We recently connected with Karen Pickering and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Karen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I worked for a Customs Broker in the 80’s and 90’s doing billing and customs clearances for freight coming into the US from Canada. I worked with a programmer who was writing software to tie our brokerage firm in with US Customs for ACH clearance. I loved working with computers and decided to start a company newsletter. From there the idea spawned to start a horse related newsletter. I had no experience with graphic design or journalism so I took some design courses at community college, got my own computer and started the magazine in December of 1995. With the help of family and friends I worked after hours to get the magazine off the ground. It was a very humble beginning but I loved being around horses and horse people. I never looked back and I’ve never missed an issue since I started. I knew that if I stayed a regional resource, used experts in the field from horse trainers to veterinarians I would have some level of success. While there were other magazines out there we were different because we chose to use experts in the region instead of syndicated information. Our experts benefited by the exposure we gave them, branding them in our industry and region. I’m proud to say several of our writers benefited from us publishing their content. We really targeted beginners and people just getting into horses. I was very excited to work in the industry I love, meet incredible people along my journey and go places I never would have gone without this opportunity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I got into this industry out of a love for horses and horse people. I’ve always believe that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and want it bad enough. I’m also a junkie for motivational speakers like Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor and others. I love helping people and developing relationships. Many of my customers and connections have become lifelong friends.

My parents instilled in me integrity and faith. My Dad passed away before I started NW Horse Source but my mom was part of the team until she passed away in 2012. Her support and belief in me kept me going when things got tough. My sister was part of the magazine for several years (and her daughter), editing and working with writers. My husband joined the team in 2006 supporting me by taking on the accounting and tech. I spent most of my time focusing on marketing and sales.

I love to see businesses succeed and be a part of helping them bring their products and services to market. I believe that our business has survived because of the relationships I’ve built and the love I have for working with people. When my husband had a stroke in December of 2014, I still kept going because of the strong support I had from friends, customers and family.

I’m proud of the fact I never worked in the industry before I started the magazine and was still able to make it work. I give a great deal of credit to American Horse Publications and the new business it brought me as well as helping me solve issues with technology and the ever changing landscape from print to online.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Absolutely. First of all my Faith. Without my belief in Jesus and the upbringing that my parents gave me I think my path would have been very different. I’ve also studied some of the motivational masters like Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins and Bob Proctor.

My sister and brother-in-law have always supported my business and worked with me over the years helping me build my team and teaching me techniques that helped me discover who I was and what my strengths and weaknesses were. My brothers all had their own businesses as well and always helped me think through challenges and give me solid advice.

Lastly, I believe that my membership with American Horse Publications is undeniably one of the biggest contributing factors to my success. The networking and help from other members was invaluable. Being a part of an organization that connects you with other like-minded people is unbelievably helpful. Many of the members helped me through some of my challenges early in my business career. I’ve been a member since 1997.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When my husband, Mark, had a stroke in December of 2014 I was devastated emotionally and financially. I was blown away by the friends, customers and family that stepped up with fundraisers, moral support and financial help. My church family came and helped us maintain our small farm and emotional support. My friends took turns helping care for the horses, my dogs and even helped finish a vehicle that needed repairs so we could get it sold. I was able to work from Mark’s hospital room on my laptop allowing me to keep the magazine going. My team helped me by taking some of the workload off of me and letting me focus on my husband’s recovery. Even then, I never missed an issue.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nwhorsesource.com/, https://www.coloradohorsesource.com/, https://horsesafetytips.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWHorseSource, https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoHorseSource/, https://www.facebook.com/HorseSafetyTips/