Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Gail Carruthers, owner of Skye Blue Acres, located in Puslinch, Ontario, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Using horses in client sessions working on Anxiety, PTSD, and Grief.
Tell us about yourself
I started out with one horse while living in the city and working with clients on a range of personal issues. The business was growing, so I suggested to my very urban family that we sell our house and uproot our very urban lifestyle to move to a farm. So that is what we did! Myself, my husband and three kids moved to a 23-acre heritage farm outside of a new city. We now own six horses and board ten more. The business now focuses on Grief, but that encompasses Anxiety and PTSD, in which grief is usually an underlying factor. Grief is a very misunderstood emotion, and really it is an umbrella emotion, meaning it is not just one feeling, but several all wound up at the same time. We focus on the research of grief as well as helping clients unravel their own biases and misconceptions of what grief is and how those beliefs impede their ability to process the experience.
Additionally, I write about how grief is not just associated with bereavement, the death of a loved one, but also with divorce, family estrangements, loss of a job or career, loss of health, the loss of anything significant in our lives. Our western culture is not equipped with the language or patience for effectively processing grief. We still very much hold the "just get on with life" attitude surrounding grief without appreciating that the quality of life moving forward is severely affected when grief is ignored.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say sticking to my own direction in this business. Meaning, I am often advised that I "should" offer different programs. Ones that other people feel are in demand, but these other programs, are of no interest to me. It would only be about making money. I had a vision of the type of clients I wanted to work with, and it has taken longer to build my business in my chosen niche, but it's that niche that continues to motivate me every day. Your biggest accomplishment as a business owner should be accomplishing your own vision.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As a business owner, you have to be able to run the business as well as execute the products or services. The backend of the business, the accounting, the taxes, the client contact systems, learning new software, is all part of the game. There are just never enough hours in a day!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Stick to what you love, and grow that niche!
- Grow an email list instead of a social media following.
- Don't wait for everything to be perfect; just start and adjust as you go and grow.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If possible, take your idea as a side business to start before quitting a job. Starting a business is like a renovation; it always takes longer and costs more than you realize!
Where can people find you and your business?
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
