For years, Jeffrey Hall served his community of Washington, Utah, which is right near Zion National Park and Lake Powell, as a pharmacist. But the chance rental of a waterslide for a gathering at his home ended up changing the entire trajectory of his life and career.
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| Jeffrey and Crystal Hall |
“It was a family reunion in 2012 that we were hosting. My wife, Crystal, and my sister rented an inflatable waterslide. When the fellow came to pick it up at the end of the weekend, we started talking. In the conversation, he shared that he was selling his inflatable rental business. I thought, well, I am a pharmacist and have extra time in the evenings and weekends, perhaps I could do this on the side. After doing my analysis, I realized that he was asking too much for his business and overstated how much he was making as well as how much time was involved, but I was intrigued. I thought I could start my own business. I bought a few inflatables, tables and chairs and concession equipment, started a website and began St. George Fun,” Hall says.
As word got out about this business, customers for his inflatables started asking if he had items more suitable for backyard parties. “I didn’t even think about it. The next big thing we did was purchase marquee tents,” he says, adding that this aspect was quite a learning curve, taking him hours and plenty of conversations with the manufacturer about how to set up the tents properly.
That learning curve didn’t hinder his enthusiasm, though, and the business kept evolving and growing. The effort was helped by meeting a wedding planner who had more inventory, and they teamed up for various
events. Eventually Hall asked her to call him if she was ever interested in selling her business. “A year later we bought it and increased our ability to do other types of events instead of just inflatables,” he says.
Hall quickly realized those who were interested in planning a wedding would not call an inflatables business for wedding rentals, so, in addition to his inflatables business, he started Legacy Events & Rentals as a d/b/a so he could market to weddings and other events.
The business received another break when the woman he bought the inventory from called, said she was working a large wedding at a particular venue and needed specific equipment that she thought Hall could offer. “We put in this large dance floor and a really great lighting system that I invented. At the end of the event, the people at the venue said this was the best experience they had ever had with a rental business and wanted to use us from now on,” Hall says.
As his business grew, he needed more inventory. The vendors he dealt with told him about the American Rental Association (ARA) and The ARA Show™. “At first, I thought joining was just for the big guys, but after going to the show in 2015 and then in 2017, I realized the benefits of being a member of ARA were also for small businesses like mine,” he says.
By 2017, the operation had grown to such a point that it could no longer be a side business. “I had to decide whether to go all in or get out,” Hall says. “Working part-time and trying to grow the business wasn’t doing it. I wanted to be my own boss. I quit my career as a pharmacist in 2017 to work for myself as a rental business owner. I invested in our website, search engine optimization and social media, and started going to Chamber of Commerce events. Within a short amount of time, I picked up business from three or four other venues.”
To accelerate the process even more, Hall hired wedding planners to be part of his growing business.
The business kept growing. Hall was learning rental by doing. He joined ARA in 2018 and became insured by ARA Insurance. “Now I tell everyone about ARA. That is the best advice I can give any small business owner is to join whatever trade organization belongs to their industry. I tell everyone that,” Hall says.
Living in a part of the country that offers beautiful natural backdrops for weddings, from Zion National Park to the other natural wonders in the region, his area of the nation has become a hot wedding destination spot. People from out of town found his website and capabilities and began booking weddings.
2019 had been his best year ever. The next year, 2020, got off on a great foot until mid-March, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit.
“Like every other rental business that caters to events, everything canceled within two weeks. We thought it might be the end of the world. Even though Utah never shut down, everyone canceled,” he says, adding that he applied for and received the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans, as well as a loan offered by the State of Utah.
Soon he noticed that people who were stuck at home had begun renting inflatables and waterslides. “We were crazy-busy with those types of rentals,” he says.
Then “I was fortunate that one of the gals who had worked for us part-time was now a manager for a medical clinic. Her clinic needed a tent for COVID testing. I was trying to help her out, so I put up a tent for her,” Hall says.
Well, that one rental turned into a lifeline for Hall. “She ended up being on a call with others in the health system who needed tents and didn’t know where to get them. Soon I was receiving calls for tents as far as 400 miles from me. I knew some of the rental folks up there and asked whether they could help supply what was needed. I became a middleman and supplied tents for a large portion of the hospitals and clinics in Salt Lake City,” he says.
Between the inflatables and those tents, Hall made it through the worst of the pandemic and was able to bounce back last year with a record number of jobs.
“Last year we had 40 percent growth over the previous best year, which would have been 2019. It was so much growth,” Hall says.
In addition, last year marked a change in how he did business. He not only helped the wedding planners he had hired start their own business, but he also saw that the outdoor park venues booked up quickly. “We were used to being a Friday, Saturday and Sunday business and turned into a Tuesday and Wednesday business too because those were the only days available at those sites,” he says.
All signs indicate that 2022 will be another good year. “For instance, it is already very hard to find a venue in this area. If people haven’t booked a place for this year, they might not get one,” he says.
Hall also anticipates the influx of Californians to the state to be a boon for business. “Our whole county, which might be the size of four counties back East — might have 190,000 people. In the more populous areas, we might have 120,000 to 150,000 people. More people are coming into our state. I think our business could see another 20 percent growth this year because so many people are moving into the area. I had to turn down business every day last year because we were booked out. We couldn’t take on anymore. If I can get a more robust team, I won’t have to do that this year,” he says, adding that he even purchased a new Sailcloth tent to add to his inventory as a way to introduce it to his area.
All that growth has slowed Hall’s goal to move the business out of his house and into a warehouse. “It has taken us a year-and-a-half to get into a warehouse,” Hall says. “They are building as fast as they can. With all the warehouses, there is an 18-month waiting list to get into one. Our plan is to be in our new 5,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in the next month.”
Moving into the new warehouse will offer another big step for his business and help him grow his staff, offer the type of training he wants to provide, etc.
Looking back on where he has come from, Hall admits the past few years have offered him the opportunity to expand beyond his comfort zone, but he has no regrets about his decision to move into event rental.
“I like helping people,” he says. “People have a need. We can help fulfill that. That is one of the reasons I went into pharmacy. I like to help people out. For me it always has been about quality. I am a very detail-oriented person who cares about quality and doing things right. I was that way as a pharmacist and am that way as a rental owner. I want all the details to look good to make sure our customers are getting their money’s worth. Details matter. That is why I have spent money on higher-end products. I will buy the best that I can simply because I want customers to have a better experience,” he says.