The Key Activities of Skatepark Owners

Owning a skatepark can be as complicated as you make it.  I've seen some barn based parks that simply float a key system around for friends and the like.  Making a living owning and operating a skatepark however requires a lot of work to get paying customers in the door.  The complexity of a skatepark then makes for a lot of activities for the owner and managers.  Here are a list of some of the main activities a skatepark owner should be completing on a monthly basis.

Promotions
schedules - park and staff - calendar year tweaks and plans
advertisements - monthly and target market specific
Events planning-
stocking, buying goods
inspecting ramps
manning the desk
talking with suppliers and key partners
meeting with finance people both investors and accountant
inventory
financial review (reconciling the cash register, imputing into quickbooks, reviewing costs -v- income
cleaning
replacing broken supplies, fixing, painting, refining
Community outreach, public relations
Outreach to area organizations for cross promotion and group visits
Managing skate team
upgrading systems and controls.
meeting with staff, training staff
calling and corresponding when appropriate
Updating web, social media, other media
Skating a little too!

Lots to do every month undoubtedly.  Try to get some of these things handled by delegating.  Paying for services is a good way to increase staff's feeling of importance as well so maybe promotions, or staffing, or updates can be handled by savvy hourly staff or salaried managers.  Taking the time to be the leader of the business is necessary so don't just man the front desk but also don't be totally absent from the front desk either.  Good luck!

Identifying Market Segment for Skateparks

Often times I hear of people who say things like, there are a ton of skaters in my town so I want to start a skatepark.  I think this is a great start but are there really a ton of skaters who will use your park is a question that needs to be asked.  In traditional business plan startups, people often look at an idea, figure out how much it will cost and look at the population as a whole and go from there.  But when your money and your sanity are on the line you want to make sure that there is a sustainable market for your business before you spend money.  Ok, so going from the premise of a "ton", who are they?  Teenagers? Little Kids? At a crappy free park?  What these people show are Market Potential, it doesn't mean that these kids will come to your park.  Sitting out and counting these people, noting their age and demographics can help to give you a better idea of the dedicated skaters.  Interview the skaters/bikers you find and see who they are, what they want, and what they are will to pay for.  Similarly making friends with the local skateshop can help you better understand the market potential by providing you with stats on patrons.  This is vital information.  You have a theory, and until you go out and test your theory you'll never know for certain what is reality.  After you have gathered some data, go back to your idea and see if the market potential fits the reality.  You are trying to create a better understanding of the market by understanding your clients better. To do this you need to get out and talk with the end users.  If you have a drawing of your park, share this with your potential clients, if you have a cost structure, share this with your clients as well.  Their feedback will help you understand what you have in terms of a product, and what your market will bare in terms of price.  At some point soon you can start looking for the archetype of a typical patron.  These conversations with parents and kids can help you understand who will come to your park, how often, and at what cost.  If you have a website you can also use that to gather information.  Put a survey on the front page and try promoting it.  Another way of gathering this info would be to do a Facebook ad campaign targeting a very select group of users in a small demographic area.  You need data to make a good decision, and it won't just come to you in a dream.  So you need to go get it.  When you have a market archetype you can then figure out how to cater your park to meet their needs.  Lets just say that Junior High aged skaters and bikers were the best respondents to your survey and interviews.  These kids have a desire to come to the park 2x a month at 12$ a pop.  They expressed they skate all the time and their parents said they have very few options for entertainment.  So these end up being the core market archetype, with other groups like teens, young adults, little kids fill in your market.  Spending your time to cater your business to meet the basic needs of these skaters first is the best idea to ensure your success.

September slowdowns?

Sometimes in September it is harder to get the steady flow of customers through the door.  With a new school season starting up and all the things that are still ongoing from the summer, September can be a slower month for indoor parks.  Heck, the weather may be a little less hot, it still stays light late, and this keeps the kids outside and away.  So planning events for September or running a sale on park rentals could be a good way to get crowds into your park.  Other cool events could be a contest, a concert, a dj night, a sleep-over, or a demo.  These are very traditional events that you can tweek for your crowd.  How about a best of shop contest with all shop sponsored skaters?  Combine this with a DJ after-party and you could very well have a highly productive weekend.  September could be a good time to have some time off too.  There is nothing that says you have to stay open every day.  Closing for a week isn't out of the question if you can still pay the bills when you reopen.  Closing during the slow time is a great way to redo the park too.  Spending a little time and money when you are slow is a great way to get a rush of new business.  Add it all up and an event to christen the park could be a double whammy. BTW Do we still say "whammy" or is that too 1990's?  September is a good time to look at your calendar too and plan for the school closures, contests, and break camps coming up in the next few months.  Good luck!

Diversify your offerings

Beyond simply adding sessions or events to your day you can diversify your offerings in your space to help your business grow.  Who hasn't seen McDonald's playgrounds, or gone to an indoor soccer building with some climbing wall operation off in a corner?  These two ideas can be a way that your site could use some of it's space to help get people through the door.  Programming of events and services is always important, but having a large source of revenue is equally important.  Right now you might have your entrances, events, lessons, food, and as my last post pointed out - a party room, so where do you go from there?  I was reading an interesting article recently from wired.com about the Lumberyard indoor mountainbike park and thought that here was another offering that used many of the building and management skills you probably already have.  Take a look here: http://www.wired.com/design/2013/04/lumberyard-mountain-bike-course/  Finding revenue sources that fit with your space and your clientele is a double win.  Being able to attract people from a larger part of your area can help you make a strong and viable business.  While your heart may be in one aspect of the business like skateboarding or BMX biking, there are good reasons to consider offering more aspects of your business that are complimentary.  So say you have a really good indoor park with an outside area, perfect for a BMX racing course.  Or what about the massive ceiling hight you could put in a high ropes course over the track or a climbing wall.  Like I had said on my last post, an empty room is an opportunity, and an empty section of your park is also one.  What you will be doing is expanding your resources, taking advantage of your current systems and making the most of your existing skill sets.