Our Marketing Department? The First 20 Guests…

When building Live Oak Lake, and again with our train car, I wasn't thinking about "flywheels."

I was thinking: Get it built. Get it listed. Hope people show up.

But looking back now, I see it clearly: one of the key differences between a hit-or-miss project and a property that becomes a brand is this idea of a flywheel.

what is a flywheel?

Imagine a massive stone wheel that requires tremendous effort to move. You push with everything you’ve got—raising capital, designing, building, furnishing, setting up systems. It feels impossibly heavy.

But then something beautiful happens: it begins to turn.

Your first guests arrive. You overdeliver. They leave a glowing review and tell their friends. You share honest, behind-the-scenes stories that resonate with strangers you’ve never met.

A local writer picks up the story.

An influencer posts a reel.

Your calendar fills—not from paid ads, but from the momentum you’re building.

The flywheel is turning.

And once you feel it, you'll never build any other way.

Here's how I think about it today—in fact I’ll even give you a fancy 6-step framework:)

Excuse the messy drawing - I scribbled it out on a whim

1. build something worth talking about

Word of mouth marketing is the most successful marketing method in history. Why? Because it leverages genuine trust.

There's no shortcut here. You can't "market" your way out of mediocrity.

The experience must be there. The land. The thoughtful design. The way light filters through trees and through windows at golden hour. How guests feel stepping outside to water's edge or into a verdant courtyard at sunrise. The one-off handwritten note waiting for them on arrival.

This is why you have to care so deeply. Your passion is infectious.

Powerful flywheels begin with places people care about deeply.

2. delight obsessively

Your first 20(ish) guests are your entire marketing department.

Delight them so much they can't help but talk about you. Make their experience personal, memorable, unreasonably good.

I’ve said it before, but it's worth repeating: Your housekeeping matters as much as your architecture.

A lazy first impression (a smudged window, a half-clean bathroom, a confusing check-in) kills the flywheel before it even spins. Or worse, sends it spinning in reverse.

Most importantly, have a hearing ear for what the guests actually want, and make changes accordingly. This early feedback is a goldmine. Don't squander even constructive criticism for the gift that it is.

3. document everything

This is my own biggest regret with Live Oak Lake. I was too heads-down to spend much time documenting or sharing the build journey.

But this step is powerful: people love the journey, not just the destination.

Share your process. The small wins. The headaches. The vision coming to life. It doesn't need to be polished. In fact, better if it's not.

This builds trust and tells your founding story in real time. And when you keep documenting after you open, it feeds the wheel even faster.

4. turn your guests into evangelists

With the right foundation, this happens organically.

Guests will tag your property. They'll create content. They'll tell their friends at dinner parties. They share because they're proud to have discovered you.

You can help this along by:

• Creating moments that feel discovered, not staged
• Designing spaces that photograph beautifully without trying too hard
• Doing one thing for every guest that goes well above and beyond

Every bit of this adds fuel to the wheel.

5. reinvest into the experience

When you get your first wins, don't coast.

Pour your early profits back into improving the guest experience. Remember the feedback loop from Step 2!

We added premium hot tubs to every cabin, installed an $80k shipping container swimming pool, and expanded our gardens in the 6-8 months after opening.

Every improvement compounds.

Your property becomes more desirable, guests become better advocates, and direct bookings increase exponentially.

The wheel spins faster.

6. repeat and evolve

This is when you really feel it.

You're no longer pushing—you're steering.

• Guests bring friends
• Social proof snowballs
• Your name spreads, often without you even knowing
• Guests become return guests
• You keep layering in beauty, improvement, and care

Your property transcends “STR” or “Airbnb” status. It becomes a brand with its own gravity. This happened to us firsthand. We had guests return 3-4 times that first year alone, bringing new friends and family each time!

And you realize: what once felt like heavy lifting is now carrying you.

The beauty of the flywheel is that it rewards patience. It rewards craftsmanship. It rewards hospitality from the heart.

And honestly? It's a lot more fun than fighting algorithms (or getting de-platformed), chasing ads, and feeling like you're always starting over

Snapped this Friday night on my evening commute (and you never know, the nook might just be rentable some day!)

the ecosystem effect

Eventually, your flywheel intersects with others.

Your property feeds your personal brand. The content you create sparks future partnerships. Investors take notice. More media reaches out.

All of this loops back into your core flywheel. It becomes an ecosystem, not just a property.

Don't build a project. Build a flywheel.