As factors such as climate change, the rising prices of lift tickets, and a lack of affordable housing in ski towns make it more and more difficult for people to live the “ski bum” lifestyle, this article about skiers as entrepreneurs caught my eye. The article notes how “entrepreneurial ski bums” have realized that they can maintain their lifestyles by embracing the remote office and freelance work. Rather than being forced to work in a city such as Denver, two hours away from the closest ski resorts, skiers are using shared office spaces in mountain towns so that they can work and play all in the same place. As the article notes, “If anyone’s used to pooling resources, it’s the ski bum, who wouldn’t blink at splitting a 900-square-foot apartment with four roommates. Sharing desks and business contacts, then, is no problem.” In sum, this fun piece seems to take heart to the idea that “anyone is an entrepreneur.”
I used to ski, I was on a team for 14+ years and all the “ski bums” that I know are generally pretty wealthy. It’s not affordable for a typical 20-something year old to not work and travel around the world chasing powder, particularly as season tickets are skyrocketing. I think the ski/snowboard industry is incredibly interesting as small businesses thrive there. Skier and snowboarders tend to be fairly brand obsessed, and like to try new more “underground” materials. I’m wondering if this, plus the ability of most of the people I know to reach out to wealthy individuals would make a perfect (snow) storm for creating a business.
*This study shows that visitors to snow parks having significantly more income than the average American, with that number increasing.
http://www.rrcassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2014-15-NSAA-National-Demographic-article.compressed.pdf