In our last post, we talked about the primary aim and strategic objective of your life. Today we’re going to talk about how to apply those principles to create a successful horseshoeing practice. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people have a vision of their life, and they work on that vision every day.
Successful people create their lives actively, while unsuccessful people passively sit around and wait to see what life presents them. How can you actively grow your farrier practice in a particular direction, on a precise timetable to accomplish your goals? By paying attention to where you are going.
Where Are You Now?
Three years out of school, ask yourself, do you enjoy shoeing horses? Are you often upset or angry with the horses and their owners? Do you look forward to getting up every morning and going out shoeing? Are you physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of every day?
These are all valid questions. Maybe you have low energy and are irritable with your clients because being a farrier isn't for you. There's nothing wrong with that. It's okay to change careers.
Maybe you've just lost sight of your primary aim and your strategic objective, and you're living every day without purpose.
Take note of whether or not you are shoeing in the right area. Can you achieve your goals in your current location? Can you execute your strategic objectives? Are there enough horses? And are they the right kind of horses? If there are not enough of the right type of clients that will pay the prices you want to charge, you might want to think about moving before you get too entrenched where you are.
Next, take an honest look at your reputation. If you don't like what you see, you have to develop a plan to get it to where you want it to be. Remember, this is more than just your reputation for quality work. It's the way you interact with people and horses. It's the type of horses you shoe.
Looking Towards the Future
Once you get a super clear goal of where you are, you have to plan for the future. Set goals for your 5th anniversary. Where do you want to go? Sit down and write out those goals. Tape them on the visor in your truck so you can look at them every day while you are driving between clients.
How much money do you want to make? Is that goal realistic? Many shoers want to buy a house in their fifth year of shoeing. Let's look at what that takes.
For the sake of this example, you need $24,000 to buy your first starter home. If you want to accomplish that in your fifth year of shoeing and you are currently in your third, that gives you 24 months to get it done.
That's $1,000 a month. Divide that by 4 that's $250 a week that you need to save. Divide that by 5 if you're working five days a week, that's $50 a day that you need to save. So, if you shoe five horses a day, you have to save $10 from each horse to save enough for a down payment in 24 months. That $10 goes into a special account, and 24 months later, you get to go house shopping.
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