I have a Samoyed and do all her grooming myself. I used to have her nails done when I went to her classes ($6 each time) but when they quoted my $100 to just complete groom her, without a bath, I knew I would keep doing it myself!
If you can hear your dog's nails click on the floor, they are too long. This is a health issue, if they are too long the dog changes the way it puts the paws to the floor and can get joint problems. She is a therapy dog at a senior's residence so I need to be sure her nails are short. I cut them myself, every week, she gets bribed. For those just starting nails, bribe your dog! Make nail trimming a happy event that they look forward to. I give her treats after each foot. If your dog likes peanut butter, one way to get them distracted is to smear peanut butter on your fridge and while they are licking at it, do the feet. Then clean the fridge ;-) I started by having another person stand at the dog's head with cheese (real cheese) and feed her a tiny bit at a time. The dog was so involved with the wonderful treats at her head, that she didn't care what I was doing with her feet. Now she hops up onto my (homemade) grooming table, lies down, and I do all her feet and then give her a bit of baked liver. I have to say it is easier to do nails if they are colourless - some of my dogs had black nails and it was hard to see where the quick was. You all do know about quik-stop, right? It stops bleeding fast if you do happen to cut the quick. But try not to, because your dog will not trust you with its nails after that.
For grooming, Samoyeds have a double coat - long straight guard hairs, and soft wooly undercoat. This is what a lot of dogs have - all the Spitz types (Chows, Malamutes, Siberians, Akitas, etc.), and a lot of other working dogs. The only trimming I do with scissors is around her toes, to tidy up the snowshoes. If I needed to I would also take clippers to her rear to make a poop chute, I have had to do this on previous Sams but not on her. Otherwise it is comb and rake, to get the underfur out when she starts to blow coat. The fine fur around her ears sometimes mats, and if I absolutely have to I will use small scissors there just to cut the mats, but never to actually trim the hair. Basically the only time I would take clippers to a dog with this coat type is if she had to be clipped for blood work or surgery. It is especially important not to clip with this breed because they have pink skin under all the fur, and if she were clipped for summer she would get sunburn. She doesn't need it though, because every spring she gets rid of most of the undercoat, and what is left insulates her from the heat, just like camel hair does for camels in the hot desert. Really, the dogs that need trimming are the dogs with hair, not fur - so yes, the wire-haired terriers, the poodle types, need scissors or clippers, the rest just need lots and lots of brushing.
For baths, I just pop her into the shower, where I have a shower head on the long hose. Rinsing the shampoo off is really important, more so than for us, because dog skin is really sensitive. With the hand-held shower I can do this properly. I have also taken her to Pet Valu for a bath, the one near me has a nice tub where she is at my chest height, so easy on the back, and they have blow dryers as well. This is important, a Samoyed in full coat takes about 3 days to dry without a dryer.
Anyway, this was long, but I used to teach in a Vet Tech program, and we did a fair bit of dog grooming. Doing your own grooming is not only financially helpful, but can let you find health problems before they become major, and help you and your dog bond.