Advice on starting a charter service....
Hey guys.. i would like to hear from the businessmen on this one..
Did you guys take out loans to start this business?
Is it a major risk? (im adventurous so ill do this even if it ruins me)
any other advice you can give would be a MAJOR help!
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me regarding this info!
Smokehound,
I'd like to jump in on this thread.
Do you own a boat yet? If yes, can you manage it as a six-pack?
This is a good place to start in viewing a successful six-pack business.
http://www.afishinados.com/
His name is John and is in our boat slip area and very approachable.
Obviously one of the first questions I would be asking myself is if I am a capable enough fish captain to land patrons on their choice of game. Are you an experienced enough angler to teach beginners and novices to land fish? Can you do it consistently? Can you do it year round? If not, what will the plan be to offset the slow fishing periods? Whale watching? Do you know the migration schedules of whales? Shuttles to Catalina? Are your prices competitive? Why your boat and not the smooth riding Catalina Express?
Do you have a Captain's license? How experience are you to handle emergency situations? First aid trained? Coast Guard approved? Can you navigate without electronics?
If your boat ( if slipped ), is slipped the rule of thumb on maintenance and miscellaneous is roughly 10% of the value of your vessel you can plan on spending annually. I would imagine if you are running six-packs five days a week your maintenance costs would rise dramatically. Is this affordable to you? What is your break even point...two trips, three trips, five trips per week? What are your profit expectations?
How long could you remain competitive in a saturated market with constantly rising fuel costs? What will draw beginners to experts to your charter over the long time proven six-packs?
Do you have a mission statement ( internal ) for your customers? Un-satisfied customers? Refund, partial refund, half price next trip, free Subway sandwiches?
These are the questions I would ask myself before putting together a complete business plan...most of these questions are more about experience and ability to produce. The financial questions from banks and investors will be GUARANTEED much more thorough.
My questions are not even "out of the gate" questions compared to the information needed for a true business plan for banks and investors. Investors and banks WILL be interested in THEIR rate of return over a given period.
Here are a few first search from Google; companies that promote good business planning software:
http://www.paloalto.com/ppc/BusinessPla ... hgod2h5o4A
http://www.bplans.com/
http://www.planware.org/
http://www.brs-inc.com/
A VERY admirable venture to say the least. Mathematically, it sounds like a tough ride, unless you can constantly produce results, produce with adverse conditions, be booked solid with a cancellation policy, have rave reviews with return customers, deal with fluctuating and rising fuel expenditures, out-do the existing six-pack and less charters.
...what kind of $$$ are we talking about losing to "lose it all" in this venture?
Lastly, any investment company and bank will want to know what kind of $$$ are you willing to lay down for sacrifice for this business venture.
A real good inquisitive business post...I hope to hear more of this.
Eric U.
FNN Administrator
Well said EricU. :thumb:
Go talk to Jim (Headhunter)... I'm sure he could fill you in one a few Do's & Don't's.... :D
Don't forget the get all proper business permits/license from the city/county/state. Cost of insurance for commercial boat might not be cheap either. If you factor in all these cost/expenses you will have to find your price point per passenger and see how many people you can take on your outtings.
Good luck.
good luck finding him .. he has vanished ..Originally Posted by Sansou
Have you seen his boat lately? Last I heard it was still in disrepair and taking on some serious water, and may have been sold.good luck finding him .. he has vanished ..
Have you seen his boat lately? Last I heard it was still in disrepair and taking on some serious water, and may have been sold.good luck finding him .. he has vanished ..
i havent been to his marina in 3 months... but he hasnt paid his fees at the dock for the last 3 months and they are going to kick him out ...
here is what is posted on another site warning us not to go fishing on his docks ..
ok, news about the marina we launch from, the only reason we were allowed to launch and fish the marina was cause of Jim Headhunter, but since the guy hasnt paid his slip fee for the last 3 months, the managers are going to evict him and us, we are no longer allowed to be on the marina property or the cops will be called, which really sucks for us, now we have to find another spot to launch from, doesnt look good, since the bastard doesnt come and help us out we are now without a launching spot, dude doesnt answer his phone, never calls to let me know whats up, his boat blows up and he decides to just bail out on his friends, oh well whatcha gonna do,..real sad, but i guess he has bigger problems, so be warn now, you get caught at the marina, dont say you know us, cause its all on you,..peace,..
Wildhorse,
Thanks for the info. Sounds like Jim has decided to hide out and not talk to anyone on fishing sites now that he no longer has a business interest running a "charter". I do hope he "makes right" on burning the kid.....last I heard on that was he was dodging phone calls etc...
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