how do i start up my own business?

Hmmm lets see, your wanting to peruse a career and start off your own business in something horsey, good on you and if you waiting around for things to pick up, you may never get started.

Right, first you need to think about your own qualities, what are good at? what experience and skills do you have? would taking a few courses help you get started and increase your knowledge? what could you offer?, are you good with people? better suited to physical work or clerical type? woud you want to go into business with a partner? ask yourself loads of questions.

Then you need to get out there and see what's missing, what people want, do a bit of marketing, no point setting up something that every Tom, Dick and Harry are doing, otherwise your lowering your chances of success, profit etc

Pen and paper time, then size everything up, what risks would you be taking, what would it cost to get you started?

There is so much more out there than just buying and selling horses, doing livery etc you need to explore whats out there first, find a gap and get in there before someone else does.

Good Luck, in the mean time I'll put my thinking cap on for you.
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Do you have any horse related qualifications?
Have you worked on a livery yard before?
If the answer to the above is no then definitely DONT do it- go out and get some experience of managing a yard for someone else first.
If you do go for it then 20 boxes would be the worst possible start. If you are going to offer full/part livery then the most you'll be able to muck out and do properly is 8. Who'll do them when you want a day off? Good staff are hard to find.

You need to start slowly and build up an excellent reputation in order to run a sucessful livery business.
 
A course is a good place to start, but again people like YO's to have hands on experience. Do you work with horses at the moment? What kind of experience do you have of working on a yard?
 
Nope, I wouldn't do it. It is unbelievably hard to make a living out of running a livery yard, even harder if you rent it as you are at the mercy of your landlord basically. Unless you have the start up capital (ie. money in the bank with which to start your business), you will most likely not get a loan to cover your initial costs. You must have insurance against potential law suits and that's expensive. I would strongly advise you NOT to buy and sell horseboxes either. If you accidentally overlook something and a horse/owner in car has an accident, you will be potentially liable for hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation. Yes, you may make £500 here and there but it won't be enough to pay your general day to day living expenses and if things go wrong, you stand to lose everything. I know at least one person who has had to go bankrupt as a result of a livery yard lawsuit. If you are serious about it, get a job on an established livery yard and get the experience first. If I remember correctly, you're quite young (by that I mean you are not in your 50s and have been doing this for 25 years) and a lot of people rightly or wrongly will be put off by this and be looking for an old experienced YO.
 
I don't have a clue what you do and don't know about horses / trailers/ horseboxes and I haven't seen any of your posts before. What I would say about a livery yard is make sure you have full insurance, otherwise you'll be worrying less about making money and more about losing it in a court case. I used to have complete faith in people - I ran a small livery yard for a while and ended up hating it. People are not always what they seem and can be very selfish and devious - that said, I would love to do it again but I would do many things differently. I learnt from the experience!! Seek help from a friendly solicitor to ensure you are adequately covered and they will help you draw up contracts. x
 
Sammie, it depends if you are thinking of looking for the odd bargain trailer on ebay and then selling it on or whether you are looking at starting a business thats going to pay the mortgage. Even with the former please bear in mind that not every trailer you buy will be a good one and you may get badly stitched up at some stage

If you are looking at this for a real business I would honestly try to curb your natural impulsiveness and make sure you really do the ground work. By that I mean write a business plan (you can get templates for this off the web). It will force you to investigate everything. As someone else said Business Link is very helpful. Just make sure you get advise and think very very carefully.

I started my business 10 years ago and even with indepth planning its been a rocky road at times (without being in the middle of a recession).

That said it can be rewarding and I dont want to be a total killjoy, just think hard about it all before you start!
 
i dont think a problem horse thing would be good for me as im selling mine lol

i keep my horse at livery, iv worked at a racing yard, and at my aunties lovely livery yard in cornwall... im not as dumb as a few of you may think, ok i ask silly questions etc but i deffo know my basics i only lost my confidence due to a bad fall with my horse i used to be a really good rider but after having kids iv just lost my nerve!
 
I have to admit that last year,when I was looking at alternative yards as a livery I turned down the best yard with lovely boxes and school etc just because I was not confident the yard owner would be knowledgeable enough. I think most of us would like to be reassured that the person they entrust their horses with is more or as knowledgeable as yourself. I just wasn't confident she would spot the little signals before a bigger problem. In fact I took on the yard where I was and most of the liveries stayed with me as they were happy I could do that job, it's a damn hard and thankless one at that sometimes!
Possibly go and get some stable management qualifications before going all into it. There is no point taking on the expense of a yard then finding no-one wants to move there unless you can offer the best possible care. Peoples horses are often their precious babies and they expect you to offer a better care than they possibly might themselves!
 
In addition to the above, you must remember the cardinal rule of starting up a business.

Is there any DEMAND for your services?

There are lots of horsebox/trailer dealers out there and one bad deal can ruin their reputation. Buying and selling at the lower price end of the market is going to be very hard to turn a profit worth the effort and unless you're insured (again £££) you stand to lose a lot of money. Not to mention that horse transport is a luxury and the kind of people who can really afford to keep a lorry or a trailer in these economic circumstances are unlikely to be interested in buying budget or second hand trailers/boxes. Basically, the people who can afford to buy a lorry will want to buy from a reputable wellknown big company, not from a start up company with one mechanic. Just my thoughts - you stand to lose a lot of money if you don't think this through.
 
I think it's a very tricky business to be considering taking up in this current climate to be honest. BUT on the plus side equestrianism and related areas are growing so if you're offering the right facilities at the right costs then you could do well - although doubtful you'd ever be a millionaire at the end of it.

I have mulled running a livery yard over in my mind but, to be honest I think the basis of having to really be there/available 24/7 52 weeks of the year puts me off. Obviously the option is to hire in management staff etc but then you have to account for their salaries also.

I think some recognised BHS/instructor qualifications would help along whilst also a business/accounts/book keeping course would be beneficial to have. If it's something you really really want to do then i guess you have to go for it (life's too short not to) BUT you have to weigh up the risk of it all coming to nothing. Do research of the area - how many livery yards are already there and within what radius? What's the area like (ie for hacking)? What are the average charges for different livery types? If the yard you're looking at was previouly a livery yard why did it close?

Then you basically want to sit down and actually work out the figures. Is it really a viable option? Where could you save on costs (ie making own hay etc etc).

Good luck if you do go down this route. From the sounds of some people's stories on here there are plenty of terrible YOs out there and they still seem to have liveries willing to pay for appalling services. So as long as you're better than those YOs why shouldn't it work?!
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Start a yard with me sammie. I know nothing. lol
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I think everyone has to start somewhere but start small and go from there. With the right help and guidance anything is possible. Judging from the posts about nutty yo's on here I'd say people skills and personality count for more, that is something that cannot be taught on a BHS course.
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and yes I understand horse knowledge is important blah blah before anyone has a go!

I myself dream of running a newsagent
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wellknown? how did they start up? was it just magicly there?
one mec? no he has 6 people working for him... he is 40 and not some little kid he knows his work and hes very good at it..
anything id buy new or used would all be serviced and refurbished (cant spell) with a new floor professionaly done... im not as thick as a few people think, yes i do need to learn more but everyone has to start somewhere?
 
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Start a yard with me sammie. I know nothing. lol
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I think everyone has to start somewhere but start small and go from there. With the right help and guidance anything is possible. Judging from the posts about nutty yo's on here I'd say people skills and personality count for more, that is something that cannot be taught on a BHS course.
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and yes I understand horse knowledge is important blah blah before anyone has a go!

I myself dream of running a newsagent
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lol you make me laugh lets do it lol
my YM knows less then me and shes doing well.... but there are some knobs at that yard, hence why one person is ignoring me then slagging me off to others because my bf is 40 lol
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Yes, everyone starts somewhere but not everyone succeeds. Lots go bankrupt, even big companies. If that's a risk you're prepared to take, then try it. Bear in mind though that if you are forced to file for bankruptcy (and that can happen no matter how experienced you are, if noone's buying, then noone's buying!) it will be on your credit record for all time. You would struggle to get a loan of any kind afterwards, so seriously think it through. Sure, you made £500 on your trailer this time, but can you afford to live if you've spent £££ on buying up old horseboxes and then they don't sell?
 

My yo is a retired sheep farmer and certainly doesn't know much about horses but manages a yard of 25+ DIY horses/ponies/foals lovely helpful bloke, does a great job and everyone is happy. Horse knowledge is more relevant if providing part/full livery services
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There's a knob on every yard. I like mine, scowling in the corner being miserable and shooting me dirty looks, I'm to busy smiling and looking pretty as my also older bf mucks out my stable fills the water buckets does the haylage etc
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It's great
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If you need to borrow a lot of money, the banks won't lend it at the the moment. I went there with a business plan and i was turned down by 5 banks. The business plan took me two months to do too.
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It certainly will not do any harm thinking about it and talking about it and doing the research into it.

I really don't think anyone called you thick or think that you are either. Many posters have oodles of experience running their own business, their knowledge could be very valuable to you.

I don't know you but from what I've read, I wouldn't stable my horse at your yard at the moment. You've lost your nerve with a difficult horse, it happens to alot of people, but to run a yard you would have to deal with difficult horses, horses you don't know and if they realise they can get the better of you, they will. You also seem very inexperienced and in my experience, most livery's will look for an experienced YO/YM (over use of the word experience!).

Age doesn't come into it. My SiL runs a 20 box livery yard and she is in her early 20's. The difference is she has worked at a couple of competition yards, working her way up to YM at one. She has built a reputation in the industry and had the financial backing to take over a yard.

Many different points have been mentioned on this thread and they are all valid however blunt or not.

If I were you, I'd make a list of them all, start researching them. Start writing a business plan and include all of the financials in that.

Just a starting point for you.

You are going to need capital whether you go into a livery business or horsebox/trailer business. Have you got it? If not where are you going to get it from? If you go to a bank, they are going to want to see a business plan. You need to find someone to write that for you - no offence, but as you've admitted, you can't spell and yes it will matter, not only for that but contracts, letters, advertising etc.

Alot to think about but as I've said, there's no harm in thinking about it, researching it and talking about it.
 
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Yes, but he probably owns the place, has had plenty of life experience and isn't paying a huge rent!

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My point was how good people skills makes a happy, successful yard despite lack of knowledge, not about the financial side.
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As it happens, he's certainly a rich bugger.
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My OH was self-employed for 10 years and ran his own business.....not horse-related though....very stressful- sometimes the money is great, other times its pants, and bearing in mind sometimes theres no money at all. We were lucky - I have a good salary which covers everything....you will need financial support and backing so that you can still pay your bills etc even if theres no money coming in.

If you do a business plan, and get backing...well then go for it, but be prepared for a struggle, kiss good-bye to days off and learn to kiss ass for your money!!
 
I for one wouldn't want an inexperienced person looking after my horse - that's why I'm DIY even though it is exhausting being the sole carer of a horse twice daily , 361 days of the year. Yes, you start at the bottom and learn, but people would rather you made mistakes with your own animals, not theirs. I would suggest you get a few years of being an assistant then a YM before you become a YO.

And just as an observation, it's MONEY, not MONIE.
 
What do you do for a living at the moment?

So your BF is a mechanic? Sounds like he's going to do all the work repairing these trailers you buy??

Has he got the time or the inclination?

What part are you going to take in it?

If he's going to do all the work, surely he'll want paying for it, so where does that leave you? Having to stump up the purchase costs and with little sale profit afterwards?

Buying and selling trailers is a nice little sideline to make some pocket money but I doubt will make you and your family enough money to live on unless you can do the work yourself.

Likewise the yard idea. The people I know who run yards make no profit. They break even, maybe keep a couple of horses there for themselves at no costs (so that's their profit in reality) and work 9am-5pm to actually live.

That's in the S. East though. Might be different in your area.
 
In my experience (of life) anything that looks like it might be a relatively easy way to make a load of money is generally much harder work than it looks! I am self-employed in a non-horse related job and although it fabulous and I am incredibly proud of what I have achieved, I do have moments where working for someone else seems the easy option....... I have weeks where I don't make much money and I have a confidence wobble and I know some of my clients think I am doing very well off them (which I'm not).

There are a huge number of issues you need to think about before you take this any further - finance, insurance, marketing, suppliers, progressing the business/expanding, handling customers, accounts/tax/vat........

I'm not wishing to put you off only open your eyes to the many things you need to have in place before you embark on a venture of this size.

hth's
 
When you run your own business like this, you end up having to put in an enormous number of hours. I use the "Tesco Test" in these sort of situations. That is to say I work our per hour what a job would pay me (take home after all deductions), and compare it to what Tesco would pay me to stack shelves.

I would suspect that you would be far better off, and at low risk of going bankrupt by stacking shelves in Tescos!
 
We used to have a small yard of 4 boxes. If all were full with either part or full liveries we would break even/make money but the insurance, busines rates etc make a small yard impossible. So parents sold the land attatched to the house.

I have a lot of experience, but I found it challenging. The stress of worrying about another persons horse- its always on your mind. I have dealt with choke and colic at 3am are you willing to do this? if you have young children you'll need a very supportive other half. Getting up at 6 to feed and turnout and excercise. The bit that makes money is full livery where horses are worked for their owners- could you do this? I have competed to BD elementary, but found some horses too challenging- and had to turn some really nice horses down because their horses were working at medium or were too big for me (im only 5'3) at 17hh +

Be prepared for the fact that YOU are responsible for the animal's welfare and could be sued (insurance 100% necessary) From what i have read from your posts I would be a little too worried about leaving my horse in full or part livery with you. Get some BHS exams under your belt and potential clients and the bank manager will see you more favourably. Good luck whatever you decide.
 
What do you do for a living now, Sammie? Are you in paid work that you would have to leave to set up a business? Are you trained for a particular skill?

You have a small child, with all the associated demands on your time and income. You say your cards are on their limits, you can't afford to advertise Alfie, you have the worry about insuring your car, not long ago you were wondering if you were pregnant. It all sounds a bit hectic.

From your posts it's pretty clear you don't take advice readily, and let's face it, you do flare up very easily. To run a yard you need sound knowledge about horses but much, much more besides. Word travels fast and mud sticks, in a service business you need to be able to think before you speak, and construct balanced and articulate arguments!

"right ok seeing as the livery business looks like its not a good idea to you lot even though in a couple of post iv said id take courses etc obviously thats not good enough"

Who do you think would keep a horse at a yard run by someone with your immaturity and lack of experience? Owners just wanting to rent the space for total DIY? That may be fine for one or two stables, but a yard of 20 means dealing with a lot of different personalities, as well as land management, yard maintenance, and managing a budget with huge outgoings. You have an awful lot to learn and only so much could be taught on a college course, not including those essential people skills that you either have - or you don't.

"i deffo know my basics"

For heaven's sake, a few weeks ago you didn't even know what strangles was! That's pretty basic by anyone's definition.

So, the yard is really a non-starter.

Obviously you're an impulsive person, and enthusiastic about projects, which is great if you can channel that energy creatively, but if you don't have the discipline now to stop buying things you don't need and can't afford, for the horse you don't ride and can't keep, perhaps being self-employed at anything might be a bit much?

As your boyfriend already has a business, perhaps restoring and selling trailers as a sideline to that is a more reasonable option, as presumably he already has liability insurances in place for the vehicles he repairs, an accountant handling his business rates, VAT and so on. And if he already has a good reputation locally it should help. You'd certainly need professional advice on what insurance you need to protect against any comeback if a vehicle was sold to someone who found some reason to sue you.

Lots to think about. Good luck.
 
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