Todd Taylor is one of the lucky people who have turned their passion into a successful business. After growing up in the Midwest, he eventually moved to Colorado for a new job. To explore the beauty of his new locale and the Rocky Mountains, Taylor wisely bought a Jeep. However, like many newbies, he quickly found himself in over his head and driving in terrain beyond his skillset on a local trail. A lack of easy-to-find information on current trail conditions and locations compounded that harrowing experience.
To avoid repeating that scenario and to help others access trails, Taylor developed Trails Offroad as a side business in 2015. The website and its corresponding app serve as a detailed nationwide trail guide with trail difficulty descriptions, GPS coordinates and condition updates. Trails Offroad is now a full-time job for Taylor and has grown exponentially since its launch. Taylor learned a lot about entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and business savvy while he built his company from the ground up. On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” he shares the knowledge he gained from almost a decade of brand building with host Dan Kahn. Hit the play icon above to listen to the complete episode of their in-depth conversation. Here are our top five takeaways:
The darkest times can bring the biggest opportunities.
Competitors with large marketing budgets can actually help your business.
Growing and scaling a brand beyond its initial launch phase is critical.
Launch your business before someone else does.
Indecision can be just as harmful as the wrong decision.
There is Always Opportunity in Chaos
While Taylor soft-launched Trails Offroad in 2015, it wasn’t until four years later that it became his full-time job and only source of income. Moving the website and app behind a paywall right before the world shut down for the pandemic initially seemed like a wrong move. However, his timing was perfect as people sought new ways to connect with nature and get outside. The chaos of the pandemic turned out to be an opportunity and a huge boon.
“When 2020 and the pandemic happened, it was really an explosion,” said Taylor. “It definitely exploded, and it really went through the roof. You could watch all the other businesses that were loosely related gather steam as well. The stock price of Polaris went through the roof. It was great until the extreme inflation and especially high gasoline costs set in.”
Competitors Can Actually Help You
Multiple well-funded competitors are now playing in roughly the same space as Trails Offroad. Surprisingly, Taylor doesn’t see that as a negative but rather a positive. While their marketing budgets are much larger than Taylor’s, they help bring awareness to the space. With enough product differentiation and a quality experience, Taylor can capture some of those consumers.
“They (the competition) really help the industry out by pouring an ungodly amount of money into advertising,” said Taylor. “They are really doing the missionary work for people to show them there are tools and things you can get in the marketplace. At Trails Offroad, we have never marketed ever and grown to a sizeable base of customers just by having a good internet presence and being authentic. So, I can never knock them for all the things that they do.”
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Most entrepreneurs focus solely on growth at the beginning of their business ventures. However, anyone who has pushed past that point knows that there comes a time when that growth eventually slows down to a trickle. The tactics that got your business where it is might not work to keep it growing. How to effectively and efficiently scale beyond that point is critical.
“Have you ever heard the saying ‘What got you here won’t get you there?’” said Taylor. “I think that is what we are figuring out now. What do we have to do to get over there? Those are constantly debated in conversations about what we would like to do next to scale further. Those pages haven’t been written yet.”
Just Do It
No, this hasn’t become a Nike ad. The footwear and athletic apparel giant's famous slogan is the same advice Taylor gives anyone considering starting a niche business. It is impossible to realize your dreams if you never try, and someone will beat you to it if you wait too long.
“It is funny with Trails Offroad. All the people I talk to who are writers for us say that they had a similar idea but never did anything with it,” said Taylor. “So, I would always say get into it and just start doing it. Try to fail or succeed quickly, but just do it.”
Indecision Kills (Your Business Too)
History has proven time and time again that taking a long time to make a decision can be just as fatal as making the wrong decision. However, indecision doesn’t solely doom pilots, artic expeditions or generals. The inability to quickly make a decision and be confident in it can be just as detrimental to your business.
“There is a saying that indecision has killed more people,” said Taylor. “So, I would say just be confident, make a decision and do it quickly. If I look at the areas where I have failed, it really comes down to I just didn’t make a quick enough decision. Or when I did make a decision, I was just too wrapped up in it versus knowing the results weren’t worth it, and let’s cut it and move on.”
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