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I talked with a horseman recently whose job description includes the following:
- 150 nights away from home each year while travelling
- Tens of thousands of road miles each year to get work
- Work with hundreds of horses with unpredictable temperaments
I don't suspect there is a long line of applicants to sign up for his position.
But, that's okay because the partial job description above only appeals to horsemen who love the work they do.
And Geoff Tucker is a horseman who loves his job.
It's Dr. Geoff Tucker, DVM, to be formal. You may know him as the horse dentist www.theequinepractice.com with the trademark Equine Dentistry Without Drama.
I asked him about his thoughts on why some professional horsemen have such hard time making money in their businesses. He responded like lightning, "It's because they don't love what they do. The horse doesn't write the check, people do and that makes it a people business."
He went on, "If it's only about the money and the owner doesn't enjoy the process of helping horses and providing service to the client, then the business is not going to work." And Geoff put it in clear terms, "If you don't like it, get out of the business. You've got to have passion for the work and if it's not there, better for you to find work you're passionate about."
Early workday starts and dark-thirty endings aren't uncommon in the horse business including horse dentistry and Tucker believes dedication is mandatory for success. "When it comes to business, there are no excuses, just failures", says the road warrior vet.
Dr. Tucker tells a story about early in his career as an equine dentist. Having no work lined up and badly in need of income, he got on the phone and started dialing. He made call after call to horse farms with the same pitch, "I'm Geoff Tucker, I'm an equine veterinarian. I specialize in horse dentistry-do you need any horse dental work?"
One hundred or so calls later, he told his wife he'd gotten no positive response.
She responded, "So?" which was his cue to keep dialing. Several calls later his effort paid off with a customer ready to hire him. Slowly and methodically the practice grew.
Since those initial dialing for dollars days, Tucker has maintained his passion and dedication to help horses and educate his customers in his equine dental practice which covers many Eastern states in the U.S.
With the aid of his website, blog, Twitter and Facebook, he's attracted new clients and made friends.
He's also written a book, The Ten Irrefutable Laws of Horsemanship. It's a guide for working with horses based on Tucker's years of experience and passion for helping horsemen be safe and enjoy their horses. You can find purchase details on his website.
Dr. Geoff Tucker's passion for his work shines brightly; his practice continues to grow as a result.
The purpose of a business is to make a profit. As emotionally driven humans, our pursuit of work we truly love results in the greatest profit.
Are you pursuing your passion in your work or just chasing illusive profit?
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