Summer doesn't have to mean the slow season

     Often when the sun is out and the weather is hot, indoor skatepark's business slows.  But it doesn't have to be the low point of your financial year.  With all the kids out of school, now is a good opportunity to promote yourself, generate new business and run things that can really make your financial year.  Here are 10 suggestions for this summer to make the most of the time that kids are off.

1.  Camps.  Camps need to be scheduled for the summer time.  Parents are looking for things for their kids to do, and you can provide a supervised, interesting experience for their kids that they will talk about the rest of the summer.  Varying from a morning 1/2 day session to a full day, your camp can take advantage of your assets.  In addition, you will make your employees happy with additional ways of making money in a fun and structured session.  If you have a van or can work out travel, you can make a full day experience for the kids with trips to a pool, other parks, basketball, or to get ice cream.  The easiest scenerio is to have a 1/2 day camp.  At Rain City Skatepark we offered families the ability to stay all day in a 1/2 day structured and an additional 1/2 day unstructured.  We charged additional for the kids to stick around and staffed it with responsible teenagers to look after them.  As a note, you should contact your insurance person if you are adding driving and van issues to your service as this might need additional coverage.

2.  Overnight - why not have a "sleepover" at the park.  Filled with Pizza, music, games, and skating.

3.  Private parties - promote renting the park for parties.

4. Music nights - get a dj to make a regular event night for skaters

5. Contests

6. Demos

7.  Send the skateteam out into the public with fliers or other promotions.

8.  Special Bonus Night - like 2 for one or member bring a friend night.

9.  How to build a ramp- "value added" shop class for a fee

10.  Sponsor me contest- become a skatepark skater.

Every event that is not charging entrance the focus needs to be on selling memberships, drinks, food, and merchandise.  This will help make what some perceive to be a "free day"a profitable day.  Good luck.

Check Out Your Front!

  If you haven't looked at your place like a parent would,  maybe you should.  While it is nice to think that skaters don't care, skaters enjoy a park because it is gritty and mean, parents don't.  If you look at who buys all the clothes you sell, who rents the park at night, who pays for summer camp then you will see a lot of money comes to you from parents.  They are the ones that keep you in business when it is nice out and all the hard core skaters go outside.  So when you go out in the parking lot and look at your front, your facade, what does it say to someone who is looking for a clean, safe place to drop off their kids?  Are there a bunch of people smoking, butts everywhere, garbage blowing around?  This is helping make a decision for the moms and dads that keep you in business.  If you haven't recently, you really need to look at the front of your building with a set of eyes of a parent.  While you can have stuff for the more hardcore skaters that don't want a place that is totally sanitized, your main focus need to be geared toward the core of your money, your parents.  Why not ask a parent what they think of your front, your clean bathrooms, etc.  These are all things that make a difference.  You must keep the parents happy so that they feel comfortable dropping their kids off with money for a few hours while they do something else.  Make it so they feel OK with going shopping while the kids play.  If you can get them in the door you can sell them things. If you make it a necessary outing for the whole family where the parents don't feel safe, then chances are the parents won't come that often because they have to go shopping, drop off the laundry, visit Auntie in the hospital or whatever.  Get them in with a clean inviting front, keep them in with excellent service, sell them things while they are there.  Now you are making money!