How to find the budget to attend one of our courses….
So you would like to spend the day updating your knowledge with one of our vets. You know it would be interesting and helpful but you don’t feel like you can afford it right now.
Rather than think “I can’t afford it” think “How could I make it affordable”
With that in mind here is a list of eight ideas to help you raise the funds to join one of our workshops
1. Get in early
If you are on our mailing list you we do send out special early bird tickets and we do offer discount codes to use as well. If you aren’t on our list you can join here http://eepurl.com/gnqF4v
2. Deposit tickets split the cost
I do totally understand that horses can be a drain on your bank balance, so we can offer an option to split the cost, with your purchasing a deposit ticket and then paying the balance before the course itself. We do only offer a limited number of these deposit tickets per event.
3. Host a sale or a clinic
If you want to invest in your own learning could you run a horsey car boot sale, or host a clinic at your yard to create the funds that you need? You can create a sales page on Eventbrite or Bookwhen in a few minutes and get an event up and running.
4. Money you aren’t using
Are you paying for direct debits for services that you don’t actually use? (Gym, magazine subscription, Tastecard, amazon prime)
Do you have money sitting in a bank/building society account that you don’t use anymore?
Any of expenditure that you could cut out right now? Maybe swap to DIY livery for a month or two
Have a really good look at your ‘money leaks’ and you might find that you can gather more together than you think
5. Service swap
Chances are many of your horsey friends and contacts have other skills and professions.
Could you muck out for your hairdresser in exchange for a free haircut? Could you help your yard manager with some admin, or social media promotion in return for a discount on your livery bill.
Think creatively about what skills you have, and what you could swap them for. Reducing ‘cash payments’ for lessons, livery, physio treatment by working on a service swap could provide you with some much needed revenue.
One of my very good instructor friends does this, swapping lessons for haircuts, facials and back massages.
6. Hit ebay
Have a good look through your horsey gear, still got that saddle that fitted a horse five years ago that you no longer have? Do you really need six show jackets? Most of us horsey people do like plenty of ‘gear’, anything that you can pop on Ebay and turn into cash?
7. Skip a lesson or a show
Chances are as a horse rider you probably have lessons and go to competitions. These are great fun, and a brilliant experience with your horse. However these come at a price.
You are probably paying £25-50 per lesson (depending on your trainer and location) and a day eventing starts at £100… before you’ve filled up the lorry. If you missed a few lesson, or skipped one competition you’ve got the budget for the course.
8. Get someone else to pay for it
If you are employed within the equine industry this course will make very useful CPD, you should be able to claim the cost of the workshop back from your employer, or offset it against your business if you are self-employed.
How ever you find the budget I really hope that you can attend one of our courses. If you’re not quite sure what to expect on a course you might enjoy reading this article https://www.nkcequestrian.com/what-is-it-actually-like-to-attend-one-of-our-courses/