Tips For Starting a Storm Tour Company

[Lanny Dean]

Ive been on several tours and chasing for 16+ yrs. In my opinion, good luck.. Every business started with one client and that client was the first. I know some tours started kind of by accident.. I won't mention their names, but most of us know them.. What I mean is, I have a van and some friends and we decided to go out chasing together as a group. They told their friends and the word spread by way of mouth as to what they saw. Some vids and pics were tossed around here and there. Then the website came with a log and pics and vids from several people who could account for what was seen. Now we have a second van because we have several other people who want to check out the action. You sit there and figure that you can charge a little for gas and maintenance and rooms for the night. The company is born. This takes place over SEVERAL years though. Now your name has gotten around and people recognize it. They see your website and inquire about taking a tour. Wash, lather, repeat.. This is based on a few conversations I had with some of the tour owners. Just to clarify, I am not a tour operator, just a rider..

hmmm....someone just figured it all out!

 

[Dan Robinson]

I would strongly discourage anyone from putting money and time into any chasing-related business startup nowadays. Since about 5 years ago, there is no real money* to be made in chasing by any means except for a very few highly talented and experienced individuals, and even then you're likely not looking at a full-time 'career' - at best, a nice *seasonal* or part time income. There is too much supply and not enough demand to go around these days.

Be realistic about it and do your homework to see if you can really make the numbers work. Don't put you or your family in financial risk to try to make some unrealistic 'dream' happen.

* By 'real money' I mean enough profit to live on or make a difference in your standard of living, AFTER covering your costs of operation.

 

[Eric Hostetter]

Let me get this straight: Say I'm a fan of tornados and stuff and decide I want to start my own storm chasing tour business and because Stormchasers is one of my favorite TV shows (Reed is SO cool!) are you saying no one here will send me a copy of their business plan so I can see how they did it?

Hmph! Dang it!

(Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread... Just thought some levity was in order)

 

[jamesmseitz]

WOW !!! A Guy ask for a few Tips Not to belittled.

Jeremy I have met you before and you seem like a discent guy. Skip is right... The Van is First. Probably a 12 or 15 Pasanger. Get a good used one

Second. Being in MN you are located near the best Resource you could have.... Thompson Reuters is based in Eagan and they could point to a great Lawer to help get started.... YOU WILL NEED THAT!!!!!

Third. If you haven't....Lanny is right on at least one thing. You need to get really proficient on Weather everything. You need to do your own forcasting, Modeling to an extent. THE SPC is a great resource but should not be used like a Bible on weather.

Fourth. In this day in age Web Site is everything...... It will make peoples mind up on you within seconds... Pay someone... to do it right

Fifth.... If you want to do this it will be very hard..... With many gapping holes in the road. I own my own buissness in MN and it took 5 years to become stable.... If you do this DO IT... but it will TAKE A LONG TIME.... Plus do not let anyone tell you your not worthy of it

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Third. If you haven't....Lanny is right on at least one thing. You need to get really proficient on Weather everything. You need to do your own forcasting, Modeling to an extent. THE SPC is a great resource but should not be used like a Bible on weather.

He wouldn't need to model weather. I do that, and it's not gonna change how you chase. It may help you understand weather, but you don't need to do it.

 

[jamesmseitz]

He wouldn't need to model weather. I do that, and it's not gonna change how you chase. It may help you understand weather, but you don't need to do it.

You are right he may not need too. I do not own a chase tour but I would like he should be extremely good at the craft...... So need I guess might not be the ferfect word but it would not hurt.... you are right

 

[Andrew Stoller]

• Make sure you put out plenty of pictures of chases from former years. If you don't have good tornado intercepts going back 10 or more years with pictures to back it up, chances are people will look elsewhere.

Just make sure the pictures are yours! There's been a few "tour companies" that have popped up here with pics and storm chase accounts that were clearly not theirs.

 

[Brett Adair]

Third. If you haven't....Lanny is right on at least one thing. You need to get really proficient on Weather everything. You need to do your own forcasting, Modeling to an extent. THE SPC is a great resource but should not be used like a Bible on weather.

Lanny is apparently right on a lot of things....isn't he the one who has a successful tour company? That's not an easy feat in any aspect. Bottom line....if your name hasn't been circulated about and you don't become a household name and known by your photo and video footage...who would take a tour with you? I wouldn't blow a couple grand on someone who hasn't proven there skills to me.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Thanks for all the great tips and advice! I do realize 'track record' is an issue that I will need to adress before attempting this. I also should mention, I went to college for web design (and have been creating websites for close to 20 years) and have been doing internet marketing for a better part of 5 years now which I think should help with promotion a significant amount. These things will be my focus for the next couple years:

- creating a web presence
- improving at forecasting, etc
- creating a detailed business plan

Right now I'm leanining towards 2012 for starting this but we will see how things go...

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Websites for 20 years? I don't mean to be a jerk, but Mosaic/Netscape 1 came out in 1993 or 1994ish, so 20 years would be impressive.

 

[Lanny Dean]

Websites for 20 years? I don't mean to be a jerk, but Mosaic/Netscape 1 came out in 1993 or 1994ish, so 20 years would be impressive.

LMAO!!!!! That's probably the funniest thing I have heard all day Ben!

 

[Michael Towers]

Lanny is apparently right on a lot of things....isn't he the one who has a successful tour company? That's not an easy feat in any aspect. Bottom line....if your name hasn't been circulated about and you don't become a household name and known by your photo and video footage...who would take a tour with you? I wouldn't blow a couple grand on someone who hasn't proven there skills to me.

I’m not sure the average guy/gal looking to book their first tour is familiar with any “household names†from the chaser community so I don’t think that’s really a major obstacle. You’re thinking from the perspective of an experienced chaser, not Joe Blow who probably wouldn’t recognize a single name from any of the tour companies. Speaking from personal experience, I researched tour companies back in 2001 before going on my first chase trip and the names of individuals didn’t mean a thing to me. The criteria most important to me were price and credentials but ultimately I decided to go solo. Based on those same criteria today I’d not likely opt for someone new to the scene unless they offered a much better rate and could display a convincing measure of expertise.

• Make sure you put out plenty of pictures of chases from former years. If you don't have good tornado intercepts going back 10 or more years with pictures to back it up, chances are people will look elsewhere.

Possibly but those are obstacles not barriers, especially in the current economic climate. Offer me a better rate and convince me you’ll get me on a tornado and you very well could get my business.

I’m not one to dissuade another from pursuing their dream but there’s a lot to consider when starting a business, especially one in which you have no experience. I would recommend working in the industry first to not only learn the ropes but to determine if it’s something you would actually want to do. On the surface that might sound ludicrous, who wouldn’t want to make a living being involved in something they love so much? But beneath the surface the nature of operating a tour business entails much more than just chasing storms. There are many aspects you may find unappealing, get involved in the industry and give yourself a better understanding of what it’s all about. Then there’s the risk, can you afford to lose the money you invest if you fail? Are you going to quit your career and risk it all on the profitability of the venture? Do you have a fall-back option if you fail? It’s a huge challenge to start a business regardless the nature of the economy but especially so in today’s adverse conditions. I’ve been in business (non-chasing related) 13 years and am just trying to survive; if I were new in business I’d be dead. I wouldn’t advise starting any venture until things improve, especially one not based on necessity.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I’m not sure the average guy/gal looking to book their first tour is familiar with any “household namesâ€￾ from the chaser community so I don’t think that’s really a major obstacle. You’re thinking from the perspective of an experienced chaser, not Joe Blow who probably wouldn’t recognize a single name from any of the tour companies.

Must be how TRADD stays in business!

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Websites for 20 years? I don't mean to be a jerk, but Mosaic/Netscape 1 came out in 1993 or 1994ish, so 20 years would be impressive.

Your right (doh!) - getting ahead of myself a liitle on my age and also at work and trying to reply 'quickly' and didn't do the math . I graduated high school in '97 (which is also when I started chasing) and made my first website in 8th or 9th grade so I guess closer to 15 years...but the point is I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing...

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Unless you knew someone with a server or something, the first real 'free' hosts or affordable hosts didn't come around until a few years later, like 1995-1996. That's about when GeoCities, etc came around.

I didn't even get into making my own site until 1997, and it was still the new cool and hip thing to do then.