If you have moved or were to move to a new location, how would you go about establishing your new practice?
Would you begin working on this prior to your arrival?
I would call local vets, shoeing supply stores and boarding facilities, as well as local feed stores to introduce myself, then follow up with a personal visit when I moved.
—Jim Goedde
I've been advertising ahead of time; I already have horses scheduled ahead of my arrival.
—Travis
I started advertising ahead of time and making one week/month trips to my new location, before I moved. My advertising consisted of: listing on craigslist.com and newhorse.com. I think that some farriers are afraid to use these websites because they think that they will get bad clients, bad horses, bad conditions from them. I have found great success using these. The trick is to keep your prices average to high for the area. That keeps the riff raff away. In my area, they have county 4-H tack swaps in the late winter. I set up a booth, along with my wife's jewelry booth, advertising my farrier business and making money by selling hoof picks and other horse shoe decor. Definately talk to the vets and be ready to prove you know something. I have always had a CDL(commercial driver's license). I always encourage "good" drivers to have this as you can always find a job driving truck. When I moved, I picked up some driving hauling grain for the local farmers. Farmers know horse people. If you are worried about insurance while you are rebuilding your business, see if you have a UPS center nearby. Most are always hiring guys to pack the trucks at night. It is usually 3 hours a night/five days a week. But, at least several years ago, their insurance was great. Be willing to travel. Once your book is full you can condense your shoeing area.
—Nathaniel Crumley
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