Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steve Strauss. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Steve, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Keeping our creativity alive is reflective of the idea that a single candle can be used to light the wicks of a thousand more. Our initial creative push was the flame that continues to provide us with motivation and persistence. While building our business over the years, there were certainly times where it was an exhausting effort. But, because we built the Pirates Hideaway on an initial foundation of such creativity, inspiration followed and continues to follow at every turn. So, keeping creativity alive, for us, is inspired by being active operators in the day to day of our business. Because we, as owners, are physically interacting with our costumers, and working alongside our wonderful staff we are able to see first hand how our visitors enjoy their time with us with sincerity and excitement. So anytime we face challenges with continuing creativity, we just look to the customer experience and it motivates us to continue finding ways to be authentic and creative so that our guests and community can continue to be inspired by our products and the experience we create for them for years to come.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
While Pirates Hideaway is a business that offers various products and activities, it is really an experience. Whether it is to enjoy the beautiful gardens, enjoy authentic homemade pizzas by the lake, eat ice cream by the water, or take a pirate ship ride with your family, a visit to our pirate themed establishment instills a sense of magic and results in the making of memories. Pirates Hideaway is a family friendly attraction in Eagle River, WI that caters to all ages with a lakeside ice cream shop, tiki bar, woodfired pizzeria, live music venue, and gift shop. In addition to our on-land services we also provide pirate ship cruises on the Eagle River Chain of Lakes! With so much going on at one place it is the best spot to sit, relax, and watch people have fun together. In addition to having just a fun and unique atmosphere the products served are quality goods. Wisconsin made Cedar Crest ice cream is featured in the ice cream shop overlooking Duck Lake. Further, the woodfired pizzas are amazing. They are home made with a finely milled Italian flour, hand made, and topped with fresh ingredients and Grande Mozzarella. Finally they’re fired in an 800 degree woodfired oven. The quality of our products and the work put into creating an amazing customer experience is what really makes Pirates Hideaway a special stop for both locals and tourists. The sincerity of the staff and the energy put into the operation sets it apart from others. Pirates Hideaway also offers 4 + nights of live entertainment each week, and offers pop up events that include live mermaids, bubble makers, art instillations, and more.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe perseverance, work ethic, and believing in our provided experience were the three qualities of development that were most impactful in our journey towards success. My advice to folks who are early in their entrepreneurial journeys is that if you aren’t truly passionate about what you are serving or about the experience you are trying to create, then it might not be worth your energy and investment. For you, your customers, and your staff, you need to let your passion for your craft be contagious. There are hundreds of thousands of businesses, but when owners and operators are sincere and authentic, the customers will return, and rather then just building a base of customers, you build a community.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Pirates Hideaway is a unique lakeside establishment and experience. Because of it’s uniqueness, we are always looking for interesting and inspiring ways to entertain our visitors. For example, so far this summer we’ve had local and non local musicians perform 4-5 days a week. We’ve collaborated with giant bubble makers for events, stilt walkers, live mermaids, hula hoopers, face painters and other local artists to bring magic, performance, and art to our community. We welcome all artists and creators who’d like to create amazing experiences for excited visitors to reach out about ideas for collaboration for both paid and volunteer opportunities. If you or someone you know has unique talents to share with people we encourage reaching out through email at eagleriverpirates@gmail.com, or by stopping by and speaking with a member of the team leadership team about it. We look forward to inspiring more of our guests and community with unique experiences that result from positive & creative collaboration with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eagleriverpirates.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pirateshideaway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pirateshideaway/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PiratesHideawayEagleRiver
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pirates-hideaway-eagle-river
Image Credits
Pirates Hideaway
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