How to Build a Hockey Rink (or Investment Portfolio)

When life hands you lemons (read: leaves you with little to do and nowhere to go), I say, turn your home into a destination. Through the current disruption, my wife and I have done what we can to make our house an attraction for our two young sons. On Friday nights, for example, the living room turns into a movie theatre, complete with a “now showing" poster, tickets and the sneaking in of snacks (we try to keep it authentic). So I knew long before the leaves began to turn in the fall that I'd be making an ice hockey rink in the backyard this winter. What I didn't foresee is just how much ice-rink building is like portfolio building, and vice versa.

If you're thinking of making your own ice rink, here are my top lessons from the project, which you may just find applicable to your DIY investing, too.

Start by familiarizing yourself with the task.

Ever try to put together an IKEA bookshelf without instructions? I don't recommend it any more than I would recommend trying to build an ice hockey rink or investment portfolio without gaining some basic knowledge first. What is the optimal approach for what you're trying to achieve? (Slow and steady begets the most solid ice, for me.) What issues might you run into? (Weather fluctuations are a major hurdle as the ice solidifies.) Are there common mistakes you can avoid? (Measure twice, cut once is a useful truism here.) All of these questions are worth answering before you dive into the task, whether your ultimate objective is cold hard ice or cold hard cash (pardon the dad joke).

Plan, then build.

Just as I did when I first began investing for myself, before starting, I considered my goal – in this case, feed my kids' budding passion for skating and hockey. Next, I planned out how I may support that goal. I took stock of my yard and identified an area that was relatively flat but also large enough to shoot a few pucks. I measured and calculated how much I would need of each building material – wood for the boards, brackets to keep the boards upright and stable, and a plastic liner to protect the grass. Thanks to the prep, framing the rink was the easy part. Then, all that was left to do was to turn on the hose for a couple of hours and let Mother Nature (or, I guess, Father Frost) do its thing.

Keep an eye out and adjust as needed.

Much like an investment portfolio, your rink is subject to not-so-predictable forces. You'll want to monitor your ice, and you may need to tweak things as it solidifies. (Monitoring, tweaking – sound familiar, investors?) If it snows, for example, you'll need to shovel right away; otherwise the snow will insulate the ice, which will then turn to slush. Rain can create holes in the ice, which will need to be slowly filled in; of course, in these spots, keep in mind that the ice will be thinner and more fragile. And watch out for above-zero temperatures – if it gets too warm, you may need to adjust your expectations of timing. I also checked in daily that the boards were stable and the liner was still intact, plus I fished out any leaves or debris that had fallen in to keep the ice as nice as possible.

There's trial and error.

Once you get that solid-looking ice, it's time to test out the surface. From here, it's trial and error: You may step on the ice and enjoy a perfect skate, but you may find that it cracks under your weight that first, second, third go, because the ice isn't thick enough. As you test, don't let a misstep discourage you – every failed attempt means you learned something new. You come away with ideas on how to adapt and try again. As an investor, too, you have the option to learn as you go, or you may choose to first test out your ideas and strategies in a practice account.

It's a journey.

Congratulations, you've built the thing; now your journey truly begins. Now that everything is up and running, you will want to continue to monitor and potentially tweak at whatever frequency is right for you. To stay in the loop regarding the potential impacts on your ice or portfolio, you may also wish to keep an eye on the weather report or market news.