Dog Grooming · Free Valuation Calculator
How much is your dog grooming business worth?
Most grooming businesses sell for two to three times what the owner actually takes home, and most owners have never seen that math laid out. This free calculator prices your salon or mobile business the way real buyers and brokers do, on SDE. We watch these businesses through our pet grooming marketing work; enter your numbers, then read what moves the price.
Tell us about your shop
We loaded typical numbers. Swap in your real ones and everything updates live.
Here’s what your shop is worth
The headline number uses the multiple you set on the left. The methods list below shows the full range buyers work from.
Your estimated shop value
The number that should change your plans
Deal math
What each method says it is worth
Rule of thumb: grooming businesses sell for 2x to 3x SDE. The median shop listed on BizBuySell runs about $320,000 of revenue, $96,000 of owner earnings, and a $240,000 asking price. Beat the median on staff production and rebooking and you beat it on price.
Buyers pay for the book of rebooking clients.
Every new client your marketing adds who rebooks every six weeks raises the SDE a buyer multiplies. TailWerks builds that engine, and pet businesses are all we work with. Two to three years before a sale is the right time to start.
How this calculator gets your number
Small businesses do not sell on EBITDA the way big companies do. Buyers and brokers price them on SDE, seller’s discretionary earnings: the profit on the books plus everything one working owner takes out in salary, draws, and perks. It answers the buyer’s real question, which is how much money this business puts in my pocket if I own it and work it. Value equals SDE times a market multiple, and for grooming that multiple usually lands between 2x and 3x.
The other methods are cross checks. A revenue multiple prices the business as a fraction of gross, and a per station rule of thumb prices your capacity. When the methods agree, the number is honest. When they do not, the gap is what a buyer will negotiate against.
Expect the buyer to verify everything against tax returns, merchant statements, and your booking software. At this deal size nobody audits, but everybody checks. SDE you cannot prove is SDE you do not get paid for.
Worked example at the loaded defaults
| Annual gross revenue | $320,000 |
| Profit at a 10% margin | $32,000 |
| Owner pay, added back in full | +$65,000 |
| SDE | $97,000 |
| Multiple | 2.5x |
| Business value | $242,500 |
| Value per station (4) | $60,625 |
| Value added by 25% revenue growth | $20,000 |
What drives dog grooming business valuations
The biggest driver is whether the business runs without your hands on the clippers. A shop where the owner produces most of the revenue and holds every client relationship is really a job with a lease attached, and buyers price it that way. A shop where staff groomers carry two thirds of production sells at the top of the range, because the revenue survives the ownership change.
The second driver is the rebook rate. A grooming client on a 6 week schedule is worth $500 to $800 a year and $1,000 to $3,000 over their life with the shop, so a book of standing appointments is recurring revenue a buyer can count on. Growth trend, clean books, and a lease the buyer can take over do the rest. If you run mobile, the fleet plays the lease’s role: owned, late model vans with service records add real asset value, and an aging fleet reads as a repair bill the buyer deducts.
Grooming valuation benchmarks
| Metric | Typical range |
|---|---|
| SDE multiple, typical sale | 2x to 3x |
| SDE multiple, staff run shop | 2.5x to 3.5x |
| Revenue multiple | 0.65x to 1.1x |
| Profit margin after owner pay | 8% to 15% |
| Revenue per full time groomer | $100,000 to $160,000 |
| Median shop revenue (BizBuySell) | about $320,000 |
| Median owner earnings (BizBuySell) | about $96,000 |
| 12 month client value | $500 to $800 |
| Client lifetime value | $1,000 to $3,000 |
Who actually buys grooming businesses
Mostly individuals: a groomer who wants to stop renting a table, a couple buying a lifestyle business, occasionally a small local chain adding a location. Almost all of them borrow to buy, usually through an SBA loan, and the loan is why SDE rules the price. The business has to pay the new owner a living and cover the loan payment out of the same earnings, and 2x to 3x SDE is where that math works.
That buyer pool is also why sellability beats size. A buyer can walk into a staff run shop with a full rebook calendar and keep the machine running. A shop that empties out when the owner leaves has nothing to lend against, no matter how busy it looks. The two years before you list are for converting your personal hustle into a business someone else can own.
The three levers that grow your sale price
Staff production
Every groom that moves from your table to an employee’s table converts personal income into sellable business value. Shops where the owner grooms less than a third of the dogs clear the highest multiples, and shops where the owner grooms everything often cannot sell at all.
Rebooking rate
A client who leaves with their next appointment booked is recurring revenue; a client who says they will call is a coin flip. Push the rebook rate over 70% and you are selling a subscription business, and buyers pay more for revenue they can see coming.
Provable earnings
Buyers pay a multiple of the SDE you can prove with tax returns and merchant statements. Cash that never hit the books cannot be priced, and personal expenses buried in the P&L cost you their multiple at closing. Clean books for two years are worth real money.
Mistakes groomers make when selling
Selling a job instead of a business
If you produce most of the revenue, the buyer is buying your chair, not your business, and the price collapses or comes with a long stay-on requirement. Hiring and keeping groomers ahead of the sale is the single biggest price move available.
Unreported cash income
Skimming cash lowers your taxes every year and then costs you 2 to 3 times that amount at the sale, because buyers only pay for earnings they can verify. Put everything on the books at least two years before you list.
A month to month lease
The business is worthless to a buyer who can lose the location with 30 days notice. Lock in a transferable lease with several years of term before you go to market; landlords have killed more small business sales than bad books have.
Coasting into the sale
Owners mentally check out, stop marketing, and let the schedule thin right before listing. Buyers price the trailing twelve months, so the year you slow down is the year that sets your price. Keep the machine fed until the wire hits.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a dog grooming business worth in 2026?
Most grooming businesses sell for 2 to 3 times SDE, which is the profit plus everything the owner pays themselves. The median shop on BizBuySell shows about $320,000 in revenue and $96,000 in owner earnings, which prices out around $200,000 to $290,000. Staff run shops with strong rebooking clear the top of the range and beyond.
What is SDE and why is it used instead of EBITDA?
SDE, seller’s discretionary earnings, is the business profit plus one working owner’s total compensation and perks. Small business buyers use it because they are buying themselves a job and an income stream at the same time, so they want the whole number the business generates for its owner. EBITDA math starts mattering when a business is big enough to run under a hired manager.
What is the formula to value a grooming business?
Value equals SDE times a market multiple. Take your profit after all expenses, add back your own salary, draws, and personal perks run through the business, then multiply by 2x to 3x for a typical shop. A shop making $60,000 in profit while paying the owner $60,000 has $120,000 of SDE and prices out around $240,000 to $360,000.
What revenue multiple do grooming businesses sell for?
Roughly 0.65x to 1.1x annual revenue, with the median around 0.8x. Use it as a cross check on the SDE method rather than a pricing tool: two shops with identical revenue can have wildly different earnings, and buyers pay for earnings. If your revenue multiple and SDE multiple point at very different numbers, your margin is the reason.
How much is my shop worth per grooming station?
As a rough rule, $60,000 to $120,000 per busy station. That falls out of the math: a full time groomer at a station produces $100,000 to $160,000 a year, and grooming businesses sell for 0.65x to 1.1x revenue. Empty stations count for nothing, which is why filling a station with a producing groomer is worth more than any renovation.
Is a mobile grooming business worth more or less than a salon?
Similar multiples, different risks. Mobile businesses carry no lease risk and route density can make them very profitable, but vans age, and the client relationships are usually welded to whoever drives. A multi van operation with employed groomers and documented routes sells like a business; a solo van sells like a used van plus a client list.
What happens to my grooming vans when I sell?
In a typical asset sale the vans, tubs, dryers, and equipment transfer with the business, and any loans or leases on them get paid off or assumed at closing. Buyers price the fleet by age and condition: a late model van with maintenance records supports your asking price, while a high mileage van is future capex they will deduct. Keep a fleet list with year, mileage, and service history; it makes diligence faster and defends your number.
Can I sell my grooming business if I do most of the grooming myself?
You can, but expect a discount, an earn out, or a requirement that you stay and groom for the new owner for a year or more. Buyers know your clients came for you. The fix takes time, not money: hire groomers, hand them your clients deliberately, and get your own production under a third of revenue before you list.
How do I increase the value of my grooming business before selling?
Work the three levers buyers price: get staff producing most of the revenue, push the rebook rate over 70%, and run two years of clean, complete books. Then grow the top line, because every new rebooking client adds recurring revenue that lands straight in the SDE a buyer multiplies. Marketing you invest two years out literally pays twice.
Do cash payments hurt my sale price?
Unreported cash destroys value. Buyers and their lenders price only the earnings they can verify on tax returns and merchant statements, so every dollar kept off the books saves you cents in tax and costs you 2 to 3 dollars at closing. Report everything for at least two full years before selling.
Who buys grooming businesses?
Mostly individual buyers: experienced groomers stepping up to ownership, career changers buying a lifestyle business, and occasionally a local chain adding a location. Almost all use SBA or similar financing, which means the deal must survive a lender’s review of your books and your lease. Corporate consolidation is a vet industry story; in grooming, the individual buyer sets the market.
How long before selling should I start preparing?
Two years minimum. That is how long it takes to put every dollar on the books, build staff production, lock in a transferable lease, and show a growth trend instead of a plateau. Buyers price the trailing twelve months against the year before it, so the improvements need time to show up in the record.
How accurate is this grooming business valuation calculator?
It gets you in the neighborhood, not to the closing table. Real prices move with your lease, your staff, your books, and your local buyer pool, and deals this size often include seller financing that changes the effective price. Use it to understand your levers, then talk to a business broker who has sold grooming shops before you act.
Thinking about selling your shop in the next few years? Request a free growth plan and we will show you what a fuller book does to your price. TailWerks is a pet industry marketing agency; growing pet businesses is all we do.
More free pet business calculators
How TailWerks grows shop value
Estimates only, not a formal business valuation, and not financial, legal, or tax advice. Multiples move with the market, your region, and your books. Talk to a valuation professional or broker before you make decisions. Built by TailWerks, the pet industry growth partner.