Help on which route to take....

[Equestrian92]

As some of you may know I was considering going for a grooms job away from home and taking Buddy with me.

One of my family members has now suggested building 4 more stables on our home and renting them out as full livery ( this way I can maybe start on my own instead of working for someone else) he also mentioned about buying a young horsie maybe bringing him on for a little while and selling on, he's not that horsie! I told him that nothing is really selling at the minute and nothings going for good money ( well not in our area anyway)

But I just cant decide what to do and its really bugging me. I think I will miss people if Im away from home but then it could be an oppourtunity, Ive still got my terrible twins and they are only 2 in april so work with them soon I suppose.
Any help please :S
Choc muffins and a nice cuben!

 

[Booboos]

Why not try to work out a business plan for a livery yard at your place and see what it would take to make it profitable, then you can compare that to the money you would be making as a groom and see where you stand.

What area are you in? Is there a shortage of liveries in your area? What kind of livery (DIY, full, part) are people looking for in your area? What are your competitors charging? What kinds of facilities can you offer (e.g. arena, indoor, turn out, walker)? Aside from the 4 stables would you need more storage space, secure tack room, more fencing, toilets, etc. or are all these in place? Have you looked into taxes and business rates? These are usually very expensive and the downfall of many a small business.

You may find that 4 liveries are not enough to make it worth your while and you may need to go up to 8. You also need to factor in costs for a groom because even if are willing to work 24/7 you will need some time off for holidays, sickness, etc.

 

[Equestrian92]

We have a 20 by 40m passada outdoor arena, good grazing and hacking, secure tack rooms etc and 24hour supervision. I know a couple of yards that have people waiting and have been for around 6 months, Im not too sure about livery however I do know one yard (down the road) is charging £38 a week for DIY which is expensive where we are. So I dread to think what their full livery is, yes I know I need to think a lot into it, just annoys me not knowing what I want to do!

 

[Booboos]

Call other livery yards up and ask about prices and what they offer for them. This will give you an idea of what you can charge and remain competitive.

Sounds like you have very nice facilities and if there are waiting lists elsewhere that sounds very promising.

Your bank or Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to help with putting together a business plan and your local Council should be able to tell you about rates and any permissions required (if you are changing use from private use to business you will need planning, but if the place is a farm it's easier to get planning for an equestrian business under farm diversification schemes).

 

[potashponies]

About a year and a half ago I had 6 stables at home and I advertised 4 for full livery for about 5 months. I am in essex and I found that due to so many livery yards being near me I just couldn't get anyone in ( even though I was cheaper than the others).
In the end I ended up settling for 2 part liverys only and going back to work full time work.

The one thing I always found on a small yard is the toilet issue. If one of my liveries needed the loo and noone was in the house they used to have to go in their stable !! lovely !