Home Cooking
The easiest and most straightforward way to create a great product, service or community (I will do all three) is to make it for yourself. This allow for designing what I know. This has been such a departure from designing “landscapes” for rich people. I figured out a way to make a quality ski, and I know what I figured out is good. I figure there is no need for a focus group, a detailed assessment of Grace Skis competitors or middlemen. I have had this itch for 15 years so I scratched it. In the last year I made hundreds of tiny decisions that culminated into 196cm of flexing bamboo and cured epoxy. I was solving my own problems not a clients stab in the dark issues. What I learned from this is when it is your own problem you know the answer. I am exposing the very market I have waded in since day one at Alpine Valley. A solid ski, with materials sourced from respectable people and companies, made in the USA at an appropriate price. If you had to ask anyone that knows me, “What does David care about?” I would wager skiing would be on everyone’s list. There is no substitution for working on what one loves or cares about.
Planning is Guessing :
I understand the need for people to see a “Business Plan”. I read (wasted that time) reading books that outline the vision for such a plan. I also have a friend that is spending thousands of dollars at business school (Denver University) to be “educated” on such things. He and I are going to work on Grace Skis Business Plan for his classes. This will satisfy most of the corporate worlds need for such type on paper. My “successful” friends have all deterred me from such an adventure. Writing a plan makes one feel in control of things one can’t actually control. I made the last year happen with no concrete plan. No determined spending, no real control, a non linear scribble. One simple direction, make skis I want to ski on. I went in different directions each day because that is what made sense for that day and for the “long term”. I am so fortunate I didn’t follow the “How to start a small business” books I read. They all stated write a business plan at the beginning. The time one begins a pursuit has to be the worst time to make a quality decision. I defer from most in this, most fail or take too long to succeed. “No one looks at them anyway” is the common response to the traditional business paln. This is not to say one shouldn’t think about the future or how one should attack problems or upcoming obstacles. I have learned the right plan is to achieve your goals with flexibility while not compromising integrity and character. Simple.
Growth:
In the business world, the word growth always upset me. Growth is for greedy, profit driven short term oriented excel spread sheets. “We need to GROW”. Why? What is the love affair with growth other then someone’s ego? Why not work backwards from ones “Target Monthly Income”? This would be a better movement then writing a business plan, or is it the backbone to a “plan”. A business is the thing that facilitates dreams. If one can determine their respective dreams and the cost of those, one can work back from there. My dreams determine what Grace Skis needs to produce in profit. I will be proud when I can run Grace Skis as a sustainable, competitive, profitable entity. As one friend put it, “if you don’t want to GROW it big, don’t spend too much time on a business plan”. Not sure what BIG or GROWTH means? But a profitable, dream funding business is what Grace Skis will be.
Here are some questions I asked myself as it pertains to “growth/consumption”:
1. Do I need employees
2. Do I need 50k or 10k
3. Do I need a shop Wharehouse etc
4. Do I need an accountant, PR person, marketing department, IT people
5. Do I need advertising (list goes on)
Many more questions were posed daily. I answered them and achieved them with little to no spending. I got people excited about the idea and those people helped in the way that they could. I have always been good at finding people passions and “exploiting” them. Simplify is always best. Another way to look at growth is the idea of less mass. Eliminate! Less is a good thing. If one takes that metaphor and applies it to camping, cycling, gardening or business, the result is always positive. More stuff means less ability to pivot. Always take away for the best design. I figure I can make mistakes that won’t drown me or I can fix them quickly. The very reason I ride a bike without a derailleur. “harder” to ride but never have to fix it. I made a simple ski, that works..stick with it.
Popularity:
I posted a while back on Ski Grace face book page, Grace Skis was not in it to be popular. At no point do I think this community will be made up of the masses. I don’t like the masses. Never have. I have spent my life as humble, aloof and accused of arrogance. I like the fact that if no one gets upset by what I say or do then I am probably not pushing far enough. Lots of people may hate Grace Skis. They need better graphics, they are too wide for most skiers, Too much ski for the average skier Etc. If Grace Skis stands for something: Solid skis, made from materials from quality suppliers, made in USA for real skiers in the most environmentally respectful way possible, then that line in the sand is drawn. Don’t compromise that line to be popular and certainly don’t do it to increase profits. Any company can write down a mission statement, most of them are fabricated and forgotten. Writing something down is the start but believing it and living it is the hard part. Do the hard part.
“Outside Money”
The thought of outside money scares me. If I can’t do this without family or friends support then it isn’t going to happen. This week I have spent hours thinking about pitching for money. One huge distraction. Nothing can be achieved without money, we know this. I have achieved a quality product with very little infrastructure, low overhead and no debt. This needs to continue. I don’t want to move forward with a line of credit or a loss of control. If it isn’t friends or family then Grace Skis needs to get creative.
Marketing:
JHS/Valleycrest(last corperate job) worried so much about scaling issues, fancy office space, and lavish furniture instead of what really matters. Get quality customers that pay for the product. End of story. JHS was the guy that spent money at the pro shop instead of on a bucket of balls. I truly love my bucket of balls. The possibilities to accomplish one’s marketing strategy are endless. Keep quality content streaming. Simple. Social media is already in place and successful. No need for spending. I have plenty to say and the format to do it is free and expansive. I have a brand, an attentive audience and content daily. My ability to market directly while skiing is a huge plus. I have a skiing version of the elevator pitch (chair lift pitch). So easy to sell when the buyer can’t keep up. Marketing is easy for me, I have idea after idea the ones employed have worked perfectly. Marketing is everything. Never ends. Marketing should not be a department. Marketing is the SUM total of everything we will do. Exclusivity is a construct we would like to achieve through future marketing statagies. Grab a dedicated skier market and professionals then limit retailers and customers that don’t matter. Continue to make decisions that create an obscurity to Grace Skis. Selling out is not in the “plan”
Sales
The cost of a pair of skis with labor is around 437$ as of now. MSRP would be in the 700 -1000$ range. I am working with Bent Gate in Golden and other retailers. They set the price and should work to keep the margins high.Direct sales will be handled by Grace Skis but we will not have an online store. (Not in our initial thoughts) We have been told that the hardest thing in selling is to “get on Wal-Mart Shelves”. This is a metaphor of course but has a high level of validity. Many companies see the short term profits as their reasoning for direct sales. Sell directly for MSRP and don’t pay the middle man. This may be valid. To keep things simple we would rather let the retailers do the retail so we can design, manufacture and ski on the skis. We think partnerships would be the best blend. Sell direct to Grace Ski community members, the people we are face to face with. Sell to physical retail stores that do not have a diluted wall. Move through trusted outdoor retail shops that will push the product. Sell to online retailers as well. More research needs to be done on this topic.
Cost of making skis:
Humans are terrible estimators or just plain liars. Nothing takes the amount of time one estimates it will. Taking a large scale production and attempting to estimate the cost is not going to get the correct answer. It get just that, an estimate. The solution would be to break it down into the smallest thing. So we broke it down to cost per ski. For a 196 Cm Kylie 196 that number came to $437.44. Ironically while typing this Crown Plastics sent us an email explaining all their prices will go up 5% next year. So our estimate is off.
(Cost of materials and Labor)
Care
Grace skis has one thing going for it no one else can copy. Me. When I am asked what is special about the skis, I can come up with different design details (or lack of) or profiles that separate them from all other skis. These characteristics don’t make the skis “better”. We should talk more about “decommoditizing” instead of commodities. By being personal, having a guarantee and by injecting my individual way of thinking into the product (or whatever it is we sell: skis, a way of thinking, lifestyle, optimism, good times, philosophies etc). Are we only selling skis? No, we sell a community and we grow that community. When I pour myself into the thing we sell, it can’t be copied and it will be respected and perpetuated by the community. Look at the Obermeyer clothing company for example. Claus is 90 and still poured in every marketing campaign and style guide. The one thing I have learned is that the ski industry is full of crap. Manufacturing in China (“to lower costs" or to get away with toxic solvants?), selling for outrageous MSRPs, payola for Outside magazine articles, advertising for better ski test scores. I care enough about this “industry” to actually pit myself against it. Keep learning and call them out. By them I mean the entire ski industry. Ignite the demographic that is true to the sport. Skiers that don’t buy the skis to be like something else. They buy them to use them and trust them and be themselves.
Design
Simple. Less. Low tech. Classic, Genuine.
No need for aluminum/titanal perforated composite top sheets, no need for marketing terms for UHMWPE, no need for nonsense. Simple sells. Simple lasts. Period. All designers’ brains point their eyes right to more. I am getting in the habit of saying no to such destinations. Eliminate is hard, doing “nothing” is hard. Most people don’t respect designs if they are “less”. That is what makes it so hard. Everyone has ideas as to what a ski should do, be and perform. The goal here is to make it right for me. They will love it if I love it. If not go enjoy a competitors ski..and ultimately perpetuate the sport regardless.
Other goals:
1.Open shops to dedicated people willing to “press” their own skis. Give them a high level of ownership. (build community of salespeople)
2.Be transparent with numbers, prices, materials, life cycle assessments, everything. (even major mistakes builds trust and community)
Wabi Sabi
3.Always try to do less, unless it is trying to do less, then do more of that.
4. Always default to character instead of performance. This is for athletes as well as materials.
5. Expand on 23.5 degrees. (23.5 degrees is anything that doesn’t have to do directly with Grace Skis. Philanthropies, Cycling, etc
6. Do it myself first
7. Grow a sustainable nursery for ski core wood.
9. Always default to lower overhead and less “virtual” spending
10. teach people the process to keep learning the process
5 Year “plan”
The next year will come down to learning process and delivering product. The goal is to sell 100 pair for next season and develop the brand. Design and build asolid, locally made ski that respected skiers ski on. Develop a dedicated non paid sales team as well as athlete profiles. Continue to align with other outdoor retailers, such as Fly Low, Giro, Optic Nerve, Crank Brothers, Plum, marker. Year 3-5 will expand production to 200 pair a year. With every effort going to minimize designs, increase efficiency, increase profits, increase performance and durability as well as environmental footprint. Become the best in our world. (Best American made production ski)
5-10 year.
Stay humble with our initial success. Continue 200 pair a year production in a streamlined facility. Develop off site “shops and store fronts”. These shops will enable skiers to “design” and press their own skis from an a la carte menu. Actual hands on facilities in real ski towns. Bring back the craft side and not consumer side of ownership. Continue to dominate the dedicated skier market with quality, durable product.
Production Schedule
Accumulate $60k before June 20 2011.
Continue part time work to keep personal spending in check)
Hire unpaid intern. July 15 2011
Build out infrastructure needs (molds, cassettes, heat blankets) (August 15 2011 deadline)
Purchase product for at least 50 pair. Move slow and efficient not to accumulate material or waste. (June 25 2011- as needed)
20 pair of skis by September 1 2011. (Array of product and sizes, mindful of testing results and demand, stay flexible)
20 more skis by Nov 1 2011
25 More skis by Feb 1
25 More skis by March 1 2011.
10 More Skis by April 1 2011.
If anyone is interested in one piece of the trifecta or the entire kit let us know! We need your sizes! The bib shorts are the way to go If you ride 20 or 200 miles a week. If you like baggy shorts, get the bibs for under those bags..the riders tell us there is no better combo..
