NRHA Professionals find themselves on the road more than ever. How can you manage your business, string of horses and customers when you’re constantly away from home?
By Jennifer Paulson
With opportunity comes new puzzles to solve. As more and more high-money events pop up on the reining calendar, you probably feel like every single one of them is a can’t-miss chance to win a big check, demonstrate the success of your program, and promote yourself to gain new customers. While it’s time to make hay while the sun shines, that can leave your business at home—from your accounting and marketing to your billing to your string of horses—in the shadows and your customers wondering where they fit into the puzzle.
We consulted with three NRHA Professionals situated in different corners of the U.S. to get their insights into how to manage your time more efficiently. Here, Jordan McBurney, Matt Palmer, and Andrea Fappani share what they’ve learned as they’ve built—and expanded—their businesses during reining’s boom.
Part 1: Matt Palmer, The Constant Traveler
Part 2: Andrea Fappani: The Central Veteran
Part 3: Jordan McBurney: The Working Parent
The Centrally Located Veteran: Andrea Fappani
In his time as an NRHA Professional, Andrea Fappani’s business has kept roots in the West. With many major events happening in the Scottsdale, Arizona, hotbed, he’s fortunate to have a few shows close to home, but he finds himself on the road to Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio, to name a few, in a chase for checks that keep him at the top, admitting it’s hard to stay home and not run at all that money.
Consider Your Customers. There are shows that pay the lower levels pretty well, and it’s tempting to go no matter what. But you first need to consider if your customers can invest in sending their young horses with you, if that’s what you plan to do. Two weeks of paying for a horse to be at a show can be a big expenditure for someone who’s not playing at the higher levels.
Trust Your Business Manager. In my case, my wife, Tish, runs the business side. This is the case for many professionals. The biggest thing is to trust the person who’s handling that side of your operation so that it’s not something you have to worry about in the present or in the future. A trustworthy business manager means you can focus on what you need to do to prepare horses and riders without spending as much time on accounting, billing, and other business functions.
Stay in a Successful Apprenticeship Longer. It’s exciting to think about starting your own business, and with the influx of people, it might be easier than it used to be. However, staying under a successful pro as an assistant—or a few different pros—for a longer duration can lead to greater success down the line. You’ll have more time to learn the business side of things while you’re learning training philosophies and techniques. Plus, you might have a Level 1 or Level 2 string of horses to show that build your name recognition without you having to focus on anything other than training horses.
Read the rest of this article at the links above.
