When business owners think of making money, the first thought is often-“How can I increase my customer base or sales?” While this is a good thought for any business owner to have, there is actually something else to consider putting at the forefront of your mind. Expense reduction has a more immediate positive impact on your bottom line than increasing sales ever will. Before you focus all your energy on increasing your customer base, take a look at your expenses and see where you might be able to bring in more immediate consistent income.

Don’t Balk At Bartering
Bartering is an old fashioned way of doing business that is almost completely obsolete in the corporate world. In the horse world however, bartering should always be considered as a cost reduction strategy. For example, instead of hiring three employees with ten years experience in the horse industry, hire two employees and one working student (an individual willing to work in exchange for room, board and training.) True, time will have to be spent training the working student, but this way you are saving the cost of one whole employee and helping someone break into the industry that might otherwise not be able to find a job. There are many ways to barter in the horse industry to reduce expenses; it just takes a little bit of thought and creativity.

Break Out The Bargain Shopping
Before paying full price for all that lesson equipment at the fancy tack shop, check out avenues of obtaining gently used items for half the price. Ebay is a great place to look for used saddles and other equipment, as is Craigslist. You could also put a free want ad on Craigslist, listing the items you need. If this doesn’t work consider attending an auction to look for good deals on used items. It can be very satisfying to find a quality item and know you got it for a good price.

Inventory Inspection
Take a close look at your inventory. Is there feed that is going bad and getting wasted because you’re buying too much? Is there tack in your barn not getting used and just sitting there? Are there horses on your farm that are eating but are not being ridden or used for personal or business use? Trim the fat off of your business. Keep only what you need and use and sell the rest. Then you are only paying for upkeep on items that are contributing to your business.

Use Internet To Increase Operating Efficiency
The Internet is full of ways to reduce expenses for your business. If you can’t afford a website for your business consider free web hosting. Yes, you will have to deal with all the extra advertisements but it is a way to get your name out there until you can afford a better website. In addition to this, utilize free online listings. There are hundreds of places online you can advertise your business for free. Set a goal to put your horse business on twenty free listings and watch your business increase.

Proper Collection Is Not Just For Horses
Take your accounts receivable seriously by collecting on unpaid invoices. This does not mean you need to be the stereotypical “bill collector,” but realize there is nothing wrong with reminding someone that they owe you money for a service you provided. Remember- you’re running a business. Even if horses are just a hobby to your customers, they are a business to you. Collecting on invoices that are due or past due, keeps your cash flow steady, so you don’t have to charge that hefty feed bill and end up paying extra in interest.

I generally do not talk directly about LaRaedo Horse Farm Management Software in a blog post but today I decided to go ahead and blast away.

Have you ever been so passionate about and idea and watch it grow and become more? Well that is the way I feel about this product. It started out as an idea stemming from basic observation and a desire to help those that own and care for horses.

I want to share with you a video created by Mandee Widrick owner of Horse Family Magazine. She has done an outstanding job summarizing the value of a software that not only helps the horse business owner but reaches out to their horse boarding customers too.

This is a software that can pay for itself, keep horse farm owners organized and increases their customer satisfaction – all in one simple, easy-to-use, on-line package.

I had the opportunity to do a short ten minute interview about LaRaedo horse farm software on Tack and Habit Radio this past week. I shared the spotlight with Cashel a horse business that makes a fly mask called ‘The Cashel Crusader‘. It’s really pretty cool – check it out!

Click here to take you to the podcast link. I think you will really enjoy it!

Change in any business is necessary and healthy for it to survive and grow. Taking the next step and trying something new can sometimes create doubt, procrastination and fear. What if we try it and we fail? What if we don’t attain the results we want?

Lisa Derby Oden, owner of Blue Ribbon Consulting, wrote an article called “Grow or Die: How Change Affects Your Horse Business” and she really nailed it.

Doing business the same way we’ve always done can keep things moving along at a fairly smooth pace. But over time, the way the world does business shifts, and new ideas and opportunities to move in a different direction may be the difference between flourish or famish.

Lisa states

Have you built “change” into your business? You’ve built a reputable business on solid tradition, but have you also provided a mechanism for change as needed?

Trying something new and different means having to make a shift in the current process and the way things are done today. You may have to train your staff and inform your customers of the new changes and that might take some time and they may even initially resist.

But often times, the pros far outweigh the short-term, getting-outside-your-comfort-zone cons. If you look beyond the current status quo and make even small changes, it is very possible to bring in more revenue than ever imagined possible.

It doesn’t take much, just a bit of refocusing of your energy and being open to thinking outside the box. Be creative. The horse industry is changing as business in general is changing, and who knows, you could be the one to start tomorrow’s newest trend. It’s worth the effort and if it doesn’t work out, you can always fall back on the same old, same old.

So what are you doing to move forward in your horse business?

After you have completed the registration process, you will receive an e-mail as shown below.

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Hello Marie Taulbee:

Thank you for subscribing to the LaRaedo Horse Farm Management Software.

Login Access and User Guide software instructions can be found at: http://www.laraedo.com/user-guide

Your administrative account log in is: LaRaedo-Farm
Your Password is: laraedo

Click on the link below and begin enjoying LaRaedo: http://software.laraedo.com

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at the e-mail listed below.

Please read, as agreed to in the ‘Terms and Conditions’:

TRIAL SUBSCRIBERS: Automatic monthly charges will begin after the 30-Day Free Trial unless an e-mail is sent to info@LaRaedo.com or you cancel your subscription via PayPal prior to the end of trial period.

Thank you,

LaRaedo Support

info@LaRaedo.com

More Boarders. More Profit. More Freedom.

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Click on the LaRaedo link as indicated in the e-mail and you will be taken to the software home page:

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Now this is where the fun stuff begins. Once you have logged in, the first thing you do is review your ‘Account Settings’:

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To some readers, this may appear to be pretty basic but I have found that learning how to do things in pieces makes it much easier to remember than laying it all out in one big chunk.

I think that the basis of putting these steps into several blog posts is to show everyone how simple this program is and yet how powerful it can be for your horse business.

My next post will illustrate account creation and who really needs one.

Please provide me with any questions or suggestions below. I think that using the comments sections helps others that may have the same questions but just didn’t think to ask.

There is so much talk about social media these days and its ability to stay in touch with those you already know as well as creating new business connections. This post is suggests a few ways horse boarding farm owners can use ‘local media’ to connect with their boarding and lesson customers.

It has been stated that nearly 80 percent of all business will either come from or be directly influenced by word of mouth. So it seems reasonable to say that taking great care of your current customers has a tremendous influence on the attraction of future customers to your farm.

Staying in touch with your customers is key to keeping them at your farm. What better way to do this than use a simple software solution that does exactly that? By investing just twenty minutes or less each day you can:

• Update your customers on the daily maintenance of their horse
• Keep them informed on their horse’s training progress
• Link them to training or lesson videos and upload photos of their horse in action
• Instruct clients on a plan to improve their current lessons and
• Most important – let them know how well they are riding

I recently read an article in Equestrian Professional, which summed up quite a bit of the importance of staying in regular touch with customers:

“The last thing you say matters, because its the first thing your client gets asked!
For your student, the “how was your lesson?” question is often a loaded one. It can cause them to assess themselves as a rider and without the ability to explain what they did well; this simple question can erode a rider’s confidence as they try to examine and then to convey “how they rode”.

To compound the problem, when a rider is unhappy or confused about how they performed, what started out as a friendly “how was your day?” type conversation can turn into a “why am I (or you) paying for this?” argument, during which your student must defend their largely inexplicable and expensive sport to their family or friends. “ read more…

So even if you don’t subscribe to LaRaedo and find out how easy it is to stay connected with your customers, be sure to take the time TODAY and let you customers know how much you appreciate them and how well they are progressing.

Remember that keeping your current customers happy is one of the most effective ways of obtaining new customers. What ways do you use to keep everyone informed of their riding skills and how well you cared for their horse today?

Not too long ago I offered a contest for all horse boarders to celebrate why their boarding farm was the best. I vowed to write another contest post for all the farm owners to talk up their great horse boarders.

This contest will run for one week, starting April 6 and running through midnight of April 13 (EST). The winner will be selected from those farm owners leaving the most unique and genuine comments about their horse boarders.

The winning farm owner will receive an $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

It requires a great dedication and responsibility to own a horse and participate in the sport of horsemanship. I have seen from my experience as a horse boarder that there are various types of horse owners.

I’d like you to share with us the wonderful experiences that you have enjoyed with your boarders. Recall those memories that made you feel that running a horse farm and caring for other people’s horses is all worthwhile.

What makes running a horse business worth it to you? Who do you recall that just jumps out at you and makes you say to yourself “Yes, this was the reason I went into this business”.

So leave your comments below. I look forward to reading and Good Luck on the contest.

You’re not the only one so focused on managing a horse-boarding farm that you have become unorganized, especially when it comes to paperwork.

You know the importance of being organized, but you’re just not very disciplined about it. It’s time to take a step in the right direction and dive into those piles.

When your immediate physical surroundings support what you do, you will spend less time digging and more time doing — be that work or play.

The first area most of us need to tackle is paperwork. Knowing where everything is located can help you keep track of inventory and quickly streamline your routines. Being organized will save you tons of time and give you more freedom to focus on your farm.

Take a few minutes today to remove the clutter from a:
• pile on your desk
• box in a corner or
• drawer in your office

Don’t answer the phone, check your e-mail or allow yourself to be distracted. Take this time to focus on one area. It will involve less time than you think and you’ll feel better than expected when you’re done.

Designate a place for the stuff to go:
• Recycle
• Trash
• File
• Delegate
• To Do

You may find yourself motivated to complete this once a week or every day until every area that has been bugging you is handled. Then, put at least one new system in place to prevent the problem from recurring.

Successful people have a certain air about them and one reason is because they are organized. They are not distracted by recurring thoughts about what they know they need to do.

You deserve the benefits of being organized. Your business will have a stronger marketplace advantage, more repeat business and higher profits.

Share and motivate: What have you done to make your horse business more organized?