Have you added your business to Google Local Business Center yet? It’s free, it’s easy, and and your business listing will be tied to Google Search and Maps, making it easier for local clients to find you.

When someone searches for businesses in your area, your listing will appear along with your location noted on a Google map.

Here’s a sample listing of a search for “tack store portland or”.

Any business with a physical location can be added to Google Local Business Center, but validation of your address is required. The signup process is simple and should only take a few minutes. You can include relevant information about your business such as your business hours, the forms of payment you accept, and a link to your website (you do have a website, don’t you?) ☺

To learn more check out the Help Center or go to Google Local Business Center to sign up.

For many equine business owners, marketing is something they must do, but not something they necessarily enjoy. It’s easy to fall into a pattern; putting the same ads in the same publications, attending the same shows and conferences, networking with the same group of people… John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing blog offers a different perspective: Marketing is the Voice of Your Passion.

“What if your marketing message communicated, in a truly stunning manner, how much you love what you do and how much you love bringing what you do to other people… That’s what marketing really is you know. Sharing your passion.”

Making a living in the horse business can be challenging, but I can’t think of any other field where people have more passion for their work. Do you love what you do? Does it show? Tapping into your passion can re-energize your marketing efforts and help you grow your equine business into the success you know it can be.