Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

Miller’s all started as a daydream while the Miller Family was vacationing at Bass Lake in the 1970’s and early 80’s. The dream eventually became reality and the ‘team’ started out with just the family and the only boat for rent was the family’s personal ski boat, a 1978 Santa Maria Miller day cruiser,
Over the years the resort has grown and evolved in many ways but most importantly with our staff!
Today, Miller’s employs over 100 people each year with most of those being awesome, locally grown mountain teens!
Our family considers every one of them family and we also understand full well that they are the key to our success! Our foundation has been built on quality, consistency & customer service and without our amazing staff each summer none of these would be possible.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Miller’s is located on the south shore of Bass Lake in the Sierra Nation Forest – just 15 miles from the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. We offer year-round cabin rentals, seasonal boat rentals, a restaurant (home of the famous Miller Burger) ice cream fountain, general store, gift shop, public showers & laundry.

Our goal at Miller’s is not just to provide services but to provide unique experiences to our guests with memories that will last a lifetime. Our summer events over the years have included movies on the water, car & boat shows, MyTri youth triathlon, Campfire Nights, Guzzle & Groove, Dog Days and we close the season each year with a family BBQ with live music & fireworks! (Our calendar of evets can be found on our website.) Giving back to the community that supports us is also an important part of what we do. Every event hosted at Miller’s is a fundraisers for local schools & community organizations – so everybody wins!

Being family owned since 1982 has offered a fair share of rewards and challenges but the sweet memories and generations of special families we see each year has most definitely tipped the scales in our favor, We feel lucky every day to have had the opportunity to be a part of the ‘Bass Lake Magic’ for so many years!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

At Miller’s we like to treat every employee and guest like family. Our hope is that walking into our place feels like home because that’s how it feels for us – just good friends & family stopping by for a visit. We appreciate not only the patronage but the relationships that we have developed over the years. Every summer is like a reunion chalked full of new babies to meet, last summer vacations before sending kids off to college, milestone birthdays, and just every day celebrations at the Lake. We’re truly so lucky to be a part of it all!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The last five years have certainly been a lesson in resiliency for our family and many other business in our area. We have been faced with many challenges including a pandemic, hiring shortages, drought, fires, bark beatles, and a forest service closure… just to name a few. It has taught us to not get too complacent, things seem to be ever changing these days. We are grateful to have navigated through these challenges and we are looking forward to smooth summers ahead!

Contact Info:

• Website: millerslanding.com
• Instagram: millerslandingbasslake
• Facebook: Miller’s landing Bass Lake

Image Credits
Darvin Atkeson-falls at night Jack Mitchell-marina view David Boomer-burger & fries Zarek Dietz-wake surfer