We’ve seen large companies downsize, trim the fat and pass the costs along to the customer in order to stay ahead in a sagging economy as the costs of business begin to affect the bottom line.

As farriers, when the costs of doing business affect our profit margin, there are few things we can do to maintain our income. We can’t downsize the workforce — because most of us are the workforce. We also have little control over the cost of shoeing supplies. Like larger corporations, as good businessmen and businesswomen, we must pass along the price increases to our clients to maintain our profitability.

The Office On Wheels

The ever-increasing price of gasoline and the amounts needed to fuel large trucks pulling large trailers forces us to pass the rising cost of fuel on to our clients, presenting them with the burden of paying fuel surcharges while we try just to maintain — not increase — our bottom line.

Over the past 20 years as a working farrier, my “office” has been a Ford F150, a Chevy Silverado, three Jeep Wranglers pulling three different trailers all increasing in size, a Ford SportTrak, pulling a 6-by-10-foot cargo trailer and finally my favorite office of all, my 2005…