Paul Bugler News Today

Together. >> and thats how the idea for the lansing west virginia based adventures on the gorge was born. paul approached all three company owners. everyone involved sensed that a deal wouldnt be a simple one. >> i did see some challenges because we were competitors, for sure. and you know, that relationship, we had to work on. >> but soon enough, paul was able to convince them that the key to their collective survival was joining forces. >> theres a point in a family business where the family i...

They were friendly competitors, and they all loved running the business they were running. so you can only imagine what it was like when the owners of these companies were approached about merging their operations into one. >> when paul first told me, i really wasnt interested. i actually said no. we had a good gig going. we were growing. we were making money. not a lot. but we were paying our bills. >> thats brian campbell the founder of rivermen. the paul hes referring to is paul bugler, a for...

Youre buying from. you have to know if hes -- has a lot of product. if hes got a little product. if hes sitting on a lot, and you know hes sitting on a lot hes going to probably be a lower price than somebody else. >> you said know the person youre negotiating with. >> yes. >> and youre talking about knowing their supplies. supply and demand. what about knowing them as a person. is that helpful? >> with any business you know the person, you know the guy on a daily basis, youre going to probably ...

None of the three original companies had done before. and that meant looking beyond the white water. >> our strategy is very simple. we need people to stay longer. and do more things. and you can run two or three different rivers. you can participate in a kayak school. you can take a climbing and rappelling class. you can do mountain bike tours. you can do horseback tours. you do atv tours. the zip lines have been the biggest product weve expanded into. we now have two zip line courses. >> with ...

>> and thats how the idea for the lansing west virginia based adventures on the gorge was born. paul approached all three company owners. everyone involved sensed that a deal wouldnt be a simple one. >> i did see some challenges because we were competitors, for sure. and you know, that relationship, we had to work on. >> but soon enough, paul was able to convince them that the key to their collective survival was joining forces. >> theres a point in a family business where the family is necessar...

Maybe a bit confusing to your company. >> the loyalty is to the brand. in lots of cases these companies have been around for 30-plus years. when you say the rivermen or you say class 6, they automatically become emotional and tied to that brand. >> but adventures on the gorge means nothing to them. >> adventures on the gorge means nothing to them, and thats the tricky part. >> many employees who lived through the merger are still quite loyal to the individual brands. >> i found a lot of the back...

You have to know if hes -- has a lot of product. if hes got a little product. if hes sitting on a lot, and you know hes sitting on a lot hes going to probably be a lower price than somebody else. >> you said know the person youre negotiating with. >> yes. >> and youre talking about knowing their supplies. supply and demand. what about knowing them as a person. is that helpful? >> with any business you know the person, you know the guy on a daily basis, youre going to probably get a better price ...

Companies had done before. and that meant looking beyond the white water. >> our strategy is very simple. we need people to stay longer. and do more things. and you can run two or three different rivers. you can participate in a kayak school. you can take a climbing and rappelling class. you can do mountain bike tours. you can do horseback tours. you do atv tours. the zip lines have been the biggest product weve expanded into. we now have two zip line courses. >> with all the new activities and ...

Youre buying from. you have to know if hes -- has a lot of product. if hes got a little product. if hes sitting on a lot, and you know hes sitting on a lot hes going to probably be a lower price than somebody else. >> you said know the person youre negotiating with. >> yes. >> and youre talking about knowing their supplies. supply and demand. what about knowing them as a person. is that helpful? >> with any business you know the person, you know the guy on a daily basis, youre going to probably ...

Own personalities. they were friendly competitors, and they all loved running the business they were running. so you can only imagine what it was like when the owners of these companies were approached about merging their operations into one. >> when paul first told me, i really wasnt interested. i actually said no. we had a good gig going. we were growing. we were making money. not a lot. but we were paying our bills. >> thats brian campbell the founder of rivermen. the paul hes referring to is...