| What Makes a Campground Grow | |||||
|
A recent FREEBEE told the story of an 8 year look at the rise of income and profit…. Also resulting is a very profitable sale. What went into this and are there some rules you can use to see if the campground you are considering can grow at a relatively high rate. This is today’s topic. The first rule is the daring of the owner. Do you have the guts, nerve to step out and try something new, invest money in it and then see it thru to success or failure? AND if failure, do you learn the lessons of the failure and proceed on to the next “risk” for a better bottom line. This, in most cases, takes money. If at the outset of your ownership if you are strapped for cash you will be limited… but not aced out of the daring try. It will be limited to the daring that takes little money. You might check to see if there are other successful campgrounds in the area. Success breeds success… even if it is competition. Examine their success and duplicate it if possible with a twist or your own. You shouldn’t steal ideas and then not dress them up with some new duds… When you do they become “not stolen” but ORIGINAL, EXCITING and INNOVATIVE and generate interest in your customer base. Does the campground have room to grow? This does not mean just land, it means room in your current facility… Get more business with what you have right NOW! If you are completely filled every weekend, the growth will be during the week and in the shoulder seasons… and this is tough slogging and slow growth. If you are filled, do you have room to grow…. With more sites! If it does have room to grow and it has not, you might examine why it hasn’t. Maybe the market is not there. Maybe it is the personality, lack of imitative or just plain laziness of the current owner. This is not an indictment of old, tired owners. Most get that way and you might too, when the profit is great and you are fat and happy. Just a few ideas, more later. If you have some ideas let me know and we will do a Friday Feedback on them. I think it all comes down to you. Are you aggressive, willing to take a chance, have some money behind you and have the desire to do better? That quality is always good for business… yours and the campground business. End Notes: TAKE TIME From a book by Leroy Brownlow Take time to think, it is the source of human strength and the measure of man Take time to plan, it is the pursuit of rationality which exercises the mind before working the body. Take time to work, it is the price of success and happiness. Take time to play, it is the secret of recreating self. Take time to read, it is the foundation of knowledge Take time to be friendly, it is the disposition that makes friends. Take time to assist others, life is too short to be selfish Take time to week, it is the outlet of deep feelings when need to be expressed, Take time to laugh, it is the medicine for the heart. Take time to be thankful, it is the sure way to make your state look different. Take time to investigate, it is better to be safe than sorry. Take time to serve God, it is the conclusion of the matter and the whole of man’s existence |
|
||||