When young, adventurous, outdoor-loving individuals discover the tucked-away, sagebrush-covered mountains and gulches of the Wood River Valley, they will often do anything to make it their home.
The young adults who are carving out a living in Ketchum today are finding undiscovered business niches and are able to run profitable businesses and become homeowners. Although the numbers are small, the next generation of business owners does exist.
Dirk Zondag Jr. is manager of technical recruitment for Elevate Recruiting Co., a staffing company in Ketchum that is a splinter competitor of its parent company, Stafftopia.
"Most people come to Sun Valley because of what the outdoors has to offer," Zondag said. "Many people have college degrees and a passion for the outdoors, but they have to work two-plus jobs to get by on rent and buy the gear they need to pursue their outdoor passions. But there are more options for career growth."
Zondag is a 26-year-old college graduate who came to the valley for a ski season before embarking on a "big city job" in New York City. While working at Formula Sports in Ketchum, he rented skis to Stafftopia's founder and CEO Lisa R. Wood, who is a recruiter for Stafftopia, a well-established headhunting business. She later called Zondag to come in for an interview. Zondag landed a job as a headhunter, learning to recruit candidates from all over the country for high-tech software companies and vice versa.
"It's the only sales job where the product can say no," Zondag said.
It didn't take long before Zondag was offered the opportunity to move on from Stafftopia to run its newly formed company, Elevate. After a year and a half, Zondag was able to buy a season ski pass and a new car, and has been making plans to buy property in Ketchum.
"There are opportunities for young professionals to stay in the valley and find a happy medium, which allows them to stay here, but they can also have future goals in mind," Zondag said. "There is reason enough to live and work in the valley, and just like anything in life that is worth having, it takes time and energy."
Self-starting 36-year-old businesswoman Shanti Sosienski had spent many years as a freelance writer and Web site consultant, launching an on-line snowboard magazine and traveling the world writing about snowboarding, until she decided to go into business for herself.
After moving to Ketchum two years ago, she has not only become a homeowner but has launched her own business, SOS Communications, in Ketchum's light-industrial zone. The firm has 11 employees, three full-time and eight part-time.
"I wanted to start a business where I could hire a lot of young people, give them a ski pass and get half price on products," Sosienski said. "I would like a branch in Los Angeles, but with the bulk of the business here. People are educated and smart, and they can have a small-town life with a big-city job. We are really trying to do that, and I don't want to move."
SOS Communications handles Web-site content and management for clients such as Quiksilver, Red Bull and Fox motocross clothing, to name a few.
"Web sites are bottomless pits and are thrown to marketing and public-relations personnel to fill," Sosienski said. "These people are already overworked, and we can cut their costs. Everyone has a client they oversee, and they also help out with the rest of the sites."
Sosienski wanted her business to reflect cutting-edge technology in a creative and inspiring environment. She brought in hip furniture and instituted a yoga class one day a week before the start of business. Among her technology-savvy ideas to create the optimal office environment, Sosienski has given employees personality tests to help determine which positions best suit them and to match co-workers. She uses iChat and pays by the hour rather than by salary.
"We decided to go hourly so the staff can control their own work schedule," Sosienski said. "The Internet is 365 days a year. People can log hours whenever they want. They all have laptops, cameras for conference chats and are always connected through the Internet and can work remote."
In addition, Sosienski can also supplement work from a pool of freelance writers from all over the country, whose credentials include writing for entities such as GQ, Dow Jones and Real Simple. Using every piece of technology she can, SOS Communications proves that business can be done anywhere. Like Elevate, SOS Communications is not dependent on the valley for income and so does not experience "slack."
When 27-year-old Mat Gershater founded Mountain Adventure Tours summer camp 10 years ago with just four kids, he knew he was following his entrepreneurial passion because of his love for the valley and children.
"Parents wanted more outdoor curriculum for their kids," Gershater said. "Our Enviro-tainment program educates kids to the community they live in and the environment. We started with area outfitters and wanted it to be for working-class people."
Today, Mountain Adventure Tours is one of the valley's top camps and receives no outside funding.
"I know all the camp owners and we push for each other," Gershater said. "We all meet for a 'meeting of the minds' and make sure there are enough camps so no kids fall through the cracks."
Gershater owns Mountain Adventure Tours with a partner, and from its success he launched into a video business, which is now his main business.
"I got into the video business in 2005 with camp video work," Gershater said. "Mountain Adventure Tours never made a profit. I would bartend, clean floors and do whatever it took to keep it going."
The keepsake videos Gershater created for campers and their parents has landed him in a niche business. Gershater recently purchased a state-of-the-art DVD duplication machine because of the ongoing demands for camp videos as well as film projects such as "A World of Differences," a film he helped make for the 2008 Special Olympics education initiative.
"My video business, Mountain Adventure Tours and the community of people feels like home," Gershater said. "I survive because of great friendships and people who help me out."
Gershater and his partner employ one full-time person and in the summer at least 15 people. Previous campers are now counselors, which has allowed the camp to come full circle. Gershater's love for the valley and business has afforded him the ability to co-own and own several properties in and around the Wood River Valley.
"I do it in the Wood River Valley because it is one of the greatest places in the world with its diversity of land —desert, canyon, woods and rivers. Sun Valley is a connected place. I could do the camp in Bend, Ore., but people here are from all over the world."
Through contacts, Gershater is now doing video work for the Jeep King of the Mountain Ski Tour to help execute its new green initiative for its second season.
"I am in business for myself," Gershater said. "Everyday I wake up and the only reason I know something gets done is because I make it happen, and that's a challenge and a curse. I don't think of decisions as risks. In order to succeed, you have to go beyond your comfort zone."
Mat Gershater and Bex Wilkinson work on location for ?A World of Differences.?Photo by Mark Stone
