Make Money With Horses

By Don Blazer

If you want a successful horse business, you've got to be a specialist.

You may not like the idea, but you better learn to accept it.

Anyone and everyone can claim to be a "horse trainer" or "riding instructor."

The truly successful ones have the "credentials" to prove it. Those credentials should be in two forms.education and experience. The education comes first, experience follows. Experience without knowledge isn't worth much.

So to separate yourself from the "anyone" and "everyone" with credentials who offers to train horses or giving riding instruction, you need to be "recognizable" for something special-you need to be a specialist at one facet of the industry. That can be a discipline, train reiners, or teach youth to ride hunters over fences.

Once you select what it is you are going to be special at, stick with it.don't do anything else. Pursue your specialty with determination and soon you'll be an expert and then eventually an "authority." Sound overwhelming? It's not; in fact, you'll be surprised at how quick and easy it is to out-distance your competition. (What is expertise? It is knowledge gained through education and experience; you should be enjoying both every day.)

Step one: Read! Spend an hour a day reading about your area of specialty. I guarantee your competition isn't doing it. (A study by the National Booksellers Association shows 75 per cent of Americans have not read a book from start to finish since leaving high school.)

Step two: Determine a point of view and articulate it. You make choices; for example, you selected your business niche. Now decide how you will present yourself and your business, and decide how you will conduct yourself and your business. Choose to use your unique talents. Write a statement explaining your point of view and why it will be the "focus" of your business.

Step three: Gather evidence to support your point of view. Collect facts, figures, results, statistics and stories that demonstrate the truth of your convictions.

Step four: Begin documenting your experiences so it's easy for you to explain the discoveries that support your niche and point of view. For most customers the bottom-line (the result) is what matters. When you've got the results, flaunt 'em!

Step five: Try teaching others your point of view. If you can help others to understand and be able to use the knowledge you impart, then you have acted for their benefit and truly established yourself as an expert. Continue to practice the five steps and your "specialist" status is assured; that makes you "the authority".

Visit www.donblazer.com for more information about horses and business

Don Blazer is an author, a teacher a trainer and a trader. For more than 40 years he's helped thousands of horses and horse owners enjoy the best of relationships based on knowledge, understanding and actions which are mutually beneficial.

Visit www.donblazer.com and www.horsecoursesonline.com to make your business and personal horse relationships successful.