Ep.25 - Idar Aaboen and Nina Lensebakken of Stryn Sommerski, Norway

​

Build It Rock by Rock: How a Norweigan Summer Ski Area Survives with Lean Operations, Loyal Guests & Zero Marketing Budget.

Skiing in the summer is awesome. There is no doubt about that. But at the same time, the combination of convincing people beyond the diehards to come skiing in the summer and being operationally efficient enough to eek out a profit, isn’t an easy task.

​

This week we’re headed North to the Stryn Summer Ski center in Norway. Open for only a short season starting in late May when their access road gets plowed out and usually running into July, sometimes all summer, but increasingly less in recent years.

​

 It's off the grid, powered by generators, battling unpredictable weather, and operating with a tiny team. Yet every summer, skiers and snowboarders travel from around the world to ride there.

​

So what's their secret?

​

It isn't a massive marketing budget. In fact, they don't really have one.

​

It isn't fancy infrastructure or endless staff.

​

Instead, its all about running lean, building loyal customers, leading from the front, and making smart business decisions one step at a time.

​

In this episode, I sit down with the owner of Strynn Sommerski Idar Aaboen and his partner in life and business general manager Nina Lensebakken, to talk about what it really takes to keep a small ski area alive in a non-traditional ski season. Along the way, we dive into authentic marketing, operational efficiency, customer loyalty, leadership, and why sometimes the best growth strategy is simply building your business... rock by rock.