Episode 331 - The Successful Dog Grooming Blueprint with River Lee
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Release Date: 01/04/2024
Episode 437: Disney Business Secrets: Lessons Dog Daycare Owners Can Steal from the Happiest Place on Earth
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What can a theme park teach you about building a more profitable, memorable, and sellable pet business? Why do some companies create loyal fans while others struggle to hold attention? And how can small experience-driven details dramatically increase client loyalty and lifetime value? In this episode, I’m deep in preparation mode for IMPACT 2026 and heading back to Orlando, which means Disney is front and centre in my thinking right now. So, I’m sharing some of the biggest marketing and business lessons I’ve picked up from my visits to Walt Disney World — and how these same ideas can...
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Episode 436: Why Live Events And Real Client Connections Create the Strongest Pet Business Brands
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What separates pet businesses that are simply “good” from those people talk about, remember, and proudly recommend? Why do LIVE (in-person) experiences build deeper trust than any advert, post, or email ever could? And in an increasingly automated (and ai obsessed) world, how can you still creates real connection with your clients? In this episode, I’m just hours away from the early-bird deadline for IMPACT 2026, and I’m joined by my Enrich U partner, Elite Mastermind member, and IMPACT speaker, Tim Jackson. Together, we dig into one of the most powerful — and most overlooked —...
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Episode 435: The Fast Pass: How to Leapfrog Your Dog Daycare Competition and Build A Premium, Destination Brand.
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
Do you feel like you’re doing everything “right” — yet still progress in your pet business is slow and frustrating? What if business growth didn’t have to be a long, slow climb, but a sprint to the top of the pile? And what would change if you could skip the line and position your pet business at the front of the pack? In this episode, I’m back at my desk after a busy few weeks of travel, meetings, and event planning to share a simple but powerful idea: the Fast Pass. Borrowed from theme parks like Disney and Universal, a Fast Pass lets you bypass the queue and get where you want...
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Episode 434 - Takeaways from the Dog Daycare Elite Mastermind in Austin, Texas
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually happens when ambitious pet business owners step away from their facilities and into a room built for growth? How do these businesses move faster in three months than others do in three years? And what changes when you stop trying to solve problems alone and start tapping into collective experience? In this episode, I’m back home at Town Farm after a whirlwind trip to the U.S., sharing behind-the-scenes audio and reflections from our first Elite Mastermind of 2026 in Austin, Texas. You’ll hear directly from members as they walk out of the room admittedly tired, fired up,...
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433: Pet Business Perspective - How Looking Back Can Help Power Your Future Success
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
When was the last time you actually stopped to look at how far you’ve come in your business? What would change if you judged progress over three or five years — not the last three months? And how different would your goals be if you truly believed the next chapter could be bigger than anything you’ve built so far? In this episode, I check in from the middle of the Caribbean, recording from a cruise ship en route between speaking engagements in the U.S. Sharing travel chaos stories, football fandom, and my own evolution as a business owner, we explore why most entrepreneurs underestimate...
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Episode 432: Inside a Real Consultation Day with Dom Hodgson: How One Day of Strategy Can Save Years of Wrong Decisions
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually happens during a full, in-person pet business consultation day with Dom Hodgson? How does Dom spot hidden opportunities, fix leaks, and uncover an entirely new growth path in a single day? And how can one focused conversation save you years of trial, error, and frustration? In this first episode of 2026, I give you rare, behind-the-scenes access to a real consultation day I did with Adam Delderfield (PBIC Marketer of the Year) and Stella Seminerio. Rather than theory or tidy case studies, you’ll hear raw audio recorded at the end of an intensive strategy day — capturing...
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Episode 431: Dom's Big Pet Biz Lessons of 2025: Are You Growing a Pet Business or Building a Life You LOVE!
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What happens when you build a successful pet business… but forget to build a life around it? Why do so many hardworking pet professionals stay busy, stressed, and tired — even when the business is technically “doing well”? And how can you stop reacting to the year ahead… and start designing it on purpose? In this end-of-year episode, I hit pause between Christmas festivities to reflect on what 2025 really taught me about business growth, and also about my energy, downtime, leverage, and clarity. For me this was a year filled with travel-heavy months and packed event schedules...
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What Dog Daycare Owners Can Learn from a World-Class Copywriter, with Mike Samuels
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What actually separates businesses that blend in with the crowd… from the ones that stand out? Why do some owners seem to escape the race to the bottom on price, while others feel permanently squeezed? And what does behavioural psychology, copywriting, and niching properly have to do with running a predictable and more profitable dog daycare? In this episode, I share a special conversation recorded at the Elite UK Mastermind with Mike Samuels — one of the most renowned copywriters and behavioural psychology specialists in the world. While Mike doesn’t work in pet care, the lessons he...
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Episode 429: How to Build Your Daycare to Sell (Even if you Never do) with IMPACT 26 Keynote speaker,Tieja Heikkila
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What happens to your business when the economy shifts, jobs disappear, and your clients start feeling the pressure before you do? How resilient is your pricing, your positioning, and your client base if AI starts replacing roles your customers rely on? And what really changes when you experience Dom’s coaching in person — not through a screen, not in theory, but live and unfiltered? In this episode, Dom pulls back the curtain on why Teija Heikkilä was the only choice for keynote speaker at IMPACT 2026 — and why her message lands harder now than ever before. Teija isn’t talking...
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Episode 428: It’s Time to Disnify Your Dog Daycare: Get Your FAST-PASS Ticket to Success!
The Poodle to Pitbull Pet Business Podcast
What if you could transform your daycare into the Disney of your town, the place affluent owners brag about, pay more for, and refuse to leave? What would happen to your business if you mastered experience, enrichment, pricing, systems, and upsells in just two days? And what could next year look like if you finally stopped running a wacky warehouse… and started running a wonderland for dogs? In this week’s episode, I come in hot with the announcement I’ve been dying to make: The Disnify Your Dog Daycare LIVE Impact Success Summit is coming to ORLANDO in 2026. And it’s going to be the...
info_outlineThis week I'm talking to the amazing River Lee who runs the Savvy Groomer, a coaching business that helps groomers go from burnt out, broke and broken to healthy, wealthy and happy.
River grew up in Rhode Island, where she struggled at school where and felt like an outsider. Being neurodivergent and dyslexic meant she struggled in a traditional learning environment.
However, she always had an entrepreneurial spirit and actually ran a small pet sitting company when she just 12 years old!
She did a number of jobs, graduated, and ended up managing a doggy daycare full-time at the same time as she was training to be a vet. She ended up training to be a groomer purely as a back-up to cover the work-shy groomer who was enployed at the daycare.
At this point she was involved in a massive car accident, fell pregnant, lost her apartment, and the daycare she was working in said they would prefer it if she left, so River ended up homeless, living in her car, with no job.
Unbelievably, she knew someone who was looking to get out of a grooming lease, which River took over, and ended up opening her first grooming business four days before her son was born. She survived on ketchup sandwhiches, while her son was being washed in the bath at the salon, where they were living illegally! But, when the chips were down River showed an unbelievable determination to build a better life.
And, if you think that is amazing, then you'll love hearing how River turned her life around, to become not only a successful business owner, but an inspirational leader in the grooming industry.
Tune in to discover;
- How River switched from a low-price to a premium grooming model by doubling her prices!
- Why it can be BAD to build your business around a reputation of being a groomer who can work with any dog (especially difficult dogs)
- Why River recommends a membership model for groomers, and the cool way she designed her membership around the kind of business (and life) she wanted to have.
- Why she niched to cats for second business (and gained 100 subscription clients in less than six month)
- How to turn your neurodiverance into your superpower!
- And much, much more...
To find out more about River, and her Savvy Groomer program click here now
Shoutout to our amazing show sponsor PACCC (Professional Animal Care Certification Council) you can find out more about PACCC by clicking here now.
To grab a 'hot off the press' copy of my 2024 Pet Business Promotional Calendar then click here now
If you run a seven-figure plus pet business and want to book a private consultation with Dom in 2024, then email Beth on beth@petbizwiz.com. Explain what you need help with, tell me a bit about your business, and if I think I can help, if I think we're a good fit, and if I'm excited by the project we'll book a call to discuss further.
If you want more help and advice from me then you should grab a copy of my brand new book, How to Disnify Your Pet Business, click here to get your copy now
If you aren't ready for a coach but still need help with marketing then you should join the Pet Business Inner Circle, where you can get access to hundreds of trainings and ask Dom anything inside the members only private forum, then click here now
To apply to join Dom's next level Diamond private coaching program click here now