The New Year is just a few breaths away — have you thought about what you want your RV rental biz to look like?
Whether this past season was everything you’d hoped for or if bookings, profits, and/or reviews fell short of where you wanted to be — a new year is a new chance to reimagine your RV rental business.
Let’s dig in to figure out some of the best goal-setting strategies to set yourself up for success in the New Year
Ask yourself these questions to set the right goals
Anyone can set goals. The real challenge lies in setting the right goals for you, your business, and your family. Here are the main questions that’ll get you pointed in the right direction:
What level of growth do you want for your RV rental business?
We live in a society that often seems to pursue growth for growth’s sake without always considering the consequences.
For example, you could set a goal to double your profits next year. But what would that entail in your situation?
If doubling your profits also leads to a doubling of your workload, are you prepared for the time away from family, the potential for burnout, and the growth in guest servicing?
While you can certainly set goals for systems in your business that decrease workload while increasing profits, the point here is to start by asking yourself what kind of business you want next year.
Let’s say you had a successful past year renting out the family RV, made the extra cash you wanted, and got to enjoy several ‘paid for’ RV trips with your family. If that level of ‘growth’ is what makes you happy, why not set goals for more of that in the New Year?
On the other hand — you might have dreams of adding to your RV fleet and that’s great! Just be sure to develop a solid idea of where you want to go and what that’ll involve so you can set goals that match you.
We at Outdoorsy are here to support you no matter which direction you choose.
What systems could make your life easier?
Businesses are built on systems that simplify everyday tasks.
What are the everyday tasks in your RV rental business that could be simplified?
For example, have you been doing your RV cleanings and deliveries yourself? What would your business look like next year if you set goals around hiring help or creating new processes that free up your time to work on your business instead of in it?
If you plan to grow into multiple RV rentals, streamlining the day-to-day will be vital to your success. Setting attainable goals in this area will help create a happy New Year for you.
How were your reviews this year?
Look back to last year’s reviews for any consistent themes that might guide your goal setting.
If you didn’t receive many reviews last year what could you do to improve that? Here’s what our top owners have to say about strategies for getting 5-star reviews.
Any customer feedback you have is a solid guiding light for goals you can set in the new year.
How can you level up your guest experience?
Whether you rent out one RV or one hundred, you need to have a guest-centric mentality.
That’s why it’s important to craft goals around your guest experience. For example, could you provide amenities like s’more-making kits, awesome coffee, or extra add-ons that’ll expand the experience you already provide?
Providing a stellar guest experience is one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the competition. That’s why it’s a solid spot to create some goals on.
Are you growing with the right type of RV rental?
If you plan to expand your fleet, it may or may not be the best plan to expand with the same type of camper you started with.
Let’s say you started with a travel trailer because that’s the family rig you had on hand. Just because it worked well as a rental, doesn’t mean that’s necessarily the best RV type for business expansion.
Before you set goals on fleet growth — do a search of RV rentals in your area to see what vehicle type seems to get the most action. You might find that expanding into a new vehicle type causes your business to grow in new and exciting ways.
Goal-setting strategies for your RV rental business
It’s easy to set goals. It can be exceedingly difficult to set the right goals, on a proper timeline, and in a realistic way. Follow these tips to help achieve the RV rental goals you set for yourself:
Begin with the end in mind
Too many people set goals without really knowing where they want to end up. If you asked yourself the goal-setting questions above, chances are you know where you want to go in your business.
From there, make sure that any goals you set are designed to get you to your desired end and not the typical generic goals that society often encourages.
Set S.M.A.R.T goals
This has appeared in virtually every article on goal setting known to humankind, but it still bears repeating. Smart goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
Every goal you set for your RV rental business must pass this test for it to be attainable.
Break your goals into monthly, weekly, and daily action items
If you want to double your profits next year, what are the baby steps you’ll take to get there?
Some folks prefer day planners, others use scratchpads, others use apps, and others use things like bullet journaling to keep track of day-to-day tasks.
There’s an abundance of ways to track progress toward your goals. Find the method that suits you and break your goals into bite-size chunks.
Measure stuff
You can’t track your progress on your goals if you aren’t measuring things in your business.
For example, if your expenses, revenues, inventory, and maintenance records are a jumbled mess on your desk — it’ll be very hard to get a baseline for your business.
That’s why it’s central to goal setting that you regularly measure metrics in your business to know what levers to pull to reach your objectives.
Recruit an accountability buddy
This can be a spouse, friend, or adviser. The key here is to find someone to share your goals with who will hold you accountable for them.
A goal isn’t really a goal until it’s written down — and a goal gets even more teeth when it’s spoken aloud to someone who’ll help you stick to it.
Double down on what worked
While it can be fun setting lofty, dreamy goals for next year, the best goals are often the simplest.
Figure out the cut-and-dry things that worked really well in your business last year (e.g. a discount you offered, price increases for busy times of the year, INSTAbook, etc.) and set goals to do more of those things next year.
Try these tactical tips
Last but not least — we wrote up this article with a bunch of actionable strategies specifically for our owners to consider implementing next year.
We’re talking things like add-on strategies, figuring out your niche, considering consignment, offering delivery of your RV, and more to help you get where you want to go next year.
The article tells you how to do those things.
Every new year, the internet is abuzz with so many goal-setting articles that it can get overwhelming. That’s why we wanted to put this post together to speak uniquely to RV owners like you on our platform. The simple truth is the New Year is a natural opportunity for new directions. It’s generally a slower time that we can devote to thinking, planning, and strategizing. Be sure to take advantage of this time for your RV rental business.
Need support and accountability as you move toward your goals? Check out Outdoorsy’s Facebook Owners Group.
