Winters in South Dakota are something that many local businesses dread. When the snow starts to fall and the tourist season comes to an end, businesses have to find a way to make it through the winter. Owning a business during this time of year is rough — let alone trying to start a business. There is one person that plans to start up his business – and he plans to use the weather to his advantage.

Eternity Snowboards is a business with stores located in Spearfish, S.D. and Dickinson, N.D. The Spearfish branch of Eternity Snowboards is owned and operated by 23-year-old Black Hills State University Human Services major Clint Mrnak. Mrnak started his business out of his passion for the sport. He said when he first started he was just like any other first time business owner — he had high hopes and thought it was going to be easy to accomplish. It didn’t take long for him to realize that running a business was easier said than done.

“I think the hardest thing about opening a business is doing promotions and getting our name out there,” said Mrnak.

Mrnak said he does anything he can to promote his business — from slapping stickers on a random pole to having his friends wear the t-shirts he made.

“The hardest thing for us to do will be to get people to try out our gear. It will be difficult to have someone who is used to riding big names like GNU or Rome, and coming over and giving our brand a try,” said Mrnak.

Going up against big names is no easy task. People like to go to places that they can trust. Mrnak found a way to rememdy that. With his company just starting up, he had to think of a way to get people to buy, and that item was custom snowboards. This is where the buyer draws up their own custom design and they pick the shape of board they want. After this, Mrnak sends the design in and has it custom-made for the buyer.

Even with custom work, there is still one problem that any business must face — getting established in a small town.

“There isn’t a big market in a small community. It’s hard to make a profit if there aren’t enough people to buy,” said Mrnak.

To combat the problem, Mrnak decided to expand the company. He moved part of it to Dickinson, N.D., where he can promote to a wider customer base.

Mrnak is hoping to show off the snowboards and apparel that he has to offer and hopefully bring in a bigger market. Mrnak said Eternity Snowboards is looking forward to a bright future in the snowboard business.