Episode #26: BIZ Spotlight: From Persian Cat To Cat Grooming Empire With Danelle German

As promised in our last episode, this week we’re diving into some stories of real entrepreneurs who have successfully built their online business. Today’s guest is Danelle German, founder of the National Cat Groomers Institute. 

From Idea to Business

Danelle German first got into the world of cat grooming when she bought a show quality Persian cat. Upon attending her first cat show, she realized she had no idea how to properly groom cats. As she taught herself the necessary skills to be an excellent cat groomer, she ended up with a growing roster of paying clients—and a lot of people asking her how she did what she did. 

The need for a thorough cat grooming training program was obvious, so Danelle rose to the challenge, creating a syllabus and certification course for becoming a cat groomer. This remains the core product offering, but this initial business idea has led to so many other opportunities. Danelle has patented inventions, written books, and traveled all over the world. She also has two cat grooming product lines and a business coaching and marketing business. 

The Business Today

Creating the original product offering and turning it into the successful, multi-faceted business it is today took a lot of work—years of creating, writing, and marketing to build the business. Today, NCGI generates mostly passive income, leaving Danelle free to pursue her coaching and marketing work and still coming in at around 20 hours worked per week.

There’s a small team behind this success. Danelle employs two team members to help with program management, customer service, and order fulfillment, while tasks like accounting and web design get outsourced to freelancers. A team of certifiers located around the world help with the actual hands-on training of students. 

Throughout the lifespan of NCGI, Danelle has earned millions of dollars in revenue and seen over 300 customers complete the course. Thousands of others purchase her products, books, and more. 

The best part of being an entrepreneur? “The freedom it provides,” says Danelle. While there are weeks where she has to work more than 20 hours, she also gets to decide when she wants to take three weeks off with a true break from work—on a recent vacation, Danelle only spent a total of three hours working over three weeks. 

Danelle’s #1 Strategy Tip

Danelle attributes much of her success to good marketing. “That’s being really clear about who I am targeting and what I can do to make their life better,” says Danelle. Listen to the episode for more insights on her marketing strategy and the impact it had on her business! 

Listen to Episode #26 Now!

Danelle’s story of entrepreneurial success inspires us, and we hope it inspires you too! Listen to the episode for more insights about her online business journey and how you can get started on your own online business idea. 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

• Episode #2: 20 Hour Work Week Movement
• National Cat Groomers Institute
• Chubbs Bars Cat Products 
• Danelle’s Website

If you liked this week’s episode of the podcast and want to hear more, subscribe and sign up for notifications for new episodes. You can also listen to all of our previous podcasts for more tips and insights!

If you know someone who is interested in starting their own online business, send them this episode!

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