Friday, January 13, 2023

 Yesterday I got up at 5:45 am.  Today - I did the same.  Took the boys to the bus stop - only because they asked me to otherwise Taylor always does that - and then came back and got busy with stuff.   However, at around 9:00 am? I was done and toast. I fell back asleep and didn't get back up for 2 hours. 

I'll try again tomorrow. I'm trying to get back into work mode and that almost always means getting up early, something I'm not really used to right now. It's been nice getting up whenever I wanted to - within reason of course - but it's time to get back into the trucking thinking.  I don't want a rude awakening, it will be bad enough just starting out driving all over the place again.

Meanwhile, I have listed my site on Roverpass.  It costs nothing to list it there, they do all the work, collect the fees and deposit it into your bank account.  It costs more than the one I'm using, but Roverpass is not just a campground software program. It is one of the premiere RV park location apps that many Rv'ers use.  It puts up all of your information the same as your website and lists everything you want it to list.  People looking for a site in my area can look at my site, see pics of it and the amenities and decide whether they want to.

I balked at their prices at first, but right now? I'm taking whatever I can get.  Whatever I am doing, I'm not doing it right apparently and I'm trying to figure out what the deal is. I can see not having laundry being a detriment to some people, but not everyone.  I'm having a pro photographer come out and take lots of pics.  Like, professional pics, people that have the knack to get the right angles and show things the way they should be shown.  This is only going to cost $75. The lady comes out, takes as many photos as she can take in an hour's time, enhances them and uploads them onto a portal. You have access to all of them, you pay nothing more. It's all digital I won't need to print any of it.  

If I find other platforms like Roverpass that don't have start up fees, I will post my site on those as well.  Somehow, I never thought it would be this difficult to fill up a small park that has all the basic amenities.  Especially with the prices I am charging.  I know - some of the info I have learned says it can take 6 months to a year to get fully operational but this is a bit ridiculous.  So far, it's just been people looking for a place to park at the last minute.  It's all large rigs that the other places in town can't handle.  I'm glad for that, but I need more, a lot more.  I need 4 full timers and I need a lot more transients coming and going.

I don't have the answers beyond spending money I don't have for amenities I do need.  I mean, if I could set up a washer and dryer outside on pavers and put a cover over it, I would lol.  Actually, I guess I could do that over by the septic system. My contractor told me I could install a couple of washers and it would be able to handle the extra load -the septic that is. 

Wait, why did this escape me?  I could put up a small shed, put in 1 washer and 1 dryer over there, right where the water, electric and septic are and call it a day.  Why do I have to have it running into that shed? It's too far away so it's going to cost a fortune to run the wiring, water line and sewer pipe.  I can run the wiring myself, I don't need an electrician to wire 220 volt to a shed.  The water would be easy too, the septic, well I dunno. I'm like, how do you cut into a sewer line that is being used without getting s*** all over you? lol. 

Maybe there's a youtube video for that.  It's still going to cost money, but it would cost around a 1/3rd of what I was contemplating.  I'll probably go for it eventually, I have too much other stuff to do right now that takes priority.  

Oh. Well I forgot to raise my prices for the Roverpass site. I want any potential guests to cover the extra fees. It's only going to raise it by $3 and it will still be either the lowest or near the lowest rates in the area - and - I can handle big rigs. 

Anyway, I need to learn to think outside of the box. I was stuck on having that washer/dryer setup in that shed. If I put it near the utility outlets, we're talking maybe 20 feet of electric line that can run underground, a breaker for the main box, a small box with a couple of 220 volt breakers, line running to outlets for the washer and dryer. I don't see a problem with this and saving thousands of dollars.  

I'm unabashedly sending a review request to everyone that comes in.  I don't care who it is, they are going to get a text with a link to the review site. If they don't review, oh well. I don't have any reviews yet and it's definitely a sticking point.  

If I'm using any service online, the first thing I do? Go look at reviews.  Especially buying stuff, but also if it's service industry. I understand it takes time to get reviews, but I need at least a couple to get me started.  It's probably what most people do. What kind of place is this from the customer's standpoint? I know I always want to know.  The 2 biggest competitors here - owned by the same people - have been there a long time.  They have a mix of good, moderate and very ugly reviews. But they obviously stay busy.  

It's rough.  Especially since I can't get this people to give anything.  

Oh well.  I'm offa here. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you sure you want a review from the guy who got denied AARP or Good Sam discounts?

BenB said...

That's up to them. It was $25 for one night, which he can't match anywhere for the kind of amenities he got and he knows it. He asked, he didn't fuss about it after I said no, I have very low rates already. The competitors are either $10 per night more expensive or they have horrible parks that no one but long timers that have junky trailers want to stay at. And anyway, if they do a review through the link I send them, I can dump the review if it's not at least a little bit flattering. I went over there to meet them and make sure they had everything they needed, many RV parks won't do that.

 Saturday - late afternoon I did not get up early since I had second load and was really deep in sleep again.  Like, this all seems to have ...