Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Did you know that the pet care industry is a billion dollar industry and it is continuously growing? But are the people who care for your pets growing as well? I'm Dara Forleo and on the business of pet Care we are going to talk about what really goes on behind the scenes of those grooming tables, those daycare walls and those social media filters.
Welcome to the business of pet care where we explore people and innovations that are shaping the future of animal care. I am your host, Dara Forleo and today we are talking about something that is, I think pretty urgent and really under discussed in professional grooming and that is the groomer's health standards are starting to rise. Education is getting expanded, expanded on a fast scale. The profession is gaining more visibility but the physical and mental sustainability of the people doing the work has just too often been treated as an afterthought.
Things like muscular skeletal strains, noise exposure, respiratory and skin risks, injuries and, and burnout just continuously show up so consistent and is becoming a pattern across the industry.
Today I am so excited to introduce a guest from across the pond.
I have with me Natalie Duar.
Thank you, Natalie Duar. And I tell you what this is this person, she wears a lot of hats in what she's doing on a daily basis. Certification, raising the standards in, in Europe.
She is the director of it's D A A T A I C D G. We're going to get into that. You are also the chief editor of Groomer Connection magazine which I love by the way.
And she is now really touching into and starting the International Grooming Society's global Groomer Health initiative. Okay. I mean that's a mouthful in itself too with everything else you're doing.
Natalie, thank you so much for coming onto the business of pet care.
When you really are looking at grooming globally right now, what is, what's the big, what are you seeing? What are the challenges? What are you trying to do to, to close and bring this community together and, and why does it matter so much?
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Hi Dara, thank you for inviting me.
Well, when I started many years ago I wanted to build groomer and I started training and everything and I didn't ended up being a groomer because I thought there was a real lack of education.
So really what I want to do with all the hats I'm wearing is really the main thing is really improve the industry.
Improve the, I wouldn't say the bad aspects but the lack, you know, in the industry.
The problem, the main problem is that the main problems with an S I would say are that there is a lack of education and there is a lack of safety, and there is also a lot of isolation.
And also, even though, as you said, there is more exposure of the grooming world at the moment, and it's a good thing, I think people from the outside still have kind of a negative view of our craft. You know, oh, you're just a groomer. You're just cutting hair. What's the big deal? And it's so much. Yes, it's so much more than that. There is loads of things that people do not see when they see a groomer. And, yeah, that's. That's what I want to expose you.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: I mean, I know I've been in the industry and a groomer for 25 years, and progress is progress, and I see a lot of progress in the overall picture of pet. Of the pet industry.
And yet we're such a small segment of it and not growing nearly as fast as the other segments.
And.
And it's tough because people aren't getting into our industry fast enough to replace as people are leaving or seasoned groomers who are leaving or going and finding another career because their bodies are breaking down. I mean, that's why I started the school, because I knew I couldn't sustain forever as a groomer.
And it. Just tell me, I want to start first off, because I'd like to know more about the organization and how those connected, how you really started and how it grew to this health piece of it.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Actually, it started five years ago just to relocate my position. I'm in France.
So many years ago, I was mainly working for the grooming industry, but in France, I wanted to develop that in my country. And then I went abroad progressively. And five years ago, I made a first health study in France.
And we had.
We had 1% of all French groomers participating in that survey. And the results were quite dramatic.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: Okay, 1% is a small percentage of people.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: 1% on the whole country. That was quite big.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Okay. Okay, gotcha.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: So we had quite a very good picture. And it really matched what I could see on the field by myself, you know, because I see a lot of groomers, I communicate with them a lot.
And then I thought it was kind of, we say in French, death letter, meaning that I thought nothing would happen. I tried to talk with representatives and, you know, people like that, and I thought they were deaf to it. And then after a few years, I realized that this study was very well known among the elected people and among groomers, and that it started something for Example, there was a bill that was proposed to change the cosmetic regulation in France so groomers would be able to know what's in the bottle, you know.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: So I said. And after I went international, and I said, well, that would be great to do that again, but on a very big international scale. And because I learned from my mistakes from, you know, five years ago, I know what I did wrong with this first survey, what I missed.
Now I have a very clear vision of what I can do with the results, a very, very clear vision. And I'm pretty sure that this health study that I made will lead to really, really big impact, you know, big changes. It will. It's going to have a very big impact. I'm pretty sure about it.
[00:08:16] Speaker A: Okay. I mean, we need it. It's not something that doesn't need to be there. I mean, this is huge to be able to get into the hands.
I know we kind of got off there.
Just real quick, tell me about your. Your certification program.
And. And so was. How long have you been doing that?
[00:08:41] Speaker B: It's gonna be seven years now.
[00:08:46] Speaker A: Seven years. Okay.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Certification.
It all started. It all started with a dog. It always starts with a dog anyway.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: It always starts with a dog.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: That was like 14 years ago. I had a French bulldog, and she was a topic, you know, And I couldn't find any vet around me. The first dermatologist was. Dermatologist was like a thousand kilometers away, which is probably 600 miles away. So it was too difficult for me. And the vet was only giving her steroids because there was nothing else he could do for, you know, otitis and things like that and scratching.
And it was impacting her health a lot, you know, having all rounds of steroids all the time.
And then because I couldn't find a dermatologist, I said to myself, well, I'm going to study it myself to help my dog.
And I started, you know, with vet courses and books and conventions and things like that, gathered all the information, and I just realized that actually a lot of skin care, even from a vet point of view, should come from the grooming first.
And I was already in grooming, you know, and I thought, oh, my God, there is so much that we can do for prevention, just as groomers. And I started with my own dog. And I started. Yes. And then while my dog. Then came another and another, and I created a whole sets of procedures, protocols, and I changed it into a complete course.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: I know how hard it is to do that, having spent a lot of time.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Oh, yes, a lot of Time doing
[00:10:39] Speaker A: that myself and creating programs and putting that all together. So it does. And it's a specialty.
It's a specialty that not everybody could or should do. It takes, it takes a little bit more knowledge to do some things like this. So we are going to take a short break. But everything we just talked about, how, how Natalie got her start, how this all came about, this is so important to our industry and, and to everything that's growing. And we are going to talk about this a little more in depth and, and how this, I think, like, like you said, Natalie, this is going to become an industry infrastructure that needs to happen.
Stay tuned. We will be right back.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: Foreign.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Welcome back to the business of pet care. Want more of what you are watching? Stay connected to the business of pet care and every NOW Media TV favorite live and on demand.
Download the free NOW Media TV app on Roku or ISO for bilingual programming in English and Spanish. You can also catch the podcast at NowMedia TV. Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are. And I am thrilled to be back with Natalie to start talking about groomer health.
I mean, this is huge. We talk about it.
This is going to be an industry standard.
And you have done something amazing with creating the global groomer health initiative and you shared it graciously with me and all of our students at the academy so far. You know, the industry just can't keep ignoring it. What, what is, how are, how, how are we gonna get this out there more?
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Oh, I have a plan.
Oh.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Do you want to share the plan or do we need to keep that under hush for now?
[00:13:22] Speaker B: No, no, I'm gonna share it.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Well, first of all, I would say we have basis because we had 4,000 groomers participating in this survey, which is.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: I was one of them.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Yes. Which is good. And so we have a very clear vision, you know, of what's happening. Although we all know what's happening. All groomers know about it, but nobody else knows. And because we're all alone in our salon, nobody does anything. So now that the studies, you know, the data is gathered, I want to spread it. You know, I want to scream it out loud.
So my plan basically is to implicate, involve everybody. We can't count on regulation because, you know, this type of intervention is very slow and we have to fight a lot. And most of the time we are not listened.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: And it's costly.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: It's costly.
[00:14:30] Speaker B: The best way is to do it ourselves.
So it has to go through groomers and it has to go through other industry actors.
So the first thing we are going to do is organize a big conference In October, the 25th and 26th Global Health Gomer Conference.
And we are going to talk about plenty of different topics about health.
And we are going to invite specialists and we are going to invite industry speakers as well. And we're going to ask them about what do they do, you know, what do they do for commerce, health and what do they plan to do.
So here is the issue. Here is your product. It doesn't match with the issue. What can you do to change it?
And I think if we, if we include the companies, you know, the one who make the tables, who make the bathtubs, who make the products.
[00:15:31] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: And explain to them, okay, this is the problem with your products.
They are, yes, they are fancy. Yes, they are, you know, they are very colorful and everything. And it's there. But it's not practical.
It's not practical.
Or there is ingredients in your products that are problematic.
We have loads of groomer reporting skin issues, you know, noise, you know, you have blasters, your blasters are going high, higher than 95 decibels when.
Yes. You know, when 70 is already dangerous for the years.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: So you can change the not wearing protection. I was going to ask about that because you're kind of hitting into where and keep going. Because I think for people who are new, maybe not listening or owners, business owners that aren't groomers, who don't quite understand these things.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:33] Speaker A: And the injuries that we face daily and that it's a legit concern.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. People that are not from the industry, not groomers, you know, looking from the outside, they just see ladies. Most of them are ladies, but anyway, some guys as well, but ladies playing with puppies.
But we are not ladies playing with puppies. We have a real job. And it's very, you know, struggling for the body. It's very difficult for the body. We have to, you know, manipulate, you know, dogs that are jiggling everywhere that sometimes try to. They bark, sometimes they try to bite.
And we have to work contortioning our bodies so we can do whatever we can with them. Sometimes not all the dogs stand still at the table. It would be wonderful. It was like that, but it's not. And a lot of groomers do not wear protections at all.
Nothing at all.
And because it's kind of cultural in our industry, it's kind of. Well, we've always done like that.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: Just about to say that. Well, I learned from so and so who never had a problem 30 years ago.
And I'm doing it because they do it. It is, it is, it's passed down, it's. What do they say? Habits. It becomes a habit and it takes 90 days to create a new habit and it takes 90 days to get rid of an old habit. So it is something that is programmed, it's trainable in you to, to do this and it's, it's good to bring more, more out about it. Yeah, sorry, go ahead.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Well, you. What you're saying is quite to the point as well. So, yes, they're not wearing any protection. So when I was talking about the blasters, you have the blaster right next to your, to your head.
Now they have the neck blasters. So literally the engine is literally here on your ears. And even though these blasters, they haven't been on the market for very long, I already have some complaints from Guru saying, oh, it's great, but I'm deaf on one side, you know, but why don't you wear earplugs? Earplugs, headphones. It doesn't cost anything, it's very cheap, it's efficient and it doesn't change your habits. So it's very easy to protect yourself. It's very easy in many different areas. You can protect yourself quite easily. Yeah.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: And going to the respiratory of, of not just wearing a mask, but making sure it's the right one. And, and you said the, the decibel and making sure that the hearing protection is proper because just wearing a set of headphones with music playing, noise canceling doesn't mean it's canceling out any of the, the bad toxic that you're hearing.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's. Yes. And so, yes, so many things. You know, gloves, mask, ear protection, but proper one, as you said, you know, the right one. You know, the gloves has to be for chemicals, you know, because we're using chemicals.
Just the right shoes, you know, the long sleeves, you know, hair splinters are quite an issue for many groomers. Hair splinters. And where do they go? They go here. Yes.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: So if you are stressed, so just,
[00:20:13] Speaker B: we can go there, just protect this area and you'll be good, you know, so it's very easy. It's chip and it, it doesn't make your grooming long laster, you know, it's not adding time to it. It's just a question of having the right equipment.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: Yeah. How about the emotional side of this?
[00:20:36] Speaker B: Oh, yes, the emotional side, actually, yes, we studied it and actually we've discovered that. Well, I didn't discover it because I knew that already.
But a lot of groomers do have mental health issue being, for example, being isolated or having to deal with difficult dogs or cats as well or trauma from bad experience as well with customers or with dogs, bites, cat scratches and things like that. You know, 78% of groomers have expressed experiencing some mental or emotional difficulties, which is kind of a big and it's very overlooked. It's not something we talk about. It's not something when we even when we are very aware of groomer's health. We're going to talk about skin, we're going to talk about ears, we're going to talk about lungs.
And then at the very end we don't think about the mental load. But this is, yes, these are very, very important topics as well.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: Well, maybe we can continue with that because we got to take a short break. But before we get to that break, Natalie, where can anybody who's watching learn more about the Global Groomer health initiative and any of the prevention work that you are leading?
[00:22:07] Speaker B: So you can just Visit. Our website is 3w.international groomingsociety.org and we are publishing the results, results of the study and we are going to publish all the aftermath, everything we're going to do thanks to this study. It's going to be live on the website very, very soon.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: Wonderful.
I love the magazine. I want to talk about the magazine too. Coming up, we are going to move from this awareness and how this goes into action and probably come back to that emotional side just a little bit. But you know, turning this into prevention, making this something that actually works and I think you got some ideas on that as well. So we will be right back.
Welcome back to the business of pet care. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to the business of pet care. And every now Media TV favorite live or on demand, anytime you like. From business and news to lifestyle culture and beyond. Now, Media TV is streaming around the clock, ready wherever you are.
Natalie, thank you so much again for joining me. Welcome back.
And we're going to, you know what, I'm going to give you the floor. Is there anything you want to lead into this next segment with that? You're like, this is what we need to talk about now.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: Oh, gosh.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: Or am I putting you on the spot? Right?
[00:24:12] Speaker B: Yes, putting you on the spot.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: Okay, how about you know what, kind of like what we were talking about a little bit ago.
If a salon owner says I agree, but we're too busy, what is the first realistic prevention Change you would tell them to implement right away.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: Well, a very easy one that doesn't take time is just what we said earlier is the protection.
Just protect yourself, that's easy. Glove doesn't take time to wear. Mask doesn't take time to put on, you know, and long sleeves is not, you know, doesn't waste any more time than short sleeves and, you know, protections. That would be the first thing and the second. And it is something that's very important to me.
Turn around the shampoo bottle and read the ingredient list. That is something that will spark your curiosity. Even if you don't know anything about products, you will see those weird names and you will say, oh, what is it? And if you're curious enough, then you will go online or, you know, you will make some research. There is a lot of information out there.
It's sometimes difficult to sort that information, but at least you will start getting information. It doesn't take time off your job, you know, of your grooming. You can do that very quickly at night, on days off and see, oh, why is that in my shampoo? You know, and then you will have this curiosity sparkling and you will start caring more about what you're using.
So it can start with the shampoos, but then you will ask yourself about anything else, you know, about your health. That would be a good start.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. And I think a lot of people are afraid to do that because they look and see those long terms, those scientific terms that.
How do you even pronounce that?
And what does that even mean? And why not go look it up? But still, I think you, you mentioned earlier, is it that now in you said that. Because I know here a full ingredient list does not have to be enclosed or listed on the bottle. It's kind of subjective.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: Yes, but that's a fantastic opportunity for us, you know, because it doesn't matter if it's not mandatory. It doesn't matter if they don't have to, if the law doesn't say anything about it. I mean, if I'm a groomer and someone comes to me and says, oh, do you want to buy my shampoos? I will buy your shampoo only if there is a full ingredient list. On.
Doesn't matter if there is no law, no regulation. If you want to sell your shampoos, you'll have to give me your list of ingredients. And then we have the power to change everything.
So groomers can change everything. We don't need regulations because they are too slow. Maybe sometimes they will come that's good for us, whatever. But we can just, you know, how do we say hit the wallet?
We can hit the wallet, yes. So just like everything else, you know, if you sell a blaster that is not suitable for my hearing health, I will not buy it. So what will they do? Either they will change the enzymes or they will provide with protections or instruction of, you know, good instructions for use, you know, things like that. So this is definitely something we can do.
How,
[00:28:00] Speaker A: Again, there's. There's a lot of us and we think the same. How do we all come together on this?
[00:28:07] Speaker B: I think it's kind of easy. First of all, I created the ideas for that so we can gather all together.
And we tend to work with schools and with industry actors and groomers, of course, everybody that is involved in our craft.
And for example, one of my plans is to implement a partnership with brands.
This will not be about advertising any products at all, you know, and so these brands, we will just highlight the products, the material that are good or making efforts for us.
So we're going to show groomers, okay, because, you know, there is so many brands, so many materials, so many products. So how do I know? How do I sort all these things? So we're going to start to tell them. We're going to start to tell groomers, okay, this company, they are making a huge effort for your musculoskeletal disorders. These are doing a lot of efforts in their ingredients, you know, so your skin is more protected, etc. Etc. So. And then we're gonna expose them. Just. Just the good guys, not the bad guys. We're not here to point fingers at anybody.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: Right, right, right.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: We're gonna. Yeah, we're gonna point the good guys and say, okay, these are doing good jobs. So you want a good product or something, at least that is doing efforts.
Ask them.
And, you know, it's like if some brands do that and they have this exposure, other brands, if they want to keep up with that, if they want to keep up with innovation, et cetera, and keep their clientele, they will have to level up as well.
[00:29:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I totally get where you're saying and where you're coming from on that.
And I think that is one aspect of our industry where we.
We see the innovation.
And yet, and I don't know what it's like in. In France, but when we were at a trade show recently, last year, and I just, I was like, you know, it's exactly the same.
The same stuff, the same Pete, you know, everything is the same. And it really itself hasn't changed.
And it's like, how do we get the industry to start going?
We have to change.
We have to, we have to rise up. We have to come and, and do that. And, and like you said, the companies that are doing it, I love that. I absolutely love that. Saying these guys are doing this for you and boosting them. That's, that's a, that's a win, win.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Exactly. And you know, the one who are not doing it, they will say, oh my God, if I want to keep my customers, I have to do it as well.
[00:31:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: So that's where, you know, groomers are the actors of their future.
We just have to ask for it. If we want something, we just need to ask for it and it will come.
[00:31:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you think this year, is there anything that can change this year right away, quickly, beside with, with doing this? Because I know you said October, you have your.
It's an online or an in person.
[00:31:33] Speaker B: An online conference.
[00:31:34] Speaker A: Online conference, yep. And I love that conference. Instead of.
That's a great way to say it.
A more professional way of saying it.
This is good.
Keep going. What else you got?
[00:31:55] Speaker B: I've got plenty of things. So we're going to start.
Yes.
We are going to prepare some courses with the IGs.
Everything around health, everything around psychological health, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing, anything, you know, nutrition habits as well, you know, because when you're a groomer, you don't eat properly because, oh, you want to take more dogs and you don't have time for lunch. Oh, but if I take lunch, then I get sleepy for the next dog. Yeah, but it's not.
[00:32:28] Speaker A: Or is it? I'm eating a piece of pizza and blow drying a dog.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: How many times we done that?
[00:32:35] Speaker B: That's not balanced.
That's not good for your health. So there is plenty of different aspects we're going to work on. Basically every aspect of the study we're going to work on. We're going to create information sheets for the products. We're going to create, you know, directions for protection. Everything, you know, we can. And you're going to spread it around. We're going to share it with schools so they can implement that in their curriculum.
Very easy stuff to start with. Just instruction for the hearing, for example. Very easy to implement.
Just say to your students they have to wear protections.
There is a lot of schools that do not cover anything at all in terms of protection. Nothing.
And people, they go out and they just step in the salon and they have no protection. At all. But because the school didn't say anything or because, you know, the, the trainer didn't say anything, it's because, well, it's like that.
And then a few years after that you're starting to have skin issues, lungs issues, eye strains as well, you know, eyes issues. Plenty of things. Plenty of different things. Well, every groomers know what I'm talking about anyway.
[00:33:49] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that, that is, is it. So.
Okay, we are going to take another break. We're going to continue on with that in just a moment.
But we're going to, you know, this has been such a great conversation because I, I haven't had this, this contact, this, this type of, of information come through for the grooming industry. So hopefully this really helps. And we will be right back to finish off with our final session. And we're going to talk about grooming businesses and pet care owners and how we get our owners on board with this too.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: Foreign.
[00:35:01] Speaker A: Welcome back to the business of pet care. Don't miss a second of any of this show or any Now Media TV favorites streaming live and on demand anytime. Grab the free Now Media TV app on Roku or ISO or you can listen to our podcast at NowMedia TV. Now Media TV is available 24 7. So the stories you care about are always within reach. We have talked about infrastructure implementation. We have talked about education, certifications, health risk, everything.
Now I think we are going to, I like going off topic a lot, but we were just talking during the break and I think it's important to really understand that education plays a huge part in this and talking about your conference that's coming up and how this is not a normal conference that is typical of the pet industry or grooming in general. So talk a little bit more about that. Let's go a little deeper into that because I think that's important.
[00:36:17] Speaker B: Yes, usually when we have a conference or online seminars, we do that, you know, groomers, teaching to groomers. And this conference will be a bit different. Of course there will be a few groomers talking, you know, but I want to gather some people who are specialized in their fields. For example, back pain, burnout and things like that, pregnancy.
But these are not groomers. They are specialized in their field because the main problem we have is that groomers learn from groomers. But groomers can't teach everything, especially when it comes to health. And we see that every day.
So what I want to do is really show groomers that they should go outside more.
They should learn from other fields, from other people. Not only Groomers, you know, grooming is fine, you know, learning more grooming and grooming and grooming and grooming. It's okay to learn more of scissoring, a bit more of scissoring, a bit more of hand stripping, etc. Etc. But you have to go out and you have to learn different things, you know, that are not spread specifically related to technique. You know, it has to be. If you want to learn about your health, you have to go to people who are specialized in health, not groomers.
Because you're not doctors.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: Yeah. And you can't specialize in everything we said.
I think it's amazing to do that. And this is it. Is this open?
Are you taking registration for this yet?
[00:37:51] Speaker B: No, but in a few days it will be okay.
[00:37:54] Speaker A: So we're like coming right up to that.
[00:37:56] Speaker B: Oh yes, just on the website, the IGS website. It will be open very soon. It's going to be €20 ticket for two days of conference. It's very cheap. So we can, you know, open to as much people as we. As we can, you know, so groomers can access, can be accessible from its own line. So they're going to be replaced for people who are in Australia and USA for the time differences and it's going to be free for IGS members.
[00:38:27] Speaker A: That is amazing. You know what, we're going to go ahead right now while we're talking about that, tell everyone how they can become a member and what that membership entails.
[00:38:38] Speaker B: Well, that's very easy. Just going on the website 3W internationalgroomingsociety.org and then you click on become a member.
And when you're a member you have access to a lot of free classes, you know, free courses that are online.
And for the moment we have English, French, Spanish, Croatian and Romanian. And we are, because we want it to be global, we want to add more languages, you know, the more members we have.
So it's a very young association for the moment. We started a few months ago, but we already have a pretty nice number of members and we have chapters in different countries.
So for the moment we have Canada, we have Ireland, we're going to have England soon.
We have France, of course.
And so we can have some insight on site vision of what we're doing. So we have some representative and they organize events there and you know, they spread information as well.
[00:39:47] Speaker A: That's amazing. I love the idea of chapters. I think that is spectacular to do that and segment out instead of trying to do and pull everything from one location.
Have you.
Have you do you have, can you say who's. Who's presenting so far for the up and coming show, the conference?
[00:40:14] Speaker B: Oh, yes. So we're going to have Chelsea Ward, which specialist in burnout and black and back pain as well.
We're going to have Stephanie Zickman, who is specialized in emotion and energy, you know, and how we transmit our bad or good energy to the pet and how does it affect their behavior and because if they move a lot, if they are not well behaved, it is very struggling for us.
We are also going to have some roundtables with some industry actors. So so far we're going to have Anka Anna, she's from Dubliness in Croatia and she's selling her products actually in USA and in UK and north countries.
And she is, you know, going to discuss about the choices she made for ingredients because she's very much into groomer's health.
And we're going to talk with some scissors manufacturer about ergonomy, you know, why we should have ergonomic scissors and how, you know, how does it work, you know, tiring, you know, bad scissoring, tiring the hands. So for this we should have Utsumi participating. We are in very early stages, so we're going to have much more people coming in.
[00:41:38] Speaker A: That's great. I love it, I love it, I love it. You are right up there pushing this industry right along to the top there.
Anything else going on? Anything?
I mean, I just don't know. Tell me about the magazine. How does the magazine play into part here? Where, where did this inspiration come from?
[00:41:58] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. So the magazine is older than anything. It's pretty much one of the first thing I started. It was 14 years ago and I just started it, I would say not for fun, but as a hobby. It's a free magazine. You know, it's online. It's English, Spanish and French because I only speak those three languages so far.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: So only in your spare time, picking up another one.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: And the first idea at the time was to bring a little stone to fight against groomer isolation because this is a very isolated. Most groomers are alone in their salon. In France, for example, I would say 90% of groomers are working alone in their salon. So they're very isolated and it's kind of a window of what's going on, you know, what's happening outside, in other countries, etc. And then it evolved a lot with me, of course, and now this magazine is more like a still. We see nice pictures of groomings and, you know, we meet other groomers and speak what's happening in the world. But this is, it's kind of turned into a tribune for me. And with my articles I try to show to groomers that, you know, pointing at what can be changed, you know, and showing, okay, what's going on in the industry, what do we have? What's the reality of it? And then have them think, okay, think about it. Think what this industry could be. And the main actors of this industry are groomers. And the change can come only from you.
All the other actors will be pushed by you if you want it to change. It's not someone coming for, you know, it's not Superman flying over you and say, oh, I'm going to save your health. No.
Or I'm going to save your company. You know, so I try to show the reality and the direction we, we could, we could take in this industry.
That's.
[00:44:20] Speaker A: Yeah. More people need to understand that. I think it's, it's really, you said it, you can only change from internally and make that change. And as, as a, as a business owner, it's important, important to make sure that you're protecting your team. I mean that's the biggest part of this is we hear in our industry how big turnover is and if you're not investing back into your, your team or your groomers because you're not thinking of that long term sustainability for them as well, that's, they're going to move on. And that, that really is creating a lot of friction in the industry.
[00:45:09] Speaker B: Yes. I mean a lot of people in the study stated that because of certain issues they would, they would quit grooming, you know, on a middle or long term. For example, for psychological issues, people that went out of trauma or having some mental health issues, 44% said that is something, you know, that could lead them to quit their job.
So just for mental issue, almost half of them are thinking about quitting.
[00:45:35] Speaker A: Yeah, that's, that is amazing. It's just, it's great that you have done this. I'm going to ask you one final question before we wrap up today and that is if you could get one commitment from the industry in the next 12 months that is going to protect groomers and strengthen the standards and everything that you are creating, what would it be and who needs to act on it first?
[00:46:03] Speaker B: That would be something I talked about earlier, that would be ingredient lists because that's a big, huge fight for me, the safety of the ingredients. So if one thing only I would like for all the industry of shampoos to put their ingredient list, full ingredient list on the bottle.
Yes.
Even if it's not mandatory. It's just a question of honesty. Even if your products are not great, I mean, it's okay, you can still improve or you can just decide that, you know, some groomers don't care. Okay. But please be, be honest. You know, I always, I sometimes say to my students, I'd rather have a product that is not best quality but says everything than a product that pretends to be high quality but doesn't say everything.
[00:47:02] Speaker A: That's good. Yeah.
Makes total sense.
Makes total sense.
Well, I am going to say thank you so much for joining me today. Tell everyone one more time where they can find you.
What is your first, what do you want them to do first?
Join, Come to the conference. What should they do first?
[00:47:25] Speaker B: They do whatever they want. But I would be very happy if they could go and visit our website, 3W International Grooming Society.org and see what we are, what we are trying to do and they can join if they want. We are very welcoming and of course, if all the groomers out there please, whenever we're ready, it's going to be a few days now. Register for the conference and you will not regret it.
[00:47:55] Speaker A: They will not regret it.
That is a true statement right there. They will not regret it. Because you got nothing worse you can do than worry about your health. Right.
That is the most important thing we can do for our health care. If you're not in good health, if
[00:48:14] Speaker B: you're not in good health, you can't work. If you can't work, you don't earn money, you lose everything.
[00:48:19] Speaker A: Yep. Yep. Well, thank you so much, Natalie for being on everything. You have shared the structure, your commitment. Thank you so much to the commitment to, to elevating this industry.
And you know, today's conversation just really needs to remind us all that, that this is a profession that we are very.
We are the heart, the hands behind it. Right. And it does we to protect ourselves. It doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of intention and because of people like you sharing everything with us. Groomer health isn't just a side conversation. It is something that needs to, to be stronger and out there more frequently. I apologize for my cat, but thank you everyone for joining.
I am Dara Forleo and this is the business of pet care. Until next time, keep building those businesses and the structure sustainable and keep doing it with intention.
Have a great day.
