How Anna Zege Made Grooming More Convenient For Pet Owners With GroomIt

Four years ago, Anna Zege, a former New York banker, found it extremely difficult to find a pet groomer to conveniently come to her. Realizing she could get everything from her groceries to beauty appointments on-demand, she decided to create an on-demand grooming service for pets, GroomIt. “I saw the need for a company like GroomIt when I personally found it difficult to find a groomer to come to me,” Anna said about co-founding GroomIt. “I called over 20 salons to finally have a groomer agree on an appointment two weeks in advance. I wanted to have a service where you could book same-day or at your convenience and have the groomer come to your house. We already have services like Glam Squad, Uber, Zeel, and Instacart coming to our house, so I thought it was the perfect addition to the on-demand economy.”

Currently, GroomIt offers mobile grooming where all grooming is done in the fully equipped GroomIt van and in-home grooming in the Tristate area and in Miami. Users can choose one of GroomIt’s three grooming packages for their dog or cat. Then they can personalize their experience by selecting a variety of organic shampoos and optional add-on before completing the time and day of their preferred appointment. 

Zege doesn’t see big chains like Petco as competition because of GroomIt’s convenience and time savings advantage. “obviously, we don’t do the same level of business or revenue as a huge national chain store, but we do believe there are great business opportunities out there for small to midsize businesses in the pet grooming industry. The market is large enough to support all different kinds of customers. We target customers that want a level of service, convenience and same-day bookings that we believe national chains don’t offer,” she shared. “GroomIt has been in business for three years (we closed for 60 days during the pandemic). During that time we changed our business strategy and went for the convenience-seeking customers willing to pay full price, or even premium, for same-day service.”

Zege also added that for some dog owners, not knowing what is happening to their pet when they are being groomed can make them very uneasy, “With GroomIt, you can book the same day or at your convenience and have the groomer come to your home so you feel you have more control over the experience.” The pandemic actually gave GroomIt a huge boost as stores had closed, everyone was home and the surge of pet adoptions had swept the nation. “Though many businesses, including hair and nail salons, reopened after the initial shutdown, there were of course many customers hesitant to return, especially people with underlying medical conditions. Besides, we found a lot of new, convenience-seeking customers willing to pay full price (or even a premium for same-day service), to have grooming brought to their home. After the pandemic, people are even more open to the idea of having salon services brought to their homes. These changes helped us increase margins by 40% and reduce marketing costs by 80%. Even though many people initially left New York City, we’re happy to say our new customers are making up for the old customers’ temporary loss,” she explained. 

For now, Zege and her business partners are focusing on expanding to bigger metropolitan cities such as Dallas and Los Angeles, but Zege has her eyes set on expanding the on-demand options for pet owners. “In the future, I would like to add some on-demand vet care to our business. I also love making dog clothes. I am working on that now: making unique, handmade, one-of-a-kind clothing items for pets.”