How are local businesses doing lately? I’d like to answer that from where I stand, behind the counter of a small business in Florida.
A Dream Start
I moved to Florida in 2024 and bought a pet grooming business. I’ll be honest: the beginning was a dream. The phone rang constantly, the appointment book was packed, and I was grooming anywhere from 15 to 35 dogs a day. It was wild, exhausting, and wonderful. Every day I thought, “Okay, this is going to work. This is what I came here to build.”
There’s something special about a pet grooming business. People trust you with a member of their family. When a fluffy, nervous pup walks out clean, happy, and wagging its tail, and the owner’s face lights up, you feel proud of what you do. That feeling hasn’t changed. What has changed is the number of tails walking through my door.
The Slow Fade
Over the past couple of years, demand has dropped, and I mean dropped a lot. It didn’t happen overnight. It was gradual enough that you keep telling yourself it’s just a slow week, or a slow month, or a seasonal dip. Then you look back and realize the busy days from before have become the rare days.
What makes it hard to understand at first is that it isn’t about quality. I’ve asked myself that question over and over, and the honest answer is that I’m not losing clients because they’re unhappy. My service is excellent, and my prices are the lowest I can reasonably offer in the market. People still love their groomer.
What I hear instead are comments like:
- “Everything is way too expensive right now.”
- “I don’t have any money at the moment.”
- “I’ll bring him in next month.”
And that next month often turns into the one after that. Clients who used to come every four to six weeks now stretch it to eight, ten, or twelve. Some stop coming altogether. I don’t take it personally, because I understand. When groceries, gas, insurance, and rent are all climbing, a grooming appointment is one of the first things a family trims from the budget. It’s a luxury in tough times, even though our dogs deserve it.
The Squeeze From Both Sides
While my customers are tightening their belts, my own costs keep climbing. My rent went up $300. Supplies, utilities, and all the little recurring expenses that keep a business running have crept up too, and they keep creeping.
I want to be clear about something, because I know the first suggestion people give is, “Have you looked at your management? Have you cut costs?” Yes, I have. I’ve gone through everything line by line. I’ve reduced and renegotiated, and I’ve cut things I didn’t enjoy cutting. But here’s the frustrating part: the moment I save money on one expense, another one rises and cancels it out. It feels like bailing water out of a boat while someone keeps pouring more in.
So this isn’t a management problem. It’s an economy problem. When fewer people can afford to spend, and everything costs more to provide, even a well-run, lean, high-quality business feels the pressure.
The Part That’s Hard to Say Out Loud
Let me say the hard part plainly. I invested $200,000 in this business, and so far I haven’t taken a single dollar out of it. Not one. Right now, my family helps me keep going, and I’m dipping into my own savings to cover expenses at the end of each month.
I’m still working hard, probably harder than ever, and I’m not paying myself. That’s what hurts the most. It isn’t the tiredness, because I can handle tired. It’s the feeling of working long days for something that isn’t yet giving anything back.
I’m also grateful to be able to say that I’m still surviving well. I have a family that supports me, I have my health, and I have a business that people genuinely like. I know many small business owners don’t have a safety net at all, and I don’t take mine for granted. But being grateful and being frustrated can happen at the same time. Both are true for me right now.
So, Is Anyone Else Feeling This?
I’m writing this because I suspect I’m not alone. Talking with other small business owners lately, I hear versions of the same story: slower weeks, hesitant customers, higher bills, and thinner margins. Some people say things are stable. Some say they’re hanging on. A few say they’re growing. I’d love to hear all of it.
So I’ll ask you:
- If you own a local business: Are things slower, stable, or improving for you? What has surprised you most?
- If you’re a customer: Which services have you cut back on, and which ones do you refuse to give up?
- If you’ve been through a slow stretch before: What helped you push through it?
Looking Ahead
I don’t have a neat, tied-with-a-bow ending, because I’m still in the middle of the story. What I do know is that I’m not giving up. I’ll keep showing up, keep giving every dog the best groom I can, and keep looking for creative ways to bring people back, from loyalty perks to flexible scheduling to simply staying in touch with the families who’ve been part of this journey.
If you have a local groomer, barber, bakery, mechanic, or any small shop you love, now is a great time to show them some support. A visit, a review, or a kind word to a friend can mean more than you’d imagine. We’re not just businesses, we’re neighbors, and we’re all trying to make it work.
