How to Budget for a Riding Stable
One of the most important aspects of starting and keeping your own business is establishing a budget and maintaining the finances. This holds true for running a horseback riding stable. There are many financial aspects to consider when running a stable and the key to success is keeping a solid budget.
Items needed:
- Calculator
- Pencil
- Paper
- Financial records and expenses
Instructions:
- Determine your overall budget, which is the amount that you will be able to afford in expenses every month. Be sure to account some extra money for emergencies or unexpected costs. The biggest considerations will be size and type of facility as well as upkeep, including all buildings and fencing.
- List and keep track of all your regular expenses. This will include monthly payments, such as property rates, utility bills, water, feed, hay, maintenance and insurance. Also include cost of paying employees every month as well as the regular cost to care for the horses in the stable. This should determine the total operating costs for your stable.
- List and keep track all of your regular income sources. This will include lesson payments, boarding fees, training fees and other things like birthday parties or trail rides if your stable offers those. This should determine your stable's monthly income figure.
- Subtract the amount from Step 3 (expenses) from Step 4 (income). Hopefully, the income amount is greater than your expenses, and you are left with a profit at the end of every month. If this is the case, you can focus on maintaining your budget by keeping to the same figures every month, or improving the profits by following any of the tips in Step 5.
- Adjust your budget if your expenses exceed your income every month. There are two ways to do this: increase your income or cut back on your monthly expenses. Ideally, you may want to do both. Examine your monthly expenses and see if you can decrease costs by cutting something, such as conserving your water or energy consumption or finding less costly suppliers for your feed and hay. You can try increasing your income by charging a bit more for lessons or boarding or developing new programs and services to generate more monthly income.