Where is Horse Business headed for 2011?
I had the chance to view this video, popped in my in-box from Equestrian Professional.com just before Christmas.
Equestrian Professional.com provides horse business education, resources and support to horse professionals around the globe. The site offers a wide array of programs, tools and information to help horse trainers, riding instructors, breeders, stable operators and professional riders run more profitable businesses and build successful equestrian careers.
On December 13th 2010 the group hosted Rethinking the Horse Business 2010. This seminar covered essential information for horse professionals about how the economy and the internet affected the horse business in 2010 and provided insight about where the industry is headed for 2011.
First, speaker Elisabeth McMillan of Equestrian Professional.com shared information from equestrian associations, horse show managers, popular equine websites, and from the hundreds of horse trainers and stables that participated in Equestrian Professional’s horse business survey. This information provided listeners with a broad view of the current global economy, a sampling of equestrian customer trends, and an eye-opening look at specific economic indicators from directly inside horse businesses.
As McMillan related, “Clearly, the state of each country’s economy and the horse businesses that operate in them varies greatly. However, in the United States, horse professionals (who participated in the survey) reported that 2010 was the most difficult year for their businesses with 2009 coming in a close second. In addition, the vast majority of horse professionals reported an increase in clients but a decrease in profits. This unique and troubling issue was further examined during the seminar and additional information was presented as several probable causes were revealed.”
Customer trends were also discussed and listeners got McMillan\’s take on the “inside skinny” on several interesting shifts in the equestrian marketplace.
McMillan also discussed how the internet is providing many new marketing opportunities and the effect this is having on both the horse industry as a whole and for horse professionals such as trainers, breeders, instructors and stable operators. This section included information about how the internet is creating new trends in the horse business. These trends are creating new horse business models and increased profit potential for horse professionals.
Finally, tips for maximizing the opportunities of the internet and reducing the negative effects of the economy for a more successful 2011 were shared. This was followed by a Q&A and a special members session – “Essential Marketing Strategies for 2011 – Hot Tips for Horse Professionals.”
Both seminars were recorded and I asked Equestrian Professional.com to provide me with the link to share with y\’all, which they kindly did. View it here at http://www.equestrianprofessional.com/public/863.cfm
It runs about 56 minutes – have a look when you have an hour to spare and let me know what you think.
Happy New Year Everyone!
