This is the second in a series of articles blogger Eliza Sydnor Romm is writing about four areas of major concern for horse professionals identified in her survey of 1,500-plus people in the industry: long-term financial planning, business management, making boarding profitable, and managing employees. Read the first article, about long-term financial planning, here.

In the equestrian world, exceptional riding skills alone don’t guarantee professional success. Behind every thriving horse business lies something equally important but often overlooked: effective business management.

“Business management” is such an all encompassing term. Telling someone they should get better at business management is kind of like telling a rider their horse could be more balanced, more supple. It’s always true. It’s almost not a helpful statement because, of course, every horse could be more supple, more balanced, and every professional could be better at business management. So let’s break it down.

Business management is working ON the business, rather than working IN the business. Working on the business—business management—includes things like writing job descriptions, going over profit-and-loss statements and setting goals for your business. Working in the business, by comparison, includes things like teaching lessons, feeding horses and taking clients to shows.

When I surveyed professionals on their businesses, the most financially successful professionals had only two things in common: 1. They had been at this a fairly long time. 2. They were organized in their business management practices. 

This might seem obvious, but it surprised me. I figured the most financially successful people probably focused on sales, or they all lived in Wellington, Florida, or they did tons of clinics. But that wasn’t what the data showed. So, if you’re looking to make more profit in your business, you too can get better at business management. Interestingly, those who ranked themselves organized in their management did not all enjoy that part of it; 40% of respondents said they didn’t like that part at all. Most of us got into horse businesses because we wanted to ride, not because we love managing small businesses. But that’s good news, because it means you can get good at it—even if it doesn’t come naturally to you, you didn’t major in it in college, or you just flat out don’t like it.  

Years ago I hired a bookkeeper, Sharnette Atkinson, because I was finally honest with myself that I was never going to get good about keeping track of every expense and income, and I knew I needed that information to be up-to-date and accurate in order to learn from it. Sharnette is a farm owner and rider herself and helps lots of horse people with bookkeeping as her profession. 

“Professionals need to review their up-to-date financials on a regular basis to determine if they need to adjust their pricing, reduce costs or maybe even pivot their business in a new direction,” she told me. “This is a problem I see not only in the equine industry but throughout the small business world. Business owners have no idea if their business is profitable. They assume if there is money in the bank, they are profitable, which is not always the case.”

My survey identified these four areas of major concern for horse professionals: long-term financial planning, business management, making boarding profitable, and managing employees. Good business management is really the backbone of working on ALL of these problems. Losing money on boarding is a business-management problem. Having trouble retaining employees is a business-management problem. And being an organized business person will lead you to being able to save for the long term!

The Passion Problem

Jen Verharen, a business coach who works with many top riders in different disciplines, describes the problem well. 

“Most are at some sort of a bottleneck: time, energy and money are maxed out,” she said. “What they’re doing is not sustainable. They’re not able to hire, their personal life is suffering, they might not even be able to ride their own horses. The tail is wagging the dog. The business has basically been running itself, and now it is demanding attention from the owner.” 

That description certainly fit me 12 years ago, when I first reached out to Jen. I was pregnant with my first child, and I was working 60 hours a week at a minimum. I hadn’t taken a real day off in months, I rode up to 10 horses daily and then taught lessons on top of that, driving from barn to barn in an inefficient manner. On the one hand I was “successful” because I was competing at the FEI level, had lots of cool horses in training, and was a popular instructor. But I felt burnt out and was still barely making a salary that put me above the federal poverty threshold. Like most professionals, I had tons of passion for horses and training, but I knew mine was not a sustainable lifestyle in general, and certainly not with a newborn.  

“Horse businesses are different from other businesses because they are truly started from passion,” Jen said. “Their initial intention is not to make money, but to do what they love. That can fuel a business for quite a while, but at some point that catches up with them. Initially the business does not get set up to be profitable, which is different from other businesses.”  

Jen starts with most clients by doing a “current-state review of the business:” What is working well, what is not working? She helps professionals identify “leaky holes”—the places they are wasting time and/or money. For me it was the inefficiency of driving from one farm to the next, the time suck of scheduling so many clients each week in different locations and with schedules that changed all the time, and spending time doing the barn chores and grooming tasks that I loved but weren’t a smart use of my time.  

Kate Tackett was a working student for me at the time, and she later became my assistant trainer. She saw and helped create changes in my business and then worked for some top trainers who dealt with many of the same issues. Kate ended up getting her master’s degree in organizational psychology and went on to create Blueprint Development Coaching, where she works with equestrians on personal and business goals, both in and out of the saddle. 

“The first hurdle is finding time to actually evaluate what is happening, taking time to make adjustments, and then taking time to figure out if those changes have made an impact,” Kate said. 

Balancing Goals

We often define success and find personal value in being incredibly busy and working ourselves to the bone—but if that is not success, then what is? That answer is going to be different for each professional. For some, it will be reaching financial goals, for some competitive goals, for others personal lifestyle goals. And for many, including myself, it was a combination of all three: I wanted to make more money, continue pushing myself as a rider and trainer, and have time for my family and friends.  

The horse world is also unique in that many professionals have competitive goals alongside financial goals. Doug Payne, and international rider, trainer, judge, author, and member of the 2021 Olympic eventing team, summed it up well when I asked him how to manage both: 

“Freaking impossible,” he admitted with a laugh. “That is THE most challenging part, because they are almost mutually exclusive.” 

Doug said he manages in a few ways. Early in his career, he found that if he could differentiate himself in some way, in his case by riding difficult or “problem” horses, he could attract more clients. Later on he found that if he became excellent at many different disciplines—eventing, dressage, show jumping and even hunters—he had more opportunities available to him. This led him to discover that the business model of the jumpers was much better financially. He was able to spend less time on the road and have more—and better—income-generating opportunities in the jumpers than he did in eventing. 

This is what Jen describes when she helps professionals identify where they are in their career cycle. 

“At first you’re a Wal-Mart,” she said. “You need to make money and have clients. That creates a work ethic and drive, but that model often continues for too long. Increased expertise means you have the ability to work less and charge more. And later on still, trainers are ready to start training trainers, mentoring, and creating their legacy.”

Implement Policies And Systems

This is when trainers usually need to zoom out and identify their long-term goals, values, vision and mission. This foundation helps guide difficult decisions and keeps your business aligned with your values. Having clear long term goals can then help you to work backwards to implement changes. If you have a yearly financial goal, work backwards to determine the amount of income needed versus the expenses you will incur. To do this, you’ll need very clear financials (profit and loss statements from previous years or a realistic budget if you’re starting out). What are your revenue streams? How will you increase them? What are your direct costs (things directly associated with each horse, like hay and grain) and are there ways to reduce them? What are your overhead costs (things that exist no matter the number of horses you have, like utilities, insurance, rent) and are there ways to reduce them?

This is where it pays to get some professional help. Sharnette helps her bookkeeping clients through the math of these problems.

“You must break it down into smaller goals because, for some, focusing on that big long-term goal is just too overwhelming,” she said. “I have seen businesses fail because they set a long-term goal and then went full force with it. They grew too fast, couldn’t handle the growth and lost control because it was just too overwhelming for them.”

This strategic planning usually leads trainers to implement policies and improve systems. Leaky holes—inefficient schedules or clients who are late for lessons or don’t pay on time, for example—are signs you need some better policies.

“Most policies are around boundaries and payments, [and they] must be communicated clearly and often,” Jen said. “What are your expectations? Any time you start to feel resentment towards a client, that usually points towards some process that needs to be put in place or system to be implemented.” 

Doug changed his schedule by going from teaching 45-minute lessons to 30-minute lessons, while keeping his fee the same.  

“You just gave yourself a 30% raise,” he said. His clients know they have to be on time and warmed up, because it has been clearly communicated to them. They get Doug’s undivided attention for 30 minutes, which is plenty for almost all horses and riders, and then cool their horse out on their own. This change allowed Doug to have more time or teach more lessons, his choice for what his goals were.  

Another common policy is around payment. Kate shared that she has seen much improvement for her clients who run lesson programs when they implement a monthly or quarterly payment schedule. 

“The client has their lesson slot, and it’s theirs each week, rain or shine,” she said. “If it rains (and there is no covered arena) then we work on other things—conformation, ground work, basic first aid for horses, etc. And if they didn’t show up, bummer for them.” 

Kate acknowledged that this can be hard at first. “You have to stick with it. It makes it so much easier to budget and plan for your future if you know your income for the next quarter.” 

Why is this so hard for us as professionals, when we would expect it in other industries? My son is playing travel soccer now, and I can’t imagine asking to only pay when he shows up for practice or games or canceling and not paying if the weather is bad. 

“Almost everyone I work with has limiting fundamental beliefs,” Jen explained. “There is so much people pleasing and fear of losing clients.” 

But in Jen’s experience, trainers and clients end up being much happier once clear policies are in place.

“When a policy is communicated clearly and often, the client understands the boundaries and sees the value in what you are offering,” she said.

Here are some other common areas for improved policies:

• Boarding and training contracts that clearly outline what is offered, what is expected, payment structures, etc.  
• Job descriptions for employees that outline all duties and expectations, what is offered in return, chain of command, values and vision of your business, etc.
• Welcome packet for new students – expectations around scheduling, dress and equipment, rules of the facility, payment, behavior towards horses and other clients, etc.
• Policies around sales – commissions, deposits, PPEs, trials, etc.

I can’t tell you the number or professionals I’ve spoken with who have a really hard time raising prices. They agonize over increasing lessons by $5 or $10 and put it off for years. And I am right there with them. This is so hard for us because of some limiting fundamental belief, meaning we attach a value to perceived credibility. We are not willing to raise rates until some outside credibility has been reached, like earning higher scores, competing at a higher level, etc. But does that outside credibility actually indicate your education and what you can offer your clients? And maybe that thought needs to be flipped around: If I raise my rates for all my clients, I will then have the funds available to compete at a higher level, or finally be able to pay for a bigger championship show. 

“The business is not you,” Jen reminds her clients. “The business is what you set up to magnify your skills and talents.”

Job Crafting And Finding Ideal Clients

Kate helps her clients to go through the exercise of “job crafting.” 

“Outline absolutely all the responsibilities in your job, and decide if they are things that you enjoy or dread, are they necessary or could they be delegated, are they profitable or not?” she explained. “Curate your business and your schedule to fit those needs.”

When I worked with Jen all those years ago, she had me do a similar exercise of an energy audit. I listed everything I did in a typical week and decided whether the things gave me energy or sucked it away. Of course, we don’t just get to do fun things that give us energy. Caring for horses requires a lot of things that simply must be done, even if they’re not fun. But writing them all down and ruthlessly assessing whether each brings you closer to your goals—financial, lifestyle or otherwise—is a great thing to do. 

“Job crafting is similar to an energy audit but adds in opportunities for ‘how I want to feel and what I could add in and change/take away,’ ” Kate explained. 

This will lead you to defining your ideal client. I struggled with this concept at first, because I wanted to help everyone. I didn’t want to be the kind of trainer that only took fancy, rich clients. But that’s not what an ideal client is. Think of the client that matches ideally with what you want to offer—your services, your values, your policies. For me it was a client who wanted their horse in full training, wanted to compete some but valued their horse’s welfare above all else and enjoyed camaraderie with fellow barn mates.  She would pay every time, on time. She also shared my values around letting horses live out most of the time in small groups. She wanted to improve her riding and her understanding of dressage as her primary goal. 

This also helped give me clarity around why some clients were not a good match for me. If they believed strongly that their horse should mostly be in the stall and only have private turnout for 30-60 minutes a day, that is their choice, but it was going to clash with my values. If they had serious competitive goals and wanted to get to the national championships at all costs and relished beating their barnmates in the ring, they were not going to be a good fit. Or if they really just wanted to focus on ground work and had no competitive aspirations or hopes of riding beyond training level, they would be a much better fit at another barn. None of these people are bad people, they’re just not an ideal client for my program. And if I took the time to interview them before agreeing to take them on, and did a little research into their background and their future goals, I could recommend a better fit and save us both heartaches and headaches.  

Over time your ideal client will change, as Doug learned as he has shifted away from eventing and solidly focuses on jumping now. That is totally OK, as long as you take the time to notice where you are in your business and where you want to go in the next five years or so.  

A Better Way Forward

As I’ve been researching all of this, there have been times when I feel a bit discouraged about the future. Is it harder now to make a living with horses than it used to be? Are these problems new? Worse than in the past? “People are waking up and talking about it more,” Jen told me when I asked for her thoughts. The culture has shifted in the larger world and in our little horse world. So much more emphasis is placed on work-life balance and focusing on mental health. The culture 30+ years ago was that it was a badge of honor to be exhausted, never to make any money and to sacrifice everything for the horses. Now there is more recognition that there should be a better way. 

“Every time someone comes to me, my goal is that I want every business owner and trainer to feel empowered in their own business and life,” Jen said. “We each have the ability to do that. Every trainer that comes to me has the unique ability to make their own business a success. If we were all empowered, we would be having a bigger impact.”

I love this idea. By focusing on defining what success means for each individual, getting clarity around your values and vision, and working your way towards a well crafted, purpose driven job and life, we will improve the horse industry as a whole. A focus on improving your business management will reap benefits across your life. Healthier businesses will mean better outcomes for our beloved horses and their owners.