CINCINNATI — Summer season is a time for taking time away and getting in a trip or two. And one small enterprise is making it straightforward to hit the street this summer season.
Aclipse Campervans is a campervan rental firm that’s seeing success in the course of the trip season. Now, they’re additionally increasing because of a neighborhood grant-giving group.
What You Want To Know
- Predominant Road Ventures is a grant-giving group that focuses on ladies or minority-owned companies
- Aclipse Campervans not too long ago acquired a grant from Predominant Road Ventures so as to add a brand new van to their fleet
- Predominant Road Ventures hopes to maintain small companies and distinctive concepts near house
- Aclipse Campervans house owners mentioned they’re grateful for the chance to develop their enterprise
When Emily Bruns steps into her firm’s campervans, she mentioned she’s pleased with all they’ve considered since they began the enterprise 4 years in the past.
“We’ve tried to think about all the things,” Bruns mentioned.
Emily Bruns and her co-founder have stocked every van with all the things you’d want for a tenting journey (Spectrum Information 1/Katie Kapusta)
Bruns and her husband got here up with the thought once they acquired a campervan in Iceland.
“We actually beloved that means of journey,” she mentioned. “And we had been like, this could actually be a factor within the U.S.!”
So she and a buddy began Aclipse Campervans, ensuring every van was filled with all the things you’d want, from coolers to cooking utensils.
“We find yourself being that kind of first step into tenting,” Bruns mentioned. “We wish you to really feel comfy and we would like you to have all the things that you actually need.”
Their enterprise grew when the pandemic hit.
“We had been capable of present a means of journey and a means for individuals to have enjoyable throughout that point and it made all of this flip into one thing actually particular,” she mentioned.
However they wanted some additional assist to develop their fleet, which is the place Predominant Road Ventures got here in.
Predominant Road Ventures hopes to maintain small companies and concepts near house (Spectrum Information 1/Katie Kapusta)
“We actually need to empower them and preserve actually good individuals and concepts right here,” Abby Ober, director of engagement for Predominant Road Ventures, mentioned.
The grant-giving group has awarded over $3 million to native companies since 2018, with Aclispse Campervans being one in every of them.
“Taking a look at all of the issues which you could bodily see that we may help them with, like trying on the vans, like we had been capable of assist them add one other to their fleet and proceed their enterprise and make it even higher,” Ober mentioned.
Now, Bruns has an additional van to fulfill her prospects’ demand, one thing she mentioned has introduced them to the following degree.
Bruns exhibits off a van, which homes each a mattress and kitchen house (Spectrum Information 1/Katie Kapusta)
“We simply wanted that additional capability within the leases,” Bruns mentioned. “So making use of for the grant was permitting us to construct out that yet one more van that we actually wanted.”
And as Bruns will get her vans prepared for the following traveler, she shared a bit of recommendation for different entrepreneurs on their journey.
“Life is brief and also you’re not assured tomorrow,” she mentioned. “And if there’s one thing that you just need to do, go do it, go do it right this moment.”
Predominant Road Ventures’ subsequent grant software cycle begins July 10.