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

Andrew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses

My wife and I own and operate Beacon Guidebooks, along with our 11 year old son. The biggest theme of our short term and long term strategy is “balance”. Balance is a never ending challenge and an opportunity. Balance of a flexible schedule: the main function of the business for our family is to allow us flexibility to create the balance we want to have in life as we raise our son. We like to be available for his extra-curricular activities, for mid summer vacations, and even for simple things like doctor appointments. Balance of work and leisure: It can be difficult to ‘turn off the business’ when we are home in the evenings, but it is also valuable for our son to understand that if we took a weeklong vacation last week and completely unplugged, then we’ll have to work extra hard during mornings and evenings of the preceding and following weeks. We’ve learned that ‘balance’ is not a static equilibrium that you can achieve. Balance is a journey and a process that one can get better at over time.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into Beacon Guidebooks and the publishing industry by connecting a personal passion with my desire to be an entrepreneur. Beacon publishes books, maps, and apps for backcountry skiers around the world. I have been a passionate backcountry skier since I was a teenager. Avalanches are a constant problem and risk that needs to be managed for all winter backcountry travelers. I learned through years of avalanche education that it is very helpful to have a very intimate understanding of the terrain I’m traveling through because terrain characteristics play a big role in avalanches. I realized there were few-to-zero resources to help skiers become more intimate with their local terrain, so I made a ‘terrain atlas’ for my local area, Crested Butte, Colorado in 2013. Beacon Guidebooks was born, and I began getting phone calls and emails from experts around the world who wanted to create a terrain atlas for their own local area. Since then we’ve created more than 30 titles, along with topographic maps, a children’s book, and a Search and Rescue field guide book. We publish our content through two different digital apps as well. On the one hand, we make good looking guidebooks and maps that are fun to look at and to use. But the most important utility of our products is that we provide a resource and tool that helps winter travelers make better decisions in a risky environment.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

The mystery and difficulty of turning a side hustle into a career is such an important one to discuss. I was so eager, intimidated, and confused about what that transition could look like. When I was developing this business a side hustle, I was a full time carpenter, and my wife was a full time teacher. I did not have any family money to play with, or enough savings to just stop building houses so that I could focus on my side hustle full time. My side hustle was not providing nearly enough money to help support my family, so I couldn’t justify a transition. Yet I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see my budding company reach success unless I fully dedicated myself to it. I wanted to know what the magic secret trick was. At the end of the day, the answer is the one nobody wants to hear: I just had to work extra hard, and practice extreme patience. I woke up very early in the mornings to dedicate focus time to my passion. I had to sacrifice evenings and weekends, not only for a few months, but for years until the new business started proving itself. Once the business was proving itself financially (about six years later), it still did not promise very much income for our family. But the company was profitable, and we decided as a family that I could last a full year to ‘give it a shot’. I quit carpentry and took the leap, knowing that I might completely flop and return to carpentry with zero dollars in our bank account. This leap was extremely motivating, and I’m proud to say that it worked. Four years later, the business is profitable and successfully supporting our family.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Two books: “Making Money is Killing Your Business” was very inspiring as I started out. It also provided a huge amount of resources and tools to help me develop a specific vision, strategy, and plan. “Let My People Go Surfing” is also inspiring and has reminded me to think outside of the box and challenge the mainstream.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beaconguidebooks.com
• Instagram: beaconguidebooks
• Facebook: Beacon Guidebooks
• Linkedin: Andy Sovick
• Youtube: Beacon Guidebooks