Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank Buchanan.
Frank, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Well, my brother started Triangle Lawn Games in Raleigh a couple of years ago when I was in graduate school. He started to really drive business because he was a niche and was able to develop an excellent web presence. I saw what he was doing and we decided that if we wanted to expand, we would experiment with the business in multiple cities so I took over and started building it up in Houston. I graduated and decided I didn’t want to look for a real job so I would take Houston Lawn Games and run with it. Basically, from January until September, we experienced pretty good growth and started making money. I left for several months to travel to Asia then go skiing in a van around the United States. In that time, we used contractors to deliver the games and we really gleaned a lot of info about how we would want to expand. We actually have 6 locations around four states at the moment including a recent addition of Austin.
The main issue right now is we service events which just aren’t happening so that’s unfortunate. Regardless, we believe there is a lot of potential in the business and we have additional ideas we would like to implement when times improve.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Communication and expectations with drivers is always an issue but we have ironed that out to some extent. The biggest hurdle at this time is obviously no one is having events so we’re not getting used much. Unfortunately, we’re predicated almost exclusively on large groups of people coming together which we now know is illegal.
Please tell us about Houston Lawn Games.
We specialize in renting lawn games such as cornhole, giant connect four, giant jenga, etc.. for weddings, events, get togethers, etc.. What sets us apart is our pricing, our web presence and the fact we specialize in a very specific item for event rentals. Other businesses have games but they likely pay little attention to them, which ultimately puts us in the first Google spot for rentals.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s tough, but I would have developed a framework for any drivers to succeed more. It would have detailed times for when pick up is needed and not just delivery times.
Pricing:
- Cornhole, Giant Jenga, Giant Connect Four – $30 per day per game for rentals, pick up is free, delivery is additional
Contact Info:
- Address: 208 Bremond Street
Houston, TX 77006 - Website: houstonlawngames.com
- Phone: 346-291-7137
- Email: info@houstonlawngames.com
- Instagram: houstonlawngames
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houstonlawngames
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
