Joe Zuccarello on Solving the Industry’s Shortage of Skilled Pet Pros
There are actually three certainties in this world: death, taxes, and dogs getting dirty.
The pet care industry faces constant challenges. Competition, labor shortages, shifting consumer preferences, tightening regulations, and economic pressures can all wreak havoc on daily operations.
But no matter the hurdles, every breed from Doodles to Dobermans eventually needs a shampoo, a shave, or a haircut, making grooming virtually disaster-proof.
The catch? There are more dirty dogs than professional groomers.
Fortunately, pet care specialist Joe Zuccarello has a new trick to fix that old problem.
Zuccarello is the president of Paragon School of Pet Grooming, an online program offering comprehensive training and certification for aspiring groomers and pet care business owners in need of qualified help.
Last year, the school graduated 2,100 Grooming Professionals—and every day, more students are logging on to learn.
Testing the Water
Joe joined the pack, so to speak, at a relatively early age.
“I got my start in pet care when I was just 13 years old,” he says. “I would bathe dogs on Saturdays for the local grooming shop. Though I never became a groomer, I really enjoyed the business side of things. And the client side. And the leadership side.”
Just like that, pet care proved to be Joe’s calling. For the next 22 years, he assumed roles that deepened his knowledge of the industry, at one point leading a chain of seven full-service, luxury pet resort and grooming spa locations in the St. Louis area.
“I learned what a pet services operation should look like,” he says. “I learned what service excellence should look like; everything based on the internal and external components of customer business. Internal being the employees and external being the pet parents.”
Two decades into his career, Joe entered the pet product arena as the director of innovation and new development for TropiClean, a popular brand of pet grooming and dental products. There he remained for another 10 years, boosting awareness of the brand while shepherding shampoos, stain and odor products, pet dental solutions, and so much more to market.
In the midst, Joe had begun to provide business consulting and coaching for pet care professionals, which he now provides under the banner of Hey Joe Pet Pro Business Consulting.
“So many of my successes came from so many failures,” he says of his career trajectory. “I had a passion for helping people grow their businesses. I figured if I could help business owners avoid the pain and suffering that I experienced with those failures, then two things were happening: I was giving back to the industry—but I was also helping to improve it.”
The Roots of Success
Before joining the ranks of the Paragon School of Pet Grooming, Joe acted as a business coach for the company’s owner and founder, Certified Master Groomer Melissa Verplank.
Verplank had long been an icon in the professional grooming standards space, having authored some of the industry’s most popular and widely distributed grooming guides.
“I was so impressed by her company’s approach to grooming skills development, her curriculum, and her very specific intent of increasing the competence and efficiency of this profession,” Joe says. “We would talk often, and she mentioned, ‘I have this incredible curriculum, but I need help taking it to more people.’”
That was January of 2018. At the time, Paragon was an on-campus grooming school based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and had been for almost 30 years. According to Joe, aspiring groomers would hail from across the country to learn skills from Verplank and Company. Great work was being done but for a niche audience.
When Joe joined the ranks, the development of a web-based learning platform began in earnest. His crew spent nearly a year working to bring Verplank’s winning curriculum to thousands instead of just dozens. The platform was finally launched in 2019.
“We had a head start on the pandemic,” Joe recalls. “Then it hit, and we were forced to close up shop like everyone else. But our distance learning program had such great adoption and traction in that first year leading up to COVID, we made the strategic decision not to reopen the brick-and-mortar school. We went 100% virtual.”
Now, Paragon could offer a career opportunity to people who might not otherwise have the time or resources to pursue one.
“We not only make it affordable, but also much faster for them to launch themselves on a new career path,” Joe says.
One Paw at a Time
“Some people say, ‘You can’t learn grooming online.’ And to a degree, they’re accurate,” Joe says. “You can’t learn 100 percent of what you need to know about grooming online. It is a hands-on learning experience. But where Paragon shines is that we recognize that.”
Paragon offers various enrollments. One, in particular, assists employers who cannot find qualified, existing groomers and whose pet care businesses are being stifled as a result.
“Our advice to them is, ‘Hey, keep looking for those groomers that are a good culture fit and have the experience you’re looking for, but don’t ONLY look for experienced groomers,’” says Joe. “The only way that you take control of your staffing challenges is by creating an environment where you can hire for attitude, then we step in and help you train them for the job.”
To that end, Paragon partners with business owners to help them create a successful learning environment. This then serves as an incubator to help students achieve success while learning their new career.
The school also helps individuals find practice dogs and position themselves for success.
“They take what they’ve learned from our videos and grooming guidebooks and tests and then they perform these practical techniques and submit them to us for grading. And it’s all done through our program.”
Paragon’s program is three-tiered. Level 1 graduates, or Certified Professional Groom Techs, are taught to perform full-service baths, shed-control treatments, and light trimming.
“As Certified Professional Pet Groomers, our Level 2 graduates can perform basic pet grooming. This is what 85% of grooming clients are looking for,” Joe says. “The squeaky-clean, tangle-free average pet groom.”
Finally, Level 3 grads, or Certified Professional Pet Stylists, become proficient with more elaborate breed patterns and scissoring techniques.
“Level 3 takes the average to above-average groomer’s skill to a much more heightened level,” Joe says. “It allows them to perform more sophisticated grooms and prepares them if they want to seek their certified master groomer status beyond the Paragon School of Pet Grooming.
Continued education is key, Joe notes. “You just don’t pick up the skillset and then you’re done,” he explains.
That’s why Paragon is proud to offer its Groominar Network. “This is a paid membership platform with more than 1,200 professional videos by the industry’s top talent, past and present, and it allows existing groomers to maximize their abilities and continue their education by honing their skills.”
The network, he adds, is keyword-searchable by breed, body part, training expert—you name it.
“Our network is used by hundreds of members every day, across the world. And our community is an exclusive group—a closed social group that can communicate amongst themselves and share tips and tricks, ask for advice, get support, and lean on each other.”
Good Hair Days
When asked about challenges, Joe is quick to point out the massive deficiency that exists in the pet care industry for professional groomers.
“There are simply not enough,” he says. “And there are more and more dogs in families that need grooming. So, the greatest challenge is not necessarily for Paragon, but for the industry and its employers.”
“I have such an incredible team with hundreds of years of cumulative experience in owning, operating, and leading successful pet services businesses. We did all of that. So, we understand it,” Joe adds. “We are very empathetic. And that’s why our programs, resources, and support come from a place of, ‘We’ve got you. You’re not on an island. We’re going to help you succeed.’”
Every year—every day—Joe and his team receive photos from former students and hear their stories.
“We hear from people who changed careers and got into pet grooming and how much they love it more than the corporate job they had. The best stories, though, are from our employers, because they’re so proud of their students who graduate. And their businesses can thrive. They’re getting more foot traffic, more frequency, more loyalty, and increased transaction value because the grooming services they offer are pulling clientele through the door more often than any of their other services or supply sales do. And when we hear that, our hearts just skip a beat. We just love celebrating with them.”
On the Air With Pet Care
As a professional in the pet care space, Joe has been invited to speak about his and Paragon’s services across the globe.
“Everywhere from Asia to South America to Europe,” he says. “I’ve been very fortunate.”
Joe enjoys that camaraderie. He feels at home sharing stories with a broad audience. His ease in front of a crowd no doubt stems, in part, from his time as a guest host on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) in the days before Paragon. Today, he scratches that itch (pun intended) by hosting the “Hey Joe” podcast, a branch of his consulting business.
“My position is to be the mouthpiece for the audience,” he says. “I love being able to bring subject matter expertise to our listeners through this podcast. And I have guests that are experts in a variety of different topics in and out of the pet care industry.”
One recent guest, a chiropractor, had more in common with the pet care world than one may initially think.
“As he said, professional grooming is almost like professional Olympics,” Joe recalls. “It’s a physically demanding job. And if we don’t take care of our bodies, we could potentially be shortening our careers and our lifespan.”
“One thing I believe I’m particularly good at is connecting the dots,” Joe continues. “I’m good at connecting people that have information with the people that need information.”
As a consultant, Joe helps clients understand and recognize the potential of their grooming services business, then delivers those proven techniques that can help them maximize productivity and profitability.
“We focus on key roles, responsibilities, pricing, schedule management, employment and employee development, and metrics,” he says. “We study the business from a goal setting, budgeting, and efficiency tracking standpoint.”
And it sounds as though he will be busy for quite some time.
“I think grooming services are going to continue to grow,” he says. “All indicators are pointing to it being one of the healthiest, recession-resistant pet services in the segment. And I think that Paragon will have a front-row seat in having a positive impact on that growth.”
With passionate leaders like Joe and Paragon leading the way, the future of grooming is bright—and a whole lot cleaner.
