I overheard a conversation a few of my customers were having today while I was standing at the BBQ rolling hotdogs (Yes, hotdogs are rolled. Burgers get flipped). I wasn’t eavesdropping, as those having the conversation were speaking loud enough for me (and others if they cared) to easily hear.
It was a group of friends that had come up to play. All were renting and looked to be about 15 to 16 years old. There were four or five of them standing around wiping off hits and such after coming back to the safe zone, having just finished playing a game. The back and forth went something like this:
“Aw man. That was fun.”
“Yeah, paintball has got to be one of the most fun things in the world.”
“We really should do this more often”
“Yeah, but it’s pretty expensive.”
At that point my ears perked up even more. As a field owner, obviously I want to know what my customers are thinking. I want to know what they like and what we can do to make them want to come back again…often. But I also want to know what might be keeping our customers away. The conversation went on:
“Yeah, but everything costs money, and look at all the stuff they’ve built here. Could you imagine how much work it was to build all this?”
“Yeah, and sure it costs a lot, but is there anything more fun than this?”
They then went on to tell each other different situations they were in and how they got eliminations and how they were eliminated. All the regular stuff you hear any group of new players talking about at any recreational field in the world.
It’s moments like this where I feel very happy about what I do for a living. Sure I could be working at my former profession in construction and most likely be making considerably more money in less time. I’d even make some people happy with the quality work that I’m sure I would do. But having a hundred or more people come on any give Saturday or Sunday to something that I built together with my business partner, and have them have the time of their lives, is much, much more satisfying. I’m a lucky guy. Not a rich guy, but a lucky guy.
Stock Class
6 years ago
Hmmm, lucky isn't the word I would use. You didn't build a successful field by pure luck! Maybe lucky in the sense that you like what you do, but you took a big risk to get into the paintball business.
ReplyDeleteAs the guy said, good facilities and good service mean people come back. I am VERY grateful for all the good owners out there that give me the opportunity to play.
Also, when we're both old, you can look back at all fun you allowed people and I can look back on all the fun I had!
You’re making an assumption that I’m not already old. Thank you. I don’t feel old yet (most of the time).
ReplyDeleteYou’re right Jeremy. The fact that we have a relatively successful field has little to do with luck. But I still feel lucky that that so many people choose to come. They could choose to stay home or go to one of our competitors, but most of the local customers choose us. Maybe I should have written that I am grateful, rather than lucky.
Well I have to admit that I am a keen paintball enthusiast with an age of 26.
ReplyDeleteAs with everything these days, money is or seem to be always a problem.
Maybe someday I will join a paintball club and particpiate and get a feeling for the game.
In the meantime I've started a site over at www.paintballgunszone.com, and would be interested in putting a link to your site on there in exchange for a link back.
If you're interested, email me at m.kadada@gmail.com and we'll chat.
Keep up the great work