Our tractor mounted grader blade gets used for 
many jobs
around the farm including: arena leveler, snow pusher and a substitute bulldozer. It performs very well at the
first two jobs. As for dozer work, let's
just say it's a good thing for me there is no Society for the Prevention of
Machine Abuse.
It's not intended for use as heavy earth moving equipment and my
over confidence in its structural strength has sent it to the repair wizard
several times.
After the most recent repair, I treated the well used blade
to a fresh coat of paint. The result
was Wow! The old blade looked better than ever and once again rusty, tired iron
looked very close to factory fresh.
It got me thinking about the magic of a paint job. The
effort only took about thirty minutes from start to finish and the paint was
already on the garage shelf waiting to be put in service.
The project was Low labor cost, low
material cost, high result. It's the equation all business owners search for.
You may want to give your business an end of year paint job. I don't mean literally paint everything, I
mean do things that improve appearance and business image. You can freshen up the first impression of
your business just like my rusty grader blade and its new coat of paint.
Here are some ideas for you to consider:
- Put a
Welcome sign outside and inside your barn
Restock
your business card supply
-
Add an
exterior light to dark parking areas
- Invest
in hose racks
- Fill
the pot holes in the driveway
- Clean
out the truck and horse trailer
- Change
your daily uniform to look like a pro all the time, every day
- Buy
extra brooms for compulsive sweepers to help keep the aisle neat
- Set a
deadline for completion of stall cleaning each day
- Post
candid photos of your customers and their horses on a bulletin board
- Put
clocks in strategic places to encourage timeliness
- Schedule
a cobweb removal blitz hour
- Invest
in a few more water bucket scrubbing brushes
- Keep
the wheelbarrow tires filled with air and the axles oiled
- Get
the dust under control in the indoor
- Hand
write appreciation notes on your invoices
- Hang a
whiteboard and write a daily inspirational quote
- Oil
those squeaky hinges, barn door tracks and sticky snaps
- Clean
the indoor arena viewing area glass
- Number or name the paddocks and pastures
- Paint the lavatory
- Clean out ditches and get the water moving away from pastures and buildings
You get the idea.
Low cost, high
impact, lasting impression.
Just like a fresh paint job.
What can you freshen up with your business today?
.
Get your 
My part of the world has been enjoying a beautiful fall
weather pattern with plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures. 
