Thanks Lorraine. Thats a great idea! I'm going to stop by a couple of places to see if i can talk to the owners directly. I don't mind working for free to learn the ropes and see what its really like. That would really give me a good idea of what its like it a business type setting and also help me learn what equipment works best if I decide to go through with starting one. My worry is that a lot of grooming business owners 1. might now want to train as that would mean competition for them 2. might not want to risk a bad groom for a client as i'll be in the learning phases and might not get it quite right the first couple of times. Its worth a shot!