Karyn Greenstreet is an excellent resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs - especially when it comes to creating effective and savvy websites. 

We are excited to have Karyn joining us this month as our special guest for the March Free Telecall. She and Shannon will be hosting the call, "Creating a Small Business Website that Grabs Attention"!

Please read more about Karyn and her company below and you can click here to visit her website. Also, if you'd like to register for the call, you can do so on our calendar page by clicking here and registering in the lower left corner of the screen.

 • * • * • * • 

Karyn Greenstreet is an internet marketing expert and small business coach, and owner of Passion For Business.  She works exclusively with self-employed people to help them grow their business and learn all the necessary business and marketing skills to make them successful.

Karyn has significant experience in starting and running self-employed businesses, having successfully owned five businesses herself, and has 28 years experience in the computer, marketing and internet industries.

Karyn holds a degree in Business Administration and Management. She has postgraduate work in Business Administration and Computer Systems. She is a graduate of CoachU, and attended The School of Small Business Coaching, and The Graduate School of Coaching.

You can visit her website to learn about her coaching services and educational classes:

www.passionforbusiness.com

What causes us to change? Is it positive encouragement? More or better self-esteem? Or is it something like being "sick and tired of being sick and tired"?

Like many of us, when I first found out about Equine Assisted Therapies & Learning modalities, I spent a lot of my time trying to figure out the differences among the "big three" as I called them: EAGALA, EFMHA & EGEA.  I looked to things like how many facilitators were in the arena, what kind of credentials they had, whether riding was a part of or not a part of the experience. While this kind of questioning gave me some broad brush strokes to look at the field and see where I was philisophically & programmatically a "fit", it didn't give me the deeper philosophical answers I was seeking. But I decided to "get in there" and begin practice, so I could see what I felt worked best for clients.

A few years after starting Horse Sense, a mentor of mine asked me the question: "What do you believe causes change?" It was and still is a great question. We can all agree that most of our clients come to us because something in their lives isn't as they would wish it to be, and therefore they are seeking change. Because if change is what they are after, then the question becomes how best to elicit change.

Now a great new resource is available on the topic of change & how to cause and support it: a book called Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, the authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive & Others Die (an excellent book as well!). I had a chance to read the opening chapter of an advanced copy a few weeks ago at Prescott College, and can't wait to read the rest. (Switch is actually being released tomorrow, February 16th).

The book is broken down into three sections: "Motivate the Elephant," "Direct the Rider," and "Shape the Path". Keen readers have already realized how much the language of these sections resembles the language of good horse training, dog training & people training! Seems like they had horses and horse people in mind when they were writing this (aside from the elephant reference!). Here are a few of the key points from the opening chapter:

• Motivate the Elephant: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion (or, Self-control is an exhaustible resource)

• Direct the Rider: What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity (how many times have we seen people read a horse as resistant when the horse just plain doesn't understand?)

• Shape the Path: What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem (is that horse or client just "being difficult," or is he/she in pain?)

Now is a great time for you to answer the question for yourself about what you think best causes and supports change, both in your life and business, and in the lives of your clients and horses. I would love to hear from you about this topic: email me your thoughts at Shannon@HorseSenseOtc.com!

Shannon

Howdy!

I wanted to let everyone know about the February FREE Monthly Telecall with Shannon and special guest Bob Wall. Join us Tuesday, Feb.16th at 7:00pm EST and learn all about how Emotional Intelligence can help your EAP/EAL practice be more successful.

Read more about Bob below and click here to register for the free call!

• • • •

Bob Wall has been a specialist in leadership and team development for more than 30 years. He has ample experience working with both mental health professionals and health care providers and completed all but his dissertation for a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. As a graduate student, he started leading workshops focusing on interpersonal skills development in all forms of health care and human service settings in the Midwest. He also served for three years as a unit psychologist and another three years as the Director of Staff Development and Training for a residential mental health center in the Midwest before moving on to start his consulting career in 1980. 

Bob has also been a certified interpreter of The Simmons EQ Profile for more than 20 years and author of four books. Check out two of them below:

Coaching For Emotional Intelligence:
The secret to developing the star potential in your employees

Working Relationships: Using emotional intelligence to enhance your effectiveness with others

Horse Sense is also excited to be working with Bob this year on a workshop entitled: Horse Sense and Emotional Intelligence: How to Offer Honest Feedback Without Alienating Colleagues and Clients.

Join us for the telecall and learn more about this one day event!!

Click here to register!

Howdy!

In prep for January's Free Monthly Telecall about Goals & Goalsetting, here's some tips from Elizabeth Barbour's Blog. Talk to you tonight!

It seemed a simple enough plan. On Friday, December 18, our last workday before the holiday, we were to have had a graduation ceremony for two youth from our Running with Mustangs curricula, and I was going to hop in the car after to go visit my husband, Richard, who is attending an Externship program at the Parelli Ranch in Florida. He’s been gone since mid-November, so I was very excited!

As many of you also no doubt experienced, a snowstorm hit our area that morning, culminating in over 15 inches of snow, quite unusual for us. Graduation and the trip to Florida were both quickly cancelled due to road conditions. Both myself and Chrissy, the Horse Sense intern living on site, lost power and our ability to use our “gator” to feed by Friday night, and did not regain power until Christmas Day (7 days!!!). Our phones were out for a good portion of the time as well. It was quite a challenging time to be responsible for 15 horses on 90 acres!

Carrying grain & hay to the pastures each day, feeding on foot from pasture to pasture, made for very simple, clear days: the two main activities for us was feeding the horses and stoking the fire. What usually takes 35-40 minutes each day for one person now took 2 people several hours.

It occurred to me at one point that many folks (myself included) have paid to have retreats like this, with no phones, no TV’s, just a fire in the fireplace and a good book or two for days on end!

What remained crystal-clear, both before the storm, during & now after, was that if we managed to get all the horses fed and accounted for, it was a good day. We had a great opportunity to count blessings and be grateful for all we had: healthy horses, plenty of firewood, a pantry of canned food & gravity-fed water.

We are slowly working our way back to normal here at Horse Sense. We have had to cancel clients for this first week due to icy roads on the farm, and are still experiencing some internet challenges, but for the most part all is well. Most importantly, the horses are all happy & healthy, as are we.

Hoping you had a warm, happy and gratitude-filled holiday, and wishing you a wonderful 2010!

Howdy everyone!

Josie here, happy to be providing you with more information about the highly accomplished and sought after, Mark Goldstein. I've included a little bit about him below, and you can click here to visit the Communication Mark website to learn even more about what he and his company are all about.

And be sure to join us for the next telecall - it will be chock full of information!!

Dec 3rd, 2009 7-8pm EST
Make your Mark!
Funding, Fundraising and Grantwriting for 2010
With expert guest, Mark Goldstein

Thursday Dec. 3rd, 7:00 - 8:00 PM EST
Join Us! It's FREE!

Mark Goldstein, CFRE

Mark Goldstein, CFRE, is President and CEO of Communication Mark consulting in Arden, NC. Mr. Goldstein is most sought after as an expert proposal writer and project strategist. He is the creator of the Open Communication Fundraising Model, a system that enables all nonprofit agency stakeholders to effectively work together toward organizational and fundraising goals. Mr. Goldstein has consistently served nonprofits as a staff member, board member or consultant since 1991. He has raised millions for his clients and employers by obtaining grants for organizations of all types, sizes and locales. As a volunteer, he recently played a key role in launching the first public access television station in western NC. He is a 2009-2010 board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Western North Carolina Chapter and recently taught a course on case statements for the Duke University Continuing Studies Nonprofit Management program.

Thursday Dec. 3rd, 7:00 - 8:00 PM EST
Join Us! It's FREE!

Howdy ya'll!

Hope Fall is beautiful wherever you are. I have an exciting group coming up in January I wanted to tell you about.

The Frozen to Focused is a 4 month teleclass/coaching/consulting group for folks who are looking to move their program to the next level (or to just get unstuck!).

In the course of the four months, we meet on the phone one a week for an hour each time, discussing various aspects that every program needs to be successful and sustainable. Topics include:

• Start-up Needs (Insurance, formation, etc)
• Strategic Planning
• Finding your Ideal Client
• Message Development
• Marketing Plans, PR, Advertising
• Websites, Brochures, Newsletters
• Selecting your Ideal Herd
• Grantwriting & Funding

We have special guests each month who are experts in their fields, including Mike Sowinski CPA & CFO, Brenda Dammann (who co-wrote the book with me), who specializes in Marketing, Strategic Planning & Message Development, and Elizabeth Barbour, who knows it all about networking and finding your ideal client.

And of course you'll get MORE THAN YOUR FILL of ME!!! Cool!

In a nutshell, this program combines professional consulting, personal mentoring, inspirational experience, & educational information through powerful (but simple) technology to save you time and money & get you on the road to success.

Click here to visit the information page on the HorseSenseBusiness.com website. It's got all the info you need to join! If that doesn't work, go to Equine Assisted Business Consulting section of HorseSenseBusiness.com website, and click on From Frozen to Focused Masters Group.

There is an application process, and we are accepting applications now for January's group. Download your application by visiting this page!

Look forward to having you there!

Shannon

Shannon@HorseSenseOtc.com

Just one more week until our 2nd Annual Business Building Intensive kicks off! There's lots of stuff to do get ready for this awesome event, but while the crew at Horse Sense is busy preparing, take this moment to read up on another one of our incredible presenters traveling to Asheville to join us next week. Debbie Anderson is the co-founder of Strides to Success and is an expert in EAL programming for schools grades K-12. She'll be teaching a couple of class on Saturday Sept 26th at the Business Building Intensive. Below, you can read about Debbie's background in the field, and you can click here to visit her website.

• • •

Debbie Anderson has been involved professionally in the equine business for over 35 years. After showing hunters and jumpers as a child, she graduated from college and worked as a veterinarian technician for six years. Her interest in working with children directed her into becoming an equitation instructor for a large show facility in Indiana. Six years and several world champions latter, she started working in the therapeutic riding industry. Debbie has served in many aspects of the therapeutic riding industry including Instructor, Board member, Program Director of Resources, and Director of Program Development.

In her career, Debbie has raised over two million dollars by writing grants and managing fund-raising events for therapeutic riding. She was also responsible for the development of the Strides Learning Model and school contracts totaling over $200,000 each year. Debbie is a registered NARHA instructor and has completed her Level I EAGALA training. Today, Debbie serves as the Co-founder and Executive Director at Strides to Success. She has served as a Board member for Sycamore Services, the Indiana Horse Council Foundation and currently serves as an Executive Board member for NARHA (North American Riding for The Handicapped Association).

• • •

For this year's Business Building Intensive, we are honored to have such a expert group of presenters joining us here at Horse Sense. Lynn Moore is the founder and director of Acres for Life, and will be here Friday September 25th, teaching us all about Chemical Dependency programming with EAP. You can read about her experience here in this blog, and click here to visit her website.

••••••

Lynn has a passion for animals and their healing connection to people. She first became aware of this unique bond early in her life and has been working on better understanding and embracing it over the past 30 years. She holds a certificate in Animal Assisted Therapy and is the owner and founder of Acres for Life, Inc.  Acres for Life is dedicated to providing a fun and safe environment where people can grow and learn more about themselves through their interactions with animals and nature.

Lynn also holds a degree in Business Administration and Marketing Communications. She has over 20 years experience combined in client relationship management, creative problem solving, marketing, inter-personal communications, facilitation, organizational development, training and e-business consulting.

Lynn currently is in the process of completing her Equine Assisted Therapy Advanced Certification from the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) located in Lehi, Utah. The mission of EAGALA is to promote, educate, and provide standards of practice, ethics, and safety in the field of Equine Assisted Therapy. She currently holds her Advanced EAGALA Certification. Lynn also holds a Certification in Animal Assisted Therapy through the joint venture of People, Animals, Nature, Inc, and the University of Chicago.

As Horse Sense prepares for its 2nd Annual Business Building Intensive, we wanted to introduce to everyone the expert presenters we have lined up for the event. First on the spotlight is Dr. Tracy Weber, from the Kaleidoscope Learning Circle®. We're thrilled to have her join us this year as she shares her in depth knowledge of Leadership curricula, and how to get them implemented in colleges. Check out her bio, taken from the Kaleidoscope Learning Circle® website. Visit her website to learn about her wonderful program!

••••

Dr. Tracy Weber created Kaleidoscope Learning Circle® as a venue for continuous learning of her two career-oriented passions - horses and helping people discover and re-discover their authentic self. The primary catalyst for creating this company came from her graduate school experiences; one could almost hear the paradigms shift as she participated in the competency-based, learner-centered programs of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Executive Leader Master’s and Andrews’s University’s Leadership program. From her team members in “Microny” to the organizational and human behavior research of her dissertation, each experience shaped the way she views the world and her responsibility to “make the most of herself.”

Tracy’s partnership with horses began in her youth when she groomed, shoveled, and showed Morgan horses on the national circuit with JL’s Ranch.  Throughout her adult life she sought a way of combining her passion for horses, intellectual pursuits, and desire to help people find and follow their dreams. Leading to the creation of Kaleidoscope Learning Circle®.  Like the namesake, Kaleidoscope keeps transforming with every turn, evolving and increasing our mastery and leadership in the fields of personal growth and professional development through the process of partnering with horses.

Click here to contact Tracy!

••••

And tune in next week for a profile on Lynn Moore, from Acres for Life!

The third in our Mini-Workshop series for Equine Interactive Learning is coming up in September. Below is some information we've posted around town and online to generate awareness about professional development with horses. Read more about it below, and join me at the Business Building Intensive Sept 24-26 to learn all about these mini-workshops and the benefits of this series!

Horses as Teachers: Mindfulness & Self-Discovery

Friday, September 4, 1-4pm

Horses are masters at being in the present moment and grounding us in here and now. Come learn how to enhance your intention, power, and focus so that you have the right impact on the world around you. Feel renewed and balanced after spending the afternoon with these amazing teachers.

Offered in collaboration with WriteMind Institute.

Visit our HorseSenseLearning.com website to see how this information is posted on our website!

Happy Trails!

Shannon

The story behind the August Free Monthly Telecall with Dr. Anne Perkins

Well, yesterday was another example of how we may have a plan but must always be willing to adapt in Equine Assisted Practices.

This past month I was asked to be a Graduate Advisor for Prescott College's EAMH & EAL program. (I'm really, really excited about getting back into academia, in some small way, as I miss the environment and the students.) In order to "get oriented" to this school and my role, though, I had to get myself out here to Arizona for the Orientation & Colloquium August 20-23. That entailed me flying out on Wed the 19, the day set aside months ago for our Free Monthly Telecall with Dr. Anne Perkins.

While I made sure I wouldn't be in the air during the call, I could not get from the airport in Phoenix to my hotel in Prescott fast enough to be in my hotel room for the call, which was my goal. At about 20 minutes to the call time (at which point I KNEW I wasn't going to make it to the hotel,) I began looking around for a quiet parking lot for me to host the call on my cell phone. Although I found one, I must say I wasn't looking forward to an hour long call in a car in a parking lot in 100+ degree heat. I began to drive around the small town of Black Canyon City, Arizona.

Suddenly, I spied the joint Visitors Center and Chamber of Commerce for the town in a little shopping area. Thinking it couldn't hurt to ask, I walked in, introduced myself as a business owner in need of a room (a broom closet would do!) to host a telecall for one hour. They graciously gave me a desk and a chair, and I was all set!

So, you never know how your local (or someone else's local) Chamber of Commerce will be of benefit to you. Join your Chamber and get involved!

Happy Trails,

Shanon

Here's the story of how a horse let Sue Hahn, founder of Green Gate Farms know it was time to close doors. Please join me in wishing Sue all the best!

Jennifer (our program manager), Emily (our Australian intern) and I recently went to Mark Lytle’s farm for a Part 1. Mark and StarrLee Heady were the untrainers and I have known them for years. At the start of day two, StarrLee came up to me and asked me if something was wrong. I said I didn’t think so but maybe I was a little tired. 

"All that day a little pony named Twister pestered me at my seat unceasingly. I thought this was a little unusual because I usually have good luck getting a horse to leave me alone if I want. All day he just kept coming back to me, to the point that others were commenting on it too. Every time he came to me I was torn as to whether to pet him or push him away. The more he pestered me, the more I pushed him away. At the end of the day StarrLee again came up top me and asked some probing questions. Then Mark got me, too, and said that something was definitely up because Twister never acted like that. Mark said that Twister is the biggest punk and would have been trying to bite and strike any one else doing the same things to him. Instead he just kept nudging and gently touching me with his foot. I had no idea what was up and it was very disconcerting!!! The next day they didn’t use Twister and I was left to ponder what the heck was going on.

I got home late Saturday night, went to church on Sunday and slept most of the day. Monday morning my husband Mike went out to do his usual farm chores and found Juliet (our big Belgian) down and it looked like she had been up and down all night.  We gave her some banamine and hung out to see what she would do. We got her up and brought her out into the yard where she alternated between eating and dozing. Mike and I fixed a section of fence while we waited and I felt in a total funk. I hadn’t said anything to him yet about the Twister incident because I was still chewing on it. I finally opened the conversation by saying that I was not emotionally well. We talked for about an hour, mostly about where our lives were headed. We decided that we were ready to step away from Green Gate Farm, Inc. Once we made the decision, I mourned for the rest of the day. It was like I lost a part of me.

Then the next morning we found Juliet had died. It looked like this time she had just laid down and gone to sleep. We buried her next to Popcorn (her beloved Shetland friend who died 2 Christmases ago) and I have never felt so much peace around a death before. She didn’t have to endure another terrible summer (she hates the flies and heat) and she had really given me a gift: Time to figure out what was going on and talk to Mike. I will always remember her for her gentle and wise spirit!

The more I thought about it the more I realized that she was a metaphor for how I have been in GGF for the last few years. She mourned for 1 and ½ years for her friend Popcorn like I was literally mourning how GGF was turning away from my vision. She had been losing weight during that whole period just like we were losing money as we continued to be the major support of GGF. Then she really struggled one night, like I did to make this decision but once I did, I felt peace as I know she did when she returned home to Popcorn and her other equine friends.

Isn’t it ironic that an EAP session brought out a decision in me that will pull me away from practicing a method that I know works!!!  Life is strange and unpredictable but wonderful too!

You know the old adage...”The customer is always right.”  I had an experience the other day that highlighted abysmal customer service (I was the customer and I was right...), and hence my topic for this blog. 

Lord knows we have all dealt with customers that are difficult, and it is all we can do to try and be respectful, polite and “move them along”.  But that is the key...respect and politeness.  We can do more damage to your businesses if we choose to be rude, belligerent, loud, etc. 

My experience had to do with a bad meal and failure of the owners to rectify the problem.  In fact, when the problem was staring them in the face, they still ignored and denied it.  Needless to say it hurt them.  The power of “word of mouth” and the health department had them contacting me and apologizing profusely and offering me a lot of free meals. 

Unfortunately, they can’t go back and “unring the bell”.  They left a proverbial “bad taste” in my and my family’s mouth.  Remember...you can’t unring the bell once you have rung it.  Last impressions (good or bad) are just that...last impressions.  Those impressions move you and your business forward or set you back. 

Obviously in the world of EAP and EAL there will be moments of uncertainty where the client is concerned.  Maybe the client had a bad day, a powerful session, an emotional breakthrough, etc.  All the more reason it is paramount that we as professionals be mindful, present, polite and appropriate.  That does not mean you have to accept verbal abuse or feel threatened. 

In fact, the key here is to actively diffuse the situation with as little emotional baggage and further upheaval as possible.  While it may sound a bit cliché, I do believe the key to success here is to be grounded and centered.   

I also believe it is your responsibility to set your staff and business up for success.  Training your staff (and yourself, if you have not) in the area of customer service is critical.  Have some “golden rules” of customer service for your business.  What is your policy for complaints that come in?  What is your policy with respect to deescalating a situation with a client?  Do you have a general protocol or “party line” with respect to how you run the customer service part of your business? 

You can google customer service skills and get an infinite amount of hits.  I have attached the website of the first one I came across and it has a free booklet on “Quick Tips for Outstanding Customer Service”. www.DaleCarnegie.com 

That’s it for now.  Remember...the customer is always right! 

Lisa Wheeler

Director of Operations

Horse Sense of the Carolinas, Inc.

Hey Everyone – Josie here, making my first blog appearance to let you know about this month's Free Monthly Telecall,  coming up next week!

Wednesday,  July 22nd 4:00–5:00 PM EST

Shannon will be joined by insurance expert Mark Fredricksen, Vice President of Peterson, McAnnaly & Tabor Insurance, Co., home to the only EAGALA Equine Liability Insurance Program.

Click here to register!

_____________________________

Mark D. Fredricksen has held the distinction of being a Certified Insurance Counselor since 1986. The CIC is a designation that represents a commitment to continuous enhancement of one’s knowledge and service. CIC is nationally recognized as a symbol of professional excellence and leadership in the insurance industry.

As an insurance counselor, Mark can act as a third-party consultant to assist in the overview of your insurance programs, giving you an insight into the forms and cost effectiveness of your insurance program. Recommending forms, coverages, and risk management methods to help maintain control over your insurance portfolio.

_________

Don't worry if you can't make the time – just register now and an email of the recording will be sent to you after the call has been transcoded!!

Click here to see more calls like this that Shannon has held in the past. And you can visit this page to see more upcoming events at Horse Sense Business Sense.

And, as always, please contact me if you have any questions – JosieM@HorseSenseOTC.com or (828) 683-7304, ext. 113.

Take Care!

Josie

Hi everyone!

As you know, Horse Sense has not, in the past, had a volunteer program but rather an general internship program due to the confidential nature of the work done at our farm. The general internship is for folks who want to learn more about what we do through volunteering a few hours/days a month in a particular semester.

We are changing up the process a bit and trying out a new interaction opportunity for folks who might be interested in what we do, but who might not have the time to intern with us. Hence our Summer Farm Days!

Three Saturdays this summer we're inviting a small group of folks to join us at the farm to help with grooming, bathing and general "spa treatments" for the horses at the Horse Sense farm. We're combining this with an introduction to Horse Sense, to Horse Behavior and Herd Psychology, and to Natural Horsemanship.

It's designed to be a time when we can hang out and care for the horses, and connect with each other as we do so.

We'll let you know how this works out for the horses, for us, and for our guests. We're looking forward to connecting with folks in our community in this way!

Happy Trails,

Shannon

Hey everyone,

Here's a letter I got recently from one of the boys we work with using our Running with Mustangs curriculum, for working with adjudicated and at-risk youth. All our businesses can use a little testimony about the effectiveness of EAGALA-Model Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, and here's another one!

"Thank you for all your help and support. When I first started at Horse Sense I just wanted to do it because of the horses. Then when ya'll had me start the skill cards, I knew that before I finished I was going to become a better person. I'm surprised by the way I control my anger because I've never been able to control my anger, not even with the anger management classes. I've learned a lot more than I did know about horses since I met you. I really appreciate everything you've done and I will always remember you."

To read more about our Running with Mustangs curriculum, click here!

Happy Trails,

Shannon

Recently Horse Sense's Shannon Knapp and Lisa Wheeler presented at the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce (in North Carolina) on the topic of leadership development.

The event was hosted by the Henderson Chamber in their new facility (quite nice!), and we had a nice turnout of business folks from our community, including several independent business consultants. We've since set up opportunities for these folks to come out and experience our work first-hand, so they can add us to their box of tools.

Our presentation was largely guided by the following statement, by Robert Cooper in his book, The Other 90%: "The dinosaurs of the future will be thos who keep trying to live and work from their heads alone." We spoke to the idea that so much business development is geared towards the head, and not so much to the heart and the gut, where a TON of information resides. The heart and the gut are also what tend to be the difference-maker in leaders, as we know from playing with horses.

It was a wonderful, beneficial experience. We encourage you to connect with your local Chamber about giving a presentation!

Happy Trails,

Shannon

To learn more about our professional
development with horses programming, visit
www.HorseSenseLearning.com