If you’re looking to start an equestrian business, this guide will help you get started.
In this blog provided by Kingsgate Finance We’ll be exploring some important tips that will help make your business a success from the ground up.
These 10 steps are easy to follow and, if followed correctly, can guide you towards building a thriving equestrian enterprise in no time at all!
1) Business ideas – What business can I start with Horses?
First things first, decide what type of horse business or industry you would like to pursue – do you want to open a riding school, become a horsebox provider, provide horses for hire etc.?
For nearly all equestrian business you will need somewhere to keep horses.
Whilst you make think stables are expensive, they have become much more affordable in recent years.
Especially if you spread the cost with a finance option, you could even rent out some stable space that will pay for the total cost of your stables making it a great business model.
2) How will you fund your business model?
Do you need to buy equestrian stables or build something specific?
Will you use your own money or perhaps a specialist finance company. Do you need to transport horses, will you need to invest in a horsebox or trailer?
Specialist companies like Kingsgate Finance can help you spread the cost of your investment.
3) How long will it take before your business is profitable?
Once you know how much money is needed to fund your equestrian business, it will be a lot easier to work out when the first profits are going to arrive.
It’s important that this figure isn’t so low as not to leave any scope for reinvestment or growth but equally of course you don’t want it too high either -you need a realistic idea so you can plan for future requirements.
4) Cashflow forecast
If you know how much cash is needed for the first 2 years you will have a much higher chance of making a success.
It is vital to make sure you have cash saved to cover any quiet times or dips in trading.
Work out 24 months of cash flow, this will give your equine business the best chance of success.
5) Marketing
How will your customers find you?
If you are looking to grow your equestrian business, it is important that customers find out about you. You can use a number of marketing techniques including SEO and social media to reach new customers who may be interested in what you do.
Also, consider paid advertising in horse-related publications and Facebook groups.
If your customers are local then make sure you have a google business listing and advertising in local publications. There are many free directories online that you can list with.
Have you looked at your competitors and found their advertisements, can you take something from it for your own business?
6). Create a business plan
It should contain the following:
-Mission statement and vision for the company
-Vision/goals for the next three years
-Analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to help you achieve your goals.
-How will this business make money? –
Who are the company’s customers or users? Who is our competition? What sets us apart from them? -Where does this market exist now in terms of demand and supply (price)? How can we capitalize on that price differential if it exists? Write down all the costs associated with starting up an equestrian business so you know how much capital needs to be raised before launching.
7). Get feedback on your business idea
Asking for feedback on your business idea is an important part of the process.
A survey enables you to get honest responses from people who have never met you before and are not biased by what they know about you.
It also gives them a chance to tell you more in-depth details that may be missed during the lighthearted chats with family or friends. To keep things fair, always provide answer options which include “I don’t know” so respondents can opt-out if they are unsure how to answer a question.
Feedback could reveal information that means it’s time to rethink your plans — nothing wrong with knowing when something isn’t working!
8). Choose your business name and brand.
You can always change this at a later stage so don’t spend an awful lot of time on your name.
More importantly, is your brand.
Are you a family business do you want to display trust, home values and nature?
Your brand colours should reflect this, https://coolors.co/ has a handy palette planner and it’s best to stick to a maximum of just 5 colours in your brand.
Green and blue convey trust and nature so choose wisely as your brand message should be consistent in all your marketing.
9). Register your business
Do you want to set up a limited company or are you happy to trade as a sole trader?
There are various benefits of each depending on how much profit you will make, how many people are involved in the business and what assets you will need.
Your accountant should be able to give you some more detailed advice. It’s also worth checking the tax banding and tax treatment of equipment with HMRC. All of these details appear on their website.
10). Review and implement
Well what are you waiting for, it is time to put all of the above into practice.
If you have any questions about how we helped other people get their businesses off the ground, feel free to contact us!
Our team is here for you every step of the way in starting and running a successful business.
Now that you know all there is to know on how to create a profitable Equestrian related company, are you ready to make it happen?
It’s time for action!
For specialist finance options please contact;
Tony Carter
Kingsgate Equestrian Finance
020 3959 9490
