The Paragon & Whiskers News Issue 003 Newsletter Date May 18, 2010
From Melissa’s Desk… partnering with HSKC, handling a large portion of their grooming needs for pets being put up for adoption. Preliminary grooming numbers are running anywhere from 100 to 150 pets who need work each month. The HSKC will provide the dogs and the transportation to and from Paragon where students will perform the magical makeovers on these dogs. In order for a student to succeed as a professional when they graduate, they need to be able to completely groom at least two pets in a four-hour training session. Once a student proceeds out into the ‘real world,’ they’ll need to be able to double that number to be financially successful. This has always been the foundation of our training program. With the current state of the economy, we have been having difficulty pulling those types of numbers from the community for students to groom. I'm so excited to be able to open up our doors to such a worthwhile cause. Teresa and Joelle are meeting with Danielle Makey, the shelter manager along with Dr. Wendy Swift - Veterinary Medical Director and Nikki Outhier Director of Development and Marketing today to work out the details. What does the Humane Society of Kent County actually do? The Humane Society of Kent County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing care and shelter to animals in need. Because we do not Paragon to Partner with the Humane receive any financial support from animal welfare or governmental Society of Kent County Huge kudos goes out to Joelle for her agencies, we rely on the support of work over the past few weeks with people, businesses, and community Humane Society of Kent County. The foundations to operate our facilities Paragon School is going to be and programs.
Over 100 volunteers produced a lot of boom at Felix' Fish Camp, Mobile Alabama May 13, 2010. Led by Amanda Bacon
Oil Spill in the Gulf UPDATE Matter of Trust
Last week sent in our first batch of hair to Matter of Trust for the oil spill down in the gulf. Between Paragon and Whiskers, we collected over 5 lbs of hair that Ryan shipped off last week. Plus someone else brought in a kitchen garbage bag of fur and we got an entire bag of used nylons. Yea hoo…. I wonder how the collection is going this week.
Great shot Hil and Joelle!
Greetings, With this newsletter, we're trying something a little different -combining the Paragon and Whiskers newsletters together into one. I was finding that much of the information would be valuable to both companies, especially when we are dealing with local promotions. Obviously Paragon people are going to be more interested in issues that deal directly with Paragon and vice versa with Whiskers. But there are lots of issues that cross the barriers and I feel it would be beneficial for everybody to know what each company is doing. There are also many new ventures we are investigating right now that I would like everybody to stay abreast on.
Charity Events Galore
Wth the onset of summer, pet charity events are in full swing. Here is a listing of events and upcoming activities: • Bark at the BOB This cocktail and dinner reception took place on May 13, downtown at the BOB. All proceeds benefited MacKenzie’s Animal Sanctuary, the mid-west’s largest no kill dog sanctuary. This shelter provides loving homes for abused, abandoned and neglected dogs along with veterinarian care. Rebecca and Hillary attended on behalf of Whiskers and had a great time mingling and promoting Whiskers Resort. From the sounds of it, they made some great connections for prospective clients and business relationships. And to cap off the evening, Rebecca even won horseback riding lessons in a silent auction! Now she has to make a decision to whether she learns how to ride polo or take regular lessons!
Additionally, Canine Good Citizen evaluations will be conducted, rescue groups and vendors will be available to offer information regarding services and products. The Police Canine Unit will conduct demonstrations. There will be carnival games and concessionaires with great food. FREE t-shirts will be given to those that donate at least 5 pounds of dog food, cat food or bird food! Contributions of food received will be donated to Kent County Humane Society. Whiskers Resort is tentatively planning a Best Puppy Sponsorship which includes among many things, an information table about Whiskers Resort and Pet Spa. •
Bissell BLOCKTAIL Party June 9, 2010 The hippest people and pets convene at the • Dog Day in the Park 2010 BISSELL Blocktail Party, a benefit for the June 5, 2010 This event is sponsored by the Grand Rapids Humane Society of Kent County. Kennel Club. This annual day-long extravaganza will be held on June 5, 2010 to Celebrating their 5th anniversary they invite you, promote responsible dog ownership and will your friends and your pooch to join them, 97 include educational booths, apartment LAV-FM and fellow animal-lovers at this one-of-ahousing for dog owners, bandanas for dogs, kind “block” party. Enjoy succulent appetizers spinning dog hair into yarn, facepainting by from Mangiamo, beer, wine and cocktails, local entertainment and the company of Jakki, carnival games, demonstrations of some fabulous pooches – all while various types including agility, obedience, supporting your local rally match by BOW-WOW Humane Society! BUNCH 4-H (Judged by Liz Wells), showmanship, dog sledding, And don’t forget – the event weight pulling, will feature a silent auction retrieving, canine freestyle where you can bid on dancing, search and concert tickets, chef’s rescue, lure coursing dinners, a 42” HD TV, and demonstrations, Police of course the chance for Canine Unit and more! your pooch to be the face of the 2011 BISSELL Blocktail Party, just like Summer! Mark your calendars – the 2010 BISSELL Blocktail Party® is Wednesday, June 9 from 6 to 9 pm at our new venue, Mangiamo! a Gilmore Collection restaurant. Tickets are $40/person and can be purchased at http://bissellblocktailparty.com Rebecca is working with the organizer for this event. Currently Whiskers is going to be a $600 sponsor which will allow us to get four event tickets,
listing on signage at the Bissell block party and a listing on the Bissell party website. •
Shampooches June 11, 2010 This event will benefit the Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary and be held at Founders Brewery downtown from 4 to 8 PM. In the pavilion outside, they are hosting a dog washing station. Rebecca has all the information on this event but has asked for help - it can be Paragon staff members or students. The bathing stations outside won't be anything elaborate but they do need people to wash pets - more than likely with the garden hose and cold water! We're also planning on taking a table or two down to the event so that we can easily trim toenails, possibly blow a few dogs dry and do some light brushing and trimming. I would also think taking a boat load of towels would be beneficial! Look for sign-up sheets going up at both Whiskers and at Paragon for this event. Of course, we will have business cards and promotional materials from both companies at this event.
Up-Dated Play Yards at Whiskers…. The Astroturf and grass has been ordered for the play yards! Installation is scheduled from May 24th-28th – finishing JUST in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. After the fiasco of last year’s installation, Rebecca has opted to go with professional installation VS hiring a landscaper to do the work. As the crews are working, please watch after them… they will be clueless on pet safety, and it won’t surprise me a bit to find gates left open…. Keep your ears and eyes peeled for safety breaches while outside crews are handling the improvements to the facility!
2010 RAGS TO RICHES GROOMING CONTEST The past few days I’ve been busy judging the Double K Industries and PetGroomer.com 2nd Annual Rags to Riches Ultimate Groomer Contest along with Lisa Leady and Jodi Murphy. There were over 400 dogs entered! As of this writing, we have made our top 10 cuts. We will go into final judging later this week to determine the overall winners. If you haven’t taken a peek at this contest it’s super simple - just go to PetGroomer.com and look for the Rags to Riches contest. The Contest was open to all professional dog groomers, active in the profession. Only US and Canadian Contestants (excluding Quebec) are eligible to compete for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes. All other contestants will compete for the International Prize. Stylists submitted two photos of the entry dog, one taken before and one taken after grooming with a Double K product. Both pictures were of the same dog and taken within a two day period. Photos were submitted from February 1,
2010 until April 30, 2010 to findagroomer@earthlink.net. Contestants could enter a maximum of four dogs/entry in the contest. JUDGING As judges we are looking for the greatest improvement in the dog's appearance between the before and after photos as well as the best groomed dog. The judges will also be looking at the degree of difficulty of the groom and the quality of the photography of the groomed animal. PRIZE 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes awarded to US or Canadian Contestants only (excluding Quebec) 1st Prize - $3000 in cash plus an assortment of four Challengair™ dryers plus a Power Clipper plus 40 gallons of any combination of Groomer's Edge™ shampoo or conditioning products the winner selects! The total value is worth over $5,500.00! In addition, this winner will
Whiskers Accommodations Changes
receive a beautiful commemorative plaque engraved with their name. 2nd Prize - $500 in cash plus two Double K Challengair™ dryers plus a Power Clipper plus 20 gallons of any combination of Groomer's Edge™ shampoo or conditioning products the winner selects. The total value is worth over $1,900.00! In addition, this winner will receive a beautiful commemorative plaque engraved with their name. 3rd Prize -- $250 in cash plus one Double K Challengair™ dryer plus 12 gallons of any combination of Groomer's Edge™ shampoo or conditioning products the winner selects. The total value is worth over $760.00! In addition, this winner will receive a beautiful commemorative plaque engraved with their name. International Prize --$500.00 cash. In addition, this winner will receive a beautiful commemorative plaque engraved with their name. Check out a few of the entries below!
Rebecca and I met with Mike Braim, the foreman on construction project at Whiskers three years ago. He is giving us a quote on personally addressing our needs of the room changes at the resort. He’ll placing FRP wall board on the patio wall and securing the passthough door so that it can be locked and visually checked just by walking by. Most likely we will do this remodeling in stages with the east and west wings being first on the list, followed by the north wing and finally finishing up to the west wing. We are hoping to start phase one later this week or early next week and it will only take a few days to compete the project. If you see a big guy floating around in a baseball cap, a pencil tucked behind his ear and a measuring tape hanging off his hip – that’d be Mike. Tell him “hi” and thank him for building such an incredible facility!
The Numbers
The Numbers
The Paragon School
Whiskers Resort
May 9th—15th
May 10th—16th *Resort*
Student Numbers # of Sessions: 132
Percentage Full: 132/200 = 66% Pet #s x 1.75 = # of Pets Required: 231 # Pets Groomed: 179 Percentage Full: 179/231= 77%
Student/Dog Ratio = 1.4
% of B&B Dogs: 52%
% of Trim Dogs: 48%
Number of New Clients Last Week: 22 Cancellation Rate Last Week = 10% Average Groom Ticket: $21.79 Nail Filing Up-sell: 35% “Found $$ Generation”
$240.00
Upcoming Student Starts May 24th Jennifer V June 7th Nancy L
600 hrs
# of Rooms Over All: 45 Occupancy Rate DDC: 50% (DDC: 45 x 6 days =270) Occupancy Rate ONL: 46% (DDC: 45 x 7 days =315) Overall Occupancy Rate Average: 96% # of Pets in DDC: # of ONL :
136 149 nights
Highest # Pets in the Resort at one time: Wednesday @ 54
*Spa*
Occupancy Rate: 48% (4 tables x 8 slots x 6 days = 192) # Pets Groomed: 93 % of Bath & Brush: 38.7% % of Trims: 56% % Kennel Baths: 5.3 %
Average Ticket per Pet:: $52.54 Average Ticket Price MF/JH $63.96 Percentage of Special Services Up-sells: 50%
600 hrs
Upcoming Student Graduations 5/21 Nicole S 600 5/24 Meghan K 80 6/2 Kathleen K 600 6/2 Stephanie P 600 6/4 Laura M 240 6/10 Robin S 240
Highest number of pets in Spa/one day: 25
Welcome!
Paragon graduate Susan just completed her first week in the spa department! Yeah!! Paragon Instructor Shannon is going to get her hands in fur on Saturdays at Whiskers so she can enhance her skills and speed by working on dogs while making a few extra bucks on the side. Great way to get ready for your upcoming grooming contest in Chicago and for Certification Testing. Brilliant career move Shannon! :)