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Equestrian Professional's Horse Business Tips Archive
Our members have access to our entire archive of horse business tips from our weekly news and tips.
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The New Equestrian Customer Magnet - Understanding the Power of Shareable Content
Elisabeth McMillan
According to The Next Web.com, "sharing accounts for 31% of site referral traffic, nearly half of what search engines account for." That number by itself is pretty impressive. However, there is another very important reason why content sharing is powerful and why most of you should be developing a content creation strategy for your horse business. Content "sharing" provides for far more precise targeting of potential customers than most traditional marketing and advertising campaigns can ever hope to deliver. Think . . .
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6 Steps to Improve Your Horse Business Model
Elisabeth McMillan
Last week, we talked about how to identify a broken business model. This week, we are going to discuss tools and tips for repairing and/or improving your business model. When a private consulting client asks us to help them with their business, we generally take them through the six step process outlined below. Most of the tools we use in this process are available to our members and we will provide you with a list of these tools at the end of this article. . . .
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Horse Business Marketing - CMS The Double Whammy!
Elisabeth McMillan
Only once in a blue moon do I get to tell you about a horse business or marketing tool that reduces your work and/or expenses while increasing your effectiveness and profitability. I've been "preaching" about this tool to my private consulting clients for some time now. I brought it up during last weeks seminar "Smart Social Media for Horse Professionals 2011," but I didn't have a chance to explain it in much detail. Since it is a high leverage tool, and since the recent changes in Social Media Marketing make it even more important, I think it's time to give it the attention it deserves . . .
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Hold Your Horses and Hop on Your Phone Or Computer for Horse Business Support!
We know how busy you are and so we try to make it easy and time efficient for you to get the horse business information you need. Sometimes we do this is through an article or video and other times it's through our live events. One of the best things about Equestrian Professional's live horse business events is that you can attend them from nearly anywhere! All you have to do is pick up your phone or pop on your computer to listen in. This week we have several important event reminders and announcements. Here are a few upcoming events you may want to attend! . . .
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Barn Culture and Using Social Media to Market Your Horse Business
Elisabeth McMillan
Many of the rules that mainstream businesses must apply in order to get results with Social Media simply don't apply to horse professionals or must be applied differently in order to work. Social Media, as with most marketing tools, is different for horse business owners . . .
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Hiring Horse Business Employees - How To Find the Best Person for Your Horse Job
Jane Seigler
If you are like the typical owner of an equestrian business, you have little time or patience to invest in the process of finding, hiring and training employees. In fact, most likely - even if you are overworked to the point of near exhaustion - you may put off looking for help because it seems like finding and training help will be more trouble than it's worth. . . .
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Horses, Chocolate and Facebook Ads
Elisabeth McMillan
Yesterday, I saw an ad on Facebook that caught my eye. The headline said "Broodmare Leases" and had a picture of what appeared to be a top quality mare free jumping a 4'6" - 5' jump in excellent form. I have a nice stallion and had been thinking about leasing a mare or two. The problem is, I never have time to do much horse hunting. So I clicked the ad with much excitement and anticipation . . .
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Equestrian Social Media Mojo
Let's put our heads together. These days, there are a lot of social media marketing companies and self proclaimed gurus out there trying to grab your marketing dollars. They offer to set up your social media networks for a fee. They like to make you think that social media is complicated and that you need them to make it work for you. Here are the facts . . .
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The Story of Bruiser
Elisabeth McMillan
When my husband and I moved to Tennessee from California, we bought our farm from an old farming family who had been in the area for several generations. Since none of the children were interested enough in farming to make a career out of it, only two elderly brothers worked the farms. We became fast friends with both of them and they helped us learn about raising cattle and growing hay in Tennessee. . . .
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Horse Business Strategy for The New Year - The 2011 Turnaround!
Elisabeth McMillan
As a horse business and marketing consultant and a past horse business owner myself, I've seen my share of "turnarounds" over the years. A business is considered a turnaround project when its debts surpass its income and current growth path or when its financial situation needs to improve drastically in order for the business to be sustainable over time. In other words, a "turnaround" is business that needs to make changes in order to succeed. . . .
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Horse Business Success - Getting Up to Speed!
As we enter the holiday season, many horse professionals find themselves headed into the one time of the year that they have time to work on their horse businesses instead of just in them! While you recharge from a busy spring, summer and fall, some of you may have finally had time to take a deep breath and look back at the year. For horse professionals, this is typically a thoughtful time of year. A time when your body gets some much needed rest, while you mentally assess your goals and make plans for next year. In order to best support you during this thoughtful season, here at Equestrian Professional rather than slowing down - we are in full gear! . . .
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How to Write A Killer Marketing Plan for Your Horse Business in Just 7 Sentences
Elisabeth McMillan
Over the years, I've learned many marketing philosophies, gained a lot of experience and created my own blended approach to horse business marketing. However, I find that at my core is a thought process that I learned about 10 years ago from Jay Conrad Levinson, during a Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Course. It is called, The 7 Sentence Marketing Plan. . . .
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Horse Business 2010 Survey - How's It Going?
The horse business has always been tough but.... Over the last couple of years, horse professionals have been dealing with a very difficult business climate. However, it seems like things are starting to improve a bit. We want to know how you are doing. If you are a horse trainer, riding instructor, breeder, stable operator or professional rider. Please take a moment to tell us your thoughts . . .
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New Years In November - What Horse Business Owners Need to Do Now for A Better 2011
Elisabeth McMillan
In roughly 60 days, many of us will be making our own personal New Year's resolutions. However, the time to get started on New Year's resolutions for your horse business is now! Why? Because your business can't react as quickly as you can! If you decide you want to start a new diet or exercise regime you can start tomorrow! But if you want to make changes in your business, for example, add new services or raise your prices - you'll need to . . .
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Wouldn't It Be Cool If There Was A Horse Business Hotline?
Last Monday, we hosted our first ever "Ask Us Anything" webinar. The format of this seminar was different than what we normally do. Horse professionals from the USA, England, and Canada attended. 179 horse professionals registered for the seminar and 72 questions were submitted. Many of you commented about how reassuring it was to hear from other horse professionals who were dealing with . . .
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Horse Business Features vs. Client Benefits Are you Making this Costly Mistake?
Elisabeth McMillan
The difference between "Features" and "Benefits" is one of the most important concepts to understand in order to make your horse business more profitable. Unfortunately, this critical business concept is often overlooked or misunderstood. As a business owner, you build features into the products or services that you offer so that you can sell the benefits. In other words, clients "buy" benefits not features. Because the client buys the benefit rather than the feature, it is important . . .
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Fall Landscaping Tips for Your Farm
Clay Nelson
As shorter days and a falling thermometer herald the start of fall, now is the perfect time to give the landscaping around your farm some attention. There are many benefits to a well-landscaped horse farm.Smart landscaping can moderate temperatures in the barn and arena, protect against . . .
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Successful Horse Business Promotion - Watch Out for the Marketing Loco Weed!
Elisabeth McMillan
The current economy and the easy accessibility of new media has inspired most horse professionals to more aggressively promote their businesses. This means that many of you are using marketing tools that are new to you. Overall, this is a good thing. However, it can also have its draw backs. When it comes to marketing, little mistakes can cause big losses - not just in advertising costs, but in lost consumer trust. Here is one cardinal rule that will go will a long way . . .
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Top 10 Twitter Benefits for Horse Professionals
Elisabeth McMillan
Today's tip is an excerpt from Equestrian Professional's Guide to Twitter. It explains 10 things about Twitter that can make it a good fit for horse professionals. Chapter 3 - A Few Facts About Twitter That Have Value for Horse Professionals 1. While few horse trainers and stable owners use Twitter, many business professionals, college students and equine enthusiasts do! Being one of the few barns on Twitter could prove to be a significant advantage for your horse business. . . .
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The High Cost of Being Out of Step
Elisabeth McMillan
A couple years ago, before I started Equestrian Professional.com, I met a world class performance horse trainer who owned a large breeding facility. He was selling his place (which I believe was nearly paid for) and was about to buy more land and build a new much larger facility out of state. The recession had already begun at this point. It was being discussed on the nightly news, but as usual, it hadn't quite reached the horse world yet. . . .
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New Customers vs. Ideal Customers
Elisabeth McMillan
Last week's horse business tip about the horse trainer who sold 540 lessons using Groupon, generated quite a bit of discussion on Facebook. Some readers thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and others couldn't get past the fact that the trainer would be working at a discounted rate. As I pondered the different reactions to the tip, two things stuck in my mind. The first was that no matter . . .
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Horse Trainer Sells 540 Lessons in 3 days
- GROUPON for Horse Businesses
Elisabeth McMillan
Today's tip is about a phenomenon I've been keeping an eye on for awhile now. Its called GROUPON and it is an advertising/social media hybrid that has been delivering huge results for mainstream businesses -especially restaurants and retail stores. However, I've been waiting to mention it because I wasn't sure how well it would work for niche businesses - i.e. horse businesses. So I've been hoping a niche service business would try it so I could see if it might work for a riding school program etc.. Well guess what? Last week we got lucky! . . .
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Why the Horse Business Really is Different and What to do About It
Elisabeth McMillan
Because I am an equestrian business consultant, equestrians often ask me for help with their business plans. People new to the horse business want me to give them a pre-fabricated model that works so that they can take this *magic plan* and create a successful horse business. But people who've been in the business a while don't want or expect magic; rather, they want real-life solutions to make their business more financially successful . . .
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Equine Business Insurance -- Putting Together the Protection Puzzle
A lot of horse business owners assume that as long as they have liability insurance they are sufficiently protected. Granted, liability may be the largest overall risk category, and it is essential that you have a good policy in place. Nonetheless, liability insurance is just one piece of the protection puzzle. . . .
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Building a "Green" Horse Barn
Clay Nelson
As the green building movement grows, houses and office buildings designed using sustainable, environmentally-sensitive principles and practices are becoming increasingly popular. But did you know people are also designing green horse barns? . . .
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Is Your Horse Business Model Broken?
Elisabeth McMillan
A lot of people confuse their business plan with their business model. A business plan details how you will execute your business model. A business model is how your business is structured to make money. If your business model is broken no amount of planning or executing of plans will work . . .
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Using YouTube to Market Your Horse Business
Posting videos on YouTube can greatly improve online search results, drive traffic to your website and more. Plus, YouTube not only makes it easier for you to share videos, it makes it easier for others to share them on your behalf. This is important because . . .
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What Are the Most Important Traits a Riding Instructor Should Have?
A few months ago we posted the question "what are the most important traits a riding instructor should have?" on both our Facebook page and as a discussion on LinkedIn. The answers and comments we received were very interesting and we thought you might like to see some of them. One of the most intriguing things was the difference between the answers the professionals gave versus the answers from the clients themselves. . . .
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5 Frequent Horse Salesmanship Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Elisabeth McMillan
Have you ever found the perfect horse for a client or shown a horse for sale that you felt certain the customer was going to buy only to have the sale fall apart? If the answer is yes -- you are not alone. Most horse professionals have had these experiences and they can occur for many different reasons. However, if you've ever a sneaking suspicion that maybe . . .
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Revealing Results from New Horse Industry Survey - Important Points for Horse Business Owners
From October 15, 2009 through January 31, 2010, American Horse Publications conducted an equine industry survey. A total of 11,171 people who own, lease or manage horses in the United States participated. The purpose of the survey was threefold -- First, to obtain information about participation, second, to identify issues facing the equine industry as a whole and finally to identify issues pertaining to horse health. Here are a few highlights . . .
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Famous Last Words
Elisabeth McMillan
A few weeks ago, I happened to call my sister while she was on her way home from taking her girls for their riding lesson. Of course, I asked her how it went and she exclaimed "every time I leave the barn and I'm driving the girls home, I always think about how glad I am that we made the decision to train with . . .
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'Competitive Fire': Keep it under Control
Tonya Johnston, MA
Two girls went into the second round of the junior hunter classic within one point of each other it was up for grabs. Each one had a true desire to win. One envisioned a way to shine, determined to nail it with a clear plan of . . .
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Equestrian Social Media Questions and Answers
Elisabeth McMillan
Last week's seminar topic was very popular and we received many questions before, during and after the event. We addressed many of your questions that were sent in prior to the seminar and also that were asked on the live call. However, we did not have a chance to respond to many of the questions that were sent in via text message during the seminar. We have answered several of them here and . . .
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Cooperation is "A Horse That Can Fly"
Elisabeth McMillan
"If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative." Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a gathering of various equestrian industry experts who all use social media in their marketing. The attendees ranged from equine and equine related business owners, marketing, public relations and entertainment folks, to communications experts from top equestrian associations and several of the nation's largest . . .
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How Google Going Social Affects Your Horse Business
Elisabeth McMillan
Google has entered the social media arena with two new platforms that are important to horse businesses. The first is Google Social Search and the second is called Google Buzz. While these two products work differently, they have similar implications for business owners -- they affect what your current and potential customers potentially see about you and your competition online. . . .
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What Poker and the Horse Business Have In Common
Elisabeth McMillan
The other night, I was watching a documentary about the current economy and the stock market. They used some statistics from world champion poker players to make a point about making good decisions about investments. The most profitable players (and we are talking about players with lifetime winnings of 5 -- 7 million dollars) were the ones who used a . . .
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One Little Secret for Big Results
Elisabeth McMillan
Want a sure-fire way to improve your horse business in 2010? Instead of spending several days locked in your office trying to plan a year's worth of business improvement all in one sitting, try this simple but highly effective strategy. . . .
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The Roman Rider and the New Decade
The end of the year is a natural time for taking stock and moving forward. This isn't just any year -- it is the beginning of a new decade. It is time for a fresh start and an exciting new era! This year we have a new challenge - the recession is straddling the decades like a Roman Rider . . .
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Giving Thanks to Our Horses
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted a flame within us. -- Albert Schweitzer. As we were putting the final pieces together of what was intended to be this weeks newsletter (a video on how to use a marketing calendar), we began to think about "Thanksgiving". Not the feast, but the importance of slowing down and giving thanks. . . .
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How Much Horse Business is Lost Through Lack of Follow Up?
Elisabeth McMillan
It has been estimated by marketing guru, Jay Conrad Levinson that nearly 68% of mainstream business that is lost, is lost due to lack of a proper follow up. And while this number already seems quite substantial - it may be even higher for horse businesses. . . .
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"Are Horse Professionals Bad at Business?"
Elisabeth McMillan
During my 25+ years as a horse professional and now as the editor of Equestrian Professional.com, I have heard people say -- " horse professionals are bad at business" more times than I can count. I have to admit, I'm tired of all the well meaning (but somehow condescending) comments that start with the words "they just". For example: "they just need to market themselves better", "they just need to . . .
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Is Income Diversification the " Great White Hope" for Horse Professionals?
During tough economic times it is pretty common to hear the word "diversification". Stock Brokers encourage "diversification" to minimize risk and those worried about job security often begin to diversify their skills in order to make them selves suitable for a wider variety of jobs and/or more valuable to their current employer. Diversification strategies are also used to create additional income streams and increase profits. . . .
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Horse Business Q&A - How Can a Boarding Stable Diversify Their Income?
Susan in Ohio asked - What are some ways to diversify the boarding business to make it more profitable without having a public riding lesson program? - Dear Susan, Thank you for a great question. There are several very important things to consider when it comes to diversifying and while it may be tempting to take short cuts and try new ideas prior to testing them -- I highly encourage you to test your ideas on paper first! Here are some basic guidelines that you can use to identify diversification opportunities and a few examples to give you some ideas for your boarding stable. . . .
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Are You Neglecting Your Clients?
Elisabeth McMillan
When it comes to growing a profitable horse business, most horse professionals get their marketing backwards. They spend the bulk of their marketing dollars and efforts trying to get the attention of new customers and neglect to develop any concrete plan to market to their current customers. . . .
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"Rethinking the Horse Business" Workbook
Here is a sample of the workbook material, the full version will be sent to all seminar attendees via email as an attachment (Word & PDF). We created this workbook to help you . . .
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Equestrian Business Backlinks or I'll Scratch Your Back If..
Elisabeth McMillan
Last week we discussed SEO(Search Engine Optimization)and the important role that Backlinks play in getting good search results. This week, we are going to share some tips about how to get Backlinks and give you a few extra resources and ideas - so that your horse business's website shows up when people are searching for what you offer. Here are three things to consider about Backlinks - . . .
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How to Make Good Decisions for Your Horse Business
Running a financially successful horse business isn't easy. The decisions you make on a daily basis can affect the profitability of your business. Unfortunately, by the time the effect of these decisions shows up in your books and bank account the damage can already be done. However, there is a solution . . .
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Using Horse Industry Statistics - Turning Vision into Action
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time. Vision with action can change the world - Joel Barker. Last week our newsletter referenced several US horse industry studies and statistics that were addressed at the Kentucky . . .
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The State of the Horse Industry - How Is Your Business Affected?
I happened to come across Steve Day's (the president of Dover Saddlery) presentation at the 2008 International Kentucky Equine Summit. He cited several interesting statistics and studies, many of which I remembered but hadn't thought about in a while and a few new ones. The bad news is that the age group that participates in equestrian sports is aging and therefore diminshing. The good news is . . .
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Rider Promotion - Taking A Hold of the Reins That Shape Your Career
Elisabeth McMillan
If riding, training and competing are a big part of your equestrian career, it is essential that you understand and engage in self promotion. Your ability to promote yourself can drastically affect the number and quality of horses in your barn and what you get paid to ride, train and compete with them. It also directly affects the direction and longevity of your career. . . .
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Horse Business Newsletter:
Horse Trainers From Hell and Other Online Hazards
Elisabeth McMillan
Does the Internet make it necessary for you to re-think how you market your horse business? Clients and potential clients search, decide and connect, often without questioning the source, intellect or motive of their helpful "friends" online. If you are well presented online, this can be a big boon for marketing your business. If not, you may be at the mercy of (drum roll please) The Internet (cue ominous music.) Take the unlucky group of trainers discussed in Blogs like "Horse Trainers from Hell" or . . .
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Horse Business Features vs. Client Benefits Are you Making this Costly Mistake?
Elisabeth McMillan
The difference between "Features" and "Benefits" is one of the most important concepts to understand in order to make your horse business more profitable. Unfortunately, this critical business concept is often overlooked or misunderstood. As a business owner, you build features into the products or services that you offer so that you can sell the benefits. In other words, clients "buy" benefits not features. Because the client buys the benefit rather than the feature, it is important . . .
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Horse Business Newsletter: Understanding Buyer Psychology Means More Horse Sales Success
Elisabeth McMillan
Whether you run a large scale sales horse barn, breed, train or ride - most equestrian professionals are involved in the sales process. Even the trainer representing the buyer will often find themselves in a selling position when they suggest their client purchase one horse over another. And while this article focuses on selling horses, the principles contained in it also apply to selling services like boarding, training, breedings and lessons. Basically no matter what type of horse . . .
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February 2012
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| Here's what our members are saying ...
"I can't say enough about how valuable your site is to our barn."
So-Cal H/J Trainer
"Elisabeth's development of the "Equestrian Professional" Website brought a much needed financial template to the U.S.E.A. Instructor Certification Program. We on the committee thank her for coming to New Orleans and speaking at our annual meeting. Her insight into the financial matters that are so necessary in the equestrian community will be invaluable to professionals at all levels. We recommend her highly and believe her innovative website will set a new standard of excellence."
Brian Sabo - United States Eventing Association ICP Committee Member
"The first download I did - nailed exactly what was going on with me!"
J. Foreman
Las Vegas, NV
"I signed up a couple months ago and found that just taking the time to read through their stuff puts me in the mindset to think wisely about my business, In fact, I made a pretty sketchy little marketing plan and shortly thereafter I sold three good horses and pulled myself out of debt, right when the economy has been tanking. This kind of business management tool is only what you make of it, but Elisabeth McMillan and her staff have done some really good work on behalf of horse professionals"
Eventing Professional - Baltimore, MD
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