The RV Entrepreneur RVE 241: When an RVer Designs Products for RVers - The Result Is Eloquent With Jim Phelan From Airskirts
One of the things I really like about the rv lifestyle is that it can be very minimalistic, and yet can also satisfy the inner gear nut in me because there are a ton of different products and ways to solve solutions that arise.
While at the 2022 Tampa RV show I came across a product that absolutely blew me away. It was created by a fellow Fulltime RVer and it solved a need that full timers face in such an eloquent and simple way that I really was scratching my head - no one has done this yet? I got to talking with the inventor and founder and really connected with his story and invited him to come onto the podcast.
Today’s guest is Jim Phelan from AirSkirts.
A software engineer by trade, Jim started AirSkirts in 2020 after solving a real-world problem he encountered with full-time RV living. In 2016 Jim sold his home in Brooklyn, NY along with most of his possessions, and began traveling the US in his Airstream travel trailer.
Unwilling to compromise and use an inferior method to camp in cold weather, Jim set out to design a better way to skirt the bottom of his rv – AirSkirts is a series of inflatable tubes that inflate under the RV, creating an insulated, reusable, and installation free skirt.
In this episode Jim tells us about the product development journey of Air skirts and some of the struggles and lessons he learned along the way. We get into what its like to own a business that is physical product based versus the digital marketplace he previously worked in and I love how Jim bootstrapped the whole thing and is still on the fence whether he would do it that way again or not - it really shows his down to earth nature and is a struggle that all of us entrepreneurs can relate to.
Enjoy the show! -Joshua
Check out Air Skirts here: https://www.airskirts.com/?ref=rve
Phone: 833-475-4787
AirSkirts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airskirts/
If you’re interested in checking out AirSkirts yourself Jim has graciously provided the RVE community a discount code for Airskirts - enter the word “entrepreneur” at checkout and receive $150 off any kit order.
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