A great business starts with one idea, or in the case of Morgan Gliko, one tiny trailer.
After having their first child in 2011, Morgan and
his wife Ashley fell into an exhausting routine. They were two ships
passing in the night as she worked nights as an ultrasound nurse, and he
worked during the day at the American Red Cross. “I would hand off our
son and go to work,” he told Yahoo Finance. “We were like two single
parents who never had family time until we went on vacation.”
When
the couple from Mt. Juliet, Tenn. discovered they were expecting a
second child, it was clear that something needed to change. Ashley’s
income was enough to support the family, so Morgan decided to leave his
job and stay home with the children.
In
2015, the family took their annual vacation to visit family in Montana,
and decided to buy a 16-foot red Shasta Airflyte trailer for the trip.
It cost $15,000, and they loved the fact that they could travel at their
own pace, staying at campgrounds along the way.
What
Gliko didn’t expect is that pulling the bright red vintage trailer
behind their truck would attract so much attention. “We got a huge
response from people at gas stations, campsites, literally everywhere we
went,” he said. “We realized we were on to something.”
When they returned home, Gliko took out a loan to buy two more new $15,000 trailers. Today, the couple runs “The Flying Ham,”
a small travel trailer rental company specializing in these small and
fashionable campers. (The name refers to the fact that the trailers kind
of resemble a can of ham!)
“I wanted to stay in the workforce and we’ve always
wanted to start our own business,” says Gliko. “We love to travel, so we
thought it made sense to give people the chance to experience RV life."
For renters, the RV life comes without any of the
responsibility. After reserving the trailer on Airbnb or directly on the
FlyingHam website, renters simply have to select a campsite within 30
miles of Nashville (a delivery charge of $1 a mile is charged for
anything outside of this distance). Gliko takes it from there,
delivering the trailer and setting up the water and sewer lines. He also
insures that the trailer is stocked with bath towels, sleeping bags,
pillows and cookware.
While small, the units also come with beds, air
conditioning, heat, a bathroom, a shower and a 3-burner stove. Shasta
originally produced the Airflyte travel trailer in 1961, but re-released
1,941 replicas in 2015 celebrate their 75th anniversary. Gliko bought
three of the replicas, and thinks the popularity of his business has to
do with the feeling these trailers evoke.
“When
these were popular in the 60s, camping was how people spent time
together. These days, people have gone back to staying close to home,
and these vintage trailers allow them to step back in time,” he said.
The
trailers rent for $170-$185 a night, and the company averages about
eight reservations a month with an average stay of 2-3 nights. On top of
that, people consistently rent the trailers for vintage farm weddings
and for photo shoots.
While
the company won’t make the Forbes list anytime soon, Gliko says they
are profitable. “It’s slow and steady income for my family, and most
importantly, it’s something that we can all do together.”
Guess sometimes the biggest surprise in life can come in the form of a teeny-weeny trailer.
Culled from Yahoo finance
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