Professionalism is important for riding instructors who want to conquer the horse business, but your students don’t want to take riding lessons from a cold fish. Business is just as much about relationships as it is about expense reports and profit margins.
I’ve discovered that most riding instructors fall into one of two categories: Either they are too chummy with their students and fail to establish healthy boundaries, or they are too standoffish and wind up alienating their clients. Somewhere between these two extremes exists a happy medium.
Your Students Have Lives
Be they children or adults, your students go somewhere when they can’t be at the barn. They go to school, work, church, parks, playgrounds, movie theaters and malls. They have friends and family and pets weighing less than 1,000 pounds.
Take the time to get to know your students if you want to succeed as a riding instructor. Know enough about them to ask whether Grandma Ethyl is feeling better or how difficult the math test was. These are relationships you can nurture for the next fifty years.
Some riding instructors have hundreds of students, which makes the “getting to know you” process a little more difficult. It is human nature to gravitate toward the students who interest you most, who seem to hang around more often. Don’t ignore your gut instincts, but make sure you aren’t living in a sea of unfamiliar names and faces.
I knew one riding instructor who taught about six classes a day, each with at least ten students. Since most of her charges rode lesson horses, she found it easier to call out the names of the animals when she needed to make a correction or utter a command.
This might seem like an efficient way to run your riding instruction business, but it won’t make you any friends. If your students are easy-come, easy-go, they will view you with the same apathy. This means you are disposable, and when someone else offers them a lower price or a better horse in riding lessons, they’ll jump at the chance.
Personality Rules
Regardless of your experience, education or abilities, you have something unique to offer your students. This is something you should never forget because it will come in handy as you build your riding instruction business.
Look, for example, at the conservative talk show host Glenn Beck. Whether Republican or Democrat, you can’t argue that the guy has developed a loyal following based on his personality. If he didn’t rant and rave and occasionally shed a few tears, he probably wouldn’t be nearly as popular as he is today.
Personalities sell. They connect one human being to another, regardless of their history. So if you want to succeed as a riding instructor, start using your personality to your advantage. Don’t repress it just because you have a mental image of how you should talk and behave.
In addition to getting to know your students, let them get to know you. Talk about how you think and feel, let them know about your pet peeves and your weaknesses. This will make you human in their eyes and that much more likeable.
Don’t just be the guy (or gal) who yells at them once or twice a week.
Finding the Time to Build Relationships
Now you have two sides of the coin: your students’ lives and your personality. But how do you put the two together and start building relationships with your students?
The most obvious obstacle is time. Some of your students probably show up right before their lesson and leave directly afterward, leaving little time to socialize. Others who stick around have chores to do, and you’ve certainly got a job.
In order to build healthy relationships with your students, you must learn to use the time available. If you only see a student one hour a week, make that hour count. You can combine effective teaching techniques with socialization as long as you approach your mission tactfully.
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Editor in Chief of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. Follow her EquiTips on Twitter.