Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities

EP# 190: From Bounce Houses to LED Mini Golf: Cory Komac's Entrepreneurial Journey with Appalachian Party Rentals

• Skip Mauney & Cory Komac • Episode 190

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What makes Cory Komac with Appalachian Party Rentals a good neighbor?

Ever wondered what it would be like to have a complete mini golf course delivered to your backyard? Cory Komac, owner of Appalachian Party Rentals, joins us to reveal how he's bringing unique entertainment experiences to the Tri-Cities area through his one-man party rental business.

Cory shares the fascinating evolution of his entrepreneurial journey, starting with his brick-and-mortar indoor mini golf venue, Fizzy Fairway, and expanding into portable LED mini golf courses that have become the centerpiece of his rental offerings. From sweet sixteen celebrations to weddings, these customizable courses (available in 3, 6, 9, or 18-hole configurations) are transforming local events with their glow-in-the-dark appeal. We dive into the logistics, pricing, and incredible customer experiences that have made this unique service so popular.

The conversation takes a powerful turn as Cory opens up about his personal transformation, revealing how his four-year sobriety journey coincided with launching his businesses. This candid moment highlights how entrepreneurship became a fulfilling path forward that gave him purpose beyond his personal struggles. Corey's authentic approach to business—prioritizing customer service as a solo entrepreneur while leveraging technology for efficiency—offers valuable insights for listeners considering their own business ventures.

Whether you're planning an upcoming celebration, curious about unique local businesses, or simply appreciate stories of personal growth and innovation, this episode delivers both practical party planning information and heartfelt inspiration. Connect with Appalachian Party Rentals through their website, social media @AppPartyRentals, or by calling 423-203-1758 to bring some extra joy to your next event!

What makes Cory Komac with Appalachian Party Rentals a good neighbor?

To learn more about Appalachian Party Rentals go to:

https://www.appalachianpartyrentals.com/

Appalachian Party Rentals

(330) 635-9883



Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monning.

Speaker 2:

Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So today we've got a really special guest that I'm very excited to learn all about him and his business and businesses. And I'm sure you will be too, because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, mr Corey Comack, who is the owner operator of Appalachian Party Rentals. Corey, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, glad to be here.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're thrilled to have you and, like I said, I'm really excited to learn all about what you do. So, if you don't mind, why don't you start us out by telling us about your business, if you?

Speaker 3:

don't mind. Why don't you start us out by telling us about your business? All right, so we do. Party rentals like bounce houses, portable mini golf, sports equipment in the Tri-Cities area. We will go a little bit farther. So we have, let's see, portable LED mini golf is kind of our main thing. It's an offshoot of one of my other businesses, fizzy Fairway, which is an indoor mini golf in downtown Kingsport, so I wanted to have a portable mini golf set to offer the area as well, and so that's a bit of an offshoot with that, and then I figured some bounce houses would be pretty good, so we started that up in late 2022. I built my first portable mini golf course myself. I sold that to another family-friendly business in the area and I had someone else manufacture my new one that has LED lights on it, and so far people seem to really like that. So we're enjoying making uh, people's events around the area a little bit, uh, brighter wow, portable mini golf.

Speaker 2:

So is that? Are they inflatable or how does that? Or is it wooden? How's it work?

Speaker 3:

wooden, um. So uh, there's like we have 18 holes of them. They have come with obstacles on them. Like I said, the led lights are pretty cool. People like to do glow golf events, things like that. Um, but yeah, it really it's not too bad.

Speaker 2:

Wooden takes about 20 to 25 minutes to set up, no big deal wow, so somebody could rent that and have have a mini golf course party in their backyard.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we've done a few like sweet sixteens, um just uh random birthday parties, a wedding, just uh in people's yards, stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's very cool actually. And and uh, can I ask what the price range is to to rent something like that?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so we actually have, uh have, four options with the mini golf. There's three holes that you can do for $199. And keep in mind, this includes us delivering, setting up, picking up all that. So you can do three holes for $199. You can do six holes for $299. Nine holes is $399. And then if you want to do 18 holes, it is $699.

Speaker 2:

Wow, very cool man. I'm a big fan of putt putt putt mini golf, so I'm pretty excited actually um how, uh how did you get into this business, cory?

Speaker 3:

so, like I said, this is kind of an offshoot of uh my other business, uh the busy fairway which is uh in downtown kingsports, an indoor mini golf, um. So I had gone to uh the IAPA um convention in Orlando, which is the amusement, so all your big amusement parks and whatever are going there.

Speaker 3:

And I've tried to get a little bit of a an idea of what I could possibly do uh around here, and successfully. And I thought, um, the portable mini golf was a good option as it, as it uh mixed in well with the, um, with the brick and mortar mini golf that I already owned, um. So then, like I just figured, you know, a couple bounce houses, stuff to supplement, uh, the portable mini golf, would be cool. So, and we're growing pretty rapidly, so I'm excited about it.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Well, what are some myths or misconceptions in the party rental business?

Speaker 3:

So the only one I can think of, as it relates to me specifically, is that a lot of people have reservations about bounce houses and their safety. I don't know, most people probably don't know this, but the states all states require that bounce houses and other inflatables are inspected annually by a qualified government inspector or it's a third-party inspector by the government or qualified by the government so they come out every year make sure that our inflatables are safe, that we're doing everything the way we're supposed to do, and you know those get tied down with stakes, sandbags, stuff like that. So I know some people have reservations about the bounce houses. Otherwise they are relatively safe if done correctly, and I think we do that and I think that's kind of the major misconception that I can think of that relates to what I do.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm sure you give instructions too. I know I participated in a fundraiser that had tons of inflatables and, um, we were required to have so many people managing that, you know. So I'm sure that's a requirement as well, that you have correct uh.

Speaker 3:

So as you uh are renting it, technically, you're supposed to have an operator and that's all in the rental agreement and paperwork and stuff. And there's like a video that is um, that gets automatically sent to people. That has a lot of the information and how to do it for bounce house. The few things that we have, it's really not too big of a deal, um, and people seem to have no issue with that.

Speaker 2:

Very cool, very cool. Well, I know one of the best birthday parties my daughter ever had. Uh, we lived in California and uh, uh, right before we moved back to the East Coast and she was turning six and we got a bounce house in the backyard and you would have thought Elvis was there. You know, I was like she didn't know who Elvis is. Anyway, yeah, so you know, marketing is key to just about any business's success. How do you market your party rentals, corey?

Speaker 3:

So we do a lot of different methods here. So, obviously, inside the brick and mortar other business, minigolf, we have some ads there. We do a lot of social media ads and text message marketing, email marketing it's in text message marketing, email marketing. We do a lot of our target customers or big customers, our schools who do like their carnivals in spring and fall, winter, a lot of church events. So, if you're tax exempt, we have an easy tax exempt booking form to complete, and so that's pretty simple. Really, anyone who likes fun is who we are trying to target, but event planners, festival planners, things like that. We have some digital billboards as well, but we're on I don't know TikTok, instagram, facebook, so find us there gotcha, gotcha, all right well let's switch gears for a second.

Speaker 2:

Um what outside of work? What do you do for fun, gory?

Speaker 3:

um, I'm big on outdoor recreation. So, um, I'm originally from cleveland and then I went to school in salt lake city, so utah is big with outdoor stuff. I really went there to ski. So the Tri-Cities has decent outdoor recreational activities and opportunities. Skiing might be not one of them. I do miss that in the winter.

Speaker 2:

But so I hike every day, particularly compared to Utah, I mean.

Speaker 3:

I had to pass the Beach Mountain my first year living here and you know you kind of have to put it in your head that that's not going to be the same type of experience as what I'm used to out West. But it's fun for what it is. But I don't really want to drive 90 minutes to go do that when I was driving like 20 out in Utah to do world class. So kind of thing.

Speaker 3:

But I have a mini Aussie so I hike with him every morning and then I like to play basketball. So here at the Kingsport Y I play basketball five times a week. I try to stay active. I cook a lot. I bake all my own bread and desserts, so that's something I tend to do. My businesses are mostly automated. I am really the only one that works at Appalachian Party Rental, so that gives me some extra time to enjoy myself outside of work.

Speaker 2:

Awesome, awesome. Well, can you describe a hardship or life challenge, either professional or personal, that you've overcome and how it made you stronger in the end?

Speaker 3:

professional or personal that you've overcome and how it made you stronger in the end. Yeah, so actually yesterday was my four year sobriety mark from alcohol and my mid 20s were a little bit rough, you know. I I think I was bored a lot of the time and you know, since I've gotten sober I've started the Fizzy Fairway Appalachian Party Rentals. I also have two other businesses that are kind of small, consulting things that I do, so I've kept myself busy and I really enjoy providing the community with the fun activities to do so. A lot of that has just kind of lifted my mood up, which has in turn made me not really think about alcohol at all. The indoor mini golf I own serves beer and, like you know, just not even tempted at all. But that was difficult for a long time and to turn my life around I needed something that I think was fulfilling and so far this has been awesome.

Speaker 2:

Congratulations, man, on four years. That's, that's incredible. I'm really involved with the recovery program called celebrate recovery. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but uh, uh, that that's incredible man especially. Obviously, good things are happening. You got multiple businesses that you've started since that time, so congrats again.

Speaker 3:

Thank you.

Speaker 2:

So if you could think of one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about Appalachian Party Rentals, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

Well, small local, I'm a one-man band band. I just try to give my best customer service because I have to and also because I want to Repeat. Customers are really, really important. Reviews are really important. Just anything you know for a small business that can help is really appreciated on my end.

Speaker 3:

And also just maybe a little bit of patience, because I am the only one who works there. Most things are automated and things get done quickly, but if you need to contact me, it may take me a day to get back. But otherwise, just that. We're here to again brighten up some events in people's lives, and that's what we want to do.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Well, it's amazing what technology can do today no-transcript.

Speaker 3:

You can book online. You can get all the information. You can, tax exempt, book online. You can pay. So that's AppalachianPartyRentalscom. Then we have Facebook, instagram, tiktok. That's App Party Rentals A-P-PRentals. You can check that out. See our photos, see if we're something that you might be interested in. Our email address info at AppalachianPartyRentalscom. Take me less than a day to respond there. And finally, our phone number is 423-203-1758.

Speaker 2:

1758. 423-203-1758 correct. Alright. Well, corey, can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule among all your businesses and to spend some time with me and with our listeners and to tell us all about it and about your business and, moving forward, wish you and your family and your pup. What's your dog's name?

Speaker 3:

Buckeye, we're Ohioans.

Speaker 2:

Buckeye, you and Buckeye and all your businesses, all the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir, thank you, and maybe we can have you back sometime.

Speaker 3:

Would love it.

Speaker 2:

All right, thanks so much, corey.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873. Thank you.