5 Tips to Make it In the Horse Business
It all started when I was about five years old. I loved horses. I dreamed, drew pictures, galloped around on all fours pretending I was a gallant steed and begged to ride a horse. Much to my parent’s dismay I started begging for a horse as soon as I entered grade school. When I was in Fourth grade my parents gave in. We moved to Blaine Washington on 5 acres. My first horse was an ill-tempered bay gelding named Brandi. Despite his balking, bucking and ill manners, I learned to love him. Brandi was not the ideal horse but he gave me quite an education. Looking back, I’ve learned some valuable lessons that have afforded me a business in the horse industry that I still love today, decades later.
- Fall in Love With Your Business: It’s gotta be something you could do for a lifetime. All businesses will have challenges, require long hours, some disappointments, but ultimately it’s something that makes you leap out of bed in the morning.
- Find Something That Helps People Get What They Want: Your product or service needs to solve a problem or make life easier for your client. Focus on helping people get what they want and you will find success.
- Listen More, Talk Less: Far too often we tell people what we have to offer without listening to what they need. Try asking probing questions that will give insight into their challenge and direct your answers towards what they need.
- Be Honest: Tell the truth no matter the outcome for you. Whether it’s selling them the right horse, or suggesting the horse they have may not be the right fit. In my business, it’s selling them what they need, not what works out best for me. We all need to stay in business, however, selling a product or service just to sell it never works out in the end.
- Enlist Experts: A business takes a team. Being a jack of all trades and a master of none does not a business make. Hire people that are good at what you are not good at. Chances are if you don’t like to do it, you won’t do it well. If you’re a horse trainer and not a people person, hire the right person up front to do your selling. Be an expert at what you love to do and you’re business has a much better chance of succeeding.
I have found that being genuinely concerned for others and having their best interest at heart gets you much farther in business. Over the years I have made many mistakes but my love for horse people and the industry has given me a publishing business that has sustained my husband and myself for a lifetime. I have made numerous friends and connections all over the country and am blessed with an amazing team, all with different skills that keeps our business going. The privilege of serving others is where my heart is. I hope this helps and I wish you all the success in the world!
Other Tips on Marketing Your Horse Business!
Other ideas on What it Takes to Make it in the Horse Business
Quote:
If you believe in what you’re saying, if you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll be more effective, more passionate, and more authentic in everything you do.
~ Seth Goldman – Businessman
Owner/Publisher Karen’s lifelong love of horses began at a very early age when she wore out a couple of rocking horses before convincing her parents to get her the real thing. That ill-tempered bay gelding, Brandy, was a challenge for the young horsewoman, but it drove her ambition to become a horse trainer. After attending Canyonview Equestrian College’s Horsemanship Program, Karen realized she needed work that was a little more lucrative than training, so she took a job with Customs Brokerage to pay the bills. There, she discovered an affinity for computers and a talent for creating informative, entertaining newsletters. The Northwest Horse Source began as such a letter in December 1995, with a distribution of 1000 copies for its 12 black and white pages. Now 29 years later, it’s an online magazine and website with a reach of over 10,000 per month and growing! Not bad for the results of one woman’s dream to work with horses!
Today, Karen remains involved with every aspect of the magazine and treasures the community of thousands who share a common passion.
