All Forum Posts by: Steve Dove

No problem. Good luck.

I've recently launched a new interactive trail mapping solution (www.groomedtrail.com), that caters specifically to snowmobilers. It's currently focused on Michigan, New York and Minnesota, with Michigan being the most populated with points of interest at this time. This is a custom platform that was developed upon Google Maps, and allows a snowmobiler the ability to check conditions, trail availability, points of interest, and also build and share map routes within the community. At just under 2 months old, I have already registered over 2,600 users, and am now focusing on populating the lodging directory. My lodging listings have great aesthetics, and a built in traveler review system. In addition to the full page listing, I also show the exact proximity of the listing, to the groomed snowmobile trail system. This is what snowmobilers want to see, as they must have easy access to and from the trails, while riding snowmobiles.

I'm looking for lodging owners that are interested in advertising on the site. Annual listings are $60/year ($5/mo). I even offer a 30 day free trial, with no payment required to list. I'm including some photos and videos, as they relate to what I have built. I'm hopeful that there are short-term lodging owners out there that will see the benefit of advertising to a select group of outdoor enthusiasts. I thank you in advance, and look forward to your feedback.

Groomed Trail

How to advertise lodging on Groomed Trail

Press Release

Thanks Eric. Because we have built so many user specific functions into the website, a login is necessary. Green = the trail is open. Red or yellow are self explanatory. Users have the ability to change the trail status and inherently the color as part of our crowdsources model. Having this wide open to anyone that is not logged in, would not work.

Hi Megan,

   New England states are on our roadmap for sure, but most likely not this year. I can easily query all of the POI's and get them populated. It's the lodging that is the tough part, as it is an elective and paid services. I'm looking for ideas on how to attract lodging owners in bulk.

Steve

Hi Nik,

      As of now, just those three states and parts of Wisconsin. The site is built to accept any new trail data, for any state. As you an imagine the formatting of the data to make it web friendly is time consuming. We will be working on/off season to populate as much map data as we can obtain, and the site will also progress into ATV/UTV, hiking, etc.

Steve

As an avid real estate investor in Michigan, I also enjoy snowmobiling just about anywhere there is snow. About two years ago, I planned an 800 mile snowmobiling trip through Ontario, and used some of the then available online tools to plan the trip. However, I found them to be lacking in a number of different ways. As an owner of vacation rentals, I also don't like getting gouged by VRBO or watch them take an additional commission from the renter. On this trip, I had a lot of time to think, so I decided to create a website that offered a comprehensive set of tools for planning a snowmobiling trip.

I built the site on the Google Maps platform, which we have overlaid with GPS trail data for snowmobiling in Michigan, Minnesota and New York (More states are coming). I'm able to populate any POI to the map to show a snowmobiler where to get fuel, food, etc. I have built in a lodging module to the site, where an owner of any type of lodging accommodations can list their Vacation Rental, Hotel, Motel, etc. Users can search our lodging directory, or also visually locate a place to stay within it's proximity to the groomed trail systems.

We charge an annual fee, with no commissions. $60/year or $100 for two years. The systems also has a review function built-in, but we do not offer a full suite of rental management tools. We put the owner of the accommodations back in touch with the prospective client, before the client pays.

The site is also crowdsourced, meaning any registered user can update a trail report or trail status; build, save and share routes, as well as upload and share their own GPS data. We really think that this is going to gain some traction, as it is unique in the fact that it is a comprehensive offering to the sport. We've done a soft launch of the site last Tuesday, and already have over 500 registered users on the site.

I'm looking for ways to get the word out to owners of lodging, above and beyond direct mailing. We have that covered and will begin mass mailings soon. I also invite any of you, with lodging accommodations to take a look at our site, and see if this type of advertising would appeal to you, if you can accommodate snowmobilers.

You can visit the site at https://www.groomedtrail.com. I look forward to your feedback.

 Individual Retirement Account. You put money in it now, so that you can use it later on in life. It's time to start talking to professionals.

Don't worry about the 401k just yet. It is the recommended step after you fund an IRA, each year, for several years. Just make sure that you and your parents have started a Roth IRA. Go mow lawns, shovel snow, etc. and put every nickel into the IRA. Maybe your parents can even help you with a few dollars for spending money, since you will be investing all of your own.

There are a number of posts here, and I haven't read all of them. So, please excuse this suggestion if it is a redundant one. Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, so please confirm all of these suggestions with a professional.

Here's what I would do, and plan to do with my kids once they are of age. Since you are 14 years old, you are old enough to work and report an income to the IRS. You now have the ability to also contribute to a custodial IRA. This means that your parents or guardian must also be tied to the IRA. You can contribute up to the maximum contribution allowed to your IRA (currently $5500), as long as you have earned and are reporting that same amount to the IRS. Continue to do this every year, and once you are out of college, or are working for an employer that offers a 401k, you can roll this IRA over to the plan.

At that point, you can borrow from the 401k, up to a maximum of $50,0000 (if you have at least $100,000 in the 401k). Interest is paid to you, not a bank, and does not reflect on your credit report. Use this money to start investing. You will still be young enough to take such risks by borrowing, because you'll have planty of time to recover. Let's face it, if you have that kind of money in a $401k in your early 20's, you're probably already doing better than most adults much older than you at that point.

Be disciplined, and patient. This takes time. Pay your properties off as quickly as you can, and continue to buy more with your earned income from those properties and your W2 job. Don't forget to keep contributing to your IRA and 401k while following this plan. Your net worth will sky rocket in your early 30's. I hope that this is helpful.

There are probably enough people on this site to collectively "buy-in" to a better system. Maybe there are some web developers within our ranks that want to take this on and deliver a more owner / guest focused solution.