My guest on today’s Podcast is Parker Smith. Parker is the owner of Affordable Large Properties, a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina vacation and golf package agency that specializes in offering a superior guest experience by being able to focus on a smaller number of properties to ensure they are in the best possible condition for their guests. They also have booked more than 1 million golf rounds for large groups or families looking for a fun and relaxing getaway in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area.
What’s unique about Parker though, is that the heart of his methodology isn’t around implementing guest services or golf rounds for vacationers, but rather around how a single company can create value by scaling into real estate ownership and offering management services for other vacation rental property real estate owners in the same Myrtle Beach market that have failed to offer such value before them.
How to Double Your Seasonal Business
In this episode, we talk in depth about how even though he currently manages over 200 properties and has doubled in size, if they don’t have a concrete plan for what they’re going to be able to offer these guests, they’ll have a hard time capturing the revenue vacationers are willing to spend while they’re on holiday. Why, as the business owner, Parker realized that the most important part of managing his own time is by knowing what he doesn’t want to do versus what he does want to do. And why learning to say no is such a big deal, especially for guest services, who so often build their businesses by saying yes to any bookings in season, but then run out of cash flow out of season, because they haven’t diversified their business enough.
We also talked about the experience Parker had purchasing his business from a family member, his father-in-law, the importance of creating a team around him so that he can delegate tasks that are not Parker’s unique ability, and how Parker has used his background in technology and software to leverage technology for efficiency by creating his own proprietary software, managing all aspects of his business, even to the point of having two full time software developers on staff and then moving on to a typical workday, where Parker is a great example of time blocking, and how by maintaining a strong cash balance allowed Parker to take advantage of new opportunities, and grew his business from 2 million to 7 million in just the last five years.
The secret to Parker's success
And be certain to listen to the end, where Parker shares how losing two key salespeople that he bought with the original business almost put him out of business right out of the gate. And by keeping in touch with a mentor in the private equity space has helped Parker stay sharp and confident in his leadership abilities of Affordable Large Properties (“ALP”). So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy Episode 10 of The Retiring Entrepreneur Podcast: How to Double Your Seasonal Business Year Over Year with Parker Smith.
Episode Highlights
- [08:26] How Parker was able to purchase ALP from his father-in-law so that he could retire ahead of schedule
- [16:46] How diversification into the real estate market transformed ALP’s business model and allowed Parker to double his seasonal business year over year
- [22:16] Why Parker is still years from exiting his business despite ALP’s rapid growth
- [27:12] The importance of understanding and managing cashflow, especially in the early stages of a business
- [29:23] Parker’s advice for anyone considering entrepreneurship
For more information on cash flow planning and management, check out Financial Planning Basics for Entrepreneurs.
Enjoy the Episode!
