The shoeing box used by David Nicholls has a top tray for his laptop, another reason for the choice of this 12-inch Dell laptop computer.

While I’m a member of a seven-member farrier practice in southern England, my farriery business has two parts:

• General farriery work, both on the road and attending to client’s equine friends at our own facility.
• Vet and farrier referrals at vet clinics, equine hospitals or at our facility.

Due to the hands-on work, rural setting and the tradition of farriery, I was able to stay away from the hassle and regulation that is normal with most small businesses for much of my 44 years as a farrier.

For many years, my out-of-date business practices relied on a handwritten diary and handwritten invoices. I was fearful of keeping records on a computer and somehow losing the data.

Records Totally Gone

While in a hurry one day, I left my diary (full of names, addresses and future appointments) on the roof of my truck and drove off. Despite extensive efforts to find it, my diary was never seen again.

Having spent considerable time collecting all the information again (and looking like an idiot to most clients), I finally had most of the data recorded in another diary. Plus, I wrote it all down a second time to safeguard the data.

David Nicholls found more meticulous recordkeeping resulted in increased client loyalty. With the availability of plenty of data on each horse, clients recognize his professionalism, see the…