Don't Let the Poor Economy Drive You

Make Money With Horses
By Don Blazer

          Don’t let the economy drive you.

          Drive the economy!

          You can do it. With a lousy international economy, this is your chance.

          What do you hear all around you?

          I hear people complaining that things are terrible, unemployment is up, jobs are being lost, the horse market is way down and the cost of keeping horses is soaring.

          If that’s what you hear and that’s what you’re saying, then you’re letting the economy drive you.   You’re caught in the negative atmosphere and you’re practicing the mindset of the pessimist who sees difficulties in opportunity.

          Change your view. See opportunity in difficulties and become an optimist creating a financial future you can control.

          And don’t start instantly with all the reasons you can’t. I’ve heard them all and they are just “stepping stones” not obstacles.

          The only danger is in saying “I can’t”! If you say you “can’t” I’m sure you can’t.

          So let’s start with all the reasons you can!

          Are you unemployed right now?   Fantastic…you have all day, every day to work on the “vehicle” which will drive your economy. You have plenty of time to create your own horse business. (You should make your business something that you absolute love doing.)

          But let’s say you are employed now and you think you absolutely need to keep your job. Okay, then what you have to do is make some “choice” changes. You have to “choose” how you’ll use your off time to create your business and begin a new cash flow stream.   If you have a family to consider, then one of the “choice” changes is to tell the family you’ll be starting a business and you expect cooperation.

          You have the time, by choice or not, so what are the other pluses for starting your own business?

          1. Virtually every kind of horse business is needed about every 100 miles. (Unless you are already an “elite” trainer, most people aren’t sending their horses farther than 100 miles to a trainer, or to a special boarding facility, or to a riding instructor, or to be bred, or to rehabilitated…or to have anything else done that you might want to offer as your business.) Your business will be needed in your area.

          2. Don’t worry about competition.   It is virtually non-existent!   It is easy to say that because it is amazing how little expertise most people in the horse business possess.   Very few (less than 2 per cent) have a degree of any kind…and less than 1 per cent have a degree in “equine studies” or “equine science”.   For the most part, the people offering services within the horse industry aren’t formally educate. You can remedy that easily in more than 200 college programs nationally or in an online (distance education) program.

          Having credentials tells prospective customers you and your services are a cut above the competition.

          Whatever it is you decide to do, do it where there is a lot of competition. You’ll be surprised how quickly many of your competition’s clients will move to you because you’re “something new”.    When they do seek your services be ready with a “special niche” none of your competition offers.

              3. Finding a niche is easy. You’re going to start a business doing something you love to do, so turn that something in a special niche within the horse world.   A friend who loves chit chat with friends while sipping coffee turned her barn into a boarding facility for people just like her.   All her boarders spend most of their time sitting on the patio, talking, drinking coffee and telling cute stories about their horses.   Once in a while they go to the barn, pat and praise and pamper their horses, but they seldom ride

          They know their horses are being cared for just as they would do it; after all they see it done while that sip coffee and chat about events.

          Don’t let lame excuses keep you from finding the opportunities in difficulties and driving your personal economy.

          I’m not saying you are going to get rich, or that everything is going to be a piece of cake. I’m saying that all the difficulties are a lot better than letting someone else or something else dictate your life.