Lisa’s journey from insurance to her own dog grooming business
After 35 years working in insurance, Lisa decided it was time to follow a completely different path. What started with learning how to groom her own dog, Coco, soon became the beginning of a new career.
Lisa studied dog grooming online with Pet Courses. She transformed a spare bedroom in her home into a grooming space and went on to build a career doing something she genuinely loves. She created Lisa’s House of Dogs, a successful home-based dog grooming business.
After 35 years in insurance, I decided I wanted to do something completely different.”
One groom that changed everything
Lisa’s journey into dog grooming began with her own dog, Coco. A friend who was a dog groomer offered to show Lisa how to groom Coco, giving her a first-hand look at what was involved.
Afterwards, Lisa found herself thinking seriously about what she wanted to do next. After 35 years working in insurance, she realised she was ready for a change — and that dog grooming was something she could genuinely see herself doing.
She enrolled in her dog grooming course in 2019 and loved the flexibility of studying online and at her own pace. Being able to work through the course whenever it suited her gave Lisa the freedom to fit learning around her life while gradually building the knowledge and skills she needed to take the next step.
From a spare bedroom to Lisa's House of Dogs
As Lisa progressed with her training, she began looking at how dog grooming could become a real business. Realising there were relatively few groomers in her local area gave her even more motivation to give it a go.
Rather than opening a commercial salon, Lisa started at home, transforming a spare bedroom into her own dedicated grooming space. From there, Lisa’s House of Dogs began to grow.
Like any new business, there were challenges along the way. One of the biggest came with COVID-19, when Lisa had to quickly adapt the way she worked. She introduced safe drop-off arrangements so she could continue caring for her clients while responding to the restrictions at the time.
What began as a completely new direction after decades in another industry had become a rewarding home-based business — and Lisa never looked back.
I enjoyed being able to study online and at my own pace because I could study whenever I wanted to.
Lisa's House of Dogs
Take a look inside Lisa's home salon
Lisa transformed a spare bedroom into her own grooming salon, building up her equipment over time. In our 'At Home With Lisa' video series, Lisa takes students inside her salon, shares the tools she uses and offers practical advice from her own experience.
Could dog grooming be right for you?
You don't need to have it all figured out before you start. Many dog groomers begin with a love of dogs, a willingness to learn and a plan to build their skills one step at a time.
“But I don't have grooming experience...”
You don't need previous grooming experience to start learning. Build your knowledge step by step, practise your skills on real dogs and develop your confidence as you progress.
“But I don't have a salon...”
You don't need a commercial salon to get started. Many groomers begin by creating a suitable space at home, such as in their laundry or garage, before deciding what works best for them.
“Do I need to buy everything at once?”
You can start with just the basic essential grooming tools and equipment and build your setup over time as your skills, experience and needs grow.
You don’t need to spend a fortune to get started. I couldn’t afford everything I wanted at first, so I built up my equipment as my business grew.
Thinking about learning dog grooming?
Lisa started with a love of dogs and a desire to learn. Explore the Professional Dog Grooming Diploma she studied and see what's included in the course.
Explore the Dog Grooming Course →