If you stay in hustle mode 24/7, 365 days a year, you may not completely burn out, but the joy of doing what you love in the equestrian world will likely dissipate over time. Here’s how to keep that from happening while growing your horse business.
Welcome to the show notes! Remember, this is a brief summary from the How to Market Your Horse Business podcast. You'll want to listen to the entire episode for all the good stuff!
Is it possible to be in a growth phase of your horse business and make space for rest?
What does rest look like, especially when being with horses is both your job and what you do for fun?
Certainly, the answers to these questions are subjective, dependent on your season of life and business and what you truly enjoy.
Yet the reality is the same: If you stay in hustle mode 24/7, 365 days a year, you may not completely burn out, but the joy of doing what you love in the equestrian world will likely dissipate over time.
My heart here on the podcast is to help you do more of what you love in the equestrian world—AND be able to do it for the long term. I want for you to build a sustainable, successful, equine business.
That's why I invited Megan Robinson with The Movement Connection to join me for this How to Market Your Horse Business podcast episode. We're going to have a candid conversation about managing hustle and rest as an equestrian entrepreneur.
Having built her business while also undergoing multiple kidney transplants and personal health challenges, Megan is in a unique position to provide some lessons learned about managing hustle and rest.
You’ll get plenty of practical tips, but before we get into those, let’s address two vital mindset matters.
Define Enough
There is something that comes up for most of us as entrepreneurs. It may even come up as you hear some of the tips Megan gives you.
You may have even experienced it as soon as you saw the title of this podcast episode. It’s fear.
Oftentimes, fear is the driver that keeps us from leaning into rest.
Fear of missing out. Fear of not measuring up or being good enough. Fear of falling behind where you “should” be at this stage of business. Fear of not making enough money, especially if you are the breadwinner for your family or the money you make supports your horse habit, which I know is the case for many of you.
Some of our fears may seem completely logical on the surface. Yes, you do need to make money to be a profitable business. That’s one reason I’m here to help you create a marketing strategy – so you can learn to sell using your social media, website, and email marketing tools.
What often happens, though, is the fear you’re feeling is founded on a belief system that says you are not enough. It says, if you work hard enough, hit a certain income level, or work with a big-name client list, then you’ll be enough.
Whether you build a three-figure, four-figure, five-figure, or six-figure business (or more), your worth is not determined by the success of your horse business.
No matter how much or little money you make, your worth is not determined by the success of your horse business.
You might just want to write that one down and put it on a sticky note where you can see it.
Define Sucess
Do you know what success looks like for you, your family, and your business?
Success may be that you are competing at the biggest shows in your discipline, or that you are hosting a specific number of clinics each year, or have a waitlist for your lesson program. It may be that you go on vacation with your family every year, or have a certain number of days off during the holidays.
You’ve heard me say it a thousand times and I’ll keep saying it – success is subjective. At the same time, if you don’t take the time to define success for yourself, then you’ll be hustling with no objective. You’ll never know when your hustle is paying off.
Remember also to regularly revisit your version of success. It will likely change as your season of life and business changes.
And, if you have a team, make sure they know what success looks like. Otherwise, else they’ll feel like they’re also hustling just for the sake of the hustle. When they have a bigger why and clear success measure, your team will enjoy their work more (and likely work even harder).
One of the ways you can define success is to create clear goals for your business – that’s why I created a FREE goal-setting guide. ✨ GET YOUR FREE GOAL SETTING GUIDE HERE ✨
Now that we’re not operating out of fear and we know what success is, let’s dive into Megan’s tips and strategies.
Tips & Strategies for Managing Hustle & Rest as an Equestrian Entrepreneur
Take the time off (In other words, go on vacation.)
Say yes to a lot of things to start out but eventually learn what’s a no for you.
Price yourself to be sustainable (evaluate prices as needed).
Play with your schedule. Find the groove that works well for you and your customers.
Plan around busy seasons.
Take time to reflect. Is this working? What’s the timeline for making changes?
Of course, you'll want to listen to the full episode to dig into each of the insights shared and discover how you can apply each one in your horse business!
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Megan Robinson, The Movement Connection Website | Instagram | Facebook | Equestrians in Biz
Take the Reins: 1:1 Marketing Coaching for Equestrian Entrepreneurs
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