August Talk with Carly Siden

August is upon us, and the weather is heating up! It’s the month of holidays, summer fun and time off for many people. So how are small business owners coping with the month often known as ‘silly season’?
Today we’re talking to Carly Siden who is the shop manager at Easyriders, a watersports centre in Sandbanks.

How is August looking in your business? Does this month hold any special significance in your business?
August is always one of our busiest months because of the summer holidays! We also work closely with lots of the local schools to offer work experience to their students. It’s important to us to offer these opportunities, and a lot of the time, these students then end up signing onto our apprenticeship scheme which gives them the opportunity to learn more watersports with some cases then going on to be instructors!

What are your personal plans for this month? Can you give us a ‘tip’ for places to visit during this summer month?
We’re supposed to be having some more fantastic weather, so we say get out and enjoy it! We have so many different activities available, and we absolutely love getting people out on the water with us. Sandbanks is the place to be for watersports!

Did you know August 21 is World Entrepreneur Day? What does this word mean to you and do you apply it to yourself?
No I wasn’t aware of that!

Can you name one business you’d like to give a summer shout out too? Who has gone the extra mile for you recently?
I’d love to give a shout out to The Tin Snail Coffee Shop! We would not be able to function without our daily morning coffees from this place!

We are in a cost-of-living crisis at the moment. Is that impacting you at all in life or business? Do you have any money-saving tips you can share?
It has, of course, impacted our business. The price of fuel has gone up and we need this for our jet skis and ribs. All of our equipment has gone up in price as has the stock for the shop, so we’ve had to adapt our prices but unfortunately, we have had to put them up too.

Have you got any events planned for the autumn you’d like to shout about – either that you’re running or attending?
Towards the end of autumn/beginning of winter, we’ll be working alongside the Ocean Film Festival in November. We’ll have a stand there, to talk all things watersports, and we’re donating some prizes to the event.

And finally, August 16 was National Tell a Joke Day. Can you tell us a joke and raise a laugh?
Which cheese do you use to entice a bear out of the woods? CAMEMBERT!

For more information visit www.easy-riders.co.uk