#29 Making Your Equestrian Entrepreneurship Dreams a Reality with Christa Myers

This transcript was created by AI and has not been proofread

[SPEAKER 1]Welcome to the Equestrian Connection podcast from wehorse, the online riding Academy. My name is Danielle Kroll, and I’m your host. On this week’s episode, we’re talking with Krista Myers, the woman behind the Equestrian Bookkeeper and the Equestrian Entrepreneur. Krista grew up as most of us horse-loving kids do, which is filling their days with barn time, but not fully living out their dreams due to financial limitations. In 2020, Krista began to build out the idea of combining her love for horses, her passion for continuous improvement, and her knowledge of business and financial operations to create her own business, which launched January 1st, 2021. Through this, she realized that what is common sense to her in business and finances was not necessarily common sense to everyone else. Now, Chris’s days are filled with helping equestrian entrepreneurs build businesses that are profitable, stable, and fuel their passion. We’re going to be chatting about all things equestrian entrepreneurship, funding the horse girl dream, squashing money myths, and so much more. You’re going to want to take notes. Krista, I’m so excited that you’re here on the podcast with us today. And I feel like what we’re about to discuss is such a needed topic in the equestrian community because we do have a lot of money mindset issues. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or you’re a horse person working a full-time job, there’s so many money mindset issues that come into play. And we’re going to talk specifically for the entrepreneurs here. I’m just I’m really excited that you’re here. Welcome to the podcast. I’m so excited to dive in.

[SPEAKER 2]Thank you very much for having me. I love having these conversations around horses and money and business, because truly, we don’t talk about it enough. And I’m someone who believes that talking about it is going to encourage that conversation and take away a little bit of that shame when we do have those conversations.

[SPEAKER 1]Absolutely, like money is such a taboo subject, and it shouldn’t be, right? Because if we see somebody that’s like doing really well, I want to know, like, how are you making money? Because like, I want to, I want to also, you know, follow in that or something. And I feel like there’s, like you said, a lot of shame involved. And we, we need to be sharing the wealth of knowledge that’s out there so that we can at the end of the day, not to be, you know, honey, but then share the wealth. So let’s start at the very beginning. How did you get into horses and what were your first few years like as an equestrian?

[SPEAKER 2]Oh, this is a great question. My parents shipped me off to horse camp. That was my first piece of ponies was, you know, can’t get the heck out of the house for a week. We’re sending you away. And unfortunately for them, the pony bug got clamped on and did not let go. And so my parents Money never came easy. It was there. We never did necessarily struggle for a lot, but we had to live a life where we had to get creative on how we did things. So my first year into horses was so many trips to the bookstore for horse books, watching them online or on the TV, but not really doing much with them at that time. And then I did horse camp again. And after that, my grandma brought me to the local barn and she put me in front of the barn manager is like, Hi, here’s my granddaughter. She loves horses. How can we get her in the barn helping you? Whatever. And that is where I learned we might not have the money to afford the horse dream I saw growing up. But if I was willing to put in the work, I could spend time with horses and learn from them and as well as from the experts in the barn. And that definitely really shaped my relationship with money, but also with horses. I knew I could get to my dreams as long as I was hustling my butt off for them. And so that is what I did. Every single step throughout my horse journey, I have worked for part of my lessons or just surrounded myself by experts. So that was my introduction into horses.

[SPEAKER 1]I love that. I love the scrappy family vibes and I think it’s because I resonate with it so much too. I also very similarly, my mom took on a new position at work in order to help, you know, with some of the horse bills. We cleaned stalls at the barn that I had my horse at. My dad used to haul jumps for shows and he used to drag the rings. Like, we went all out in order for for me to to be able to do it because, you know, extra money for horses just isn’t always there for families. And I’m so grateful for that experience. But I also feel as though it did ingrain a little bit of that belief of, you know, we having money for horses is hard. You know, and so I do feel as though as much as it’s like, oh, yeah, it’s so great to work for it. You do also still have the belief that, you know, we really need to find all these hustles and life never slows down and all of that. And so I I love that we’re now going into a different way of looking at things. And so when was the moment that you realized that equestrian entrepreneurs need help with managing their finances? Do you wish you could have a better partnership with your horse but aren’t sure where to start? Do you want to advance your riding or horsemanship but don’t have access to the ideal resources in your area? Does the idea of learning about horse training whenever and wherever and at a price that won’t break your horse bank sound appealing to you? Check out WeHorse.com to access over 175 online courses with top trainers from around the world. We have courses on everything from dressage to groundwork to show jumping to bodywork. And as a member, you get access to everything in our WeHorse library to watch whenever you want. Oh, and we also have an app, which means you can download a course or video to watch without Wi-Fi, which is perfect for those days at the program when you want a quick dose of training inspiration before your ride. So what are you waiting for? Go to wehorse.com and check out our free seven day trial to access our WeHorse library and see if it’s a good fit for you. We can’t wait to see you in there. And now back to the episode. Yes.

[SPEAKER 2]Um, so with this, I, I think I realized this multiple times in my life. Obviously, the most recent is what led to the business. But being a barn rat, and always being in the barn helping out on that side of things, led to overhearing or being a part of conversation where the hardship was, you know, not hidden as much.

[SPEAKER 1]And

[SPEAKER 2]whether that was helping out with coaching or bringing in different revenues for the barn at that time. I was doing this in my teenage years and before I was even graduating high school or university. And, you know, the conversations that happen in the barn, you’re like, oh, they’re struggling. They’re not having a good time, but they sure ain’t going to ask for help and they’re never going to admit it. So that is when I realized like, yes, we love this industry and we love what we do, but the way we manage our businesses do not support equestrian entrepreneurs. It actually just puts a heavy weight on them. And so the big piece with equestrian entrepreneur is changing how we handle businesses so that they do help find help with their finances. Very recently, well, I guess not that recently, When I launched in 2021, I just said, hi, I’m offering bookkeeping and business analysis consulting. Do you need help? Reach on out to me. I wasn’t even in horses at that point because I had lost a teammate to colic. I went through a show season that burnt me out. And I also had some very traumatic areas pop up in my personal life. And I was trying to burn the chapter of horses down. But what happened was 90% of the people who reached out were from my past life, from the horses. And I had no desire to get back into the horses at that point, but I wanted to help the people who raised me and built me because the true camaraderie within the industry is really what can bring us together. And so when they started reaching out for help, I knew they needed help because equestrians, entrepreneurs put them together. They do not want to ask for help, especially around money. And since then, I have worked with over 200 equestrian entrepreneurs in that time.

[SPEAKER 1]OK, I love this. I love that. Like. your passion was like, no, I’m sorry, like, I’m gonna be in your life. Too bad. You’re so right that there is such a stigma in the equestrian industry that you need to have money, that you need to come from money, that you can’t let anybody see that you’re struggling, or, you know, that you can’t, you have to pretend, right? And for there to be a service specifically for equestrians I think is so helpful and the way that you have been reducing the stigma. If anybody follows Krista on Instagram, whether it’s Equestrian Entrepreneur or Equestrian Bookkeeper, you give so much good advice to help to reduce the stigma and I think it’s so important. And so as you were like, wow, okay, all of a sudden all these horse people are the ones like, what made you think Okay, so now I’m going to make this a specific niche of equestrian entrepreneurs, you know, because obviously you weren’t going to get away from it, although horses were there.

[SPEAKER 2]Yes. Honestly, when. When you walk down so many boring aisles that I did when I started my business, it’s really damn hard to ignore that pull. and I was just yanked back into the passion and the industry and it came from doing. My very good friend graduated from chiropractic school and then went and did echoing chiropractic course to offer that. And while we worked together in retail at Greenhawk as a teenager, I said, hey, when you’re done, I’ll help you build your business up. And sure enough, when she graduated, she reached out. And this was the year prior to me launching. I worked with her on her business growing that. And that’s when I was like, OK, I can help them because I’ve done it in ways.

[SPEAKER 1]Yeah, absolutely. So let’s talk about some of the common pitfalls that equestrian entrepreneurs should be aware of. What is it that you see some of the mistakes that equestrian entrepreneurs are making in their business? Or maybe what are some of the things that they can do to prevent them from happening in the first place?

[SPEAKER 2]Yes, I was actually at the tech store picking out more first aid supplies the other day. The worker there was asking me, Oh, you know, what do you do for your business? And I told them and they asked, well, what is the most common area that equestrian and entrepreneurs overspend in? Because they thought the common pain point was spending money. And what I see is that the common pain point is making money. So pricing your offers to actually be profitable as opposed to pulling a number out of your horse’s rear end and hoping it works. And what I’ve seen time and time again is that it does not work. And if you’re trying to race to the bottom of the barrel of pricing, because the barn down the street charges $5 less, you’re doing nothing but discrediting your offer and your value as well as what your client is willing to learn from you or how they see your value from their side. So pricing right from the get go is one piece that it can absolutely suggest you spend time in and you base it off of what you need to make in your business to be profitable, the results that you give to your clients from your service or product, as well as making sure you have a really strong financial foundation. So we’re not waiting a year into the business to do our bookkeeping. We’re doing it before we even start. So you can see these numbers the first 3 months of your business and decide hide what needs to change as opposed to guessing. Data is not just for the data nerds. Data is available for you as very simple ways to see what is bringing in money. Is it the training? Is it the consulting? Is it the boarding? We need to know these so that we can then go and make you more profitable. It’s yes, courses are expensive. we know that. And yes, it is hard to afford the sport and it is very elusive in terms, but we also need to make sure we’re not funding other people’s dreams on our business. Our business’s purpose is to make money. And by doing so, we’re allowed to make an impact in the industry and help them. But you can’t help if you don’t have money in your own pockets.

[SPEAKER 1]You’re so right. I had heard a quote a while ago. And it was referencing that, you know, whatever, like, for example, the horse industry, or the fitness industry, or something that is helping people. Sometimes it can be scary to price because you think, oh, but you know, I want to help them. It’s fine. Yeah, just, you know, come on over and, you know, we can go through it. But if you’re not making money, you’re not able to continue to help more people. So it kind of is one. It was a big wake up call for me, realizing that if I am leaving money on the table, so to speak, and not pricing myself accordingly, then I’m going to get burnt out, I’m going to get resentful, and I’m not going to be able to take on all of the people that I can help because I don’t have the resources. So it was just like a moment that is so important to price accordingly. And now when you spoke about figuring out, I don’t remember the words you use, like we’ll say like how much money you want to make, I think it was something like that. How would you talk about going about that? Would you say reverse engineer it, start with an end goal in mind, and then figure out, OK, if I want to make this much money this year, then I need to have this many clients priced at this much money. How would you recommend somebody go about choosing their pricing?

[SPEAKER 2]I think this answer differs when we get specific, so I’m going to go a little broad. So if you, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in, if we know what we’re going to end up making, what we need to make at the year, then yes, absolutely reverse engineer it. I will say, you know, if you were to reverse engineer today, three months down the road, look at your plan and your strategy again and make sure that it’s still aligned. Perhaps, you know, pieces have changed. Perhaps we also made so much money that we were unexpected that that goalpost needs to be moved further down the line. But, you know, working backwards, what do you need personally to keep yourself going? What does your horse need? And add some fluff onto that because horses. And then what does your business need? So business operations, your fixed and your variable expenses. So your office expenses, as well as your insurance and your contracts and your branding. All of those pieces need to come into play so that we can determine how much you have indirect goods, so your cost of goods sold, as well as your operating expenses to make up that operating budget of the business. And then you would just follow that through with your horse as well as with your personal side of things to get a good idea on what your budget would be. And then we would make sure we create profit through the pricing to go above and beyond that. Because It is my job as a bookkeeper and business mentor to protect your dreams from bankruptcy and from burnout. And the way we do that is to make sure your pricing and your boundaries protect that.

[SPEAKER 1]love that and you had mentioned mentorship so that is something that you offer correct that when you say like quarterly to to look at okay what’s your your goals um that’s something that you help people as well with so it’s not just bookkeeping it’s also looking at okay so what are your profit goals let’s look at your business and you kind of go over all of the stuff that let’s be honest many of us don’t want to go over, you know, like, it’s so nice to have somebody that can ask the hard questions that, you know, sometimes as entrepreneurs, we kind of just glaze over and say, it’s fine, or I’ll get around to that, you know, because you got other pressing things you need to worry about.

[SPEAKER 2]Yeah, absolutely. I I created the program called CECO Mentorship, and it came from a Pinterest board where it says, you know, be the CEO your parents want you to be or be the CEO your parents want you to marry. And so from that, I just added the EC in because as equestrians, that is what we do. And so I offer monthly as well as quarterly CECO mentorship. And in that, we go over your bookkeeping, but we also discuss business development. So I went to school during the pandemic for business analysis. So how do we identify those inefficiencies and bottlenecks, but also make sure that the processes and systems in your business support your business to make money? Yes, the bookkeeping will tell us what is going on in your business money wise, but then we can streamline it through the business development mentorship side of things. And it lets me use my whole brain as opposed to putting numbers in categories and running reports.

[SPEAKER 1]And I bet it’s more like fulfilling as well. Like it’s probably quite a fulfilling side of the business too. I know I like analytical stuff, but then I also, I love like big picture things. So it’s nice to have that balance. So you have done some collaborations with other businesses and you’ve done some really neat things, some big workshops and events. I know you’ve got other things coming down the pipeline. Can we talk a little bit about the importance for equestrian entrepreneurs to network and to build collaborations you know i think we’re gone are the days of the idea of competition you know so now it’s more a collaboration like we’re done with that whole like whatever competitive side of things and now it’s like horse girl collaboration. Let’s talk a little bit about networking, what you’ve done, what you recommend, and also how to get started with that. Like that’s a huge topic. So let’s chat about that.

[SPEAKER 2]All right, we’re going to start this off with not too long ago, I would identify as an introvert and even put the shy label on me when I was still going through school. It was very common for my voice to shake as I spoke. And so the networking side of things definitely took a leap of confidence. And so my best advice when it comes to like, you know, how do I do that as an introvert or as a shy person is to put yourself aside. a business owner, you’re going to have to get really comfortable with being uncomfortable. And so whether I am showing up at a convention, networking event, whichever I or I’m recording a silly reel for social media, whatever it is, I look at it as this is what’s going to help me move forward in my business. And yes, I might look silly to some people. I might look a little weird showing up alone. but very soon and very quickly, I can start conversations with other Western entrepreneurs that create relationships within business, but also outside of it. I’ve had some really great collaborative projects in my two years, but I’ve also had some really not great collaborations that taught me what is involved in a good versus a maybe not so good collaboration. And so online, you guys would be able to see that just recently, I went down to Wellington, Florida and held a workshop event. in collaboration with Tara from Farm and Fur Co and Taylor from Gold Horse Media. And we helped 10 equestrian entrepreneurs on the finance, branding and content creation side of things. It was a really powerful weekend that really launched those equestrian entrepreneurs into a season of excitement for their business, but also direction. I’ve also collaborated with some bigger names in the industry And what I have learned is it’s not necessarily the size of the business that you’re collaborating with, but the integrity and the alignment with the collaborative members. And so when it comes to who you are collaborating with, always bring your own plate to the table. I had some Followers, colleagues reach out and ask for collaborations, but then they kind of let you decide how you want to collaborate or think you’ll give them idea. So bring your own plate to the table. Make sure who you’re eating with you want to be eating with. If your herd is trying to change pieces about you, find a different one. They should be supportive of your collaboration together, but also of your individual initiatives. But yes, that is a little bit in and about my collaboration so far. It has been big pieces of growth from a profit side, but also as an awareness side.

[SPEAKER 1]Absolutely. Yeah, I think that’s great advice for everybody. I love the analogy of the bring the plate, bring your plate to the table, but then also make sure that you’re going to eat at the right table. I think that’s such good advice. And so we kind of talked a little bit about the things that like the mistakes that people are making or entrepreneurs are making within like their finances and their business. But what are some of the ways that like maybe people can do things right. And I’m trying to think of the right word to weigh the word that that like some some ways that you see businesses getting things right that others can learn from and and not copy, but put their own spin on it to also, you know, maximize their financial profit.

[SPEAKER 2]Okay, there’s gonna be a couple pieces to this. I’m seen done really well is I’m going to speak specific a little bit in here is I have a growing amount of boarding barns, riders and trainers that are doing things pretty good, where we are seeing six figures on the revenue side of things, but also the profit side of things. which is incredible. And I am going to put that out there that this didn’t happen overnight for them. They did go through some struggling. However, they didn’t suffer. They didn’t stay in their struggling. They took their lessons and learned from them. And so on that side of things is making sure you’re charging for everything that goes on in the barn. You know, obviously you’re bored in itself. but any of the extra grain supplements. And if you can do an extra piece you can do with supplements and grain and all those pieces, find someone that will wholesale it to you so that what you are said or what you are pricing to your client is covering some margin for you to obviously go and get that grain or supplements, but also for you to do the manual work to get that to the horse’s stall. Same thing can be for chiropractors and body workers, making sure that nothing passes through your barn or your business without a margin on that. And yes, we want to always do our best to make it accessible to our clients, but again, not funding that dream. If you have a horse and you’re competing and pieces on that, you’re aware of how expensive it is and it shouldn’t be expected from the barn owners to carry that but beyond that is stabilizing your income a little bit because as a coach or a trainer you will or really anything you’ll see seasonal changes where winter’s a little quieter spring and summer are insane and then fall you’re still trying to recuperate from burnout because of all the craziness of show season but how can we stabilize your income is that going to be online coaching which some of my clients are giving a try on so that they can coach before their lessons in the morning to someone across the country in a different time zone. There is a plethora of educational products coming out this year but also if we have a beautiful facility in Fortis’ Can we offer brand sponsorships or content that way? But the sole piece is nothing should be coming through your business without a profit margin. So that is one thing I’ve seen done really well. But beyond that is equestrian businesses who figure out what they’re really good at. Perhaps it’s helping other equestrian entrepreneurs make money. And then they layer this out so that they build upon their profits. How I have myself set up is where I advise my clients to put their own twist in their own terms. So I have reoccurring clients every month that pay me to do their bookkeeping service, that they can go enjoy their time in the barn, but also focus on what makes them money. And of course, not during the bookkeeping. And then above and beyond that, I will have catch up projects. I will have my mentorship and one-off consults And then any collaborations above that so that you are staggering your income as opposed to just doing one piece. What is important in that when we are staggering our income and building upon it is that we don’t make it too confusing for our audience. I always offer something with a financial focus, how to make money in your business, how to handle money better in your business or in your personal life. all of my clients, I asked them to get really clear on what they enjoy, what they’re really good at, and what they would like to continue being good at. Because we want you to offer pieces that you enjoy and not just make money. My creative clients are a really good example of this, where if you are a photographer, for instance, you might be saying yes to a whole bunch of clients. But when you get really busy, you’ll realize Hi, most of these clients I don’t get excited about working with. They’re just paying my bills. So getting really specific on who and what you do in your business is one way to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table, because by catering to everyone, you are leaving money on the table.

[SPEAKER 1]Yeah, you’re right. Absolutely right. And in terms of you kind of mentioned like taxes and stuff like that. So we’re right in tax season. And for somebody that’s like not into their taxes, I hate this time of year. What do you recommend for taxes?

[SPEAKER 2]Yeah, good question.

[SPEAKER 1]Do them.

[SPEAKER 2]Despite your procrastination, it’s not optional. But beyond that is going to be don’t leave it to last second. And if you are going to leave it to last second, make sure you set aside a specific time frame for you to literally sit down and give that focus. More than likely, if you are waiting till tax season to do your taxes, you are going to have a larger bill There will probably be some errors in there and the stress that sits on your shoulders at night, we don’t want. So quick tips on this would to be make sure we gather all of your documents and put it into a spreadsheet. So Equestrian Entrepreneurs website actually has a downloadable for $65 that will walk you through how to do your taxes step by step. and maybe not do your taxes, but prepare your taxes for filing so that you aren’t wasting your time when you’re already racing the deadline. And so making sure that you are writing off as much as you can, but that they aren’t raising red flags. So if you are a brand developer and you are writing off your horse that isn’t a business asset within your incorporation, The number one question I’ve had this year is how do I write off my horse? And I think that comes from equestrian entrepreneur purchasing, Misty, but that this is a statement you want to hold on to when it comes to wondering if it is a business expense. I am incurring this expense with the intent to generate more revenue. And we want to be honest about this with ourselves and obviously with the government, that if what we’re purchasing isn’t truly a business expense, don’t claim it. That $50, $100, whichever is not worth the headache if and when you get the knock on the door from CRA. One initiative the government is doing to get money back in their pocket is putting an increase in audits for the next three years. And so, yes, a little scary. But two, if we are really purchasing our expenses with that statement in mind, we can be very conscious of what we are writing. Clothes are the biggest one. So if you are a coach, rider, that side of things where you need clothing to be in the barn, You’re going to always make sure you come from it as a safety and biosecurity side of things, as opposed to advertising or uniforms. So that is a really nice piece. But yeah, when it comes to taxes, don’t procrastinate. Set time aside and gather all of your documents. So your bank statements and your credit card statements. There’s a good chance if you’ve ignored your taxes all year, you probably don’t have the receipts to prove it either.

<p>[SPEAKER 1]And so</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]at that point, just go based off of your your bank statements. And if you have those receipts, that is an extra bonus.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]And now what about like the paying out for your taxes at the end of the year? Like how can rather than being hit with a Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I have to suddenly pay out this amount of money. How can like what are your ways for recommending that people are prepared for that throughout the year?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Yeah, if you’re not doing your bookkeeping monthly, to see what your profit is and putting away 25 to 30% of that, at minimum, run a calculator before the end of the calendar year, so before December 31st. And you can use taxtips.com. That is a really good calculator. It’s free. and pretty simple to use. And you’ll plug in what you’ve made, what you spent, any of the credits that are available to you as well. You’ll get a good estimate. And so then you’ll have from January up until the end of April to save up for your taxes if you haven’t. But my best advice when it comes to putting money aside is doing your bookkeeping monthly. running a profit and loss and seeing what is at that bottom line. Whatever that bottom line number is, if it’s in a positive, you’re going to put 25 to 30% of that into a savings account. Right now, if you’re in Canada, you know about the interest rates. And so right now would be a good time to also make a little bit of money on the money we have to put aside to the government. So you can put it into a high interest savings account with a credit union if you want even better rates. And from there, you make a little money so that when you do pull it out to give it to the government, you have a bonus to at least wipe your tears with.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Such good advice. I love the way you ended that too. OK, so speaking of technology, you mentioned the tech tips or the tech tips. Look at me. And what are some other like technology? Oh, my gosh. Technology, technological resources that you think would be good, you know, for a question entrepreneurs for managing their finances and then just their overall business. Like, do you have any sort of tech recommendations or resources?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Yeah, so I’m going to run you through some of the softwares I use in my business. First off will be QuickBooks Online for your bookkeeping, as well as your payment processor. So QuickBooks is your one-stop shop for accounting. They advertise as easy to use. I will put a note that it is easy to use once you’ve learned how to use it.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Good disclaimer.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]There is a little bit of a headache there. If you need help, I totally offer support on the setup and training side of things. But beyond QuickBooks, because that is something I talk about a lot, I use HoneyBook in my business. And I don’t use it for the invoicing side of things because QuickBooks does that for me. But I do use it for my client journey and tracking my inquiries because My inbox is dedicated to my clients and my honey books is dedicated to my new onboarding clients. And so someone submits an inquiry through the website. I can set up workflows to reply to them, to send off brochures, contracts, all of those pieces. So that allows me to keep my client journey in one spot and my internal accounting and another with books. I also use slow desk when it comes to email marketing. And that is something right now I don’t have to handle because Taylor from Goldforce does our social media. But that is something that made email marketing easy for me when I was doing it. Yes, I went to university with some IT classes, but I still had an argument with my two computers trying to get the mouse to work between each other. But I also use Google for pretty much everything. It is what I meet my clients with. I have my calendar in there that speaks to my honey book. And just making sure that these systems integrate as well. I host my website on ShowIt and then also make sure that I have my Shopify integrated with that as well. I have downloads, but Equestrian Entrepreneur will also be launching our apparel line, finally, very shortly. So when you have a business, it’s very easy to have a ton of online softwares. Canva is another one I use in there. But that is also important with all of these that we’re auditing them quarterly, yearly, whatever frequency we want. So we know that the softwares we’re using are being utilized for their strengths, but that we’re also not being redundant. So I was using Calendly in that array of softwares for a while as well. But HoneyBook offers scheduling, so I could cut an expense there. But yeah, those would be the softwares that I would recommend to equestrian entrepreneurs with a heavy emphasis on QuickBooks Online because we live through a pandemic. We don’t need to live through spreadsheets and sporadic systems anymore. Put the time into learning it or put the money into having someone teach you. Either way, I would definitely suggest some kind of support when it comes to setting up your QuickBooks online so you don’t mess up your books when you’re trying to help your books.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]I hope people are taking notes, and if not, rewind this and get out your pen and paper, because those were some really, really good resources. I’ve used a couple of them. I’m mentally jotting down, and I’m going to have to go back and re-listen to this, too, to grab some of those. So thank you for that. So first of all, I also want to say congratulations on growing. You mentioned your upcoming apparel line. So congratulations. That’s super exciting. And let’s talk a second about growth. Because that can also be like a very scary subject in business is the idea of spending money. you know, to make money. So, for example, apparel line, like, that’s an investment. You have to invest in the suppliers and the materials and et cetera, et cetera. The marketing, the branding, all of those different things you mentioned, you know, outsourcing your social media to Gold Horse Media, that’s an expense. That’s scary, but it requires, it’s a required expense in order to grow, because if not, like, you’re just spending all day on social media. Another thing is I know you are in the process of growing a team or have already grown a team. And so again, that’s an expense that you’ve got to then pay these people. And so let’s talk a second about the idea of business growth, overcoming the mental hurdles in order to grow, and then the concept of spending money to make money.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Yes, okay. We’re going to start with that very last piece first is the whole spending money to make money. Most of the time when I hear my clients say that is because they’re trying to justify the purchase they know they shouldn’t be making. So yes, business absolutely requires money to make money. But that doesn’t include literally like taking thousands of dollars out of your pocket and just throwing it into different pieces. I am wholeheartedly in support of bootstrapping a little bit. And that is what I’ve done in my business and being risk calculated. Um, I was having a conversation about, you know, risk and version the other day. Um, and I am an overthinker sometimes. And so how I help that is by taking calculated steps. Um, and so for the first two years of business, it was me, myself and I, um, and trust me, one of those three should have been fired.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]I love that.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]When it comes to growth, how I always had to look at it, even when I was thinking of quitting my job and going full-time, is how it affects my clients. When I was full-time, the decision was to continue corporate and hustle on the side, but then my clients don’t get 100% of me. And that is what happened when I was wanting to outsource even to Taylor from Goldforce Media. is I spend a good or I did spend a good amount of time on social media. I still spend some time on it because I like to be active on my stories and still have that connection with my audience and my lovely followers and clients and even friends. And so what I again had to look at was how much time am I putting into that and how much would I make if I was doing what I’m good at, you know, on on a common day people pay me $350 to have a training for 90 minutes. That is a good chunk that I can put into social media that you know Taylor can go and be an absolute badass at over there and do better than I was because I was compartmentalizing myself and that is how I had to look at it Um, and also if I’m suggesting a question for entrepreneurs to come and get help for their bookkeeping, because it’s not something they’re great at, then I need to take my own advice when it comes to social media. And then when it came to team members, I have people I had to start saying no to projects. I had to start turning down, but also things that were taking a back burner, like the apparel line or the, um, event, uh, networking event I’m doing in June locally. Those are things I absolutely want to do because they have such an impact on the industry and bring people into these conversations for transformation. And I am someone with big goals and I like to see big changes by what I put in. And so if I want to see the industry shift by the time I’m in the ground, it’s going to take more than just me to have this ripple effect and there’s brilliant equestrians out there that have experience in bookkeeping or accounting or money that I want them to be part of my team. I want equestrian entrepreneur to be the one-stop shop for money in the equestrian industry. And so I can’t be a master all here. And so bringing on team members, me, my clients get a better service from myself. It means I can help more clients, but it also means I can step back as the business owner and focus on different pieces to grow my equestrian entrepreneur empire. But also when my mare cuts herself again outside for the third time in a week, I can go and play nurse because my team members are keeping the bookkeeping going. Taylor is keeping the social media side of going, and I’m sure hoping someone will be handling the clothes by fall.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]So</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]I am someone who did not come from money. And so I don’t have a plan B. I don’t have a backup. I am my plan B. And so with the clothing line, even this is a section of growth. It is a new-ish offer. I’ve sold my crew necks in the past, but in very small pieces. So now I’m going to do a order for 50. I’m not going to do an order for a hundred or thousands because I don’t know my market size yet. And from my market research, I’ve determined that number is safe, but also enough of a opportunity to make money at that amount. And so that’s my decision there. And so when it comes to the mindset side of things, I have to sit with the discomfort. Today, I was in the shower going, Oh, there’s some emotions happening right now that feel a little heavy. And so I’m going to acknowledge them and wash them away because those heavy emotions are definitely areas to be aware in. But that awareness doesn’t need to keep me stuck in my now. It doesn’t need to keep me from pursuing my dreams of new products and areas. And also that heavy emotions can be ways to walk through this. So I had to sit there and talk to myself a little bit and be like, hi, you know, we’re going to make X amount of dollars off of this. It is a great marketing aspect as well, because everyone will be walking around in super cool hoodies with the branding on that. And so when it comes to growth, yes, it’ll take money to make money. But one thing I would suggest in that is making sure your business first made that money to do it. So when I started up, I didn’t have a logo until I was nearly full time. And that was my OG Krista Meyers with the horseshoe in it. And I paid a friend less than $200 for it because I made it up in Canada and they made it real. But just being bootstrappy about it because you don’t need the fancy and the flashy to make money. You need integrity and value to bring in clients. And that is how we build up a brand that is dreamy and aligned and brings in those clients that want to pay those prices. And it also preserves me from burnout.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]I love that. It’s like staying in your zone of genius. Absolutely love that. And now, what are your thoughts on doing like a service swap? So let’s say somebody says, I love this. I agree with her 100%. but I’m just not quite there financially. Like I want to hire out to do my social media, but I’m not quite there financially or whatever it may be. What is your perspective or your thoughts on service swaps? Like swapping, let’s say you’re a trainer and you want to get your horse massaged. And so you say, hey, I’ll train your horse if you massage my horse, something like that. Yeah, absolutely.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]There is nothing wrong with that. It’s something I have done in the past. That is actually how Tara from Farm and Fur and I met. I reached out to her. I had a really horrible website experience the first time around. And I said, one day I’m going to work with you because you are my dream website designer. And that was also a very uncomfortable conversation, just putting it out there to her. And from that initial conversation, we worked together to do a little bit of a service swap. And I offered my business mentorship as well as bookkeeping in exchange for some of the website. And that also led into a beautiful friendship and relationship that has multiple collaborations and a lot of opportunity from. So that is always good. One piece I will absolutely suggest when it comes to swapping is making sure you are doing equal value, that you both feel that you are getting something out of it, but that there’s also boundaries in it. So out of that, and we should have also heard, get a contract in place. between the lines, that is what we want. We want a legal contract, not just a Dr. Google in place.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Yeah, and it’s like, it’s that hard conversation of like, I trust you, I like you, but we still need to have a contract signed. Like, it’s just, it’s one of those things where rather than make it personal, just make it routine. Oh, I love that. That’s one of my zingers, I’m just kidding. I want to go back to one of the things that you had mentioned about, you kind of touched a little bit on mental health side of things and you referenced like when you’re in the shower, the things come up and they always come up in those moments. Money myths and like the mental blocks around, I don’t even want to say money myths, the mental blocks that we have around making money and the worthiness of making money and the worthiness of success or the fear of failure and in some cases the fear of success are like real issues. And I do also feel that it’s a big issue within the equestrian community as well because We take things personally, whether it’s with other equestrians or whether it’s with our horses. There’s a lot of personal involved that doesn’t necessarily need to be, but is. And so what is your advice around getting out of those money blocks or getting out of those mental spirals of, I’m not worthy of making this money that I want to make?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]um my go-to tip is to get into your body and out of your mind um and so I got out of the the shower I got dressed I went for a truck ride to the coffee shop where I sat and did some work um in my business as well as on in it for a little bit And so getting out of my mind because I am a chronic overthinker is really important to me. And not just, you know, shutting the floodgates and ignoring them, but saying, hi, you know, this voice inside my head that’s being a little bit of a bully right now. We’re not going to have it. We’ll talk again when you’re back to being the cheerleader for me. And also, yeah, that movement side of things, it comes from that lived experience because We often tell ourselves we can’t make X amount of money or we can’t do this. We’re not worthy of that until we do it. And that is when we go, okay, we’ve done it. We can do it again. But when it comes to feeling worthy in forces of making money, I hear it every day where clients are saying, I can’t raise my prices or I couldn’t do that. What they really truly need to be saying is I won’t raise my prices. I’m not worthy of that because they feel that I literally had a client that we walked through her data. And she wanted to know how to cut or what to raise. And at the end of it, went into the super lack mindset side of things for a moment and went, I can’t raise my prices and I can’t cut any of those expenses.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Okay.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]But you could get creative on how to change our expenses or you can increase your prices. You just have to shift your mindset away from all of your clients are going to walk away because I increased my prices by $50. You have to remember, we’re talking about equestrians here. The same people who walk into a tax store and buy three different colored breeches for like $800 and walk out without blinking. So it’s not just a mindset shift from the entire industry.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]We</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]I’m not saying don’t buy all the pretty breeches, but the priority of what needs our money. Can we afford to pay our trainers, our coaches, our body workers, our farriers, our vets more and not buy a new pair of breeches or saddle pad each month type thing? And I know we’re not all out here just yanking money out of our pockets to go to saddle pads, but I also have seen it, so I know it exists.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]So, yes. Absolutely. You’re preaching to the choir. I’m somebody that, like, I don’t think I’ve gotten a new pair of breeches in God knows how long because I have a really bad habit of wiping my hands on my pants. It’s a bad habit, and so I refuse to go buy a bunch of new breeches that I know I’m going to get dirty. So you’ll just see me recycling the same ones over and over again. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that I’m saving money. I’m just, I quote unquote, reinvesting it. into other things like supplements. So, yeah. It’s a vicious cycle. So we’ve been talking a lot about like current entrepreneurs. So people that currently have businesses, how they can improve. But what about the people that aren’t yet entrepreneurs or are budding entrepreneurs and have an idea, have a dream and want to get started but have no idea where to start? What is your advice there from like a building business and financial side of things? All right.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]I love this question because one day and maybe this day sooner than I think, I truly want equestrians to think about entrepreneurship, not as a less than option to school or a career. Um, and so if we are thinking about creating a business out of our passion, out of our skills, our education, our knowledge, whichever most important piece of advice I can give you there. And I’ll give you tangible pieces after this.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Sure.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]You are not taking outside for voices into consideration when it comes to shifting you away from your dream.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Okay, we got to pause on that for a second. Let’s repeat that for the people in the back and say it a little bit louder. What was that again?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]All right, so we are not going to be going to outside voices and allowing them to shift our dream or plans. It is important.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, keep going.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]That is something I have to tell myself pretty often as well. We can ask for opinions or we can ask for someone to listen to our ideas. But we can also say, hi, I need you to listen at this moment. I don’t need a soundboard. I don’t need advice. Lay those boundaries. But beyond that is making a plan to make money. You cannot just get into business and, you know, make money out of thin air. before you dive into business. And I say before, because I have seen entrepreneurs think about money after they have started their quote unquote business. And so if we are wanting to get into a certain area, you want to go and let’s do bodywork. Okay. And you know, let’s choose a modality. Maybe we’re going to be a cranial sacral, maybe a massage maybe a saddle fitter. There are so many different avenues here. How are you going to make money? Are we going to be offering services? Are we going to be offering online educational pieces? What about in-person clinics? We’re allowed to do that now. And actually making a plan. Test it out with your local market. Is that going to be your friends? Is that going to be strangers on the internet? All of these pieces and making sure we’re comparing them to what’s in our market. But we’re doing this comparison from a side of awareness, not because we are putting ourselves in their lane. We are in our own lane. We make our own terms for business. And so we can be aware of what’s going on so that we can take pieces of ideas so that we are bringing our own ideas to life. But also know that you don’t have to go to school to make big money. you don’t have to go and have a big girl career outside of horses in order to afford horses. You can make money in or with horses as much as you would in your career, if not more. I went from struggling paycheck to paycheck. Four years ago, I was making less than $20 an hour, and then I was making a little bit more, and then I ended up at around $27 before I left. $27 won’t get me out of the barn now. And so also determining what is going to be your get out of the barn fee, how much money does needs to be coming in to get you out of the barn. But don’t put a box in yourself. Boxes are for moving pieces, not for holding humans. And that is, I love that.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]It’s like a quotable. Boxes are for moving pieces, not for holding humans. I absolutely, you should put that on one of your shirts. I absolutely love that.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]You’re just gonna have a room of quotes. The industry is shifting. Probably not, maybe not noticeably enough to everyone else, but I do see it day to day. And there is a need for good equestrian entrepreneurs, bring something to the table that solves a pain point. I was just saying that separating with your money literally is equivalent to physical pain. And so what you’re offering in exchange for that money needs to be of more value, needs to erase that pain and go for it. But also don’t expect it to change overnight. My business has seen incredible growth, consistent growth, but that has been consistent work. It has been consistent growth. I have had to evolve so much as a human. I am still the me. I am probably more me than I’ve ever been, but there have been a lot of shadow work and a lot of embracing the woo and opening the boxes I had compartmentalized and very well taped up because there cannot be pieces of you ignored while growing your business. Your business will shine a spotlight on every single area you struggle with or you’re trying to hide away from. So you’re in a question. You’re going to be very comfortable with being uncomfortable.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Oh, I love that. Oh, I’m just OK. We’re wrapping this episode up beautifully. I love, love, love the advice and the tips and the nuggets and everything that you’ve been giving. It’s just four final questions that I have to ask, Krista, and they’re the we horse questions that we ask every podcast guest. The first one is, do you have a motto or a favorite saying?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]You do, and it is Locke isn’t found, it’s created.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Who has been the most influential person in your equestrian journey?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]I don’t think this is going to be the answer we think it will be, but it’s my horses. Every teammate I’ve had has taught me a lesson as well as being my biggest supporters.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]I resonate with that so much. I completely agree. My horse is my yoga teacher. She’s the one that’s my meditation instructor. All of those things. I absolutely agree. My greatest teachers are my horses. I love that answer. If you could give equestrians one piece of advice, what would it be?</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Oh, that horses are expensive and there’s no way around that. But you can change your management and your mindset surrounding money to help support that dream and afford the reality.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]And the final one is please complete this sentence for me. Horses are.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Horses are home. I spent a few years trying to convince myself that I hated horses. or that I wasn’t any good at it, but home has never been four walls. It has been four hooves in a heartbeat.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Making me cry at the end of this. I love that. Is there anything else that you wanted to add for our listeners? And then also tell us where to find you. We’ll put it all in the show notes, of course, but all of the places that people can connect with you.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]Anything I’d also love you guys to take away is that I have conversations around money often and if you’re on my Instagram, I talk about the revenue goals that we hit. And that’s because I want to create transparency in the industry. Go and make your dream the reality on your own terms. We are shifting and there is so much opportunity in the industry to create profit as well as impact in there. And where you can find us is going to be Instagram, Equestrian Entrepreneur, as well as our website, equestrianentrepreneur.ca.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Awesome. I’ll link those in the show notes. Thank you so much for such an insightful episode for all of our listeners and for myself as well. I took so much away from this and I know other people are, too. So thank you so much, Krista. I really appreciate it. Thank you.</p><p>[SPEAKER 2]It’s been an honor to have this conversation with you.</p><p>[SPEAKER 1]Thank you for listening to this episode of the Equestrian Connection podcast by wehorse. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to us if you could leave us a rating and review, as well as share us on social media. You can find us on Instagram at wehorse underscore USA, and check out our free seven-day trial on wehorse.com, where you can access over 175 courses with top trainers from around the world in a variety of topics and disciplines. Until next time, be kind to yourself, your horses, and others.</p>