The products and services section of your horse business plan is actually the most important. This is where you decide what products and services you will offer, how much you will charge and what your clients will receive for their money.
You have two primary goals:
- To create sufficient value with your products and services to wow and impress your clients; and
- To set reasonable expectations for your horse business.
This might seem simple, but it can get very complicated.
A Service-Oriented Business
The horse business is primarily service-oriented. You provide a service, such as horse training or riding lessons, and your clients pay you for your expertise and your time. Easy, right?
The problem is that services are far more subjective than products. You can’t look at a service and say This didn’t work properly or I didn’t get all the parts in the box. This is why customer service is so important.
You’ve got to figure out a way to provide services that will keep your clients coming back for more.
Listing Your Services
First, create a list of services you’d like to offer. Then, from that list, go back through your horse business plan and make sure the competitive and market analyses leave room for each of them. If the competition is too stiff or if the demand isn’t high enough, your energy is better directed elsewhere.
Once you’ve got a list of viable services, you’ll need to set a budget for each of them. This is where a head for numbers comes in handy; you must make sure there is room in your finances to facilitate each service well.
Next, set a price for each service and outline, in paragraph form, the precise things you will provide in exchange for that money. For example, if one of your services is riding lessons, you might say:
One hour of riding lesson costs $45. The student will remain on the horse for the full hour and will receive the instructor’s undivided attention. There will be no more than three students in each group lesson, and the instructor will choose the horse most appropriate for the rider. Lessons will include ten minutes of warm-up, forty minutes of concentrated instruction and ten minutes of cool-down.
This is simplified, of course, but you get the idea.
Focusing on Products
Some horse business owners provide products as well as services. Maybe you sell tack or grooming supplies, or tickets to events at your farm. Whatever the case, your products are just as important as your services.
Figure out what your costs will be with regard to each product. Manufacturing? Shipping? Distribution? Storage? Then set a price that provides the profit margin you desire.
If you plan to sell a lot of products, you might need an entirely new section in your horse business plan dedicated exclusively to physical products. That’s okay. The more research and information you compile, the better off you’ll be.
You might also like:
- Horse Business Plans 101:
Operational Plan - Combining Services in the
Horse Business - Horse Business Plans 101:
The Objective - Horse Business Plans 101:
Competitive Analysis - Horse Business Plans 101:
The Mission Statement
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.
