DURING her last year of high school, Stephanie McCarten was unsure of the career she wanted to pursue, but a chance opportunity helped her discover a love of pet grooming.
This month, she’s moving her business Sunset Grooming out of a caravan and into a Mildura shopfront.
She began operating the business in 2017 after completing her qualifications through SuniTAFE.
Ms McCarten said that in Year 11, she decided to do a Certificate II in Animal Studies, followed by the Certificate III in Year 12.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life but I wanted to work with animals,” she said.
After deciding to do her Cert III, Ms McCarten’s teachers told her she would complete in about three months because she had already done so much of it.
To make the most of the rest of the year, she chose to do a pet grooming course.
“Six months in, I went ‘I can imagine doing this for the rest of my life’ and here we are, seven years later,” she said.
Ms McCarten said she never expected to have own store because she was so attached to the caravan she had renovated for her business.
However, she said the move was “needed”.
“I’ve just completely outgrown it,” she said.
“I’m already booked out for the year, and I’ve got people waiting to get in next year.”
Dog grooming is the main focus of the business, but it also caters for cats and even the occasional rabbit.
Sunset Grooming is located at 42 Lemon Avenue and will host a grand opening event on November 11.
Ms McCarten said there was a lot of work still to be done to get the shop ready to open, but her clients were looking forward to the change.
“(My clients) are so excited for me,” she said.
Ms McCarten said she was not taking any new customer bookings for the rest of the year, but said anyone interested could call her in the new year.
