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The Profitable Horseman's Newsletter Helping Horsemen with Solutions, Growth and Change in Business
January 4, 2006

This newsletter is written by Doug Emerson who specializes in helping professional horsemen find new and better methods to add to the profitability of their businesses.

in this issue
  • Looking for a Speaker about the Business of Being in the Horse Business?
  • No Brag, Just Fact. . . .
  • Others have said
  • Back at the Barn
  • More Profit in Less Time
  • Getting to the Point

  • No Brag, Just Fact. . . .
    cowboy hat

    No brag, just fact.” That’s what veteran actor Walter Brennan would cackle as he played a cowboy character named Will Sonnett in a TV series of long ago that aired about the same time Captain James Kirk was starting on a five year mission.

    Character Will Sonnett was keen on getting the message across and saw no shame in telling you how it was even if it sounded like boasting. He punctuated far too many sentences with “No brag, just fact.” The series lasted only two seasons which is fact and definitely nothing to brag about, but the catch phrase lives on and still surfaces every once in a while.

    I love it because it describes an attitude for adopting a shameless self promotion agenda for you and your horse business. I hear professionals, who when asked to describe what they do, so often respond with phrases like,” I like to fool around training some horses for the show ring”, “ I try to make some money in the horse business by raising colts from my mares that nobody can afford to buy”, "I teach kids how to avoid falling off their horses at horse shows.”

    The above examples are examples of shameful self promotion. If your aren’t confident in describing what you can do for others, shame on you because no one else will promote you either. Somehow, over time, many business owners have been conditioned into thinking that being proud of what you do well and telling others about it, is bragging.

    Bragging is being boastful, glorifying oneself and making me roll my eyes into the back of my head. If you are a braggart, cut it out!

    I don’t think many professional horsemen fall into the category of braggart. My wish for you in 2006 is to become a better self promoter. Here are some tips and questions about becoming a better self promoter as a professional horseman.

    1. Take inventory of what you do in your business that is worth promoting. Things like teaching, training, judging, riding, bargaining.
    2. Identify key accomplishments using the PAR method. Problem-Action-Result. What problem did you solve by taking a specific action that got results?
    3. Who can I talk to today who will make a difference in my business?
    4. What is distinctive about my style, about the way I operate? As examples; I follow up, I’m quick to take action, I’m thorough, I’m truthful, I don’t rush.

    After you have identified what is important to promote about your business, then begin to put shameless self promotion into action as part of a low cost marketing strategy. As you become aware of opportunities to self promote and take advantage of being your best publicist, your message will begin to evolve into a unique statement about what you are best at delivering to the world of horsemen.

    Life is short, ride hard.

    Doug

    PS This is no brag, just fact. I am very good at helping horse business owners get on the correct lead with their business goals. If you have been counter cantering lately, call me or e-mail me to see if I can be of help.


    Others have said

    "You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it." -- Barbra Streisand

    "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." -- Mark Twain

    "We confide in our strength, without boasting of it, we respect that of others, without fearing it." -- Thomas Jefferson


    Back at the Barn
    back at barn

    The Christmas and holiday seasons are officially over in the Emerson household. Most decorations have been packed away but wreaths for continuing holiday spirit still remain hung on the house and barn.

    New year planning is in high gear as well as our annual decluttering. It seems that our propensity to store things remains high through the year and the addition of new “stuff” at Christmas forces serious closet cleaning to happen. I know we aren’t the only family who does this since I see others at the home improvement stores buying shelving and storage bins to help solve their problems of where to put all of their stuff.

    The barn is often a wonderful place to store extra stuff, horse related and otherwise. Our decluttering exercise includes the barn.

    Anyone need a goat milking stand (needs work), enough scraps of wire mesh to make 17 rabbit cages or 4 really good water buckets with broken handles?

    “When in doubt, throw it out.”—unknown author


    More Profit in Less Time
    Deewochagall

    I show Professional Horsemen how to use 8 key strategies to build a business that creates more profit in less time. Call me and we can talk about how your business can benefit.

    If you know other horsemen who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to them! I am on a quest to tell 1000 people what I do and I need your help.

    The purpose of this publication is to help professional horsemen also be Profitable Horsemen.


    Getting to the Point
    banner

    I write another weekly newsletter about the business of life. Curious? Click here


    Looking for a Speaker about the Business of Being in the Horse Business?
    megaphone man

    Have Voice, Will Travel. I am available to speak to your horsemen's group about making money in the horse business. With a 39 billion dollar industry, there are plenty of opportunities to make a profit.

    I speak to horsemen's groups about ways to improve profitability in the horse business. I'm also available to present a half or full day workshop for groups interested in making money in the horse business.

    Call or email me today about your meeting needs.

    Click on these links for more information

    Past issues of Profitable Horseman newsletter

    My blog. Bet I can make you look! Click here.



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