Bad Ass Cat Groomer Online Conference 2024
Thank you everyone for attending this year’s Bad Ass Cat Groomer Online Conference! Replays are online and available for attendees in the Nunify app for 3 months and in the attendee Facebook group for 1 year.
We’ve had such an amazing time engaging with all of you and look forward to seeing you next year!
Why Attend?
- World-Class Seminars: Dive into expert-led sessions covering the latest trends in cat grooming & business.
- Live Demonstrations: Watch top cat groomers in action, showcasing their skills and secrets.
- Global Networking: Connect with fellow cat groomers from around the globe. Share experiences, challenges, and insights in an engaging, supportive environment.
- Extended Access: Can’t make it to a live session? No worries! Your ticket includes access to all conference recordings for three months post-event.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024
9:00am – 10:00am EST
How to Expand Your Business Without Destroying It
As business owners we are often faced with whether or not to expand our business. And if we do expand, it can often feel overwhelming or leave us wondering if we have made the right decision. During this seminar, Danelle German will walk you through the steps she has used to grow multiple enterprises over the years. Discover how to know if your ideas are good ones and how to pursue the best ideas so that your business is around for the long run.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm EST
Featured CFMG: Mercedes Schenk, Housecall Cat Groomer
Join us for sessions featuring professional cat groomer demonstrations and interactive Q&A sessions. Each Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG) will cover different aspects of cat grooming, from basic maintenance to advanced styling. Learn directly from experts, get your questions answered in real-time, and enhance your skills in effective cat care. Ideal for groomers of all levels.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024
1:00 – 2:00pm EST
Reducing Stress & Enhancing Safety For Our Feline Friends: a Veterinary Perspective for the Grooming Community with Dr. Linda Dzeidzic DVM
Feline behavior and stress response is a fascinating area of interest for many cat groomers. Whether you have decades of experience or just starting out in the cat grooming field, understanding how cats behave and ways to reduce their stress is essential to have a pleasant and safe groom for all. This lecture will review feline stress signs and how to recognize potentially dangerous distress in cats. Techniques, products, and medications to reduce feline stress during the groom will be covered as well.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024
3:00pm – 4:00pm EST
Grooming Demonstrations by Melissa Hall & Lynn Paolillo
Two of our most popular NCGI Certifiers and Certified Feline Master Groomers show us their favorite tips and advanced grooming techniques with these demonstration videos.
SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024
5:00pm – 6:00pm EST
Networking Event: Current Trends in Cat Grooming
Join the break out rooms for small group discussions with cat groomers, CFMGs and Certifiers around the world!
MONDAY JULY 15, 2024
9:00am – 10:00am EST
Featured CFMG: Chelsea Waddell, Creative Shaving Techniques
Join us for seminars featuring professional cat groomer demonstrations and interactive Q&A sessions. Each Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG) will cover different aspects of cat grooming, from basic maintenance to advanced styling. Learn directly from experts, get your questions answered in real-time, and enhance your skills in effective cat care. Ideal for groomers of all levels.
MONDAY JULY 15, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm EST
Networking Event: Building Strong Client Relationships
Join the break out rooms for small group discussions with cat groomers, CFMGs and Certifiers around the world.
MONDAY JULY 15, 2024
1:00pm – 3:00pm EST
Panel: Insights into Successful Cat Boarding Facilities
Join us for an engaging panel discussion featuring industry leaders who have successfully established and maintained premier cat boarding facilities across the United States. This seminar is designed for anyone interested in the nuances of cat boarding and grooming business, from seasoned professionals seeking to enhance their services to newcomers eager to step into the industry.
Featuring:
- Melinda Brink, Club Meow Inc., Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Danelle German, National Cat Groomers Institute
- Melissa Hall, Touch of Class Cat Hotel, Yuma, Arizona
- Lynn Paolillo, Cat Naps Cattery, Hamilton, New Jersey
MONDAY JULY 15, 2024
5:00pm – 6:00pm EST
Becoming a Master: Certification Details with Lynn Paolillo
Learn more about the journey to become a Certified Feline Master Groomer during this session of frequently asked questions and details about the certification process.
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024
9:00am – 10:00am EST
Hiring Employees: When and How
with Danelle German, NCGI President & Founder
One of the trickiest things to navigate when running a business is how to hire good employees while making sure finances can cover that additional expense. It’s easy to get overloaded with work and see the need for an employee but then wonder how on earth you’re going to afford it. In this seminar, Danelle provides advice on interviewing and hiring employees as well as advice on how to make sure the extra cost is sustainable. This seminar will also cover how to know if hiring employees is really the answer to your problems.
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm EST
Marketing a Cat Only Business
with Lynn Paolillo, CFMG and Owner of Cat Naps Cattery
The phrase “if you build it, they will come” can certainly be true about cat grooming! But hanging a sign on the door is not usually enough to create a full book of appointments. Join Lynn as she shares her business building tips and tricks from starting a cat exclusive business from zero clients 10 simple lessons with action steps you can apply to increase your own cat services.
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024
1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Featured CFMG: JZ Conrad
Join us for seminars featuring professional cat groomer demonstrations and interactive Q&A sessions. Each Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG) will cover different aspects of cat grooming, from basic maintenance to advanced styling. Learn directly from experts, get your questions answered in real-time, and enhance your skills in effective cat care. Ideal for groomers of all levels.
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024
3:00pm – 4:00pm EST
Pissed or Petrified with Lynn Paolillo
Here we delve into understanding feline behaviors during grooming. Learn how to distinguish between a shy cat withdrawing in fear and an aggressive cat ready to strike, and master grooming techniques tailored to each temperament. This seminar aims to equip you with strategies to prevent kitty meltdowns, ensuring a safer and more comfortable grooming experience for both you and your feline clients. Ideal for both novice and experienced groomers, this session is crucial for anyone seeking to enhance their grooming practice with a deeper behavioral insight.
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024
5:00pm – 6:00pm EST
Networking Event: Handling Difficult Cats
Join the break out rooms for small group discussions with cat groomers, CFMGs and Certifiers around the world.
Get creative with Chelsea Waddell! Her demo and Q&A will show how simple shaving can create an adorable creative design.
Mercedes Schenk is the owner of The Meow Mobile, an Arizona based cat-exclusive groomer that specializes in at-home care.
JZ Conrad is the owner of Sweet Whiskers, a house-call cat grooming business in Iowa and Pixel Pet Pros, offering digital editing services for pet professionals.
Danelle German
National Cat Groomers Institute, Chubbs Bars
Danelle German, CFMG, CFCG, founder and president of the National Cat Groomers Institute and the world’s first feline-exclusive grooming school, speaks worldwide on a wide variety of cat grooming and business topics. Danelle has authored books, study guides, certification standards, and articles for various publications and is the inventor of the Catty Shack VacTM drying system as well as Chubbs Bars shampoo for pets.
Lynn Paolillo
National Cat Groomers Institute, Cat Naps Cattery in Hamilton, NJ
As one of only a few hundred Certified Feline Master Groomers worldwide, Lynn does a lot more than just groom for the kitty population of central New Jersey. With more than 13 years of grooming experience, she’s obsessed with improving the lives of both cats and their owners through creating a positive relationship through grooming. Based in Hamilton, NJ her cat only business, Cat Naps Cattery provides a quiet, calm (and bark-free) environment for cats of all ages and breeds. When not up to her eyeballs in cat hair, she travels and teaches cat grooming around the U.S. at trade show events, private workshops and seminars as a Certifier and Instructor for the National Cat Groomers Institute.
Dr. Linda Dziedzic, DVM, MS
Dr. Linda Dziedzic is a charismatic New Jersey native who earned her veterinary
degree from Ohio State University in 2009. Following graduation, Dr. Linda
headed back to New Jersey to complete a rigorous, year-long, small animal
medical and surgical internship at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton
Falls, NJ. Then, in 2010, she then started her own business providing veterinary
relief services across New Jersey for general practice and emergency veterinary
hospitals. Dr. Linda has also been a relief shelter veterinarian for the Ocean
County Health Department since 2012. As a former neuroscience researcher and
public high school teacher, Dr. Linda has a passion for client education, the
human-animal bond, and community outreach. Along with her fiancée and two
beautiful children, Dr. Linda can be found tending to her pets, chickens, and bees
when she is not at the Jersey Shore.
Melinda Brink
Club Meow Inc. in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Mel Brink is the president of Club Meow Inc in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She became a CFMG in 2015 and a Certifier in 2019. Club Meow Inc serves SW IA and SE NE as an award winning luxury feline exclusive grooming, boarding, adoption and groomer education hub. Mel offers 10 day grooming school sessions several times per year and PPI upon request. She enjoys helping students become confident in their craft. Her favorite grooms are major transformations and seniors. Prior to opening Club Meow Inc, Mel was an animal control officer for 11 years and trained horses. Whenever possible she enjoys hanging out on a beach with her husband and 2 boys, Jude and Fynn.
Melissa Hall
Touch of Class Grooming in Yuma, AZ
As a second generation groomer, Melissa began her pet grooming journey in 1996 with her mother and sister. When not leading her team of stellar employees at her own successful salon in Arizona, she enjoys showing and competing with her Standard Poodles. In 2014, she moved into the world of cat grooming by completing her Certified Feline Master Groomer certification and began showing one of her Persians as well. Now Melissa shares her incredible wealth of cat grooming and business building knowledge as a Wahl Brand Ambassador, NCGI Certifier and hosts private grooming instruction at her salon for cat groomers from around the world.