The need to know more about lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism

Many of my past research projects have ended up with consistent observations about lifestyle entrepreneurs, so I have begun to put together some of these ideas into what I hope will become a proposal for research on the topic. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, lifestyle entrepreneurs are people who are in business but who are motivated primarily by lifestyle reasons. Some have suggested that profit maximization, innovation and rational business decisions are not as common with this group of individuals - or suggest that it is lifestyle vs. profit vs. lifestyle with profit.

For a good overview of some of the work in this area, Peters, Frehse and Buhalis (2009) have written a paper that pulls together some of the concepts of lifestyle entrepreneurship.

So far though, my reading on the topic and my experience as a researcher AND as a lifestyle entrepreneur are not necessarily consistent. Let me explain a few of these thoughts.

I have met a number of people in rural BC that I would classify as lifestyle entrepreneurs. They are often strongly connected to the place they live in and the lifestyle that they can have while living there. Many are "amenity migrants" having moved to a beautiful place after having visited it. Their business interests range widely but here is where my observations differ from some of the literature. These people are often highly innovative, and keen to profit from their business so that they can remain where they are and invest back into the place. They don't fit the mould so often attributed to lifestyle entrepreneurs as non profit focused innovation laggards. Now, there are other observations of perhaps a different cluster of these individuals as well. A number of them close their doors for the off season so they can ski, move somewhere else for a bit, or just take a break. They are less interested in finding ways to improve the off season because they want the time away from the business. In some planning sessions, community members have expressed frustration over these entrepreneurs because they are not open year round - assuming that all businesses should be interested in maximizing profits over other motivations. I have even been asked once at a presentation to the province - "do you mean that these lifestyle entrepreneurs are getting in the way of us doubling tourism in BC", to which I responded "that is your goal, but it is not theirs".

So, these observations of lifestyle entrepreneurs suggest that there are perhaps different clusters or types of them around. I believe we have much left to learn about them.

I mentioned I am also a lifestyle entrepreneur. I have operated an art and photography business part time for the past few years and have also opened a small gallery and guesthouse on our farm. I am profit oriented, with the hopes of someday being able to immerse myself fully in this work (yes, and leave this position!). I would also say that I am quite innovative in my business model and I am very prone to collaborative or cluster initiatives (as are my partners). But... I am not necessarily as attached to place as the entrepreneurs that I have come across in my travels around rural BC. So, is there a third grouping like me?

The reason this topic is of such interest to me is that I see lifestyle entrepreneurship as a great opportunity for repopulating rural Canada with people who are committed to place, but who also invest in regions and create employment opportunities. We will soon be at a stage where people will be able to work wherever they want to and the lower cost of living and high quality of life afforded in small communities may facilitate mobility into rural areas. I know of a number of small communities that are already developing innovative models to attract these individuals. If their efforts are to succeed and the transition to rural living smooth, we need to know more. Some of my questions include: how many lifestyle entrepreneurs are there? where are they most attracted to? What industries? What is their transition like? How are communities facilitating their transition? What does their business model look like? What contributions are they making to regions - economically, socially and environmentally?

If you are interested in exploring some of these questions, let me know as I am pooling together my ideas right now for proposal writing this spring.

Attracting and supporting lifestyle entrepreneurs

Over the years of extension work in rural BC, our research teams have met numerous tourism business owners who don't necessarily fit the mold of stereotypical "profit motivated" entrepreneurs. These "lifestyle entrepreneurs" are motivated to enter into business for non-economic reasons and for the lifestyle benefits that emerge. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are particularly attracted to tourism businesses because there are ample opportunities to blur the distinction between "producing and consuming experiences". For example, it is not uncommon to find entrepreneurs that love kayaking so much (consuming it) that they decide to transfer their skill set to produce it for others - thus starting a business to "finance their leisure pursuits".

Academics have been trying to get more familiar with lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism for the past decade. Some of their insights are useful to share with those who are wanting to support or attract lifestyle entrepreneurs into their area. Gareth Shaw and Allan Williams (2004) found that the small scale entrepreneur in tourism is different than in other economic sectors and needs to be better understood. Tourism attracts lifestyle entrepreneurs for three reasons: 1) it is relatively easy to enter into business in tourism as it does not require professional licensing, formalized education or approval, 2) depending on the sector, low levels of capital are required to enter, and 3) skill sets applicable to entry are largely transferable from other industries. Add to this today's fast paced society and people's desire to achieve balance - and lifestyle entrepreneurship becomes an attractive avenue for personal fulfillment. Irena Ateljevic and Stephen Doorne (2000) have studied lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism in New Zealand extensively. They have found that many of them are motivated by a concious rejection of economic and business growth models. While this might seem to be financial suicide, they found that these entrepreneurs were more often the instigators of niche market opportunities in tourism and were often instrumental in introducing innovation to the wider industry. These ideas often have the value added outcome that they stimulate wider regional economic development opportunities.

While I couldn't find stats on the number of lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism in BC or Canada, my guess is that in rural areas, they are a significant portion of businesses (in a Cornwall study, one third of tourism entrepreneurs were lifestyle motivated). I arrive at this based on the percentage of entrepreneurs that we have encountered over the years, mixed with the observation that rural areas afford individuals the amenities that are likely to contribute to overall lifestyle motivations. It is my observation that we still make the assumption that all businesses have dominant profit motives and are seeking mechanisms to grown and expand their businesses. In making this assumption, we are likely going to miss out on opportunities to a) support the lifestyle entrepreneurs that are already operating in rural areas and b) attract more lifestyle entrepreneurs to rural areas. Both of these are critical to rural tourism development as our already limited product base in rural areas is projected to decline due to the exit of entrepreneurs who plan to retire (baby boomers are shown to dominate) and regions need to find ways to stimulate the addition of small businesses in order to develop experiences for visitors. Indeed - Richard Florida argues that the only communities that will survive are those that are able to attract creative people to locate in them - lifestyle entrepreneurs fit that mold.

So how do regions attract lifestyle entrepreneurs? What questions do we need to be asking ourselves to understand their motives better? My simple answer is - I don't know yet - but the best way for us to find out is to ask them. Some of my research on innovators in sustainability has already shown that these non economic motives are dominant among early adopters in tourism. The lifestyle entrepreneurs I have talked with are more than willing to share what their motives and business support needs are - and these are not necessarily the things that we would expect. Some want to close shop for a couple of months of the year, some want to limit exposure during the season, and others are hiring people who share their passion. These are not typically the business practices that tourism development experts are encouraging or expecting. So it may seem that we have a disconnect if our economic development ideas are based on a limited type of entrepreneur that is neither present or attracted to rural areas. Another important consideration for rural areas is to note that lifestyle entrepreneurs often decide to locate in an area after repeated travel to a destination (for leisure pursuits largely). This phenomenon has been dubbed "travel stimulated entrepreneurial migration" (Snepenger et al, 1995 as cited in Shaw and Williams).

Simply put, lifestyle entrepreneurs are an important asset for rural regions and we have a lot of work to do to understand what they need to settle, set up shop and serve visitors. Let's start the dialogue and listen.

Ateljevic, I and Doorne, S. (2000). Staying within the fence: Lifestyle entrepreneurship in tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol 8, No. 5, p:378.

Shaw, G. and Williams, A. (2004). From lifestyle consumption to lifestyle production: Changing patterns of tourism entrepreneurship. Small Firms in Tourism: International Perspectives, Elsevier Ltd.