HOW TO START YOUR OWN OUTDOORS BUSINESS


7 Essential “Assets” to Starting A Business

  1. The ability to work extremely long hours without pay or apparent reward.
  2. Be rich, or have the ability to raise large sums of money from friends, family, and relatives or from companies and banks.
  3. Be able to communicate convincingly.  A chief skill as a business owner is persuading and enticing customers to buy your product or service; presenting facts or ideas in a way that will “covert” prospects to clients.  Also, having the ability to give detailed directions and instructions to others and being patient if they don’t understand the first time are important.
  4. Have an abundant interest, zeal, knowledge, and love for your chosen product or service.
  5. Have a product or service that is of value to your community or in society in general.
  6. Not be afraid of meeting the public.
  7. The ability to “tighten your belt,” or make cuts from time to time.

Eighty percent of businesses fail in their first year because the business owner did not possess the first 4 characteristics.  An additional 10% more fail in their first two years because the owner was lacking in items 5-7. All total close to 95% of start-up businesses fail in their first five years.  So, you had better be committed for the “long haul.”

Start-Up Time-Tables

Here are some general start-up "yard-sticks,"

          Depending upon the simplicity/complexity of your product or service and the “age” of your market, start-up times can range from one year to five years.  A new or “untapped” market will be easier to penetrate and “make a market,” while an older or established market will be harder to break into.  Based upon our experience, the first year is usually full of learning and making mistakes, unless you are already a skilled businessman.  Either during your first or second year, you will need to write or think of a business and marketing plan and begin soliciting funds.  Usually, folks need to refocus or redefine their target market and/or product somewhere in their second or third year.  Having achieved these benchmarks, business owners typically try to solidify their customer base and increase their sales/cash flows through advertising and marketing in their fourth year.  Lastly, for older or saturated markets (those markets where competition is fierce and product differentiation is negligible), business owners continue to fine-tune or tweak their business in the fifth year and beyond, in order to achieve sustainability, and profit growth.

Mega-Trends

(Source: "Trends in Outdoor Recreation, Leisure, & Tourism by Dr. Tom Lime, U of Minnesota Professor of Forestry & Tourism

Current Business Environment/Outdoors Marketing Conditions-

            With recession looming on the horizon and gas prices hovering up, we see some significant “barriers to entry” for people wanting to start their own outdoor business.  To be sure, more people want to spend more time outside, but American’s family budgets will be strained when it comes to leisure and recreation until the economy improves.  Even as “baby boomers” retire and find extra time on their hands, we expect seniors to spend more time with their grandchildren than striking out on their own in their “golden years” to travel and explore.
            In light of this, travel agencies are predicting slow overseas trip sales and luxury cruise ship bookings and are hopeful that travelers will journey closer to home Source: Leisure Group Trends, Jan 08 Press Release

Outdoors retailers are expecting good sales but not exceptionally strong sales for equipment & gear Source: Outdoors Retailer.Com's Winter Sports Equipment Show, Jan 08
  Outdoor apparel companies anticipate strong sales based on recent advances in clothing and footwear design/functionality.  Source: Outdoors Industry.Org's Winter Apparel Show, Jan 08

            Several bright lights for outdoor business owners are the continued strong interest in the environment,outdoor sports like hunting & fishing, the beauty of nature, adventure stories, and outdoor photography.  Today, consulting and outdoors writing are two of the largest growth fields for individuals desiring to work for themselves outdoors.  Source: The Outdoor Writers Association of America

An excellent book on the basics of growing your business, including approaching venture capitalists, is “ "Growing A Business,” by Paul Hawken.  Remember, venture capitalists are interested in new ideas with “sex appeal” or offer a dynamic break-through innovation that will yield huge returns.  So, if your business idea doesn’t “knock their socks off,” it would be better to raise cash from friends, family, credit cards, or bank loans, etc.

 

Jobs/Areas of Interest/Small Business Opportunities

 

            There are about 60 careers all told, including such uncommon jobs as elephant trainer, skydiving instructor, and equestrienne.  However, we feel that the next big outdoor battle will concern coal or energy plants versus nature and the environment.  As recent article in the SLC Tribune indicates,(Salt Lake Tribune-News, Jan 16th, 2008), major conflict is brewing over the use of public park lands.  Because of these new environmental concerns, we believe future outdoor work will be increasingly technical.  Hence, we believe that the strongest demand for business growth will be in the following fields: Park Management, Head of an Environmental Group, Wildlife Fish & Game Expert, Conservation Officer,” Green” Energy Consultant, Air Quality Control Technician, Lake or Aquatic Life Biologist, Campground Director, Youth Leader, and, Wilderness Outfitter or Expedition Leader, (Source: The National Outdoor Leadership School

Other Outdoor Pursuits

Here is a long list of other outdoor pursuits-Golfing, Underwater Scuba Diving & Other Water sports, Outdoor Apparel & Gear, Fitness Equipment, Garden Shops & Supplies, Range Management, Lodging Management, Fishing & Tackle Shops, Making Lures, Baits, & Traps, Survival & Disaster Preparedness Training, Wilderness or Trail Guiding, Building Log Cabins for a Living, “Niche” Landscaping, Tree Trimming, Planting, Athletic Training, Farm Veterinarian, Commercial Fishing, Aviary and Marine Biologists and lastly, Outdoor Equipment Repair Shops (i.e. snowmobile, ATV, and watercraft repair.)

The final item in this long list is teaching young people outdoors skills like hunting & fishing: (Source: Gilbert Hunter Takes Rookies Outdoors by DeWayne Smith

            Three sports areas where we see strong growth is under water scuba diving, other watersports, and golfing.  We see peak demand for outdoor equipment repair shops as the cost of purchasing new equipment climbs.

See specific business ideas to YWO Featured Business Areas