ok ok i know i have to wait but .............

H

Holly27

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 July 2007
Messages
442
Location
suffolk
Visit site
OK so opened yard 3 wks ago
offering .........

full and part livery

full is 80 a week
and includes the following:
hay
Straw
Morning feed
Turn out
Skip out
Muck out
Change water
Fetch in
Grooming
Evening Hay & feed
Late night check
Tack clean (one a week)
Exercise(3-4 times a week

part livery 60 a week and as above for 5 days and they do the weekend , plus no exercise or tack clean

is this to much money ?? as Ive had a few people come and they think it is compared to other yards , but the thing is Ive just spent 30 grand building loddon boxes flood lite menage, tack and feed room ect grazing you name it

so what do i do ?
everyone tells me to chill and give it time .... as people like to move in the spring?
Ive had so many people phone and want assisted diy
what do you think i should do ?
any help would be great .....
its early days i know
also Ive started hiring out school got about 9 people a week starting from 2 weeks from 2day ....all booked

il end up buying loads for myself at this rate !
ive got ten boxes but only want to take on 4 livery's till next year as i want to wait for my 20 acers to establish , ive got 8 other acers at mo

so dillema i need to start making some wonga !!!!
and around here in suffolk prices vary alott

if you got this far you deserve a medal
te he
 
Have you thought of throwing some sort of party/open day - putting invites up at all the local tack shops etc.

People are nosey they will come to have a look around if you invite them!
 
Are you advertising? Make sure you are on all the online directories eg world of horses etc for livery yards. Do you have a website? (we do websites btw
wink.gif
) put ads up in all the tack shops, advertise in the local freebie mags.

An open day is a good idea - let people come up and have a look. Also, you could get some leaflets and pass them round at competitions in the area.
 
What demand is there for FUl and Part Livery?

Are you in commuterland where there is a need for part,
or do most want DIY or Assisted DIY?
 
No this isn't too much money at all, if i were setting up a livery yard i would proberbly charge more than you have!!!

the problem is that people don't want to pay anything, people expect to get something for nothing, as though they are entitled to it for some reason (i draw your attention to the letter of the week in last weeks h&h "carlburg don't do livery yards"). Other yards may be cheeper than you are, but they often wont have as good facilities etc, in this life you get what you pay for, and nothing more.
hold out there, fortuanatly there are some people who are prepared to pay to get what they want! advertise and make your self known in every possible way, most ppl proberly don't know about you yet...
 
I think your rates sound great - and agree with SSM about having an open day etc.

Do you have any liveries yet - because the best advertising is happy liveries? But obviously that's a chicken and egg situation....

Good luck. Where are you based?
 
i think the prices are good but i agree people want all the top facilities for grass livery prices. i had a lease on yard last year and struggled to get anything but diy with £1 a day xtra for turnout and then they wanted fly spray, masks, rugs , sun tan cream etc. it was hard and i had a job (35hrs a week) it is dishearting but give it a bit longer,
 
What you are charging is really good for what you are offering, well it certainly would be in my area. I think that you probably need to do some more advertising & get your yard known about. You'll find it's always slow to start with & then it will suddenly pick up & plenty will come & view.

Don't alter your prices, they are about right, otherwise you'll be working for nothing. You will always get moaners saying they can get this or get that sort of livery for less money. If that happens then let those people go & find a cheaper livery. Stick with it & you'll get the clients you want & they will gladly pay what you are asking...Good Luck
smile.gif


Actually for what you are offering at full livery with tack clean & exercising x4 you are offering it at a great price.....too cheaply in my view!
shocked.gif
 
The yard sounds lovely and reasonably priced. These days people seem to want as many hours turn out as possible, unrestricted use of the arena and access to off road hacking. My friend has had trouble filling her yard despite the excellent facilities as she only offers 3 hours of turnout a day and the only hacking is along a busy A-road. She does offer unlimited hayledge or hay and is very flexible (about swapping days etc to fit in with clients) which the liveries she has have commented on.
 
sounds cheap in my view! also is DIY that bad, could you make money - i am on DIY at a full livery yard as i make a commitment to use their services... diy is 160 a month and 5 day full is 336 (no tack or exercise) but i have to buy hay / shavings from there and they put my horse out every morning so my bill is normally 300 a month as she likes her hay! i have had to do this before to get into a yard - have to commit to having my horse done once a week (at £15 a day). It sounds lovely - just try and get the right sort of clientele and you will be fine.
 
I used to be on DIY - but most of the time it was assisted - because of turnout/bring in costs etc if I requested it. So my average weekly bill through the winter would be around £60.

So I still think it's a very good price.
 
this sounds really good to me, I pay £369 a month for full livery mon-fri and part at weekends, this doesn't include tack cleaning or any exercise. Are you flexible for example with the 5 day full can your part livery be on any days - I have to work Sats so a flexible arrangement would suit me. My priorities would be; plenty of turnout; large stable; secure tack room, good hacking and a good sized non-flooding scholl!

Where are you based?
 
I don't think either options your offering are to much. I paid £80 per week for full livery in Staffordshire when one of my horses needed to go into livery. I bought him berfore stable was ready at home. But i was lead to belive livery costs are a lot higher down south!!

Trouble is if you offer a DIY it will take longer to get your money back or even break even depending on your sources of income. But look at it this way at least some money for DIY would be coming in,if you really can't get full or part livery's. DIY could be your last option if all else fails.

Push yourself to Advertise every where & see what happens then make a decision, but don't leave it till your absolutly desperate though to make your decisions.

Good luck, sounds like a lovely place.
smile.gif
 
Ring round other yards in the area and find out what the competition offers.
Yards tend to be empty one day and running a waiting list the next ! (also vice versa !).
Good luck !
 
That sounds comparable to the yards in my area, whereabouts are you?

I know a yard offering similar which is now full but it took a while for word of mouth to get round.

Might be worth offering a different part livery option with mornings duties only done, that would be what I'd want but not many places offer it although the place i have lessons have almost all of their liveries on that kind of arrangement.

Other thing is a lot of people want to do all the riding themselves so why not offer a no exercise option at a reduced rate too? It would save you loads of time too.

Katt
 
shocked.gif
How much........think you are good value, we paid £75 for full livery (5 days only) 4 years ago and that certainly did not include grooming never mind exercise and it is the going rate up here !!! It's been said already, often people don't want to spend the money (or can't) as it obviously adds up, but if you work out the daily costs, you soon realise that its actually pretty good value. for the people running yards don't know how some make a living from this
 
thanks guys il keep advertising ... ive handed out leaflets aswell
so il have to wait for word to spread ....mean while im going to buy me a project to get on with .. watch this space
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top