Recent Positively West Virginia guests Joseph and Gina Starett have turned entrepreneurship into a way to keep families close.
When Gina and Joe, owners of Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center, LLC, were finally ready to graduate from tent camping into a hard-sided camper, they looked everywhere for the one that would be perfect for their family. After searching all over the state and even in some neighboring states, Joe decided it was time to solve the problem by opening his own RV dealership in their hometown of Weston, WV.
Their business took off shortly after opening and has now grown into a 26 person operation that is still growing. Gina wasn’t immediately sold on the idea, but once they started to see their staff develop into a tight-knit family, she fell in love.
Gina said, “We call it the “Mountaineer Difference”; you come in here, and you can truly feel it.”
The Mountaineer Difference is the feeling of welcomeness and family that you can’t miss when you work with the Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center. Gina and Joe’s vision for the business is to be a place where families can come to purchase something that will bring them closer and closer all of the time.
2020 brought its fair share of challenges, but to their surprise, the couple has found a rise in first-time purchasers that they have never seen before. The new purchases’ common theme seemed to be the need to come back down to earth for a while and enjoy time with their family in a new way. The biggest challenge has been to keep up with stock with the demand and access to maintenance parts for servicing.
Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center is experiencing some significant growth this year. The business is moving to a 13-acre property where they will continue selling quality campers but will also include a service center, outdoor center, showroom and soon, rental campers. Along with the new space, the Mountaineer family will be growing to just over 30 employees. This growth is sooner than expected but graciously taken on by Joe and Gina.
If you wonder how they have become and stayed so successful, they would tell you the answer is very simple. Joe and Gina love working together, which is a difficult journey to take together as a married couple. Gina says that success is facing fear head-on.
Joe simply thinks you should follow your passion and, “Go for it!” While the couple stated a few different contributing factors to their success, they could agree on a few specific things like having a good lawyer, a good accountant and being close with God.
Listen to The Starett’s whole podcast here: https://positivelywv.com/podcast/episode-162-joe-and-gina-starett-mountaineer-rv-outdoor-center/
PWV QUICK BIT | JOSEPH AND GINA STARETT
- PIECE OF ADVICE: “You’re always going to be scared of something and you need to just do it,” advised Gina.