Welcome to the Snowie Web Log
Hello ::
Well, hello all you Snowie Shaved Ice connoisseurs. We are very excited about launching our new blog. Our hopes are that this page will become a great source of information for the shaved ice community as a whole. We encourage you to give us feedback on the articles we write and share your personal experiences in the business with everyone who may be interested in taking the leap.
History ::
Snowie was created to provide a business opportunity for all who wanted to venture out on their own or who would like something extra to supplement their income. There have been a broad variety of people that have chosen this route to lead them into the entrepreneurial world. Some start with nothing, buying one building a year and expanding slowly, others already contain a significant amount of wealth and buy many buildings, thus transplanting themselves into another career. Some do it for themselves; some do it for their families. “There is nothing like Snowie to teach the basics of all business skills, especially a strong work ethic to a youngster.” Says Gordon Rupp, Co-Owner of Snowie LLC.
Snowie has been around for nine years, but don’t let that fool you. Carl Rupp, Co-Owner of Snowie LLC has been a key, if not the key, player of the shaved ice industry for over 25 years. Between Gordon and Carl, you would be hard pressed to find another two men that have a stronger focus on innovation and improvement. It is not unusual to have someone of my caliber walk into the shop and see something being completely revamped and ask, “that thing was perfect, why are you changing it?” There response is always the same, “it needs some improvements, but if we are going to make some improvements, we might as well make every one we know of.”
Snowie has truly revolutionized the shaved ice industry ::
I personally have run shaved ice stands for the majority of my life. I started when I was eight years old, and I am now 31. From the time I was eight till around 22 years old, events were always the same. Equipment improved, but everything we did was virtually identical to the year before. There was nothing wrong with the way we were doing business, in fact it is most likely the way 90% of the shaved ice companies are still doing business today. It was hard, time consuming, yet profitable.
I took a break from shaved ice for about 7 years. I went to school, got a degree and worked in the IT field for those seven years. During that time I found myself involved in a search that so many are consumed with, “How do I get back to doing my own thing?” Or “How do I begin to do my own thing?” About 4 years into that career, my brothers approached me and asked if my wife and I would like to manage an event at the Delta Center (Home of the Utah Jazz). Looking for a change of pace, we said yes.
I could not believe the change that had taken place during those years while Snowie was being built. In those few short years, they had literally revolutionized the industry. Running an event wasn’t even close to the same as it used to be. From setting up, to servicing a crowd, to tearing down, everything was 80% easier and more reliable than the year previous. So for the 3 remaining years in the IT field and every year since, my wife and I run various local events on our evenings and weekends. This is not like just having an extra source of income; this is the equivalent of having a second career at a fraction of the work.
How exactly have they revolutionized the industry? Well, these are some of the things we will be discussing in this blog. Again, we appreciate your interest, and each of your comments.
Thank you for your time,
Aaron Rupp
