When starting a side hustle, it’s easy to expect it to be a small income-generating venture. However, sometimes, it can far exceed these expectations and become much larger. Gordon Buchanan started Triangle Lawn Games as a side hustle in 2018 and quickly expanded to over 30 locations across the USA. Since the beginning, he has used Booqable to manage inventory and accept online bookings.
Triangle Lawn Games
Gordon started Triangle Lawn Games as a side hustle in his garage in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2018. He thought renting lawn games to people would be fun and easy, so he set up his own rental business. Early on, he saw a lot of success and soon had people asking to be work with him to offer lawn game rentals in their city. This helped him expand to other locations in Houston, Austin, Chicago, Charlotte, and many more - now totaling 30 locations across the USA.
He believes Triangle Lawn Games’ success is due to its decentralized model, where the business shares equipment across locations. This keeps prices low, its transparent and easy booking system, and its ability to allow people to select from a wide array of high-quality equipment. The lawn games that he offers include cornhole sets, Giant Jenga, Giant Connect 4, Putterball, and many more much-loved activities anyone can enjoy.
Over the past year, Gordon and his team of 43 people have spent much time improving their operation. One of the biggest improvements is finding a new manufacturing partner for custom cornhole sets. This allows them to create high-quality custom games for people all over the USA while remaining affordable for most Americans. By going to manufacturers directly, they can stand out from competitors with a more unique offering.
Partnering with Booqable
When Gordon started Triangle Lawn Games, he chose Booqable as his rental software. He feels it is an affordable and lightweight option that helped him get off the ground and scaled with him as the business grew. In addition, the software has grown alongside his business, improving his workflow when needed with features like barcode scanning. This has enabled him to continue scaling the business as more locations have been added.
Gordon has integrated Booqable into his WordPress website using the online booking plugin. This has allowed him to seamlessly integrate online bookings into his website to create a booking experience that works for him and his customers. This experience works across many locations with customized websites for each one the business operates within.
In addition, the inventory management system has allowed him to simplify complex rental setups. This has been essential to growing Triangle Lawn Games and adding additional locations over the years. His team also uses the Booqable mobile app to keep track of orders and make the delivery process more efficient.
Expanding to over 60 locations
Over the last six years, Gordon has taken Triangle Lawn Games from a side hustle to an enterprise that has expanded across the USA. However, he isn’t done yet, but he plans to expand the business to over 60 locations to be present in the majority of large cities in the country. This will help him achieve his goal of becoming the country’s largest specialist provider of game rentals.
