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Oct. 6, 1999
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YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
SMALL BUSINESS
ASSOCIATION WINNER
photo by M. Washington
Geneva's Shear Perfection
Jo h n T r u jillo ’s p a s s io n fo r
kayaking is the driving force b e­
hind his b u sin ess success. W hen
John started the C ascade A dven­
ture C en ter in 1995, he had two
w hitew ater kayaks and the d is­
tin c tio n o f b e in g o n e o f the
n a tio n ’s p rem ier kayakers. John
w on a silv e r m edal in the 1992
K ayak Slalom W orld C ham p io n ­
ships. He also w rites review s for
P addler M agazine and tests every
boat that com es out in the m arket
Jo h n ’s love o f the sport as w ell as
current public interest in kayaking
has m ade his busin ess one o f the
fastest grow ing paddle sport com ­
panies in the P acific N orthw est.
In less than fo u r years, T rujillo
has steered his en terp rise from a
sm all, w hitew ater kayaking school
to a fu ll-serv ice p addle sport es­
tablishm ent w hich o ffers a fully-
equipped retail shop, raftin g trips
on th e D e s c h u te s R iv e r an d
w hitew ater/sea kayaking schools.
His m illio n -dollar business re­
quires skill and know ledge o f the
sport because the sport changes
quickly. His sta ff also paddles
professionally. John loves w hat
he does because he is able to share
his enthusiasm for paddling with
other people. He teaches all young
e n tre p re n eu rs that passio n for
w hat you do in life leads to suc­
cess.
M A K IN G P K O G R I SS
“T h ere’s been three progres­
sions in my business. It started with
ju st m yself and two kayaks for the
school. From there, I brought on my
younger brother to help teach the
lessons. T hings got busy very
quickly.
The second progression was 1 Vi
years after teaching people, the cli­
ents were ready to buy gear and
equipment. And so, we started to
sell the actual equipment and went
NW
into retail.
The third progression was get­
ting on the Internet. We then put all
the products online which opened
up the geographical boundaries o f
where we could reach customers.
E-commerce is nothing new. It’s
been around a long time. It is ju st a
new medium in reaching customers
for the same sale like mail-order cata­
logs. W e’ve been savvy with the
search engines and designing a
website that has a good navigation
component. So far, we have put
exactly zero dollars into marketing
our website to date. The premiere o f
our expanded website will be on
January 3rd and can be reached at
kayakusa.com .
\S I ( O M M I \
I
“ Surround yourself with advi­
sors, people who have been there.
And, don’t miss deadlines and ap­
pointm ents.”
N atural isn’t just your gas
company, we’re also your neighbor.
That helps us understand you and
your needs a little better. It has for
over 135 years. So whenever you need
us, from a fussy furnace to a softball
game, we’re always here at 220-2360.
NW N a tu ra l
www n w n a tu ra l com
We g r e w up here.
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TEAM RESTAURANTS
photo by M. Washington
N ike joins in w ith th e
P o rtla n d O bserver in
C elebrating th e many
Valuable
C o n trib u tio n s made
by M in o rity
businesses in our
G reat S ta te
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