Guide
What to buy before you open, what can wait six months, and the one purchase every experienced groomer says they should have made sooner.
Equipment lists for new groomers usually run to sixty items and treat them all as equally urgent. They aren't. Most of a grooming setup can be bought later from revenue; a small part of it must be right on day one, and one item is the difference between a twenty-year career and a ten-year one.
Budget roughly $2,000–$5,000 for a lean home-based setup and $5,000–$15,000 for a modest commercial salon. Larger multi-station builds go well beyond that, but nothing about a first salon requires it.
A grooming table — hydraulic or electric.
This is the purchase to spend real money on, and the one experienced groomers most consistently regret deferring. The thread we ran on lessons learned returned the same advice repeatedly. Mary M., after 29 years: "I wonder why I am so damaged. Lifting 40kg dogs will do that. Get a lift table." Dena C., at 41 years in, framed it as a straight purchase decision: "They may be costly, but they will save your back in the long run."
A table that raises and lowers means you stop lifting dogs and stop bending over them. Everything else on this list can be upgraded later; your spine can't. Buy the best one you can afford, new.
A bathing setup with a raised tub. Same argument. Bending into a domestic bath for six dogs a day ends careers. A raised tub with a ramp or a lift removes both the bending and most of the lifting.
A high-velocity dryer. The single biggest time-saver in grooming, because drying is usually the bottleneck rather than clipping. A slow dryer costs you a dog a day, every day.
Clippers, blades and shears. One good clipper, a cordless if you can stretch to it, and a working set of blades in the lengths your local coats actually need. Buy a spare of your most-used blade — a blade failing mid-groom on a Saturday is a ruined day.
Restraints and safety kit. Grooming loop, no-sit haunch holder if you use one, muzzles in a range of sizes, and a first-aid kit for dogs and humans.
Shampoo, conditioner, and towels. More towels than you think. Then more.
Ear protection and masks. Dryers are loud and hair is not good to breathe. Both were named unprompted by long-serving groomers.
Pro tipThe rule for what to buy new versus used: anything that bears a dog's weight or plugs in near water, buy new. Tables, tubs, lifts and dryers. Cages, trolleys, storage and furniture can all be second-hand without regret.
Retail stock. Tempting, ties up cash, and mostly doesn't sell in a new salon.
Branded everything. Aprons, mugs, custom signage. Zero effect on whether the dog comes back.
A second station. Only when a second person is using it.
An elaborate reception. Clients care about whether their dog is happy, not your waiting area.
A website beyond a booking page. Chapter 7 covers what you actually need.
Equipment isn't a one-off. Plan for:
| Item | Typical annual |
|---|---|
| Blade sharpening | $120 – $400 |
| Servicing tables, tubs, dryers | $400 – $1,200 |
| Consumables per groom | a few dollars up to ~$8 |
That last line matters more than it looks. At six dogs a day across 240 days, $8 a dog is around $11,500 a year — a real cost that belongs in your pricing, and one new owners routinely forget when setting a price list. Chapter 6 folds it in.
One forward-looking note, because it changes how you should think about the spend.
If you ever hire, the equipment you bought becomes a hiring and retention argument. Groomers talk to each other about which local salons have hydraulic tables and which don't, and it reads to them as whether an owner expects them to still be working in ten years. As our hiring guide argues, a table is a few hundred dollars against several thousand to replace a groomer who leaves.
Buying good equipment for yourself now is the same decision as being able to hire well later.
A hydraulic or electric grooming table, a raised bathing setup, a high-velocity dryer, clippers with a working set of blades, shears, restraints and muzzles, shampoo and conditioner, plenty of towels, and ear protection. Everything else can be added later from revenue rather than savings.
Roughly $2,000–$5,000 for a lean home-based setup and $5,000–$15,000 for a modest commercial salon. Budget separately for ongoing costs: blade sharpening at $120–$400 a year, servicing tables, tubs and dryers at $400–$1,200, and consumables of a few dollars up to about $8 per groom.
For anything that bears a dog's weight or runs near water — tables, tubs, lifts, dryers — buy new. Cages, trolleys, storage and furniture are fine second-hand. The failure modes on weight-bearing and electrical equipment involve an animal being injured, which is not where to save a few hundred dollars.
A hydraulic or electric table, without much competition. Experienced groomers overwhelmingly name it as the purchase they wish they'd made sooner, because lifting and bending over dogs is what ends grooming careers early. It's also the equipment that most affects whether good groomers want to work for you later.
Commonly a few dollars up to about $8 depending on the dog's size and coat, covering shampoo, conditioner, blade wear, laundry and card fees. At six dogs a day over 240 working days, $8 a dog is roughly $11,500 a year — which belongs in your price list rather than being discovered at the end of the year.
Fit your equipment spend into real numbers — free, about two minutes.
Budget it properly