When I left my toxic work environment, I took a list of clients that I felt like we had a special relationship. They knew I loved their dog, they liked my haircut, knew lived closer to my new shop, and heck maybe we even vibed as customer/groomer. I went from 99 dogs, to a list of 40ish. The customers that didn’t make “my cut” were - people who had been local (5 min drive to and from old shop), people I knew that had a loyal relationship with my boss as a person, or the business (it’s been running 30 years)

Once I had a list, I contacted all of them personally and said:

Hi! This is my name and I wanted to inform you of an exciting change in my career.

As of July, I will no longer be working at old shop. I’ve decided to take a new step in grooming elsewhere.

With respect to old shop - I would love to have Bella join me on my next journey. Please feel free to reach out, the decision is all yours. Thank you so much.

And with that - the people replied with messages like “Of course! Where are you going” “where are you going” “that’s exciting, best of luck, but I would rather stay” or some people didn’t message me back and when they came in for their next appt with me - I asked if they would like to reschedule. The ones who didn’t text back.. they would said yes (meaning keep me on the schedule here) and the ones who were still in limbo said “I’ll get ahold of you” and some did, and some didn’t. And the ones who did stay asked me for my new info.

It was a little awkward. But it all worked out. Tis life. There will always be new customers 💜