Don't Look Back

Spilled Coffee

I grumbled as I sponged up the pool of slopped morning coffee on the countertop.  There are only two coffee drinkers in the household and this coffee drinker didn't leave the mess.

The guilty party is our 19 year old son, a seasoned barista at Starbucks who gets excellent reviews by supervisors. You'd think he'd bring his good work habits home with him.  But, he often leaves them at the store wadded up with his dirty green apron. 

Spilled coffee in front of the coffee maker on the home kitchen counter gets ignored or overlooked.  Certainly that habit would be strong grounds for concern in the Starbucks world. 

But, good employee skills and behavior often applies only to the work venue and doesn't travel well to other situations.  The same is true for good work habits and practices from home that don't get applied to the work place.

Habits of how we act and react are location specific.  Church, school, office, factory floor, bar, barn are all different venues with different perceived rules and tolerable behaviors.  A universal connection is often absent or hampered with static.

In your employee training curriculum, is there opportunity to instill the idea for thinking and application of good work habits, good business practice and appropriate manners everywhere, all the time? 

A defined set of standards, starting with work habits, makes for a happier person and as a bonus, happier people around that person.

How does a slower economy affect the equine industry?

Some thoughts about the changes in the US and World Economies and effects on the Equine Industry.

1. Not everyone is laid off or has been fired from their jobs. Most people are still working. Money is being spent on board, lessons, training, horses.
2. Sales, however, will require more effort than in easier times.  Order taking only sales plans will not yield enought revenue.  Strong selling skills will be of great benefit to those who have them.  If you don't know enough about basic salesmanship, read a book, take a course, consult with a master salesperson.
3. Horse businesses without a good marketing program will have to work quickly to restablish contact with existing customers and to cultivate prospect lists.
4. A low cost or gift horse is not a good deal for you if you have no immediate use.  "Project horses" are usually very expensive when time, feed, vet and farrier are considered. Why take a long term project horse when there are so many reasonably finished horses filling the market at a discount today?
5. Groom your business for the win. A positive attitude costs no dollars and yields major results.
6. Don't look back on what you should have done six months ago.  Deal with Now and the future.