Starting a hiking or walking tour business can be quite simple and offers many benefits to business owners. You don’t have to live near a national park or tourist attraction for this business to work. In fact, there may be multiple business location opportunities for walks or hikes right under your nose, and there may be virtually no competition!
There are also other benefits that a hiking or excursion business provides, such as exercise, weight loss, social activity, animal watching, or just getting away from the daily grind. If any or all of these activities interest you, this may be your ideal career.
At first glance, a mobile business may appear to have few opportunities with a small customer base. But think again. In a hiking business, you have the opportunity to lead different types of day trips and even expand into week-long hiking adventures to remote locations. There is also no single target market. You can focus your business on a certain level of hiker, from beginner to advanced. Also, while some people enjoy occasional hikes, other hiking enthusiasts want to join a regular hiking club that meets weekly or several times a week.
Another factor to think about when starting your business is location. The sky is almost the limit. You can choose to take walks or tours in one area, or you can add variety to your work schedule by exploring new areas. You can take walks or walking tours in cities, states, or even countries. You may even want to package the hikes or hikes as organized group trips, with travel and accommodation included.
Unsurprisingly, the ideal person to run a walking or hiking business enjoys the company of other people, meeting new people, spending time outdoors, and exercising routinely. When working with groups of people from different backgrounds, having patience and flexibility will make work easier. If you like teaching, that’s an added bonus.
Don’t forget your competition. Are there other companies in your area that offer the same or similar service? Ideally, you want to go on walking or walking tours where you don’t have to worry about other companies competing for the same customers. Less competition makes getting customers much easier.
If there is substantial competition with other groups of nearby hikers or hikers, consider differentiating your hikes or tours. Sometimes you can decrease or even eliminate competition simply by targeting a different market such as seniors, families with young children, or people who want to lose weight.
When it comes to promoting your hikes or hikes, you will use different marketing strategies depending on whether your prospects are local or out of town. Start by printing informational brochures and walking schedules. Drop some off at your city or county visitor center, chamber of commerce, or parks and recreation office. City libraries, cafes, and community colleges sometimes allow brochures and flyers to be displayed, and they generally attract a lot of people on a regular basis. Since you will be spending your advertising money on brochures or print materials rather than advertisements, be sure to take the time to create something interesting and intriguing enough for someone to pick up your marketing pieces and read them.
My best advice? Get advice from an expert in the field of hiking or trekking. I mean people who have owned a group of hiking or walking businesses. Even meeting with someone who leads tours or group activities as a company can help.
You can get a lot of expert advice from seasoned professionals, and they can often save you a lot of time and effort when starting your own business. If you don’t know anyone in the field, look at your local library or bookstore for starter guides, usually written by someone who has previously operated a walking or hiking business.