After over 20 years working with horses, Jenni Bush turned her attention to the world of business mentoring, where she’s found some surprising similarities between nurturing your business and caring for horses.
“For years I worked with a charity to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds using horses. It was so therapeutic for them, and was a massive part of my life. I feel passionately that horses have something that can benefit all of us. We can learn so much from them”.
Jenni left her role working with disadvantaged children in 2018 and spent 3 years as an administration manager at Hemps Green Equestrian. She also spent this time launching various businesses of her own which she feels allowed her to “hone the necessary skills” to run her own successful business mentoring startup.
Jenni explains that, despite seeming wildly different, running your own business is very similar to looking after horses – a similarity that became the ethos of her business mentorship programme. Jenni condenses these similarities into 3 main pieces of advice she gives to a number of clients.
Get on the Right Diagonal
When trotting on a horse, riders need to match their rhythms and get on the right diagonal to keep balanced. Jenni explains that sometimes, we feel unbalanced in our business but we keep going on this incorrect diagonal until we topple over. As soon as you feel this imbalance, you should have a structured plan to get yourself back on course – whether that’s taking a step back or being more flexible in your expectations, you should always know how to correct yourself.
Don’t be Afraid to let go of the Reins
Sometimes you might be holding onto the reins too tight and the horse is going to fight against you. A lot of the time that fight is internal with business owners – telling themselves they should be doing more and trying to keep every little thing under control. In reality, “letting go of the reins” a little bit and ceding control can help you reconnect with your business and figure out your next step.
You Don’t Need to Herd Every Horse
If you try to herd every horse, you’ll likely be stampeded. You often need to target one, and the rest will follow. Jenni explains that small business owners often feel as if they need to appeal to everybody and lose sense of what their business is about in the process. It’s about finding your target audience and sticking to it. Once you’ve “herded” them, more will follow.
