How To Set Up A Surfing Business At The Beach

If you live by the beach, your town is often visited by tourists and you love to surf, you can put two and two together and make money by basking in the joy of running your own surf business - either as a full-time hobby or something to make a little extra cash. Living in a beach town presents you with lots of unique business ideas with which you can cash in on, and surfing is one of the top ones. Here are some tips on how to set up your own surfing business at the beach.

1. Secure your finances

Ensure you have enough money to get you started and give you some breathing room, as elements such as weather or surfing trends can die the business down. Weather and surf conditions are unpredictable at the best of times, and you will usually have a low and high season, so keep this in mind when working out your funds.

2. Consider location and competition

Try to find a location that's away from your main competitor. Source the area and find out who your biggest threats are and move away down the beach. Start your business with an opening offer that will give customers a discount if they review you online etc. Word of mouth is a big factor in the surf business, so ensure people know about you.

3. Maintain great customer service

Have a good attitude and practice good patience. Treat everyone like family so you can build your customer base, reputation is key to getting new customers and maintaining current ones.

4. Stock up on supplies

Ensure you are well stocked as most tourists who come from other places and like to surf don’t actually come with their own surfing equipment, which allows you to make some extra money during this period. Your surf shop need not only sell various surf boards and surf related items such as wax and board bags but could also enable customers to rent out surfing equipment and a wetsuit for a period of time. This will naturally make your store the go-to store during winter and allows for a customer base of both beginner surfers and professional surfers. 

5. Offer a repair service

Add surfboard repairs to your menu. Problems can occur with surfboards and professional surfers tend to be attached to the board they've created a bond with. Catch this customer base by offering a surf board repair service. This means you will be covering all customer areas: rentals, buys and repairs. You can become a one stop shop for everyone on the beach.

6. Offer lessons to beginners

The key behind a good surfing business is passion, and that needs to come from the owner, who is passionate about surfing. Show your passion by offering surf lessons, and not only that, you've also got the opportunity to spend more time in the water. It's a dream scenario if it's set up right.

Consider all these above elements to create a perfect surfing business at the beach that both you and your customers will love.