Keeping Your Equine Business a Vibrant Part of Rural America

Kathy Anderson, PhD, University of NebraskaChris Skelly, PhD, Michigan State University

NC Equine Business Overview

• North Central Region Horse IndustryOver 1 million horses 162,000 horse farms Over 70% of horse owners live in rural

communities of 50,000 or less• Breeding, training, boarding, etc

Spectator events – Urban settings• Race, show, etc

The EBN Conference

• Partnership of 4 Universities• Targeted to NCR, nationwide application• Simultaneous conferences, 4 locations

Interactive webinarVarious business related topics

• Equine Business Network Facebook page• Equine Business Blog• Equine Business web page (eXtension)

Purpose

• Enhance rural equine businessesProfitabilitySustainability

• Develop organized business management resourcesEquine Business owners & employees

Purpose

• Increase equine business knowledgeExploring employment opportunitiesHorse industry business development

• Enhance efficiency• Increased revenue• Expand industry

What we did

Collaborators

• Michigan State University• University of Nebraska• Iowa State University• University of Minnesota

Equine Business Conference

• Hosted concurrently• One live speaker each

location + 3 webcast Liability/Legal issues Marketing Insurance Accounting/Business structure

• Pre-Conference webcast Promotional 6 weeks prior to conference

Equine Business Conference

Live conference

• Conducted February, 2012• Total attendance – 130

MI – 50 MN – 40 IA – 20 NE – 20

Archived webcast viewed

• November 2012 56 views

Equine Business Network December, 2012 Over 600 fans

What we did

Equine Business Conference Affordable program Archived webcasts available

• My Horse University Round table discussions Program Evaluation

• Post- program• 6 month post-program

impact survey

Online Social Network Equine Business Network

• Facebook page• Launched November, 2011

Horsebiz Blog• Launched September, 2012

eXtension Resource Area• HorseQuest• Launched November, 2012

• Road blocks Coordination Technology challenges Clientele challenges

Benefitting the Management of Horse Operations

Topic Percent of attendees agreed or strongly agreed

Equine law 95%

Promotion, marketing, advertising 91%

Equine insurance 74%

Taxes and finance 68%

•95% -68% of the conference participants agreed or strongly agreed the information obtained from each topic would benefit the management of their horse operation, with Equine law being the most beneficial

an=117

Making Changes in their business

Topic Percent of attendees agreed or strongly agreed

Equine law 95%

Promotion, marketing, advertising 81%

Equine Insurance 53%

Taxes and finance 51%

•All participants indicated they would make at least one change in their horse operations following the conference •Nearly all (95%) would make changes related to legal issues

an=117

What Changes are the making?Topic Changes

Equine law Documentation needed Wording and use of releases Ways to avoid liability

Promotion, marketing, advertising Using social media to promote events and businesses

Equine Insurance Changes in policy on horsesInsurance needs for facility and events

Taxes and finance Ways to lower taxes Setting up a more “protected” business

Move from sole proprietor to LLC Move from “hobby to business”

an=117

Topic Pre-Conference Knowledgeb

Post-Conference Knowledge

Percent Increase in Knowledge

Equine law 2.6 3.9 150%

Equine Insurance 2.6 3.6 138%

Taxes and finance 2.9 3.5 121%

Promotion, marketing, advertising 3.3 4.0 121%

Increasing their knowledge•The pre-conference knowledge of conference attendees was lowest on Equine Law and Insurance with each of those having the greatest gain in knowledge (150% and 138% respectively) following the conference•However, conference participants indicated their greatest post-conference knowledge was in the areas of promotions, marketing and advertising and equine law (4.0 and 3.9).

an=117b1 (very little knowledge) to 5 (very much knowledge)

New InformationTopic What did they learn about?

Equine law Liability lawsContractsReleasesContracts

Promotion, marketing, advertising BrandingTools to try

Use of social media Equine Insurance Coverage for horses

Coverage for events/ activities

Taxes and finance Types of business structuresTax issues

Ways to lower taxes

Number of Views for the Archived Webinars

Title # Views

Structuring Your Horse Business to Succeed in the Future 28

Legal Liability and Contracts11

Promotion, Marketing and Advertising:Tips on Social Media and Low- and No-Cost Promotion

10

Using Insurance to Protect Your Horse, Yourself, and Your Equine Business 7

Expected Changes to Equine Businesses in One Year

Area of change Modify current practice Start this in near future

Improve handling taxes & finances

20%

35%

Implement new marketing strategies

35%

15%

Develop or improve liability waivers and contracts

20%

50%

Purchase or change equine insurance policy

15%

50%

N = 21

One-Three Year Benefits of the Equine Business Conference

Area of change Somewhat to very likely

Decreased liability risk 86%

Improved insurance plan 81%

Improved marketing 70%

Increased profitability 62%

N=21

•60% indicated they would have increased profitability, in part due to their enhanced understanding of how to reduce their risk of liability and improved insurance.

Fan Photos

in Timeline

Photo

EBN Facebook Timeline

Equine Business Network Facebook Insights October 13, 2012

Q/A for Multi-State Conference

EBN Informational Post

EBN Promotion Day/Most Popular Post

EBN Program Promotion

Horsebiz Blog

eXtension EBN Resource Area

eXtension EBN Articles

EBN Archived Webinars

Upcoming EBN 2013 Program

EBN Upcoming 2013 Program