Meet Victoria Hofmann | Local Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Victoria Hofmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was very fortunate to have been involved in a small way with the first Divots Golf location when it opened a few years ago in Washington state, so that definitely helped as I prepared to open one of my own in Anchorage, Alaska. My dad and his business partner created Divots Golf and opened their first facility in early 2020, so the facility I own isn’t a franchise, but more of a family expansion to the North with different owners. It had never crossed my mind that I’d open a Divots Golf up here, but after watching the success in WA it became clear that Anchorage, with its long, dark, and cold winters, would be a prime location for an indoor golf facility. I already lived in Anchorage and have a business and entrepreneurship background, so it made sense to consider it. I am a planner, so I went about the planning phase very methodically, almost clinically. Everything was about the numbers: can it work under several different scenarios; what is the growth potential in the area; when will it be financially self-sustaining; things like that. I ended up with a 20 page business plan and 3 years of financial projections before I felt comfortable pulling the trigger. It took me over 6 months to finally decide if it was doable up here, not just for the business, but for me. I would need to quit my current job to build and run the business full time and most likely would not make any money for several years. That’s a tough decision to make, and luckily I am blessed with a great spouse who supported the decision I made to take that leap.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
All my life through college I thought I was going to be professor of History. I am in love with history and have an bachelor’s degree in it. While I was applying to graduate schools to get my PhD, I got a job at a bank and ended up in the Finance and Advising department. To my shock, I absolutely fell in love with it and I stayed working there for several years. When my husband and I moved to Alaska in 2017, I got a job at the Alaska Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and started classes for my MBA. Working at the SBDC was probably the absolute best precursor to owning my own business because that is all we did there – advise and teach business owners how to start and run their small businesses. I was incredibly fortunate to learn and make connections through that job. After completing my Master’s degree, I started teaching some classes through the SBDC and was thrilled to combine two career aspects of the things I love most: teaching and business. I was able to learn from the inside out about tools and methods and resources that 100% aided me in the planning and startup phase of opening Divots Golf in Alaska.

When people ask if owning my own business is something I had always wanted to do, the answer is a hard “no”. Until about 2.5 years ago, I never would have dreamed I’d do anything like this. I was content teaching and advising, not actually taking the risk for myself. I know it is cliché, but while this has been the most stressed out I’ve ever been and the responsibility of it all sometimes is overwhelming, the feeling of independence and “I did that” far outweighs that. I would do it again time and time again.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This list has the potential to be very expansive, but I’ll try to keep it short:

My dad – this business was really his brainchild, and he pushed me to be comfortable in my own skin and own that this is something I can accomplish.
My husband – never doubted that I could do this for a second, even when I was deep in the doubt and second-guessing-everything hole. He also jumps in whenever I need a hand, even though he is working a full time job elsewhere.
My grandpa – the sheer amount of manhours he has put into Divots is astonishing. He did construction throughout his life, so his knowledge and skill has made my life so much easier during the renovation stage, projects over the last 1.5 years, and whenever something breaks or needs upkeep, he’s there with no questions asked.

Website: https://divotsindoorgolf.com/anchorage/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divotsgolfindoors/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divotsgolfindoors

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivotsGolfIndoors