In the long run, Richard Askren likely wishes he had a couple of do-overs in his three year run at SWM Indoor Golf in St. Joseph. But, do-overs are pretty rare in the world of business, so he’s just going to capitulate for now, work at a job he’s lined up for the summer and then switch careers to launch a new beginning.
Askren will lock the door one last time at the close of business Saturday on his indoor golf simulator business across from Clementine’s Too in St. Joseph and offer the business for sale to anybody who might be interested or sell the simulators and move on.
Askren tells me today, “The short of it is my total sales have gone down every year I’ve been open. Advertising seemed to have little effect since I did much more advertising in my 2nd year than I did in my first and sales plummeted by 25-percent still.”
Richard admits that it’s not even the fault of failed marketing so much as the climate change we’ve undergone. He says the very mild winters of late have been business killers for places like his, saying, “I can’t compete with golf courses that can be open in December, January, February, etc.”
Just last month he was stunned to see his main competitor, a simulator business in Granger, Indiana, went out of business. He told his Facebook followers at that time, “That actually saddens me. Their place was very nnice and I wish I could’ve made my place more like what they created.” He called it “very disheartening,” at that time, and pretty much foretold his own fate by adding, “If sales don’t increase dramatically in March, then it will be the last month this business will be open. Just can’t compete with these non-winters we have now, and the lack of interest from the majority of golfers in this area.”
Askren was a graphic artist for 14 years before he started SWM Indoor Golf at 600 Langley Avenue in St. Joseph three years ago. He doesn’t want to return to that trade, so he is in search of something new and will learn a new trade to switch careers.
Another do-over that Askren admits he wishes he had is access to a bigger budget to begin with, which would have allowed him to use a different brand of simulators which can simulate other sports as well, which would have opened up his customer base to many others beyond the world of golf.
His simulators however, work very well and Richard is very appreciative to those who did patronize his business. He says, “I built this place for local golfers to keep in practice, and more importantly, just have fun in the winter. I have some very dedicated regulars that I can’t thank enough for all of their support. I’ll miss them as much as they’ll miss coming here to golf. Maybe I’ll see them out on a course this golf season.”
Mild winter weather sealed his fate, when he posted on his Facebook page a couple of weeks ago that the end was near, saying, “As many of you already know we will be closing our doors for good within the next couple of weeks. It’s been a fun 3 years, but at some point a business has to start to show a profit and that just hasn’t been the case. Thank you to everyone who has supported us! It’s been a pleasure meeting all of you. If you’re interested in purchasing a simulator or the business itself please email me at golf@swmindoorgolf.com.”
If you’d like to get in your last shot at the course of your choice on SWM Indoor Golf simulators, he’s open from 9am until 9pm daily through the end of the business on Saturday. Call or text for a reservation time at 269-281-1514. We wish him well in his future endeavors.
