Howdy,
I finally decided to join up with you all. as Ive been readin posts off and on here for a few years.
What an Excellent Source of Information , and so much hands on experience.
I went to school in the late 80's, and then apprenticed under 3 different farriers .
When it came to running my own business, I have failed, twice.
I just had a hard time charging extra.
so i payed out of my pocket, for shipping costs of special order items.
I only charged my cost, for pads and all the extras like borium etc.
and then, the extra time involved prepping pads , applying borium, forge time
i never charged for. so basically , I chrged for shoes and cost of extra's.
I always ran my self into the ground. I would spend 2 hours trimming a 4 year old , thats barely halter broke, and I wouldnt charge extra.
Not too bright .huh?
so of course , i'd get soured on "The People" but it wasnt them, it was ME! I just wouldnt run my business, like a business.
after a couple of years off, I'm starting up again.
The timing seems right , and I am growing fast.
This time , I am sticking to my business Guidelines and Price List.
Prior to the Now, I felt the only reason I wanted to be a Farrier was to help the Horse. All of them.
Finally, at 45 years of age, I realize, I have to help myself ,
I Love being a Farrier,
I want to continue being a Farrier,and theres so much more to learn.
and I'm the one that can make it , or break it.
I just hope I learned my lesson, lol.
We'll see.
So part of my dedication to my field , is I am going to be on this site daily, to cover topics that

will help me catch up to current issues , topics and techniques. So I can be the best i can be for my clients and theyre horses.
But most of all, so I can actually run the business as a business.
Thanks for your time,
i know this was long winded
Sincerely,
John Conner

Hi John welcome.
There are tonnes of helpful people here. I know it has been a great resource for me.

As to the business part of things I am working on as business plan so I can chart the direction I need to take to be successful financially, secure the type of clients I want, and work my way toward the type of horses I want to work with.

I think putting it down on paper really helps you to see what holes there are in your plan. You cannot just shoe till it works out, you must have a map to get where you want to go, and sure as heck need to decide where it is career wise you intend to go before you can plot the map.

I am also looking into meeting with small business programs run by the government. They give advice and mentor folks who are new and clueless about running a business.

I figure it can only help. ;D

Good luck and stick around.

Hi John welcome to the forum. I know exactly what you went through and I have the same problem. Giving too much away to help others and horses which ends up creating financial problems for me and my family. Yes it is a business and it is good to read your post to remind me of this. We have marketable skills that are in demand and we do help others and their horses by staying in business. Best of luck to you and thanks for sharing your story.

Come on, guys - young man's business plan is easy - charge $10.00 less and shoe 'em all, no matter how far you have to drive to do it. Saw an ad in the feed store today claiming a three state area. Trims $40.00 shoes $65.00. Hope that was $65 on top of the $40. How's that for truth in advertising?

Jack Evers wrote:
Seen plenty of those come and go over the years. I'm impressed when a young guy can last a couple of years.

Jack Evers wrote:
That pretty much sounds like the standard pitch out here in Odessa, I've seen it for cheaper though. 25-30 a trim 55-65 shoes. I have almost come a custom when new clients ask my price to say " are you sitting down" ha ha

13puppet wrote:
Got some part-timers here in Abilene charging $15 for trims and $45 for shoes. Welcome to the forum, John.

Hi John, Welcome! Your attitude says a lot about how well you will do this time around. Good for you. There is no point getting to the end of your life with nothing to show for your efforts and no money in the bank. A business PLAN is an excellent tool to keep you on track. The trick is to review it a few times a year and keep it as a working document - I should look at mine any day now:rolleyes:!
Last business I had wasn't a great earner (horse drawn carriage) so I'm ready to make some money now, same as you have found. They say you should spend as much time working ON your business as IN your business, so don't spend all your time head down bum up 'cause you can't see where you're going!

Thanks to you all for your input, and ideas.
I do plan on spending time this winter, studying small business practices.
I really need to have my price list and business guidelines SET, by 2011.
And i think I'm going to involve my G'friend in the business. So to speak.
Then, The business wont be , just me ,making the final decision.
This would sort of , relieve me ,of the pressure of feeling the need to be nice and giving of alot of my time.
I would in effect, have to answer to my employer, The Business, for the days income.
And with another person involved, as part of the Business,,, theres an actual person to answer to.
Does this make sense to any of you?
Do any of you need to use your spouse to help you be firm with your prices?
These are just thoughts, ive got a few months to work it all out.
Again , thanks for your time and input
John

If I let my spouse talk to new clients, she always raises my set prices.

Yep!! My SO is sure I should pay minimum and charge maximum. Guess that's why we paid the mortgage off in 10 years.

Welcome John, Ive run my self down being "helpfull" to. I still will when I feel that someone is actually in need of and gratefull for a little help. However 99% of the time, I charge for my time and serivces. Having a set guideline for pricing is a good idea. Also remember that your time is part of the charge. If a yougnster wants to be a pain then thats fine and I'll take the time to be patient and work with them to make it a good experiance and do the best work possible, so long as the person paying the bill is aware that I will charge them by the hour to the nearest half hour to get it done. So far as things like clips, rockered toes, extended heels I don't charge for them individually. I figure my time for those and charge it in the base price. You will find that the clients that understand that line of thought appretiate the attention to detail, are willing to pay for it, and tend to be the better clients with the better horses.

westtxshoer wrote:
How is that even half of a living? That's not even gas and lunch.

Welcome John. We are all victims of it or have been. Those that charge $70 a trim and $200-300 for shoes are either doing well or not doing at all. They are either shoeing the top competitors in the nation or they were probably burned like you, like me, like others and they just got fed up one day and said the heck with it, I'm going to lose a lot of clients, but I'll make the same amount of money and get to enjoy more of my life. There's gotta be a balance between reasonable and unreasonable, worthwhile and crooked. I am glad you are finding it. I need to find it too. I am the same way with add-ons, barely charging for them some times. I am going to set a price list and stick to it. My girlfriend says raise the prices a couple bucks each year or suddenly, the clients that want to stay will stay. If you raise the price of add-ons, people wont notice as much. You deserve that money. I am slowly learning NO DISCOUNTS! NEVER! (though I have some clients grandfathered in) and, aim to make 20-30% on all products/equipment you sell/install.

Dusty Roundup wrote:
Yep. my girlfriend helped me solidify my pricing. I still dont charge extra for misbehaved horses and I know I should. Women know money and know how to spend money. Sometimes the women in our lives know our self-worth more than we do. If one stop takes me a bit of extra time, my girlfriend calls me and asks why, how much did I charge, etc. It keeps me on my toes. Makes me a better businessman. I knew I wasnt going to be a millionaire horseshoer, but I'm hoping for $60-70k in a couple years. I'm betting some guys make that easily. They speak up for misbehaved horses. They add on for pads and extras, enough to be fair and be proud.

Welcome to the forum. There is a lot of information shared here. Hope you enjoy the community and can take a conversational licking or two at times!

mybluedanube wrote:
Wow, now THAT is ironic.