This week on the podcast we are continuing our Business of Outdoor Recreation series with Austin Albers, President and Owner of the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Arkansas. Brent and Austin discuss the growth of Buffalo Outdoor Center and how Austin listens to customers to develop new offerings like mountain biking and backcountry aviation. Austin explains how outdoor recreation experiences improve quality of life and are driving economic growth in Arkansas. He describes opportunities for students interested in the industry, emphasizing the value of listening to customers, finding opportunities and following your passion.

I would say my number one recommendation for

anybody who is either in the industry or looking to get into

the industry is to listen to the customers, because they'll tell

you what you need to do. And then looking at opportunities. I

mean, look around what what opportunities do you have?

Welcome to the Be Epic podcast, brought to you

by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of

Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll

explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the

strategies, insights, and stories that drive business

Well, today I have with me Austin Albers, who is President

today.

of the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Arkansas. So Austin, thanks for

joining me today.

Absolutely. Glad to be here.

Well, I'm really looking forward to learning more

about Buffalo Outdoor Center, just, you know, your involvement

in tourism in Arkansas. But first, you're you're a graduate

of the University of Arkansas and the Walton College a finance

major. Right.

Yeah. 2008.

Well, I hope it was a great experience. And I

know you've created great networks from it.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah the University

of Arkansas was definitely a great time in my life. And it

was a great experience all the way around, you know, a lot of

fun, but then also a great education as well.

Well, tell me a little bit about about you, you

know, and just sort of like where you're from. And, you

know, we know, you know, spent some time at the college. I

think you spent some time in the finance industry, in the

transportation industry. And have been at Buffalo Outdoor

Center for close to 15 years, I think.

Yeah, yeah. So I a little back history on me I

actually grew up on a big horse ranch outside of the Ponca area

over by Buffalo Outdoor Center, about five miles away, grew up

on a horse ranch. I always told people that my parents were born

100 years too late, because we did everything with horse drawn

Well, for for those that may not know, well

equipment and people thought we were Amish. So it was kind of

fun. But so this little piece that most people don't know

about me, so grew up there, left, went in to aviation, and

went to flight school at Spartan School of Aeronautics, and then

transferred to the University of Arkansas, and entered the Walton

College of Business and with a focus on finance. And so

graduated from the Walton College of Business with with a

bachelor's in finance. And immediately went to work for

Edward Jones. And this was in 2008. And so tough time to be in

finance. Yeah, it was, it was a great experience, a very

humbling experience. I'll tell you that so and then advanced

from there. You know left there and went to work for JB Hunt,

and then eventually moved over to the Buffalo Outdoor Center,

started going over to the Buffalo Outdoor Center in in

2009 and just working on the weekends helping out and just to

just to get back into the outdoors, which was a huge

passion of mine.

one if you haven't been to the Buffalo River, you're certainly

missing out. It's certainly a treasure in Arkansas, but maybe

start there a little bit about the river and maybe some of the

background of the company. I know you've helped really grow

it really fast. I think you've grown the product offering

fairly significantly. Love to hear a little bit about that.

Absolutely. So the Buffalo National River was

America's first nationally protected river, it was it was

nationally protected in 1972 from being dammed, and there's a

lot of history there and and a lot of information on that. But

it was nationally protected by the National Park Service. And

so as a National River it is operated by the National Park

Service but it is not a national park. It is a National River.

And so there is land on both sides of the river that is owned

by the National Park but it or by the National River but it is

like I said it's considered a National River. The Buffalo

Outdoor Center was founded in 1976 by a gentleman named Mike

Mills. Mike had a passion for the river. As a child growing

up, he would go to the river with his father and his father

was a military man. And so the only time he really got with his

father was on these trips and they would go paddle and his

father would fish and Mike would paddle him down the river. And

so he grew this passion for paddling the river and

specifically the Buffalo River. And so in 1976, he he's, he

founded the Buffalo Outdoor Center. He had moved to Ponca

before that and ran another outfitter for a little while but

then decided that he was going to start his own and so with his

passion, they founded it with five canoes and an international

scout. And that's how they would would shuttle people and would

put people in the river and so, obviously evolved from there it

became the first log cabin resort in the state of Arkansas

in the in the late 80s. And then from that we just continued to

grow to what we offer today which we've got a wide offering

from 28 cabins to lodges, large retail store and deli, gas

highland and we've got canoeing, kayaking, rafting. ziplining,

Arkansas longest downhill mountain bike trail system, we

have backcountry aviation. So we have people will fly in to

backcountry airstrip with their own aircraft. And we've got

lodging on the airfield where people will stay there, we

provide them with a Jeep to where they can go explore and

adventure. And then we've also got an RV park, too. And so

people bring their RVs and kind of camp and stay and go out and

do anything from hiking to fishing to, to like I said

canoeing, kayaking rafting. The Rocky Mountain Elk were

reintroduced in the early 80s back to the Boxley Valley and

back to that area. We we traded trout for elk with with Colorado

and, and brought them back and so that herd has continued to

grow. And so in the fall, they're they're really out and

about and you'll hear him bugling and in rut, which is a

very neat experiencing for this part of the country. And then

also you've got the fall foliage, so a lot of people out

to experience that as well. But again, anywhere from anything on

the river to hiking to biking. Just even even rock climbing

right there in the area as well with Horseshoe Canyon is a big

draw. And so fishing, fishing is good on the buffalo as well.

Well one, you know I see I see your hat, your

Arkansas hat and you know it just reminds me of the great

things happening around outdoor recreation throughout our state.

And I'm particularly excited about just the it seems like the

increased focus not not only in Northwest Arkansas, throughout

the state on making Arkansas a destination, you know, for

people to experience the outdoors. But when you think

about the growth of Buffalo Outdoor Center and what's

happening in Arkansas, what parallels do you see, what what

synergies do you see?

Yeah, so you know, like you said, you know,

there's an increased you know focus on outdoor recreation. You

know, our current governor's is really pushing outdoor

recreation. The first gentleman is as well they've created the

the natural state initiative to really focus and look at

opportunity zones, look at opportunities that we can, can

really help take outdoor recreation to the next level

within the state of Arkansas, and compete at the top. And

that's one thing that that our focus is is as a state, what are

the opportunity zones, you know, where are we at in and, you

know, you kind of hit on it a minute ago with the Buffalo

National River being you know, one of the states Crown Jewels,

the state of Arkansas is a crown jewel from the standpoint of

outdoor recreation, and I mean, we are the natural state. And so

there are unparalleled opportunities all across our

state to, to get into whether you're a student looking at, you

know, becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business or

looking for something in the hospitality or outdoor industry,

you know, as far as career outside of, you know, once you

get out of college, there are so many opportunities and within

that, I mean, you may be an entrepreneur, you may be working

in finance, as, as a controller for an outdoor company, whatever

it is, you may be connected with that you know with the outdoor

industry or the hospitality industry. And so with that, I

mean from again, from rock climbing to fishing, to hunting

to paddling, you know, even ATVs you know, there's there's so

many great opportunities across the state, aviation, backcountry

aviation, we've grown that that area that most people don't

realize how many backcountry airstrips there are in Arkansas,

we've got people coming here from Idaho and Utah and Florida

and Texas pretty much everywhere to come fly and experience the

Ozarks and even Arkansas in general. And in all it's got to

offer from the air and so that's something that's, that's really

growing as well but the increase in the state, just just a push

for entrepreneurism and just really helping empower people to

get outdoors and then also create those experiences to

share with other people too. And, and I tell people that all

the time it's um, you know, we're in the business of, of

providing and creating experiences and and, and

memories and so, those experiences are what people go

home with, and that's what they remember and you'll want to come

back or share with their friends or whatever it is, and I hear it

every day, you know, over in the Buffalo, people show up and, you

know, for their first time and they'll go around, and, you

know, their comment when they come back is we had no idea this

existed in Arkansas. And so,

You know, I think what's interesting about

the Buffalo Outdoor Center that honestly I didn't fully realize

was the breadth of the offerings, you know, so,

mountain biking, you know, certainly I've always thought

of, of the paddling and thought of fishing back, you know, back

country aviation. Talk a little bit, if you will, about how

you've developed those products, you know, and, you know, how you

how you understand what the customers are going to want from

you, and what kind of experiences they're going to want.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So, you know, big

thing for me is, obviously, I love the outdoors, I love to

travel, and I love to, to experience things. So having

those firsthand experiences is, um, is one thing. But I would

say my number one recommendation for anybody who is either in the

industry or looking to get into the industry, is to listen to

the customers. Because they'll tell you what you need to do. If

you if you have people that show up. And I'll use this as an, you

know, it's a perfect example. For 25, 30 years, we had people

walk in the door of the original store that was there was a small

building it was built in 1962 is the Tippie Canoe Cafe, it's 1000

square foot, but we'd have people walk in, and then always

ask the same questions. They say, where can I get gas, and

where can I get something to eat? So when I built a new

store, I put in a deli, and I'm putting in gas,

By the way, the food's pretty good. I know

firsthand at that deli.

Yeah. So, so again, it's listening to your

customers. Yeah, that's a big thing. And then, and then

looking at opportunities, I mean, you know, look around,

what, what opportunities do you have, you know, what is it there

that's attracting people, or that people want to experience

what could be an offering that people don't even know exists?

And, you know, you know, another example, the zipline canopy

tour, so we put in the first canopy tour within the state,

true canopy tour, and we learned about it by traveling, we were

in Costa Rica, and we experienced it there. And then

the leadership group that were involved in, you know, we all

discussed and we started putting them in. And, and again, it was

creating those experiences, but then also getting out and seeing

what what are the things that people may enjoy, or, you know,

what's a way to incorporate the environment that we already

have, into an experience. And so again, even with our zip lines,

I tell people, it's a, you know, it's a ecotour, it's a comedy

tour, and it's a zipline experience. And then at the end

of it, it's an ATV experience, because they load you up and you

know, on ATVs, and bring you back to the top. And so people

love it. And again, it's those experiences, you know, the

guides on those experiences are what really makes the

difference. And so that team, whether it's at the front desk,

whether it's, you know, the guides, that you know, our guys

at the river, who are, are putting in the, you know, the

guests, you know, on you, whoever it is, they're the ones

at the end of the day that really make that experience.

And, you know, I've often told people and, you know, in job

interviews, you know, I'd ask him, you know, the question, you

know, what is it that you think we do here, and, you know, a lot

of times people would come back with, well, you rent canoes, or

you rent cabins or you know, you do ziplining, or mountain

biking, and at the end of the day, it's we provide

experiences, and we create experiences. And so that's

that's the focus is, is taking that world class experience to

the top. And that's the focus not only in Buffalo Outdoor

Center, but across the state.

Yes, I totally agree. You know, we're fortunate

here to have all of these natural assets you know and when

we have students increasingly coming to the University of

Arkansas, you probably know, our enrollment has grown

tremendously, you know, over the last several years. For many, it

is an opportunity to really get outside maybe for the first time

or any, you know, a significant experience, maybe even on their

own. So, when you talk to, you know, think about a student

moving to the U of A, or maybe it's somebody moving in, you

know, from one of the coasts into Arkansas for the first

time, and they want to kind of get their foot in the outdoors.

How do you guys help them do that?

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, information is

key, you know, and so, you know, helping them understand what's

out there. And, you know, as students are moving in, you

know, there's a lot of you know a lot assets, you know, social

media is a big one, and that's where people go to, to, you

know, to find information about the area, about the offerings.

And so, you know, one of our big focuses is, you know, is

painting the true picture of what's there. And in, we get

compliments all day long about, people just didn't realize that

Arkansas was so beautiful. And, and you know, as a whole, I

mean, all across the state, it is beautiful, there's different

changes as we go, but there's different offerings, all the way

across the state that are unique. And whether it's the

Delta, or the Buffalo National River, or even, you know, here

in Northwest Arkansas, on the mountain bike trail systems, you

know, there's, there's so much here, but even rivers and

streams, you know, they changed, you have to, and so different

experiences across the state. So, you know, with that

education, getting, you know, getting them introduced to the

outdoors, helping them understand the best first step,

I think is important, too, because you can get somebody in

trouble if they're not experienced or ready to

experience, you know, certain activity. And so, you know,

being able to paint the picture accurately, being able to teach

and, you know, and explain to them is very important. And,

and, you know, with that, I mean, obviously, at the

University of Arkansas across the state, you know, we've got a

lot of diversity here. And so we've got a, you know, a lot of

ethnic groups that are coming from areas where they're not

used to getting outdoors, you know, they're not used to the

outdoor recreation, and they love it, they want to do it, but

helping them understand the risk, but then also the

opportunity, and what's the best way to do it is to be able to

create that positive experience.

You know, when I, when I think about the

outdoors and think about Buffalo Outdoor Center, and many of the

other business participants, I would say, in the outdoor

recreation economy, I think, I think there's at least at least

two that I can think of ways where it really is going to

affect us in the future from an economic development standpoint,

and one thing you just said, reminded me of that, you know,

people moving in to the area that haven't had a chance to

experience the outdoors, like you can in Arkansas, that makes

this place pretty sticky. But then also tourism, which you've

mentioned in the past, so just as you're thinking forward for

Arkansas, you know, for your business, of course, but for

Arkansas, or broadly, what what do you what do you think we're

gonna see in that respect,

So, a big focus is quality of life. And so

again, people moving here, you know, quality of life, so the

cost of living the opportunities, as far as you

know, as far as jobs and, and education, but then also, the

experiences, and so, you know, with that, that, you know, those

experiences are going to increase quality of life. And,

and, and so, you know, from an economic development standpoint,

or from an economic standpoint, you know, when you have quality

of life, and that's what a lot of people really, I think,

realized with COVID is, quality of life is really important. And

being stuck at home in the middle of, you know, a high rise

building, you know, for weeks at a time isn't, isn't fun. And so,

you know, we're seeing a lot of people, you know, relocating

from larger cities, and, you know, different areas, and

they're, you know, they're relocating because of quality of

life. And, and so, you know, with that, you know, there's

opportunity zones for entrepreneurs, there's

opportunity zones for just employment alone and, and with

that, those experiences that anybody can create, and build a

business on will continue to grow, and it's going to help the

economy in the state of Arkansas, and the overall

picture, people are going to continue to see Arkansas, you

know, taking a step above and, and climbing that ladder of, of,

you know, we are, you know, outdoor recreation, you know, we

are that state, you know, we are the natural state.

Absolutely. I could not agree with you more,

and maybe I might dive in with you on on one specific area, and

that is paddling, you know, it seems to me that it seems to me

like there's growth really going to happen in that area in our

future. I mean, from of course, what what you're doing on the

Buffalo River, there's a park that's been built in Siloam

Springs, I believe, and what momentum do you see there in our

in our economy?

Just just like I was explaining with with regards

to quality of life, the paddling industry is an industry that is

is changing, too. It's evolving, it's continuing to change. You

know, 30 years ago, people would go get on the river, rain or

shine. It didn't matter if it was freezing, or 90 degrees

people were going and that's changed a lot over the last, you

know, 30 years. You know, a lot of people aren't interested in

being out there if it's a nasty day. And so with that, that's

really kind of defined the direction of paddling to a point

but we also deal with, you know, the weather so whether we have

rainfall and with the Buffalo National River, again, it is all

based on rainfall, there's no dam, there's no there's no

tributaries at the top to feed it, it is its own tributary. And

as you go down, I mean, there are other streams that feed in.

But, you know, so the further down the river you go, you know,

the longer you can paddle. But from a standpoint across the

state, I mean, you've got the whitewater park in Siloam

Springs, you've got the Illinois River, you've got several rivers

in the bayou, you've got, I mean, there's opportunities all

the way across the state for paddling. And from a state but

then it also a region where you are focusing on opportunities to

really look at locations where where we can add in more year

round paddling versus just specifically seasonal. And so

adding accesses, you know, dealing with with property

owners, we're working with the Arkansas Game and Fish

Commission, we're working with different individuals from

across the state, who all have the same priority and in desire

to help them grow that. And so there's going to be a wide a

wide opportunity for getting out and paddling and it's from

whitewater to leisurely floats and you know, floats through a

bayou or through through a swampy area to experience how

you know that but the rivers around here are just gorgeous

and the streams are gorgeous, you know, and they all have

something different to offer too, you know, if you're on you

know, on the, you know, down on the Mulberry or you're on the

Kings River, you're on the Buffalo River, you're on the

Illinois, you're, you know, again, you're you're traveling

around, every river is different, every, you know,

every experience is a little bit different. And they all have

different challenges as well.

You know, might sort of shift gears on you just

a little bit, we've talked about our students, you know, in terms

of getting them outdoors, I think increasingly more are

interested in working in the industry. And that is one thing

that at the Walton College that we're standing up programming,

allowing them to get experience around the outdoor recreation

economy to see if it is a place where they could apply their

skills, I'm sure there's some unique opportunities and some

unique challenges to try to work in that industry.

Yeah, there are, you know, with that, it's in the

hospitality industry alone or the outdoor recreational

industry, it's a seven day a week, you know, operation, you

know, you don't close the doors, you know, Friday at five o'clock

and go home, it's a seven day a week operation. And so it takes

someone who understands that, hey, I may have to work on

weekends. Or I may have to work, you know, lighter need, I may

have to work early in the morning, you know, it's a, it's,

you know, it's a year round, 365 day, you know, operation from

the overall picture. Now you can do certain seasonal industries

you can do, you know, like for us, you know, paddling is a

seasonal thing, we only paddle the Buffalo on the upper

district where we're at typically March, April, May and

June. And then the rest of the year, it's too dry, every once

awhile, you may get a you know, a summer downpour that

eventually will bring the river up or even in fall, but it's

pretty rare. But there are other rivers where, you know, you can

still paddle pretty much year round. And so, you know, part of

that challenge is going to be defining what you want to do,

you know, as you know, your career or for an experience. Are

you okay with working on weekends? Are you okay with

seasonality? Are you okay with the hospitality industry,

because that's really what it all ties into as well. And so,

you know, whether it's lodging or restaurant or all that ties

into, into outdoor recreation as well, because those experiences

whether, you know, they're going out and experiencing an

adventure for a day, doing a guided trip, there's a guide

company here in Northwest Arkansas called 37 North and

they do a lot of guided experiences. And you can go do a

guided experience, but then you're coming, you're gonna get

lunch or you're gonna eat dinner, or you're gonna go to,

you know, go have a drink or something, you know, with your

buddies afterwards. Like there's, there's different

things that all come into play. And so it, it depends on, um,

it's really a broad industry. That's why it's the number two

industry in the state of Arkansas and there's a good

opportunity to become the number one industry in the state of

Arkansas because it it really is broad as far as what you can do,

and where you can go to work. And two, from the standpoint of

I mean, even somebody with a finance degree can stay in the

financial side of it, because with every business, as you

understand, there's I mean, it takes HR, it takes, you know, it

takes benefits, it takes you know finance, it like there's a

wide range of what goes into operating a business and small

businesses is going to have fewer people, but the larger the

businesses, then you're going to have more of those people

fulfilling those roles as well.

Well, something you said made me think of, you

know, again, going back to your background, and maybe centering

and concluding on our students. You know, you started in the

finance industry, you you've worked in transportation, some,

you pivoted, and it seems like you're in a spot that you truly

enjoy. You've enjoyed growing the business, you told me,

you've added technology to the business, but just as you

reflect over the last 15, 20 years, and as you think about

our students, and what advice you might give them, what's kind

of a couple of nuggets that that you've learned that you think,

that you think one of our students could benefit from?

Yeah absolutely. So that's a great question. And,

and there's a lot it's in, it's and, it's evolved over the

years. In leadership, I always go back to this one nugget that

I just reflect on, but in any, in any situation, always be slow

to react and quick to praise. And there's a lot of I mean,

just, when, when you're, when you're working with people, when

you're working with guests, employees, whoever it is, you

know, processing what's going on before you react is important,

just because you just never know who you're dealing with what the

situation is, I learned that actually from my finance

background. And so with that, just, you know, reflecting on

that, but then also follow your passion. You know, for most of

us, we get out of high school, and we go to college, and we we

may even graduate college, and we still don't know what we want

to do. And I, you know, I went from aviation, to engineering to

finance and like, kind of went around all of it and now I'm in

the outdoor industry, do I use it? I use it all. But at the end

of the day, I didn't know what I wanted to do until I got out

there and started experiencing it and for me, it's the people

it's, it's the working with, with our guests that have come

in the door every day, and seeing the transformation on

them from their experiences, and, you know, customer service,

because we are in the customer service industry. Customer

service is a big thing. And there's a wide range of customer

service. And so dealing with people and you're fixing the

problem, we're dealing with people who are on vacation, and

so getting to deal with people who are on vacation, they're

excited, you know, you see their stress coming off, you see them,

you know, creating these experiences with you know, with

their family with their friends. And so there's a there's a

fulfillment there that you received from just helping

create these experiences because you're helping someone better

themselves, get a break, step away from whatever their

stresses are in their daily life and experience something fun

and, and, and exhilarating. And all in all experiences are

perfect or great by any means. But they all come back with a

story at the end of the day so.

Well I love your I love your real intentional

focus on customer experience and creating those experiences and

leading your team that way and couldn't agree more about you

know, when you can in the moment, slow down right you know

and, assess and not react quickly. It was a great nugget.

Well, Austin, I really appreciate you coming in and

joining the podcast. We're thankful for you as a Walton

College alum. So thanks for joining me today.

Absolutely. Glad to be here and thanks for having

me.

Thank you.

On behalf of the Walton College thank you for joining us for

this captivating conversation to stay connected and never miss an

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