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The Profitable Horseman's Newsletter The only weekly electronic newsletter published for Professional Horsemen.
December 28, 2006

If you are working long hours for short profits in your horse business, you owe it to yourself to think about making changes. I help professional horsemen find new and better methods to add to the profitability of their businesses.
Welcome New Subscribers!

in this issue
  • There is Something New Every Day in my Blog About the Horse Business

    click on the picture below
  • Let Me Check My Calendar
  • Need Help With Your Business Borrowing?
  • Others have said
  • Back at the Barn
  • Build the Horse Business You've Always Wanted
  • Speaking about the Horse Business...

  • Let Me Check My Calendar
    2007 wall calendar

    I like to call the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve Reflections Week. There are pauses in the regular work schedule to tie up the loose ends of the year, relax a little and do some reflecting on what has happened in the past twelve months.

    Your mind’s eye, given the right timing and environment, will replay the movie of 2006 for you to see what happened during the year. You may want to look at your written goals for the year and see how you did with the job of completion.

    If you are like me, you probably have a list of completed and incomplete projects. If you accomplished everything on your goal list, Congratulations! I suspect your perfect achievement record came about because you never sleep or you didn’t get very brave with your goal setting and picked easy goals. Neither option is a good choice.

    If your reflections on 2006 reveal you want to get more important things done in your business in 2007, consider making a small investment in a time management device used for centuries. No, you won’t have to invest in an antique tool.

    The device I’m talking about is the full year at a glance wall calendar. You’ve seen this type of calendar before. It’s one big sheet, lacking pretty photographs, made out of plain paper or paper laminated to plastic. It shows the 12 months and 365 precious days of 2007. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, go get one in the next few days or order it online. I want you to use one of these huge full year calendars in 2007. Because, for 2007 to be your best year yet, you need to be thinking in terms of an entire year; not tomorrow, next week or next month. You need to know what’s going to happen this year.

    Hang it on your office wall or in a conspicuous place for you and everyone who has a connection with you, to see any time. Here are the planning steps for you and your new full year calendar:

    1. Choose your days off and mark them first. Remember, boss, the only person who gives a business owner a day off is the business owner.
    2. Decide on dates for all events that you are responsible for creating and planning. Clinics, camps, horse shows, events, rodeos, trail rides, demonstrations, seminars.
    3. Next, pencil in club meetings, dinner meetings, trade shows and seminars, auctions and sales you won’t be organizing but will be attending If you have a regular schedule for farrier and veterinary visits, mark those days as well.
    4. If your employees will be away or off on certain days, code those days too.
    5. Record all family gatherings, birthday, weddings, graduations. Your personal life and business life are inseparable.
    6. Make note of any other significant events scheduled for 2007 on your wall calendar.

    The purpose of this exercise is to nurture peace of mind for you as the business owner as you “brain dump” dates and times. Creation of a full year planning calendar is a decluttering process which frees your personal RAM for solving other problems.

    The benefits of the full year calendar for all to see are:

    • Creates personal commitment by you and limits the temptation for procrastination
    • Allows your staff and clients the opportunity to know what to expect from you and to build respect for your valuable and precious “free time”.
    • Paints a full picture of the year to emphasize the limited amount of time you have available to do the work in your horse business that creates income: lessons, training, boarding, sales.

    You can make 2007 your best year yet after reflecting on 2006 and projecting the new year of 2007 on a full view planning calendar. Get Planning.


    Need Help With Your Business Borrowing?
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    Call or email me about your business loans. We can put together a plan that makes sense for you.


    Others have said

    "I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult." -- E. B. White

    "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." -- Elbert Hubbard

    "Good plans shape good decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true." -- Lester R. Bittel


    Back at the Barn
    back at barn

    You can’t be anything but impressed when you watch the video of The Flying Frenchman, Lorenzo, at this link: click here

    Wow! Horseman, Athelete, Showman.

    Chances are good he will make it on the top ten list of Most Profitable Horsemen.

    There is always an opportunity for education in this business and paying attention to other horsemen’s work is one of the best ways to help your own business. I’m not suggesting you start an act like Lorenzo’s, but, we (includes me) all could put more shine on our business and ourselves in 2007.

    Have a healthy and prosperous New Year!


    Build the Horse Business You've Always Wanted
    dee oct 06

    I work with Professional Horsemen who are struggling with the business half of the horse business. Just like a top performing horse has a strong foundation, so does a top performing horse business.

    If you've had enough with disappointment in your horse business, call or e-mail and we can talk about your business and how I may be able to help you.

    If you know other horsemen who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to them! I am on a quest to tell 1000 people what I do and I need your help.

    Life is short,

    Ride hard.

    Doug


    Speaking about the Horse Business...
    megaphone man

    Need a speaker about the horse business for your horse related organization? Talk to me about talking. Keynotes and workshops available. (716) 434-5371


    There is Something New Every Day in my Blog About the Horse Business

    click on the picture below
    herd of horses

    Click on the herd of horses above. They'll take you right to the blog. What's a blog? Click and find out!

    Click on the links below for more information

    Profitable Horseman Web Page

    Past issues of Profitable Horseman newsletter

    Professional Horsemen's Blog- Don't Look Back!



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