Dreaming Of Launching An Equine Business But Don’t Know Where To Start? (Part 1 of 2)
- Mane Street Market
- Mar 21
- 6 min read
Have you ever thought about creating a business or a product and absolutely knew your idea would work, but just didn’t know where to start?
That’s exactly where I was in 2019 and how Mane Street Market was born. I was horse shopping and super frustrated with messaging sellers through social media, hoping they would see my message in a timely manner and praying for a response. Such an antiquated way to horse shop – hard to keep track of which horses I had looked at and who I had contacted. It was close to impossible for me to share the horses I found with my trainer because of social media privacy issues and inability to share information with someone not active on social.
As my horse shopping journey continued, I found a horse that on paper was exactly what I was looking for, and at the time I was living in Atlanta and the horse was in Ocala. I drove 5 hours to go try the horse before asking my trainer to spend her valuable time going to look. I arrived at the farm and was so excited to have finally found the “perfect” horse, but as soon as I sat on him, I knew it was not a good fit. I was incredibly disheartened, knowing that I was pressing the restart button after months of failed attempts at finding my perfect pony. I pulled over to grab something to eat and was sitting in the parking lot thinking that if I were searching for a house, I could pull up an app and find all the houses in the area with all the necessary information including contact info. I would be able to see houses that very day or could have scheduled viewings in the area prior to my trip. As I sat in the parking lot for a minute, a lightbulb went off, and I decided right then I was going to create this app/website. I knew nothing about technology, where to start, or who to talk to about creating an app from scratch. I Googled “How to create an app” from my phone while I was in the car and found a book called “App Empire” and downloaded the audible version. I listened to the entire book on the way back to Atlanta, and by the time I got home, I was so inspired and excited about this idea. I shared with my husband what I wanted to do and being the most amazing husband ever – he said, “Let’s make it happen!”
So now you have your brilliant idea – what’s next?
1. Start writing: Put everything on paper (or computer) write down everything you can think of that will bring your idea to life. Do not worry about being perfect, just start writing. The first step is defining the problem you want to solve and what you want your idea for your business, product, or service to do in order to solve that problem.
For example:
I wrote down everything: how I wanted the app/website to work, what I wanted it to do, how it would serve the equestrian community, how it would benefit buyers and sellers, how it would change old habits and streamline the buying and selling process. I sketched ideas of how it would look, I sketched pictures of logos, name ideas, anything that popped in my head, and I wrote it down. I drew it out on copy paper and laid it out on our ping pong table. This exercise is greatly beneficial to help you down the path of launching your idea into reality. Keep writing things down when they pop in your head as your journey continues. I used to keep post-notes in the car and jotted down ideas as I thought of them and then transferred those ideas to the business notebook. Your ideas will evolve as you continue towards creation – all notes/ideas are valuable – even if you think that something might sound silly or unattainable – write it down! 4 years in, I still write constantly as the business is always evolving, and my goal is to constantly make improvements based on our customer experience and growth plans.
2. Make a list (lots of lists): Transfer your ideas and start creating your to-do lists, your lists will guide your steps and give you a true sense of accomplishment while you are navigating the great unknown. I created categories within my lists – things like: “Right Now”, “Future Plans”, “People who can help us”, “Websites/books/podcasts for inspiration”. Your lists can be anything that helps you start to organize your thoughts/ideas and that will help you take action. Once the lists were created, I started to break them down– putting my name next to things that I would take on and my husband’s name on the things he would take on. Action is the hardest part of creating a business from scratch – your lists will guide you.
3. Take action: Honestly, this is the scariest part, but once you take that first step, it gets so much easier. Your lists will guide you – do your best to take the emotion out and just start crossing things off your list. Let this thought take over when you are hesitant to take that first step – you are an equestrian – you are brave, and you can do hard things! Remember that every successful business started with an idea, and they took the chance to take action. One of my favorite podcasts is called “How I Built This” with Guy Raz. He interviews business owners and goes deep into how they created it, what their learning curves were, the ups and downs and their best tips for success. I listen to this podcast constantly – it gives me great inspiration and also validates most of the feelings that I’ve had during the process of building my business. It’s a great reminder that every business starts with 0 clients, 0 followers, and 0 income! If others can do it, you can do it too!
Things to remember when you are creating a business, product or service from scratch:
*There are no mistakes – only learning curves.
*Ask for help – you will be incredibly surprised at how many people will offer their wisdom and experience if you ask nicely.
*Create an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) before you share your idea with anyone outside of your family. Do not hesitate to ask people to sign it.
*The only opinions that matter are from the people who are stepping up to finance your company or paying your bills.
*Stay hyper focused on the problem your business is going to solve. As you start to share your idea with people – you will hear a lot of “You should….” If it does not help solve the basic problem – don’t do it or put it on the “Future Plans” list.
*Search for businesses that might be similar to your idea – what would you do differently? What would you do better? Do not be discouraged if there are other businesses out there with a similar theme. If you can do it better – do it.
*Belief in yourself and your business is vital through the ups and downs of your journey. That belief will carry you through the tough days.
*You are an equestrian. You can do hard things. You are brave. You are strong.
Next month I will discuss what to do one you have created your product, business or service, how to launch it and ideas to create and start your marketing plan. Stay tuned!
India Wilkinson
Owner/Creator of Mane Street Market
India is a lifelong horse owner/competitor and has decades of experience in the marketing/sales industry, with the last 15 years specifically in the equestrian marketing arena. India offers her expertise in helping sellers market their sales horses and buyers find their new equine partner through Mane Street Market. Her vision is to match up buyers and sellers on a premium online platform.
Please visit www.manestreetmarket.com and/or download the free Mane Street Market app to see our available sales horses. Be sure and reach out to India at support@manestreetmarket.com if you have questions about marketing your sales horse or equine service.
This article is from the March issue of Equine Business Magazine
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