A self-employed farrier enjoying a bath while out camping

Self-Care is a Must When You’re Self-Employed

The phrase time is money applies when you work for yourself. If you want an equine job that allows you to be self-employed, you have to prioritize your time. It is precious and valuable. When you have control of your time, you must proactively plan to make good use of it. Otherwise, it will just slip away.

Setting goals helps you focus on being successful in your equine job. Set goals for your business and break them down into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.

For example, Tiffany's goals were to:

  • Start her last appointment of the workday at 3 pm
  • See clients 4 days a week and spend 1 day a week in the office
  • Schedule her clients one cycle in advance so she could plan around them
  • Attend a continuing education conference each year

When you look at her goals, you can tell Tiffany's priority was having control over her time.

Once you've set your goals, revisit them each year. If you find your goals have changed, that's fine. You don't have to have someone else's approval to make a change when you're self-employed. Therein lies the freedom of working for yourself.

There's a lot of focus on self-care out there lately. This has to do with a corporate culture that expects us to work ourselves to the bone and be consistently plugged in. People who are driven in their work are more susceptible to burnout. We invest a lot of ourselves into our job, and the key to avoiding burnout is to have an action plan for self-care.

Take mental and physical breaks. Know what recharges your batteries and reignites your drive. Maybe it's exercise, fishing, riding horses, spending time with your kids and your grandkids, reading, dirt bike racing. Whatever it is, know what it is and do it often.

When Tiffany first started her farrier business in 2007, she would always tell her friends she was too busy to get together. She didn't have time and couldn't predict when she would. Five years in, her answer changed. She just needed a five to six-week heads up so she could block her schedule.

When she started to give her friends that answer, she knew she was successfully managing her time. Being a farrier has afforded her the luxury that many careers rob people of, time to enjoy her family and friends.

Let's Look at the Numbers

If you're a numbers person, this is for you. The average number of working days per year is 260. That number considers national holidays and weekends. It's important to note that 40% of the workforce, puts in additional hours so this number is higher for the average person in a corporate job.

Once Tiffany got a handle on her schedule, she only worked 199 days a year, including those days where she did a few horses and took the rest of the day off.

Would you rather work 260 days a year, or 199 days a year? We choose 199! We value our time and would rather spend it with family and friends than working ourselves to the bone.

Do you want to spend more time with family and friends but you feel trapped by your job? Do you consistently work over 260 days each year? Maybe it's time for a change. Apply for our next block of horseshoeing classes, create an equine job for yourself, and change your life. Apply Now