(upbeat music) - [Woman] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Man] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens, is brought to you by WCTE PBS and the Center for Rural Innovation, with funding provided by The Economic Development Administration through The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability Act.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University, Center for Rural Innovation through The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability Act.

- Thanks for joining us on this season's final episode of "It's Your Business."

A show exploring the nature of entrepreneurship throughout the Upper Cumberland.

I'm your host Michael Aikens.

During the course of this episode, you'll join me in my conversation with the owners of Wildwood Resort and Marina, as we explore the ins and outs of what it means to start and run a small business.

You'll also see a look back at some of our favorite moments this season, what we've learned along the way.

Join us as we explore the ideas, topics, and people that will inspire your business, so let's get started.

(upbeat music) Meet John and Natasha Deane co-owners of Wildwood Resort and Marina in beautiful Granville Tennessee.

I spoke with the Danes about their entrepreneurial journey and toured their massive all-inclusive resort, enjoy.

(upbeat music) I'm down here in Granville, Tennessee, with the owners of Wildwood Resort, John and Natasha Deane.

Thank you all so much for being on the show.

- Thanks for being here with us.

We've been looking forward to this.

- Absolutely, so tell us what is Wildwood?

- Well, Wildwood is 15.7 acre property with 16 acres of complimentary water and harbor that is home for 133 boats and slips.

Is a boutique resort with 35 different options for overnight lodging, a full service restaurant on the weekends and a cafe that's open every day.

- Very good, so you all started this right?

- Well, actually Wildwood was started in the late '60s when the Corp of Engineers flooded the Cumberland river, and they created this as a concessionaire arrangement with private parties who would operate the Marina as a concession and pay the Corp rent on the basis of a lease arrangement.

So in January of 2018, we signed a 25 year lease with the Corps of Engineers, which gave responsibility for the property.

And then we purchased the assets from the previous owner, and then we've invested in new buildings and equipment to bring it to what it is today.

Now you said we just started this, and the reason you're thinking that is because we really made a big transformational effort, beginning in September of last year, 2019, that came to fruition with a grand reopening in June.

- [Michael] Well tell us a little bit about that journey.

- We had discovered Granville by boat.

We actually came up, we had a houseboat at the time and we would take long weekend trips on the houseboat, spend the night on the water with the kids.

Came as far as Granville and discovered what was then called the Granville Marina, where we're standing right now.

Over the years, we came back several times.

We ended up selling the houseboat and eventually buying some property out here 'cause we loved it so much.

And it really was 20 years went by before we looked at making this a new venture and then eventually changing the name to Wildwood and making the investment in the place.

- what even gave you all the idea, "I wanna own a resort," how did that happen?

- We were bonded to our community here in Granville and one of the key members of the community was Donna Jones and her husband, Kevin, who owned the Timber Loft restaurant in Gordonsville.

And they leased the restaurant here at Granville Marina from the previous owner.

And Donna would have a coffee clutch on Saturday morning out here for the community and engage in a conversation about what could we do to make Granville more alive, and to bring more commerce here and to make this a fun place for people to visit, a destination if you will.

And in that moment, I was looking out over the Marina and I was thinking, "Boy, we got a lot of good ideas at this coffee clutch this morning but if somebody would buy this place and inject some energy into it and some capital, I think we could make it a really cool attraction."

And that afternoon, I called her (indistinct) and invited him over the house.

And we spent the next five hours talking about buying the Marina.

- So we're here in Granville, Tennessee, right?

The community of Granville, I've talked to you all before.

That's incredibly important.

Why don't you tell our viewers what Granville is all about and what Wildwood really means to the community.

- So when we got here 20 years ago and stumbled on Granville, they were hosting their very first heritage day celebration.

There were 2000 people here, fried Twinkies, antique car show, antique tractors on display, rides for kids, it was really amazing.

We felt like we were stepping back into a different era of time, and everyone was so friendly.

And we were at the general store and there was a little ad, little one inch ad saying cabin for sale.

And so we called and it was a builder who had built it on spec.

And we said, could we see your cabin for sale?

He said, "Sure, it's over here on Eagle mountain.

There's a key on the ledge to keep dishonest people out.

So just let yourself in."

And we went up to Eagle mountain with my mom, Natasha and our two young children, and we're on the porch of this gorgeous view of Granville.

And a rainstorm comes, big, heavy rain and came and went in two or three minutes.

And then within a minute there was a 360 degree rainbow.

And by then Natasha fell in love.

And we were almost buying that piece of property.

But I said, hold on, let's wait.

- The neat thing about the community and how we all came together here, there was a group of us that would meet at the Timber Loft every Friday night for dinner.

And so as this idea of investing in Wildwood became a reality, we just had people come out of the woodwork and say, I'd like to help, I'd like to help, I'd like to help and so it's certainly an economic driver for the area but it's also a purpose driven venture.

And there's just a certain pride in it.

- This show is all funded by a Cares Act Grant.

So you all are doing really well throughout the pandemic.

Can you tell me about your experience through that?

- Boy it rally surprised us.

The pandemic has created cabin fever throughout middle Tennessee, and we were just perfectly positioned reopening on June 12th.

Our construction project kept us delayed at a time when everyone was hunkered down and staying in place, to isolate in place to protect themselves from the virus.

So around opening day, June 12th, people started to think, "I gotta get outta here, where can I go and be safe?"

And so here's a place, 16 acre campus, 16 acres of water, 150 miles of river, where when you come to Wildwood, 90% of your experience is either in your private room or outdoors, and it feels very safe here.

We all wear masks indoors, but outside we generally observe social distancing and we're not so big that we ever appear to be crowded even when we're full - Entrepreneurship and business ownership.

It's all about taking risks.

It's about expecting the unexpected.

What do you all do to help mitigate risk and prepare for the future?

- Well, I mean the clean Marina program is a good example.

When you go through the clean Marina certification process, a lot of what you're doing is preparing for risk.

What happens if a tornado comes through?

What happens if there's lightning and people are out on the water?

What happens if you have a fuel spill?

What do you do?

You have to have a plan in place.

- Community, you've mentioned that several times, obviously you're having an impact on Granville, you love it here, you've been coming here for a long time.

You're also active members of the Jackson County chamber of commerce.

Tell me a little bit about why that's important for you all.

- A big part of this transition from our traditional careers to now hospitality and working here in Granville is that we recognize that Jackson County is unique in being one of the top 10 most economically distressed counties in America.

And it's a beautiful place and has enormous potential.

But by many measures it's not doing well.

And so part of this for us is a form of philanthropy to say, how can we invest our time and energy in this second half of life where making a paycheck is less important, and make a difference in a community that needs it.

Bring employment, bring vitality, bring tax revenue.

And so we're proud to be active members of the Chamber of Commerce because we see the broader Jackson County business community is joining with us in that effort.

And we're very optimistic with the results.

Take David Bryant, as an example, our harbor master.

David comes here, he's here for two and a half years.

He takes a leadership role in growing from 20% occupancy in our boat slips to 80%.

And then now he's leaving us to go to downtown Granville and inject energy into creating a convenience store which the community desperately needs.

That's fantastic.

- I also would just have to add that when, from our very first visit to the Jackson County chamber, I was just really jazzed about what was going on there.

I was, you had a presentation on branding.

We had just been through a branding process.

I was understanding how this desire to come up with a brand for Jackson County, how important that was.

And I just got excited being a participant of those meetings.

- [Michael] What does the future hold?

- Well, when we got here, Granville Marina was perfectly designed to address guests 30 days and 30 nights a year, which were basically the weekends and holidays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

And it really wasn't a sustainable enterprise financially.

And it really was limited in terms of the number of guests it could serve and the number of days a year it could serve them.

Now with this new platform that we've created, we're in a position to serve guests over 10 months of the year.

We're also in a position to host groups of meaningful size here, 10, 20, 30, 40 people in the middle of the week, such as the corporate retreats, that come on a Tuesday and stay for two nights and three days, weddings that come in and enjoy the property and the beautiful scenery here, family reunions.

We are becoming a destination site for groups of people.

We're not huge, so the groups are not large, but for those that are here this is a meaningful connection time.

- So we talked about the future of Wildwood.

What is the future for your involvement with the community?

- One of my former colleagues from Florida was contacted by an entrepreneur who wants to make a movie in a small town in Tennessee about a boy and a dog.

And he's looking for someone from Nashville to write the song that will be the theme of the movie.

And he's interested in exploring small communities like Granville, Tennessee to make it the venue for this movie.

And so we've connected and he's excited, and he and his wife are coming out here for three days.

They have time in the studio with the songwriter and they're seriously examining Granville as a movie venue to tell their story, that just popped up out of nowhere.

And we see that stuff happening all the time now.

- What amazing story you all have.

Thank you so much for having us here.

What I'd really like to do now is go meet some of the members of the team and really see what you've got to offer at Wildwood.

- Fantastic.

- Great.

(upbeat music) - Karen Tillman, you work here at Wildwood resort.

Tell us who you are and why do you do it?

- Well, I am the guest services manager, so I make sure that everybody has a great time when they come here to Wildwood.

And I do it because I love Wildwood.

I've been friends with John and Natasha for many many years since we came here in 2005.

And so we do it for the community, for Wildwood, for John and Natasha and for the fun of it, Wildwood's fun.

- So John and Natasha came to you, they said, "Hey, we want you to be the concierge here at Wildwood."

Talk us through that decision, what went through your mind?

- Well, it didn't take much that's for sure.

I actually lived in Atlanta full-time and had a house here for the last 15 years or so.

And so the opportunity to be here full-time instead of Atlanta was a no brainer for us.

And so to come up here and stay up here and be with people that I truly love in a community that I love, was not a hard decision for my husband and I to make.

So it's a great place and we enjoy every minute of it.

- So what do your guests really love about Wildwood?

- I think yes, love coming here and feeling like they are part of the family.

I cannot tell you how many times I get people sending me thank you notes for coming to stay with us.

We should be sending them thank you notes.

And they're sending us thank you notes to tell us that they were so happy to be here and so, and felt so much like a family, and that's our goal.

That's my job, as I see it is to make sure that everybody who steps foot on the Wildwood campus, feels like they're part of the family.

And that's what we want them to feel.

(upbeat music) - Matt Sigmund, Wildwood ambassador.

Tell us, why do you love Wildwood so much?

- Wildwood was a dream that John and Natasha had years ago.

And we used to sit down and talk about it.

We'd sit in the old restaurants here and everything else and saying, "Boy we could make this place into really something beautiful."

And John and Natasha had that vision and they were able to pull it off.

And knowing that and being part of that, is what has made Wildwood what it is.

It's the people like Karen, who was just here, myself and a number of others, who will go out of their way to make sure everything is done correctly and right, and the main thing is the service, people happy.

That's all we care about.

- So to the viewers of the show, what would you say?

- I would say Wildwood is a unique place that there's nothing else like it in middle Tennessee.

People come here and they're in awe with how, what beauty it is, What's here and it's an hour from Nashville, they come back.

Like I said, the people I talk to every day and where they come from and everything, I'm getting down to the point it's like one in four people I ask, how did you hear about us?

And it's all been word of mouth.

(upbeat music) - Donna Jones, General Manager of Wildwood Resort.

Tell me a little bit about what your job here is.

- My job at Wildwood is to keep everybody kind of focused in the direction and the vision that we have here.

This place was started with a really strong inspiration and vision of this waterway, of the nature out here and embracing Granville.

We've got an amazing staff and sometimes we all just gotta kind of refocus and reappoint the direction we're going in to keep on track with what we believe in.

We really love this place and we really wanna excel.

- Now obviously you work here, right?

This is not just a job, it's not just a career, this is a commitment on your behalf.

Tell us about why is that really important for you?

- Well, I don't think you can do this kind of work without it, I think that you have to love people and you have to love the place, you have to love nature.

You have to love Granville because without that inspiration, you would easily get sidetracked, and I think that as I become more and more ingrained in the community, I find there are a lot of people here, not just at Wildwood but in Jackson County that have that same vision, and I think that makes it work.

- What do you want the guest to experience when they come to Wildwood?

- That's a great question.

When we first started this process of determining what we wanted to do here we got together with John's daughter and we had a lot of conversations about that.

We took it very seriously and some of the themes that kept reoccurring were connection.

Connection with nature, connection with themselves, connection with other people.

And so we love for people to come out and just enjoy that this is that quiet place where you can connect on many many levels.

(upbeat music) - So I'm the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce President.

We're out here at Wildwood experiencing all they have to offer and really talking about our branding here in Jackson County as well.

- So what has the impact of Wildwood been on the community of Jackson County?

- Really I mean, it goes hand in hand with what we're trying to do with the ExploreJCTN brand.

So, we're really trying to promote the area, promote the natural resources that we have here, and it goes and works and couples well with it.

And they've been a great partner.

- So, we've got ExploreJCTN, we've got a vibrant chamber.

We've got leaders like yourself, Randy, we've got entrepreneurs like Natasha and John, what does the future hold for Jackson County?

- Honestly, I think the sky's the limit for Jackson County.

We have all, like I said, again all these natural resources to build on and promote and it's all untouched, it's untapped.

So really we just had to figure out how to bring people in, monetize that.

And I mean it's gonna help the community grow from there.

(upbeat music) - [Michael] Now you're the Jackson County Mayor.

- [Randy] That is correct.

- And so we're obviously in Jackson County today, what impact and what meaning does Wildwood have to Jackson County?

- The impact has been tremendous just from the local sales, the spirit, we've been going through a rebranding of ourselves, if you would.

In a shout out to Tennessee Tech, Center for All Innovation, you and Andrew and the team have been awesome to help us rebrand and come up with the ExploreJCTN.

And so they have done nothing but help with that, John and Natasha and we built on that and that excitement and it just continues to grow.

And so the impact's been tremendous.

I'm not even talking about the financial side, with occupancy tax that we put in place in January, the sales tax revenue, which is awesome, but it's more about the community spirit and excitement.

- Randy in closing, what would you tell our viewers about Wildwood and Jackson County.

- Come and be a part.

I've lived here all my life and I have memories that have lasted a lifetime in the community like this.

And if I had to share one thing, come to Jackson County, come to Wildwood and make a memory that will last a lifetime.

(Upbeat music) - Over the course of eight episodes, we've met and spoke with over a dozen small business owners.

We've heard their stories, their journeys into entrepreneurship.

Along the way we learned about resilience, what it means to fall off the horse and get right back on and keep going.

We witnessed innovation in action, the process of creating and recreating the fundamentals of leadership in business.

We met with business owners and entrepreneurs from all different backgrounds, ages, races, genders and fields.

What we've learned through it all was that entrepreneurship, that drive and passion to create something out of nothing, is everywhere, it's all around us, and it's alive and well in the Upper Cumberland.

We witnessed business after business not only brave the storm of a world wide pandemic but come out on the other side with experience and resolve.

When we created this program, our goal was to encourage, inspire, provide tangible resources and bear witness to the thriving entrepreneurial heart of our region.

And we've done that and more.

To our viewers, if you've watched this program, heard these stories and felt that same passion and drive to create and build your own small business, we wanna encourage you to do it.

Make it happen because you can.

Utilize the resources that we've provided throughout this program and build something as amazing and unique as yourselves.

Make it yours, after all, it's your business.

(upbeat music) - I'm Phil Oldham, President of Tennessee Tech University and I'm proud to be President of a University like Tennessee Tech that specializes in producing talent.

Talent that the world needs, that the region needs.

These are young, energetic students with great ideas and a lot of energy and they can make a difference in the world.

Rural Re-imagine is a great initiative we have here on campus, as a grand challenge we took on a few years ago to see if we could make an impact on those rural communities that surround us here in the Upper Cumberland in particular.

Unique challenges that these communities face and a lot of it is about economy, but it's also about innovation, it's about entrepreneurship.

And so we have local programs here on campus that helps students that are interested in creating their own futures, creating their own jobs, possibly their own businesses, to be young entrepreneurs.

We have mentors that help guide them in that effort, challenge them to come up with new ideas and then they actually compete for their own businesses of the future, that we have our own shark tank competition called Eagle Works.

And so there's a whole ecosystem here on campus around innovation, entrepreneurship and helping students create their future.

So whether they create their own business and go into that after they leave Tennessee Tech, or maybe they work for a larger company and they're just an entrepreneur within that corporate environment, nonetheless they're better and we all benefit from it as well.

One thing that's so great about here in the Upper Cumberland is you've got a great set of partners, the city leaders, the County leaders, the economic developers, and a major University in Tennessee Tech.

The biggest issue for most economies is access to talent.

And we have the talent at Tennessee Tech.

We're producing about 2,500 graduates a year in a lot of high tech fields.

About 40% of our graduates graduate in a science or engineering discipline.

So these are graduates in high demand nationally and even internationally.

And they're right here in the Upper Cumberland.

We have an opportunity to capture them and working with local partnerships, with businesses and local government entities to try to capture that talent and actually attract more businesses to locate in the Upper Cumberland because we have the talent they're looking for.

For those in the external community outside of Tennessee Tech, first of all, let us partner with you.

Let us learn about your business and what your challenges that you face on a regular basis are, we've got talent, we've got young students that are eager to try to make a difference in the world around them.

They got great ideas, they're very creative and they can help you, but we need to learn more about what your challenges are and in working together, we can create some amazing things.

If you're interested in partnering with us at Tennessee Tech, we'd love to talk to you about it.

The Office of Research and the Center for Rural Innovation is a great place to start here.

But if nothing else just contact the president's office and ask for Phil Oldham, and I'll be glad to get back to you and we can work this out and have a great partnership.

- Thanks for tuning in to "It's Your Business."

I wanna thank you, our viewers, also wanna thank our crew, from producers to writers, editors, researchers and everyone behind the scenes that made this possible.

Thank you for all of your hard work.

Without you, we wouldn't have a show.

For more information on today's topics and extended interviews, please visit the WCTE website.

For small business resources and expert assistance, visit the business resource collective @BRCollective.org.

Until next time I'm Michael Aikens.

Get all loose.

(upbeat music) (clears throat) You're ready, Craig?

Welcome to "It's Your Business" as I spit.

(laughs) I don't know about this, never again.

(clears throat) I would say that, (clears throat) what would I say?

(both laughing) We're here at Cookeville Locally Grown on the Walnut street market.

(both laughing loudly) And extended interviews, and interviews.

We gon' listen in my interviews.

(shouting) Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

Yeah, there's gold in the amigo.

(shouts) (Michael chuckles) (clears throat) All right.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Man] "It's Your Business" with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE PBS.

And the Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by The Economic Development Administration through The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability Act.

This series was produced under an agreement with Tennessee Tech University Center for Rural Innovation, through The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability Act.

(upbeat music) - [Woman] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.

(upbeat music)