Dakota Guild, 18, just graduated from high school. Its thrust is not limited to the class or the golf course.
GRESHAM, Oregon – About ten years ago, Dakota Guild got hooked on an idea. The result expanded to a store on Southeast Division Street in Gresham.
“We’re open by appointment only, but we’re putting the finishing touches on,” said Guild, the owner of Guild Golf Carts – and only 18 years old. So, if you count, he started this adventure when he was only eight years old.
“We started out very small: we had a golf cart to go around our property, take the trash down,” he said.
Guild says their driveway is about 300 meters long. The shopping cart made it easier to do things like check your mail. The family bought it in Hillsboro for around $ 500.
“We sold it next summer for $ 750, we made $ 250, we thought it was pretty cool.”
“Pretty cool” quickly turned into a full-time thing, but it wasn’t a free ride for Dakota. His father gave him a loan to take off and even rented him a garage at their home in Damascus. Guild says he had to relocate to meet the needs of his expanding business.
He runs the shop with his sister Demi, who is also his business partner. They buy retired carts from golf courses and give them new life by turning them into custom creations.
“We will put a rear seat that will lower and you can carry the load there,” Guild said. “Last year we sold 300 golf carts – 320 to be exact. It was a fantastic year; we started customizing the carts a lot more.”
Guild hopes to sell 350 carts this year, and will sell another 400 in 2021. Portland graduate Christian is grateful that business is good and hopes to keep his wheels spinning for as long as possible.
“Yeah, I’m going to ride it, the wave is really high right now,” he said. I’ve been really busy. “
The Guild Golf Carts opening is this Saturday from 2pm to 5pm near the 18130 SE Division Street intersection in Gresham.
You can follow Guild Golf Carts on Instagram.
