A small complaint can open up a large market. In 1998, while working at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Dominique Bastien heard guests complain that they could not take photos through gondola cabin windows because the glass was scratched. For many resorts at the time, replacing damaged glass was almost the only option.
Bastien did not stop at merely acknowledging the problem. She wondered if there was a better way. Nearly three decades later, that question has become The Gondola Shop, a business specializing in gondola restoration, custom manufacturing, and serving clients across multiple countries. This story is worth reading not because it is magical, but because it shows how someone persistently turns a very narrow task into a competitive advantage.
Starting a Business Without a Manual
Bastien began with Sunshine Polishing, alongside a partner, focusing on polishing acrylic and polycarbonate gondola windowpanes. Polishing plastic was not a new concept. However, large, curved glass used in passenger transport presented a different challenge: surface distortion, heat, pressure, and post-treatment durability.
With no standard procedures, she and her team tested equipment, materials, and techniques until they achieved consistent results across an entire fleet. Bastien once mentioned that when working in an industry that barely exists, there is no guidebook telling you what to do; you must figure out the engineering, equipment, pricing on your own, and then convince clients that your solution is truly effective and worth the money.
Winning Over Clients in the Passenger Transport Industry
The hardest part is not polishing a single pane of glass. Gondolas are passenger transport systems. Resorts must trust the reliability and quality of the work before handing over equipment to an outside company. Trust here cannot be bought with recommendations; it must be proven through every single project.
Bastien also had to overcome gender stereotypes in a male-dominated field. She shared that she had to work much harder to demonstrate technical knowledge and persuade potential clients. In 2006, she became the sole owner of the business, gaining more freedom to set direction and seize opportunities.
In safety-critical industries, reputation is not an accessory. It is a prerequisite for doing the job.
Expanding Based on What Customers Miss
When clients hired her for glass restoration, Bastien noticed that many cabins also had faded paint, degraded seats, and damaged hardware. The glass was newer, but the overall cabin remained old. Instead of sticking strictly to her initial service, she expanded into painting, upholstery, hardware replacement, custom fabrication, and eventually full cabin restoration. In 2019, The Gondola Shop was launched to bring all those services under one roof.
Another crucial decision was handling multiple stages in-house rather than outsourcing. When a project goes through too many contractors, schedules, quality control, and accountability easily get messy. Doing the work in-house helped her stay more proactive with production and client expectations.
- From glass polishing, expanding to painting and upholstery.
- From hardware accessories, moving toward complete cabin fabrication and restoration.
- From a small facility, stepping into multi-year refurbishment programs.
In Breckenridge, Colorado, Bastien's company restored a fleet of 111 gondola cabins. The cabins were divided into small batches so the resort could maintain operations. Viewed from the outside, it is a technical story. Look closer, and it is a coordination puzzle: transportation, personnel, supplies, production schedules, and client budgets, sometimes spanning multiple years.
This is the part often overlooked when talking about startups. A good idea only goes the distance if the business builds robust operational capabilities. Bastien did not stop at selling polishing services; she gradually built a system capable of taking on large projects, maintaining quality, and avoiding disruption to client operations.
International Clients Come from Relationships, Not Grand Strategies
The international opportunities for The Gondola Shop largely came through relationships. The ski industry is quite interconnected: resort owners, equipment manufacturers, and technical specialists often work across borders. Reputation spreads gradually through those connections. But operating in multiple places also forces a business to adapt to different environmental conditions and business cultures.
Gondolas in Switzerland endure intense UV rays, snow, and deep cold. Equipment in Vietnam faces high humidity and other challenges. Building trust with Japanese or European clients is also different from North America. A notable example is the relationship with CWA, the Swiss gondola cabin manufacturer owned by the Doppelmayr Group. After years of collaboration, the two sides discussed potential formal partnerships to support CWA cabins in North America.
For Bastien, that was a major career milestone. She recalled starting nearly 30 years ago as a small independent business restoring scratched windows; today, she sits at the table with one of the world's leading manufacturers to discuss collaboration.
When Gondola Cabins Become Meeting Rooms and Bakeries
Not stopping at ski resorts, Bastien found ways to repurpose retired gondola cabins for commercial use. At the Columbia Sportswear headquarters in Portland, Oregon, 10 cabins restored by her company were placed inside offices to serve as private chat spaces, phone booths, and individual workspaces. Other projects turned gondolas into dining cabins, including three used by a client to sell cookies at ski resorts.
These projects expanded her business into hospitality, corporate offices, and restaurants. They also opened up growth avenues outside the ski season. However, repurposing gondolas is not just about surface aesthetics: each project may involve electrical systems, ventilation, insulation, seating, accessibility, and custom fabrication.
Bastien achieved this because the company had previously accumulated capabilities in dismantling, restoring, and modifying cabins. This is a very practical lesson: technical capabilities built from a narrow service can become a launchpad for broader markets.
Lessons Lie in the Execution, Not Just the Niche
Looking back across nearly three decades, a few takeaways emerge. First, Bastien's biggest competitor was often not another restoration company, but the habit of replacing equipment with new ones. To win, she had to prove that restoration creates real value and is cost-effective.
Second, a business must transition from doing everything alone to building a team. Bastien noted that today, many of the best improvements come from employees who see problems differently than she does. That sounds simple, but it is a turning point for a founder used to controlling everything.
- Start from a specific problem, not a grand slogan.
- Prove effectiveness through results, especially when clients must trust safety.
- Expand according to real client demand, then invest capabilities to meet it.
- Build long-term relationships with manufacturers, partners, and international clients.
If You See a Small Problem
Dominique Bastien's story suggests a path for business builders: sometimes opportunities do not lie in overcrowded markets, but in a problem considered ordinary. But one must remain cautious. A narrow niche does not automatically make a good niche. If demand is too low, clients are too dispersed, or the cost of proving quality is too high, a business can get stuck.
Therefore, before jumping in, check three things: does the problem repeat often enough; are clients willing to pay for an alternative solution; and what capabilities can you build to make the service more reliable? For Bastien, the answers came gradually through testing, relationships, and patience, not through a flawless plan from day one.
She once shared that she started with scratched windowpanes and a pretty simple idea in 1998, and could not imagine it would turn into what it is today. Perhaps the most valuable lesson is not choosing a strange industry, but being curious enough to spot a problem, persistent enough to make it better, and open enough to go beyond initial intentions.
What recurring complaint do you see in your work or industry? If there is a scratched windowpane that everyone accepts, how would you test it first? Leave a comment to continue the discussion. I still believe many sustainable business opportunities start with things so small people do not bother naming them, though some might argue that the narrower the niche, the harder it is to scale. Which side do you stand on? If this article made you think about a new direction, save it and share it with someone who needs it. Thank you for reading to the end.
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