Hidden Gems: Meet Kelly Roche of The Ski Passport

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Roche

Hi Kelly , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
The idea for my business, The Ski Passport, was born from the pandemic. With no traditional schedule for work & school, my Midwest family seized an opportunity to pack it up, live differently and head to the mountains. There we found the National Parks Passport- a little book that educated us on all of our country’s dreamy wild spaces and pushed us to spend more time there. With each visit, we got a stamp and more importantly some lasting adventures and memories. So I thought with a family of passionate skiers, why not do this for our nation’s ski resorts?

After a lot of research and new learnings, I decided to launch with this mission from the start: The Ski Passport exists to inspire people to spend more time in the great outdoors, more time chasing joy and less time watching. The Ski Passport is committed to business being a force for good by doing the right thing- sustainably producing and distributing its’ products as much as possible and continuing to seek better ways to do things. The Ski Passport believes that all humans should have access to spaces that make them come alive.

I launched my business’ first product, The Ski Passport, a journal and guide that profiles our country’s hundreds of ski resorts. It’s an heirloom keepsake for skiers and snowboarders to capture their memories in one spot by collecting stickers, trail notes, apres’ spots, and more from all of their adventures. It inspires mountain lovers to discover more resorts, plan trips, educate kids (and adults!) on ski regions and who doesn’t love that feeling of accomplishment with all those fun sticker passport stamps to be reminded of life’s best days!

Another part of this business that has been very important to me is the message that spending time in the mountains is for everyone. Ski culture can be very intimidating- steep mountains, epic storms, intense athletes and expensive resorts can make it seem unapproachable. And yet the more time you spend outdoors, you realize there really is something for everyone and a way to be a part of it. One of my goals was to encourage people to find beauty right where they are and in the bodies that carry them on these journeys. So whether they are crushing POW in the Rockies or hitting the tow rope in Wisconsin, the days, the memories and the connection to people and place are uniquely theirs.

As any entrepreneur will tell you, there are highs and lows to owning your own business. I had to learn multiple new industries in order to produce a quality product and attract the right customer base. It’s been challenging and rewarding at the same time but in the end it’s mine and I take great pride in that. I have fantastic customers and have already been able to expand the brand in ways I didn’t imagine at the start due to their feedback. I am really looking forward to this next year of growth for the brand to see where it goes.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think everyone who starts a business would love for things to move faster- getting product finished, marketing avenues figured out and of course to start hitting revenue goals quickly. Mine did not follow a linear path, but I was able to find some larger customers early on that in turn helped grow my online sales organically. The wins have been sweet and of course there’s big learnings in the misses and really dialing in on your target market to find out where your products will perform the best. Admittedly, I was a person who did not love social media and online marketing and yet, it’s a place where my business does well so I’m continuing to learn how to grow it. I think the best piece of advice I would share is to take the long view, you don’t have to succeed at all things at once. You have time to focus on a few things at a time and then build on those successes. Also just try to enjoy the journey, I would have given anything to be where I am now when I started- so it’s good to remember that.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Ski Passport journal and guide allows skiers and snowboarders to relive their mountain adventures by collecting stickers and notes from each destination they visit, all in one place. They can aspire to visit every resort listed, give it as a gift or start a book as an heirloom to pass on to the next generation of shredders. There is a corresponding sticker set with endless destinations to visit and add to the journal.

As an avid skier and traveler, I was always looking for the perfect product to take home from my trips- inspirational, fun and meaningful. The Ski Passport, hits all the high notes, plus adds in educating the customer on even more amazing ski resorts. This is a wonderful gift and stocking stuffer for the Winter lover in your life. The business has recently expanded into a lifestyle brand with Ski Happy and Powder for the People trucker hats, beanies, stickers and patches all to inspire epic mountain adventures.

The Ski Passport is woman owned and created sustainably with FSC certified/Post Consumer materials and carbon offsets as we believe that business can be a force for good. It’s a must-have for that next ski trip…for kids, for friends, for anyone passionate about skiing or snowboarding. It currently can be found on our website: theskipassport.com, Uncommon Goods, and ski resorts across the country.

What’s next?
I’m very excited about continuing to grow my brand with some new products this coming season! Ski Happy, Powder for the People and The Ski Challenge are all a really fun vibe to add in and I think will do well this Winter!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theskipassport.com
• Instagram: @theskipassport
• Facebook: @theskipassport