How Michael Zimmerman of RipRoar Created Some of the Best Races and Events in Des Moines
This week's guest is Michael Zimmerman, founder of RipRoar Events, Iowa's largest endurance event production company. Obsessed with endurance sports since the age of five, Michael has built an enterprise around his love for challenging communities to go further, or faster, or find the entertainment in suffering.
But it wasn’t always that way - Michael worked tirelessly for years (sometimes for free) to gain experience and a deeper understanding of the endurance events industry. After years of hard work and making notes of what he would do differently if given the chance, he finally took the leap and started his own company; RipRoar Events.
“When you’re starting a business, a big component is: could you do it better? Is the X factor something you can contribute to? Is the X factor you?”
Over the last six years, Michael and his team at RipRoar Events have continued to prove themselves as the X factor and as experts in what they do. They own and operate three of Des Moines largest race events and are able to bring the community together for incredible experiences in unique ways. When 2020 hit and halted the live event industry, Michael and his team knew they had two choices: hide and wait, or innovate and do something different.
Tune in for topics like:
The importance of knowing your WHY
How a business plan Michael made in college came in handy down the line
Why it’s important to identify the X factor in any situation
Why saying yes to everything isn’t always the best strategy
A behind-the-scenes look at the details that go into planning a running experience
Links from the episode:
Check out each of the RipRoar Events:
Follow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!
Thank you for listening, friend. See you in the next episode!