For some people, the horse business corridor comes naturally. They can visualize their path from start to finish, with no hazy grey areas to distract or derail them. Others, however, follow a somewhat rockier trail, stumbling over fallen branches and taking unnecessary detours.
If you fall into the second category, all hope is not lost. It just means you need to take a step back and plot your course, and the new year is the perfect time to re-evaluate.
If your horse business isn’t working out the way you thought it would, it might be something simple.
Perhaps you haven’t fully devoted yourself to this career path yet, in which case you need to decide if this is the direction you truly want to take. Or perhaps you aren’t exercising effective time-management practices. This is remedied by keeping a schedule and whittling away at time-consuming tasks.
However, if you feel that your horse business isn’t working because of a larger problem, there are several suspects.
Services You Offer
You are not cut out to offer all possible horse business services. I’m sorry if this deflates your tires a bit, but it’s the truth.
Many horse business owners make the mistake of taking on too much. They want to train horses, teach kids, run summer camps, take in boarders, host clinics, sponsor horse shows, shelter rescues, compete—are you exhausted yet? ‘Cause I am.
You can’t possibly hope to be everything to everyone, so I recommend you cut a few services if you’re feeling overloaded. You can actually make more money in the horse business by specializing rather than trying to be decent at a million things.
For example, I once worked with a boarding and lesson barn where the owner was feeling overwhelmed. We worked together for a few hours, looking at her horse business from every angle, until we finally discovered that half her problems would disappear if she stopped boarding horses.
She was able to devote the time she had previously spent on looking after boarders, policing the stables, managing her stable crew and other tasks to teaching lessons, which is what she really loved. Case closed.
People You Work With
They might be employees or colleagues or partners, or even clients. Anyone who brings you down on a daily basis could be the reason your horse business isn’t working.
Many horse people mistakenly believe that all other horse people are just like them. This isn’t the case. It is entirely possible to run into people you just can’t stand in the horse industry.
Take stock of the relationships in your life and figure out if you need to eliminate any of them. This might mean firing an employee or terminating a partnership. It could mean asking a belligerent client to leave your barn.
If you’re going to go this route, be careful not to burn any bridges unnecessarily. Simply suggest that the relationship isn’t working, and that it would be best for both of you to call it quits.
Where You Work
The final “biggie” I want to discuss today is the physical location of your barn or office. This can be a major reason why your horse business isn’t working.
Perhaps you’ve outgrown your current facility. Maybe you need to build more arenas, barns or storage sheds. It could be that you don’t have the right equipment, or not enough of what you do have.
You might just need to do some cleaning. Feeling cramped and disorganized has an effect on the mind as well as the body, and can lead to depression and frustration. I’ve found that straightening up and decluttering the office, tack room, feed room and other common areas of the barn makes a big difference.
Consider where you work and decide whether it’s still working for your horse business. If not, you might not have the financial means or the physical ability to change it right away, but knowing what you need to change and making plans to fix it eventually will have an enormous impact on your outlook.
Making Changes
If your horse business isn’t working, you are the only one who can make a difference in how you feel and approach your enterprise. The Horse Industry Fairy won’t drop from the sky, wave her magic dressage whip, and right all the wrongs.
You might not be able to rectify all your mistakes in one day, but little changes over a period of time make a big difference.
So let us know in the comments: Is your horse business working? Why or why not? And if not, how do you plan to change it?
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.
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