Bart Bonham is the type of business owner who can spot an opportunity where others can’t. After leaving school without a career plan, he worked in the car rental business before trying his hand at franchise ownership in the pest control industry. Still unsatisfied, a serendipitous conversation with a friend from San Antonio altered his course forever. The friend told him about an owner rental program available through RV and recreational vehicle rental agency American Dream Vacations in Boerne, Texas. “I’d always wanted to purchase an RV and adding it to a rental fleet when we weren’t using it sounded like a great idea,” Bart says. He called Steve Franklin—the company’s founder—to find out more. Steve said they weren’t in the Houston area but were hoping to be soon. “I told him, you’re not going to believe this, but I happen to be looking for a business opportunity,” Bart laughs.
Within two days, Bart was visiting the Boerne location to work out a dealership licensing agreement, and within four months American Dream Vacations was up and running in Houston. Eleven years later her has 65 units and counting.
But it wasn’t always a breeze. “In the beginning, every ‘first’ was difficult: signing the first RV owners, finding the first renters, convincing people to take a chance on such a young business owner,” he recalls. Now he faces the challenges that Hurricane Harvey brought to the Houston area in 2017. “We were able to help displaced families who needed to rent campers. But now we’re dealing with the complications of our property losses and the fact that, because of their losses, fewer Houston families are planning vacations,” he says.
Although the road has had its bumps, working with Steven Bankler has made it less daunting. “I started working with Steven about three years into the business. My books were already off track, but he and his team got them back in order. They were a breath of fresh air,” Bart says. Recently, Steven helped restructure the business as an LLC to help take advantage of new tax opportunities. Bart—who credits Lisa, his wife of 19 years, and his three daughters for keeping him motivated—says that one decision made an enormous difference.
“For the first time, I didn’t have to cut a check at tax time,” Bart says. “Everything is accounted for, and we’re taking full advantage of the write-offs we’re due. His help has vastly changed my business for the better.”