For the first seven years of his working career, Josh Russart toiled as an office-bound civil engineer. And, well, he pretty much hated it.
“I found out quickly that I didn’t like sitting behind a desk,” said Russart, a UW-Milwaukee grad. His typical work day had him using a computer to design parking lots, storm water systems and utilities for subdivisions, retail stores and fast-food restaurants.
“I’m an outdoors kind of guy,” said Russart, the 32-year-old owner of Minocqua-based Northwoods Zip Line Tour. “So being stuck in a cubicle was the downfall of my first career. I didn’t get out in the field much. And I guess I didn’t really know what being a civil engineer would entail.”
His two-year-old zipline business — which he says he loves running — consists of eight cables strung between towers, plus a series of six adventure bridges. The course, which takes 2.5 hours to complete, covers nearly a mile. He built the complex with his brother-in-law Adam Rhodee, who is also his silent partner.
“This is a much better fit for me,” said Russart, who will be adding a climbing wall and mountain-bike trails this summer. “I liked my bosses at my old job, don’t get me wrong. But in the end I’m one of those guys who wants to figure out what he wants to do on a daily basis and plan for the future. I just got to the point that I could not sit in a cubicle. I realized in my life, I wanted to own my own business.”
Russart said two trips (a vacation in Hawaii and a honeymoon in Costa Rica), during which he went ziplining, made him think of opening his own canopy tour outfit.
“This was all happening about the same time as I’d decided I wanted to be my own boss and call the shots,” he said. “I got lucky, because the two just clicked.”
Nor did it hurt that Russart had a supportive spouse, who knew that his engineering career was not fulfilling for him. Regardless, he said, she still thought he was a little “nuts.”
“She believes in my dream and has been very supportive of this whole endeavor,” he said. “The past two years have been the hardest years of my life, but in the end when you succeed and have it, it’s truly amazing.
“I’ve always heard people say that you should do something you love. I will tell my two boys as they grow up to pursue doing a job that they love, so it’s not even a job. Then you can wake up in the morning and go to work happy. Life is grand when you love your work. A lot of people can’t say that.”
Russart first considered the Wisconsin Dells area, but decided that the market was saturated with three existing zipline companies. So he looked at the Minocqua area, near where his wife’s family has a cabin.
Russart said the decision to build just south of town was a blessing.
“Everyone around here has been really nice,” he said during a recent winter tour of the course. “It was a whole different atmosphere from what I was experiencing in the Dells. It’s been all-around great to be in Minocqua.”
Russart said he leases the land on which the course is located from the town of Minocqua.
“I lucked out there, too,” he said. “The town administrator was supportive and believed in us from the start. He understood that having a world-class zipline tour would draw tourists here and benefit the community.”
Russart said he and his brother-in-law built the towers, ziplines and bridges, spending around $200,000 of their own money. They did not have to take out a bank loan.
He said they first considered hiring a consultant to build the course, but the $1 million price tag was too much. Fortunately, they made friends with a Tennessee zipline operator who invited them south and showed them how to build.
“We really lucked out there, too,” he said. “We learned all we needed from him.”
This past summer, Russart had 29 employees. During the winter, he had a couple of guides on call for canopy tours. He said he figures he’ll hire 40 to 50 people this coming summer as the business expands.
Russart said safety is key to his business, noting that the course and the ziplines are inspected and certified by the Association for Challenge Course Technology. He said Wisconsin does not currently regulate canopy tours, though he believes that state certification will be required soon.
For a new company, Russart said he has been pleasantly surprised by how well the business has done.
“Few startups can say they’ve turned a profit or paid off investments,” he said. “We’re putting money we made back into the business with the mountain bike course and rock climbing wall. With 5,000 customers coming through the door at $100 a head, that’s some pretty good revenue for a first-year business.”
And he’s glad he took the do-it-yourself route.
“We looked at using a consultant because at first we didn’t fully know what we were doing. But after a year of talking with consultants and going through the process, Adam (who has a background in construction) and I decided that there are a lot of things out there in the world that people can do themselves if they put forth the effort to learn how to do it.”
— By Brian E. Clark
For WisBusiness.com
