Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Jencen.
Hi Nikki, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Our story begins in the middle of the pandemic while my husband and I were walking our dogs. We were discussing how excited we were to have family come and visit us from Wisconsin. They were staying at Home2 Suites by Hilton in Carlsbad. They planned to go on hikes, visit Legoland as it had just reopened, and they wanted to do a beach day with us. My husband looked at me and said, “we will have to go buy more beach chairs and umbrellas since we won’t have enough”. That’s when he had the brilliant idea to start a beach equipment rental company. So, we ran home and did some market research. As a long-time online entrepreneur, this new venture sounded like a lot of fun, and it would keep me closer to our happy place…the beach!
Our market research showed us there was a big need in San Diego for beach equipment rentals. In fact, we almost have no competition. On the east coast, this business model is very popular so we emulated what they were doing and started it here in San Diego. We’ve been busy ever since.
We are passionate about our beaches and the ocean. Keeping the beaches clean is something we really wanted to incorporate into our business model. We knew that once our business got going, we wanted to start donating to local (and non-local) beach clean-up non-profits. Our business starts and ends with generosity. Since our customers are extremely generous, every tip that we receive will get donated to a beach clean-up charity like cleansd.org.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I haven’t come into a business yet where everything is smooth sailing. There are always unforeseeable challenges in business that no one can anticipate. As they say, businesses don’t make money until the 5th year, and in my experience, I’d say that’s true. Fortunately for us, Beach 2 You has taken off rapidly. Our customers are so excited that something like us exists in San Diego County.
We created Beach 2 You originally for the out-of-towners who want to go to the beach but don’t want to buy and throw away a few hundred dollars’ worth of chairs and umbrellas. They also love the fact that we deliver right to their local Airbnb, hotel, vacation rental, or their favorite spot at the beach.
To our surprise, our beach packages have been popular among the locals too. We’ve rented our beach chairs, umbrellas, canopies, coolers, boogie boards, tables, and towels to post wedding day newlyweds, birthday parties, corporate work gatherings, family reunions, and more. It has been more of a total blast than a struggle for us which has been unlike any other business I’ve owned in the past.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a beach equipment rental start-up company. We’re known for delivering beach necessities to vacationers, but we’ve been popular among locals too for our beach party rentals. We help our customers set up at the beach so they create the best party vibes for their guests. Also, who loves to drag all their beach stuff to the beach, nope no one, so we do it for you.
We serve all of north county, but we have big plans to expand our locations in the future to South San Diego and even Orange County. We collaborate with many of the local hotels as well since they are always being asked by their customers where they can rent beach chairs. We’ve given them a simple solution to a big thorn on their side.
The thing that sets us apart from others is that we are a curbside beach rental company that delivers beach needs directly to the customer.
Here’s what 33 Threads had to say about us after their corporate work event at the beach, “Nikki and her husband are great! I love this business! They brought the chairs, spike ball, cornhole, and a cooler all down to the beach for us, helped us set up, and came and picked them up. The supplies are high quality too! Nice chairs and sets of games! This made it so easy for our event to have a great time with no stress of bringing beach supplies. I will definitely be using this business again and so recommend for anyone going to the beach!”
A vacation goer was also really excited to have found us, she said this, “Great customer service! Super friendly, responded fast, accommodated our special requests. We got the most basic package and this family-run business truly treated us like family. Can’t wait to use them next time we visit San Diego.” Even though we’re a startup family business our standard and bottom line is customer satisfaction along with continuous improvement.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Taking risks goes with running a successful business. I’ve been in the tech and digital world since 2012. I’ve never ran the risk of buying thousands of dollars of equipment, let alone buying a truck to haul it. The cost of goods is a risk, but we also minimized our overhead costs due to not having a brick-and-mortar business model. Although gas is at an all-time high and having a delivery model is also tough since we gasp every time we’re at the pump.
In today’s world, just going to the grocery store entails risk, as inflation is so high. We based our business around travelers coming to San Diego, which is risky, especially due to high gas prices and plane travel. We often wonder what our business would have looked like pre-pandemic? Even though the world shut down and travel was next to nothing we still thought starting a business around travel would be risky but rewarding. So we’re doing it anyway!
Pricing:
- Packages start at $45
- Beach gear rentals start at $5
Contact Info:
- Website: https://socalbeach2you.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socalbeach2you/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beach2you/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/so-cal-beach-2-you-carlsbad
- Other: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/CarlsbadBeachGear
