With spring break almost here, Rent Gear Here, a business started by Auburn alumni, provides any beach goer the equipment they need to have a good time in the surf and sun.
Rent Gear Here offers rentals for everything from bikes and trailers to beach chairs and other beach equipment.
"We strive to be the one stop shop for all your vacation needs," said Jacob Watkins, managing partner. "Our idea is to have everything available to a family with one call instead of having to call many different businesses."
Phillip Poundstone, managing partner, created the business last May.
"No one had really heard of the business when we started and we effectively marketed and did really well last summer even though we started late," Poundstone said. "We expect to grow probably 10-fold what we did last year."
Currently Rent Gear Here is located in the 30A area of South Walton as well as Destin. This summer they will expand their service territories to include 30A, Destin, Okaloosa Island (Fort Walton Beach) and Panama City Beach.
Poundstone and Watkins hope to expand their business to cover all vacation hot spots.
"We don't want to just be at beaches," Poundstone said. "We want to be in any vacation destination. We want to be renting skis and snowboards and tubes in Colorado. We want to be in Whistler, Canada; we want to be in Utah. Really anywhere that someone takes a vacation, we will eventually want to help rent them items that are going to make their vacation more enjoyable."
Watkins has a created a detailed three to five to 10 year growth strategy for the company.
"We want to make sure our services are top quality before we go into the next area," Watkins said.
Poundstone and Watkins met during freshman year as Auburn students and fraternity brothers.
"We were both involved in different organizations on campus, so we were able to team up with a lot of things on campus while we were at Auburn," Watkins said. "We've been good friends since Phillip started the company last spring."
Rent Gear Here has been nominated for an award by 30A.com, a website that many 30A area visitors go to see where the best places to go are and rent items.
The business has been nominated under the non-dining category.
"If we were able to be in the top five we would be featured on their website for the entire year as the top five hot spots for bike and beach services in the 30A area," Watkins said. "A lot of our customers will visit that website and be looking for who's the best bike and beach place to rent from here and that will be huge for us to be on their website as that."
On the voting survey, Rent Gear Here is currently ranked No. 14.
"We're really hoping to use our Auburn base and Auburn supporters to help us along," Watkins said. "We know Auburn likes to get behind their alumni. We really believe with their support we could be number one."
To vote visit 30A.com and click on their blog that contains their voting link.
Participants will go through a short survey and vote for their favorite business to be featured on the website.
These Auburn alumni will never forget their roots, especially when that means offering Auburn students and alumni special deals.
"We definitely encourage them to call us and tell us they're Auburn alumni or Auburn students and we'll offer a discount to them and make sure to take special care of them," Watkins said.
Poundstone said there are many people out there willing to help people start their own businesses.
"You'd be amazed at how many people are retiring and have had successful businesses that just want to give back and get nothing out of it," Poundstone said.
Although starting a business may be difficult all that matters is who you surround yourself with, Poundstone said.
"Really you can make anything work," Poundstone said. "There's no such thing as a bad idea. It's just really making the commitment to follow through on that and not giving up."
It all starts with an idea, Watkins said.
"Find mentors," Watkins said. "Don't be afraid to take a risk,. I've been working in different jobs for a while and if you just take the chance and the opportunity is there. Our generation has a lot of opportunities to serve customers and serve the generations above us if they just take the risk."
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