in providing these kinds of services. On completion of pet grooming training program, the participants usually join pet stores or animal clinics as apprentices. Experience in the line of pet grooming is vital once the classroom training program is complete.

Aside from taking care of the animals, another duty that is expected from pet grooming training incumbents is to handle general administration work related to the animals. This includes attending to the phone and maintaining of proper files and documents with regard to each of the pets. As you consider various pet grooming instructional programs, you want to ensure that this administrative aspect in not overlooked.

The durations of pet grooming training courses usually vary from approximately two weeks to several months or even a year. The basic education level required to enroll in most pet grooming training programs is a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Marketing Advice for House Cleaning Businesses

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Avoid Ineffective Advertising

Let’s examine the target market for a house cleaning business. The majority of your prospective customers will be upper-middle class, middle age professionals who do not have the time to clean, but do have the financial resources to hire a cleaning company. Other prospects will fall into either the 30 – 40 age group with younger children at home, or the 60 – 80 age group. They are looking for a professionally run cleaning business which guarantees customer satisfaction, and stands behind that guarantee.

How do you advertise to such a broad age group? TV, Newspapers, Radio? Unfortunately, there is such a great variance in interests that it is impossible to reach all prospects with just one of these media. Therefore, an ongoing marketing strategy that incorporates all media sources is optimal.

By keeping your company continuously in front of the consumer you become known to them. When they receive your direct mail piece, notice your car signs in their neighborhood, see your TV ads, find you in the yellow pages and on the internet, you’ve hit all the bases. Chances are you’ll be the first company they consider when they need a cleaning service.

Branding

A “brand” is the memory created through a person’s collective experience of a company, product or service. Therefore, your logo; verbal and written promises; physical appearance of cleaning technicians, cleanliness of cars and equipment; customer testimonials — both verbal and written; and finally the personal experience in each home and on the phone “brands” your company image into the public’s mind. Every experience you provide must be consistent with the image you want to create. Branding is marketing, and marketing includes every aspect of public contact.

Timing

In order for your marketing to succeed your prospects must be exposed to it when they’re in a receptive frame of mind. You wouldn’t want your direct mail pieces to be delivered Monday through Thursday because some prospects are busy thinking about work and time management issues. Friday and Saturday are the days which your direct mail piece will have a more likely chance of being read.

Similarly, placing a newspaper ad in the Business section would be less likely to attract the attention you desire — your ads should be placed in the Home and Garden section to be read at a time that your prospects are focused on their home. Follow this same principle if you use local TV advertising by running your ads during programs which are geared toward upper-income viewers, at a time that they are relaxed and focused on home life, i.e. food, home, or travel shows.

Television

Television is by far the most expensive form of marketing. Also, it provides the least amount of qualified leads. If you are determined to produce a TV commercial do some research first: Contact all of your local TV stations and ask for samples of commercials they have produced for local companies. Be aware that the stations will not send sample tapes without first determining if you are a valid prospect – you will have to meet with advertising salespeople. Set aside at least two hours each for the appointments and related phone calls from sales people. After you have met with a few salespeople you will know if your budget can handle TV advertising.

If you decide to continue with this venue ask each salesperson for samples of commercials their stations have produced, you may have to insist that this is a preliminary step to their gaining your business. When you view the commercials, note the names of the companies which are service oriented – then call each one and inquire about the results of their TV ad campaign. Ask the following questions:

o Were your ads run during programs that were geared toward upper income viewers?

o Were you certain that your ads did indeed run as scheduled, or were they “bumped” by higher dollar advertisers?

o If your ads were “bumped” from your desired spot, did the station run them during inappropriate programs and charge you anyway?

o After the commercial ran, did qualified prospects call for estimates?

o What was the ratio of qualified vs. unqualified prospects?

o Were the results worth the amount you spent on this form of advertising?

o What marketing vehicle have you found to be the most effective?

Be certain your contract states that if your ad is bumped from it’s spot you will NOT be charged if it is moved to programming you have not pre-approved. Be forewarned that your salesperson has no idea what is going on with your ad, and has no control over it once it has been sent to the lineup personnel. If at the last minute your ad is bumped, it may become a filler ad at 2am on a court-TV rerun.

Finally, record the time slots you have pre-approved so that you can determine if your advertising budget has been working for you or against you. If your ad did not run as specified in your contract, you have proof – use it! Call the salesperson, and if necessary speak to the station manager in order to have the ad run during appropriate programming – and if your contact states such, do not pay for ads which were not properly run.

Direct Mail

We have found that direct mail gives the highest return per dollar, and is guaranteed to reach all who you target — if your mail piece is cost effective and your mailing list is accurate. Your choices for direct mail are letters, brochures or postcards. Letters are most likely to be considered junk-mail and will be unopened, and brochures can be expensive to produce. Therefore, the most cost effective direct mail piece is a postcard. Postcards are non-invasive, quickly read, easily saved or carried to work, and are economical. Whether or not the cards are read, they display your logo on both sides; therefore, repetitively sending postcards instills name recognition.

Your postcard should state the customer satisfaction guarantee, services you offer, insurances carried, your website address, and phone numbers. You can have an advertising firm create a postcard for you, or save money by using the pre-formatted cards from MaidDocs.

Send your customers and dormant customers a marketing piece at least twice each year. During months that business is slow, offer discounts on deep cleaning services for your current customers. Spring cleaning and pre-holiday specials are the best vehicles to renew business with dormant customers and to reach new prospects.

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The most economical lists we have found are the “City Search” discs offered by Hill-Donnelly. Telephone assistance is provided by Hill-Donnelly to teach you how to extract information from the discs and save it as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Other lists are available through many sources which you can locate on the internet. Also, most companies offer the information pre-sorted onto mailing labels, ready to peel-and-stick.

Visit your local post office and purchase a First Class pre-paid mailing permit. The USPS representative will provide instructions on how to set up the permit block. When your postcards are printed you simply count out the number to be mailed, and then deliver them to the bulk-mail representative at your local post office. This saves time (no applying stamps by hand) and looks more professional.

Door-Knockers

Door-knockers are marketing pieces that are pre-cut to hang on a door knob. Although they are inexpensive to produce, paying your employees to deliver them can be costly. Also, there is the chance that they will toss the door-knockers out and add delivery hours to their timesheet. Therefore, door knockers are not a cost effective means of advertising unless you plan to deliver them yourself, or have an effective tracking method for delivery.

Internet

Local service companies are often listed for free on community pages. Find them all and present them with your information. Many offer online submission forms – but if you need to call and personally ask to be listed, it is well worth the effort. Include your logo, website and email addresses in each listing.

Having your own website is desirable. Depending upon the area you are servicing, a percentage of your business will come directly from prospects surfing the web for cleaning service companies. Other prospects may receive a marketing piece or find your ad in the yellow pages, and visit the website before calling. Prospects who call but don’t book a service should be directed to the website as a means to reiterate your phone conversation and to view customer testimonials.

You should be able to find a local web developer in the yellow pages, or better yet, ask other small business owners for a reference. Once you have a few candidates ask them for the addresses of websites which they have developed. Log on to these sites and visit all of the pages to ascertain whether the design and visitor generated forms give an impression that is compatible with the branding you want for your company. When you determine which designs match your needs, send an e-mail to the business owners asking if they are satisfied with the knowledge and service provided by the webmaster.

Yellow Pages

Many prospects will search the yellow pages for service companies. Some will look you up in the yellow pages when they receive a direct mail piece – just to verify that you are a legitimate company. Most of the information which is on your postcard should be listed in the yellow pages ad. If this is cost prohibitive, then simply state “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and always list your website address.

When considering the type of ads to place, remember that your ad must stand out from the competition. Research all of your local phone books and notice which ads catch your eye. A good bet is a “knock-out” ad with at least 2 colors. The “knock-out” removes the yellow background and leaves a crisp, attention grabbing white field among all the yellow ads. For a lesser cost you may list your company in the yellow pages free listing column with a knock-out and color. Make this ad a minimum of four 4 lines, with color.

Be certain to call your local yellow pages to ascertain their deadlines for placing ads in the next edition. It would be a shame to miss this marketing vehicle and have to wait a full year to be listed.

White Pages

Yellow knock-outs can be incorporated into your white pages listing. Make this ad a minimum of four 4 lines, and add color if you can afford it. Remember to list your website address here also.

Newspapers

Newspapers are the second most used form of advertising for small businesses, following directly after the Yellow Pages. Your ads should be placed in Home and Garden section to be read at a time that your prospects are focused on their home. Of course Sunday is the ultimate day to advertise, but also the most expensive. Also, most papers publish special sections that may run only once per month or several times per year – budget extra advertising dollars to run your ad in all home or leisure specials.

Double check all written information from the sales department to assure that your ads will be run in the proper sections. Insist on viewing a “proof” of the ad and having a final approval before publishing. Keep in mind that you must accommodate the newspaper’s schedule – if you do not provide feedback in a timely manner your ad will either miss the print or it will proceed without your approval.

Finally — read the paper to be certain that your ad was properly printed and placed. If the paper made an error, you should insist on a reprint in the next comparable edition.

Measuring Success

You can measure the success of your marketing campaign by keeping a record of how many estimates are generated, and how many are converted to customers. By tracking all responses according to their sources, you can test individual ad campaigns to see which marketing approach and special offers produce the most profitable results for your cleaning business. Then focus your marketing budget on the avenues which are most productive.

Note: A further discussion of marketing can be found in the MaidDocs Business Owner’s Manual available at MaidDocs.com.

Copyright © 2004 MaidDocs® ~ All rights reserved.

Winning Roulette by Beating the Game

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For this popular game there have been numerous systems to be able to beat the dealer and get his money. If you want to win at the game of roulette then follow these roulette tips to beating the game.Pivot System Roulette:For this system of beating roulette, you will begin taking note of all the numbers resulting on the roulette wheel. You are looking for that first number that repeats. Once a number repeats, you can call that number the pivot.An example of the early numbers on the roulette wheel may be: 12, 23, 33, 8, 17, 12, In this sequence, 12 is the first number that is repeated and is thus the pivot number.Now, bet the number 12 for 36 consecutive shots until that number hits the roulette wheel. Bet the same amount in each shot in order to maximize the chance of an end profit. Choosing the correct number on a roulette wheel pays out 35:1 odds, so if the pivot hits inside those 36 shots you get profit. If the number 12 hits on the final 36th bet, you will break even and can start searching for the next pivot number. Beating the game of roulette is all about making money and the earlier that pivot number hits the more money you will make. When you get a hit on the pivot number, do not bet the pivot again. Select another pivot or change table and begin the entire process again to win at the elusive game of roulette.Why you can win with this system of casino roulette? It is a fact that the numbers on a roulette wheel tend to recur frequently. On average, only 24 of the numbers will be unique out of 37 rolls of the roulette wheel. Very rarely (if it ever comes to pass) will 37 rolls result in 37 different numbers. This method of winning roulette is based on the “law or system of unequal distribution.” During small periods of 37 roulette spins, not all the numbers appear, but during periods of millions of spins all the numbers appear the same amount of times. The next time you are in a casino, try this method and see if you can become a roulette winner.Austrian Roulette System:The system for beating Austrian casino roulette is simple and effective. The player must play 6 chips in the first column and 6 chips in the third column. Then, play the tab between 0 and double 00 (if American-style roulette), one between 8 and 11 (the second column of black), one between 17 and 20, and one between 26 and 29. The player will cover 32 of the 38 numbers on the roulette table.Every time the ball lands in one of its 32 numbers, the player wins 2 chips. With this system of beating roulette, the player will most often hit a winner 85% of the time.You might ask, “But how can it happen? If I lose, there will be 16 chips in the trash. ” Mathematically, the loser will only lose all chips about 15% of the time. Every other hand is a sure winner and that means yo have just beat the game of roulette.The measurement of beating the game of roulette is all about the money. The more money the player has in their pocket at the end of the day, the better they have beat the game.

Enjoy Your Birthday This Year With a Dazzling Fun Casino Party

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Lets face it, you are going to have them whether you like it or not. Yes, birthdays. Some people absolutely love their birthday and look forward to it every year, planning the next one from the day after the last one. I think most people probably have a love/hate relationship with their birthday, I know I do.Problem is that ever year you have to try and do something different from last year to make each birthday more memorable than the last. Going down the pub with a few mates and having a skin full use to be OK but it isn’t very memorable.Well this year I suggest you do something a bit risque, a bit different. Have a fun casino party. What’s that, a fun casino party? I am never ceased to be amazed when I receive this response because I sort of believe that it is common knowledge and an understanding about fun casinos. For those of you who don’t know I will summarize what a fun casino is.A fun casino is normally hired from companies from the event and entertainment sector. You will probably find them on the internet rather than in the yellow pages or local newspaper. Basically, you hire some casino equipment, normally they supply croupiers as well, and invite your friends round to your home or booked venue and have a night playing on the casino tables.The’fun’ part is that no actual gambling takes place because you play with pretend or ‘Fun’ money which the casino hire supplier will provide. The best part is that a prize can be offered to the player who wins the most money making for a competitive and challenging nights entertainment. Most of your friends will probably never have visited a casino and so learn how to play the games in the comfort of knowing the experience is free.The best part is that your guests will have an unusual and exciting nights entertainment and you will get all the Kudos for treating them to an experience few of them will normally have a chance of experiencing.

Fraternity Fundraiser – Pay to Play Casino Night

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It’s a great time of the year for parties. And fraternities throw some of the best parties around. This year, make one of the parties a fraternity fundraiser: Pay to Play Casino Night.Like any fundraiser, getting everyone involved is important. It might be good to pair up with a sorority to sponsor the casino night as a joint fundraiser and split the profits. This allows your fraternity to do a lot less work, and to have a built in list of additional attendees – lovely ladies who can also utilize their rolodexes and get a lot more people to attend.As the chairperson, you will want to delegate responsibilities for your event. You will need people to choose a location, select a date, publicize, sell tickets, plan logistics and hire people to run the games and tables as well as organize food and drink. You may want to consider getting local businesses involved to provide free food, staff or drinks for your event. One option would be to have a local restaurant or bar (if it’s an over 21 event!) host your Casino night fundraiser. They could offer discounted drinks for the night, or free drinks for the first few hours – work with them to make it a successful partnership for both of you.This isn’t the easiest fundraiser but it can be a lot of fun and can be very profitable. Publicizing and selling tickets is crucial – use your contacts – invite everyone you can to “pay to play” and participate in a fun casino night. Create an atmosphere and make it a dynamic event by having people dress up. You could even make additional money by charging for posed photographs at your Casino Night.Don’t forget to plan well and have adequate tables and game stations for the number of attendees as well as adequate food and drink. You can set up your event to be with “play money” like Monopoly money and then offer prizes to the person who ends up with the most money in the end (preferably a donated prize). You can also use chips or really any form of currency you’d like.If you plan, organize, generate excitement and get lots of people to your fraternity casino night fundraising event, it could be your most fun fundraiser ever.