Turning a Passion for Horses into a Business

Rebecca Lewis is a small business owner who runs Lewis Circle, a successful business revolving around her love for horses. She has headquarters in Orange County (Southern California) where she and her staff import and export horses.

"Part of our business is to find a horse for a buyer and whatever level they're in. It's a service that's part of our LLC group. We know what kind of horses a buyer likes and how it fits their style. It's so much easier with today's technology. We shoot an email with the horse and the price and we match them up."

And who's buying horses? Rebecca said it's everyone from little kids, students in high school through college, and mothers and daughters who want to ride together. Another segment buying horses is people who have worked for a long time and have kids in college or older. It's a new outlet for them to rediscover a previous hobby and to make new friends.

Rebecca's business has been operating for the past twelve years. She said her love for horses started as soon as she was born in her home state of Texas. She had ponies in the backyard. Professionally, she became a therapist and felt she had reached a plateau in her counseling. She wanted to spend time with horses.

She was able to keep the overhead down when she first started importing and exporting. Often, she would have a horse and one of her staff would be the one to train it.

Her concern for the animals' well-being prompted her to develop a product line of sunblock for horses.

"We had a couple of horses that got sunburned on their lip areas and are white. I felt like I could develop something effective and I worked with an inventor. The sunblock can also be used on kids and dogs. They have cool labels. The product is beneficial for a horse's skin although it's mainly for the face area.

"Sunburn is painful for a horse. They can get cancerous sores and when you see them sunburned it hurts. Sun block is perfect and it helps prevent cancer.

"We manufacture it and this is our first time creating a product. It's on eBay and is just now going into some stores. Independent vendors at horse shows are carrying it, too."

Rebecca said she wants to expand the product line with a spray and have it become successful so she donate a percentage of the profits to charities that work with animals.

She said her business is doing well even in the current economy. "There was a horse show I recently went to and it was completely sold out which shocked me. This means the interest level is there'"that bodes well for sponsorship and prize money.

There are more deals on horses now than there have been in the past and riders can lease horses which was not thought of as an option in previous years. But overall, we have a good team and we're doing well."

Click on the Lewis Circle website to learn more about the team, see the sunblock, and find resources for horse owners.