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Melissa Verplank
Melissa has over 30 years of experience in the pet industry. Her mastery of grooming techniques has won her numerous awards on a national and international level. She has run multiple businesses, including a fleet of mobile units, a salon that grew into the Paragon School of Pet Grooming, a luxury boarding facility called Whiskers Resort & Pet Spa, and White Dog Enterprises – which created the award-winning books, Notes from the Grooming Table and Theory of 5. She was a member and Team Coordinator of GroomTeam USA and sits on the Board of Directors of that organization. Ms. Verplank is an industry speaker, author, contest grooming judge, and two-time Cardinal Crystal Achievement winner.
This is the time of year the big shedding breeds come in. They’re often the ones that haven’t been groomed in FOREVER. You know the ones – Goldens…arctic-type breeds…Saint Bernards. They have that coat that totally trashes your salon – and maybe even you. There are tricks to getting this type of job done without too much agony. For anyone who’s missed this blog in the past – it’s a perfect time to revisit my blog on salvage work.
As many of you know, I’m a big dog person. Working on these large furry dogs is one of my favorite things to do in a grooming salon. Call me crazy – but I just love the transformation in this type of job. Over the years, the process rarely makes me cringe, no matter the size or condition of the dog – I see it as a fun challenge!
Education is Everything. It is at the very core of everything we do. Why? I see learning as never-ending. It does not matter what stage you are in your career. Or what stage you are in your life. Continued learning offers positive opportunities around every turn. I was never a great student in school. Traditional academics did not excite me. But once I got into dog grooming, now that was a different story. I became passionate about learning. About growing my career. I didn’t seek out traditional methods. Most of my learning was self-directed. Something much more challenging before the age of the Internet! I quickly understood the wealth of benefits continued education unleashed.
Eight ways to overcome anxiety and channel nervous energy to perform your best.
Whether you are looking to certify, enter a grooming competition or other highly visible display, the seasoned pros seem to have total control over their situation: calm, cool, and collected in their thoughts.
Looks, however, can be deceiving. Beneath the surface of total control, even the most seasoned, show-savvy competitors get butterflies in their stomachs. They experience the same sort of show jitters and performance anxiety that plagues those who compete at lower levels. But seasoned stylists eventually learn to use those gut-churning sensations to their advantage. They productively channel their nervous energy rather that allow negative thoughts and feelings to overwhelm them and interfere with their performance.
Everyone gets nervous. It’s normal - even the elite in the pet styling world become nervous - but they learn to work with it. You have to train yourself to like the feeling and see it as an asset.
