If your job involved sitting behind a desk all day, it’s a fairly easy exercise to prepare for retirement. Planning for the conclusion of your farrier career is another matter.

“You can never plan with any certainty how long your career is going to be,” Welsh farrier Grant Moon tells American Farriers Journal in a recent podcast. “I was exposed to people who have inspired me to think about exit strategies. I could see there was a benefit to having a business that generated income when you weren’t the main source of work.”

After weighing his options, the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Famer bought his first hotel in 2004 “to have something alongside my farrier career so I have a good continuation plan if something happens.”

Owning a hotel isn’t for everyone, but you can find an opportunity that meshes with you and your situation by doing some research.

“Look around at small businesses that might be for sale in your area or a service that people require,” Moon suggests. “It can be a dry cleaners or coffee shop. It doesn’t have to be anything glamorous. It doesn’t have to replace the income you have. It can be inside the horse industry or outside…