There’s no doubt that effective pricing and getting paid are critical to your success. While there is no easy answer, no quick fix or any single solution, there are numerous things you can do to adapt to the current troublesome economic conditions.

Even though the current economic downturn affects each person differently, your income is tied to each client’s ability and willingness to pay for your services. This is why it’s important to take a close look at numerous suggestions made by other farriers for effectively dealing with the current economic times.

More than 125 farriers participating in an exclusive American Farriers Journal e-mail survey recently shared many thoughts and ideas that were sorted into 70 categories. Besides the numerous ideas in this article, additional ones appear in other articles in this issue, some will be offered in future issues and still more will be posted on the AFJ Web site at www.americanfarriers.com.

Bad Time To Raise Prices

The consensus of some respondents is that 2009 is not the best time to be thinking about raising hoof-care prices. As an example, a New Hampshire farrier who planned to boost prices by only $5 this spring decided the small increase wasn’t worth possibly losing customers. With increasing material costs, he’s become more resourceful at controlling his footcare business costs.

When a New York farrier raised prices, he made sure that all of his clients understood that it’s done only when needed to cover costs.

A California farrier has held prices at…