Several of my ancestors owned and operated stables and liveries that serviced the populace of their smaller towns.
I’ve always been interested in their business plan starting with how they raised the capital to build their stables, acquire some stock, wagons and buggies. The financial needs of a startup livery was not inconsiderable in that day.
In all cases, the window of time they had to make money off these enterprises was fairly short. The surrounding populace had to acquire enough wealth to either use the facilities or to attract business that would use rental equipment and horses let alone stable them.
Once the buildings were up and the business was established, it only had a few decades before the automobile arrived on the scene. The transition from four legs to four wheels happened in fairly short order.
I suppose some livery and stable owners transitioned to automotive dealers, but most of the trade went to to an new group of entrepreneurs.
My Tirrill cousins operated a fine example of a successful stable and livery in Coos County, New Hampshire back in the day.
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