Clientele: Horse owners within driving distance of her home.
Marketing measures: Katie says phonebook advertising generates the most business."My husband was a fulltime farrier for five years, and from that experience, we learned that most new business came from people who found his name in the phonebook." Katie also posts her business card at area tack and feed stores that serve as pickup/delivery sites for the horse-related items she launders and repairs. Info about her blanket service is included on her Web site, too.
Key materials/equipment: Katie had to purchase a heavy-duty sewing machine, washing machine, clothes drier, and shop vac for her business, and needs a steady supply of blanket fabric, thread, and blanket hardware. While she does have a home computer, it's not a primary tool for her type of business.
Behind the scenes: "People would be surprised by what serious damage horses can do to blankets!" she exclaims. "I think they might also be surprised by what it takes to put those blankets back together again."
Greatest satisfaction: Katie's most satisfying moments occur when she sees her end products finished, neatly folded, and placed inside the clear plastic packaging she uses for sending items back to their owners. "Before I had my own repair business, I used to get my repaired blankets back in the same black, smelly garbage bags I used for bringing them to the repair shop. I remember thinking that there had to be a nicer way to send items back to their owners, and now my return packaging method brings me lots of compliments."
Biggest headache: "The fact that people send me blankets to repair that are almost destroyed by the time I get them," Katie says. "They can be a real puzzle to put back together, and I often wish people would send me their blankets before they get to such a ripped-up point."
Home/horselife impact: "My homebased business takes time away from both those areas," she points out. "When I'm in my workroom sewing up a blanket, that's time I don't get to spend reading to my daughter, or riding my own horse."
If she'd only known: "When I wrote my business plan, I wasn't prepared for the amount of patience required to do this kind of work. I've had to teach myself to take a deep breath and refrain from throwing my seam ripper out the window!"
Advice to you: "Know your limitations. If you intend to start a business before giving up your fulltime job, be realistic about what you can accomplish on evenings and weekends," Katie urges. "Expect that your business will take up more time than you originally thought. Keep learning about the field you choose, and about what it takes to run a business. And never be too proud to say, 'I don't know,' or to ask for help or outside advice."
5 SMART-START BUSINESS TIPS
1. Asses yourself. A successful home-based business takes more than a good idea--you also need high levels of self-discipline and persistence, solutions-based thinking, willingness to work long hours (often with no one to keep you company), and an interest in meeting needs of others--the people who'll be your customers.
2. Look before you leap. Besides studying your potential market, to learn how much potential need exists for your idea and whether competitors already are filling it, find out all you can about zoning laws, tax structures, licensing requirements, and other factors that could make or break you.
3. Build a team. Even if you'll be the only person working on the business itself, you're still likely to need help from such professionals as an attorney, an accountant, your banker, a Web designer, and so forth--not to mention support from your family members.
4. Write a business plan. Whether it's as simple as a brief outline of your goals and resources, or as elaborate as the sort of plan required by a business-loan officer, this will help you focus on the realities as well as the perceived glamour of being in business for yourself.
5. Set aside get-rich-quick expectations. Along with hard work, it also takes time to get a home-based business up and running to a profitable point. Even then, you may well find that you earn more in personal freedom and satisfaction than you do in dollars.
This article originally appeared in the May 2007 issue of Horse & Rider magazine.
