It can be challenging to purchase an existing business that has an established customer base and its own way of doing things. However, Grady “Scooter” Simmons was more than happy to take on this challenge over 25 years ago when he purchased Surf Unlimited. In that time, he has rebranded, made the store his own, and expanded the offering. In 2020, he wanted to grow online and take control of his inventory, so he started using Booqable to accept bookings and manage his inventory.
Scooter’s Surf Garage
In 1997, Grady and his business partner bought Surf Unlimited, a surf store on Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. They moved it to a new location and reopened with surfers in mind. Their goal was to help surfers find the right board for them, and they quickly learned how essential rentals were to achieving this goal among their customer base.
After a few years, Grady was able to purchase his business partner’s share in the business. He brought his wife Leigh on board to assist with the store’s clothing department. By 2017, the clothing department had grown massively, and they split the boards and rentals from the clothing. The clothing boutique was moved upstairs, while the boards and rentals now live downstairs.
In the subsequent years, the retail and rental sides of the business have expanded far beyond surfboards. They now offer bikes, kayaks, sup boards, and beach equipment to tourists and locals looking to explore the area. Grady loves helping customers and one of the most memorable was a 70-year-old man who wanted to surf with his grandsons but felt he might be too old. Grady guided him through surfing, and a week later, the man returned and showed off photos of him surfing.
Growing online presence
Grady has grown Scooter’s Surf Garage massively over the past 26 years, expanding into much equipment. However, in 2020, he realized something was missing: having his own place to manage inventory and accept online bookings. So, he sought out rental software that could help him achieve these goals. While trying a few options, he found Booqable was the best for his requirements.
After 20+ years, he could finally take control of his inventory with Booqable. He can easily get an overview of the availability of his products while being able to adjust pricing easily. Meanwhile, he managed to integrate Booqable with his Weebly website, allowing him to accept online bookings. This gave customers an easy process for booking, which they love being able to do.
Internally, he has also seen a lot of improvement and loves how easy it is to manage inventory and quickly pull up information about bookings and payments. In addition, when he as temporary staff during the summer season, they were able to grasp the software and use it throughout the season without any issues.
Evolving with the times
Grady is determined to continue growing Scooter’s Surf Garage while evolving with the times. He has seen some product categories increasing and others declining, so he will be staying on top of this as he continues to grow the retail and rental operations of the business. Finally, he looks forward to helping more customers to achieve their surfing dreams.
