08/03/2026
Good Monday morning to you all! I hope this post finds you enjoying the summer sunshine for a few more weeks!
So long time, no chat, huh? It’s been 1327 days to be exact since I last gave an update about anything Shampoodles related. No news is good news, right? Nothing has changed in a long time, so there was no need for a post. But since I’m here, three and a half years later, that must mean… I have a pretty big update to give you.
Starting today, August 3rd, 2026… I am sunsetting. Starting my official path towards a someday retirement.
DON’T PANIC. I know you’re panicking! Stop it!
I am not quitting. I repeat, I am not quitting grooming!
Two things have changed recently in my life that have brought about this sudden and permanent decision. And it was sudden, as in I just decided this within the last month, after mulling on it for the whole summer. Thinking things through. Trying different approaches and realizing that this is going to be the best way to go about it. Firstly, my kids are almost grown. Those babies that we used to make appointments around nap time and bus schedules for are now 12 and 15. I have one who is going to be getting a job at school this year, and taking big steps towards deciding if he can live independently. Cole has mild autism and needs a bit more attention when it comes to this delicate time of his life, deciding where he is going to go in the future. My younger son Chase has completely blossomed into a big athlete; he plays 3 sports and we are year round now, and starting next week are adapting to a daily practice schedule for the first time ever. Unfortunately that makes me full time chauffeur, a job many of you have already gone through and know well. He made a very good travel baseball team for next year, but this team is based in Middleton and we will be driving a lot, and leaving directly after school most nights. We will also be traveling to tournaments most every weekend next summer.
Secondly, as my kids have aged, I have as well. I have been grooming for 20 years now, I started in 2006. Shampoodles has been open since 2011, 15 years. I have been lucky so far to never have any work related injuries, considering I have a few thousand grooms under my belt now. However, I am now an “elderly” groomer; 75% of the workers in my industry are under the age of 40, 50% of them are between 20-30 years old! And even better than that, once you get to my age, a lot of groomers manage their own shops and employees, and have younger people to do the hard work for them. I have always worked solo here, and never intend to hire anyone out. It means that the job is getting tougher and tougher on me physically, and I have been struggling lately with some soreness and nagging repetitive motion injuries that haven’t cleared up this time around. It’s a sign that I need to start slowing down and taking on less if I want to keep doing this job. And nobody wants me to quit, you don’t want that, I don’t want that yet.
What does that mean for Shampoodles? The best solution I came up with is simply to reduce my hours per day. Effective immediately, the only appointments I can offer are going to be a 9 am slot and a 12 pm slot. The good news is I will be keeping a Monday-Friday week, but I’m just cutting out that late afternoon appointment. This will solve both my problems at once, by allowing me time for the kid’s schedules, while also reducing the number of appointments in one day, so I have more time to rest and recover. The late afternoon has been an overflow spot for a while, so I don’t think this is really going to affect anyone greatly, but it will also mean that it will be a bit tighter again to get an appointment as we condense. This change is permanent moving forward, starting today, and will no longer flex depending on the season (which is how I have been doing it).
Come next summer, there will be a small temporary change as well. We will be traveling to baseball every Friday (without fail), so there will be no Friday appointments available in the summer months. Probably June and July, but could also be May and August, and I’ll know that when our schedule comes out next year. Once summer is over, I’ll resume Fridays again. This will be a bigger issue for some of you, so I want you to know early and be prepared for that.
When I started grooming all those years ago, I never intended to do it for very long, but I quickly fell in love with the job and now I’m not ready to give it up yet. So this is my attempt to desperately hold on to it by making these changes. As always, if you have questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to discuss. I want to see your smiling faces and those happy wagging tails for a long time, so bear with me as we move forward in to the sunset! 🌅
