Today we’d like to introduce you to Shalae Tippetts.
Hi Shalae, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband and I have been looking for opportunities to invest or business opportunities to start. Our close friends Rachel and Spencer were on a double date with us, and telling us that they had been looking in to purchasing an RV Park, as a way for him to eventually retire. They were concerned about doing it alone, and the more we learned about it the more we thought it might be a great opportunity to go in with them together on it, as my husband has built another business prior. We went and saw the property and fell in love with it. The location below the Southern Utah Cliffs, the river that runs next to it, the quiet, peaceful area that is away from all the busyness of the world. We purchased it and have been in the process of getting it up and running for our first year, learning about the world of hospitality and RVing. I have loved meeting people from all over who have also fallen in love with the area when they have come to stay. I enjoy the many opportunities to explore around the area whether it’s hiking, UTV’s, or just the beautiful drives. My heart has fallen for the red rock and dessert area of Southern Utah.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This is our first year trying to figure out how to run the RV park, since we need to hire people to run it since we don’t live in Hanksville. We have had a bit of a learning curb in learning about the work demand on hosts, how to encourage people to come and stay with us, how to let others know about how wonderful of a place it is to stay even though it doesn’t have lots of amenities at the moment. Luckily we have had the attitude that the place will speak for itself. Those that love it have come back, and we know that slowly we will grow over time as we get the word out, do better on marketing and start learning about the little things that our customers want.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I went to school and got my associates in graphic design and then later my bachelors in Art Education. I taught art for a few years and then have taught art lessons here and there to children in my community and in the homeschooling community. I have spent most of my time and energy as a stay at home mother to 6 children, while doing graphic design and art on the side. I currently am the graphic designer, illustrator and art editor of a homeschooling magazine for the Belle Ame Center of Artful living. I now will also get to use those skills in doing marketing, redoing the website and getting the word out about our RV park.
What were you like growing up?
I had a great childhood growing up in the country in a small place called Star Valley, Wyoming. I loved reading, riding bikes, being active, and drawing and doing art. That love for art grew through the years as I took more lessons, and drew more on my own, leading me to pursuing in college. My father was a businessman and owned the local trash pick up service. I learned how to work hard with him, as we would go with him and have to pick up trash, clean out the trash rooms for the local grocery stores and buisnesses. I also learned how to work in my mom’s huge garden as she would grow as much as possible for us to can and preserve to help when business was hard for my dad or money wasn’t quite as high. I saw the sacrifice it took to run your own business, but also the ownership and pride that came from building something.
Pricing:
- $50 a night discount for nightly stays
- $300 for a weekly rate
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.offroadrvresort.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offroadrvresort
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077074982634
