Have you dreamed of being your own boss? Do you consider yourself quite the expert on fishing? If so, I am sure you have considered going into business for yourself as a fishing guide. The dream business is more a life style and one must understand business more than being a fishing guide.
A successful charter fishing business is one that is run by a guide that wears multiple hats. Being a salesman, marketing manager, and instructor are just some of the hats you will wear to be a success. Fishing guides that purely focus on being the best fisherman normally fail and lose many opportunities at getting new business.
Getting Started
If you have a boat and tackle, you are have the essentials. Next you need to get permits and licenses. Each state is different so check with your fisheries service to ensure you have the right licenses such as a United States Coast Guard license.
Charter boat insurance is also highly recommended and can get quite expensive. Shop around and check out "Great Lakes Insurance" for coverage.
Website Is the Best Marketing Tool!
With a professional website, you are in good shape to successful gather leads. However a website without marketing is no better than a business card. Google, being the highest conversions for fishing guides, gives you great opportunities to put your website in from of potential customers 24/7. Using search engine optimization to get high organic rankings will be priceless marketing in the long run for you.
Pay-Per-Click marketing with Google AdWords is also a high conversion rate of marketing. As a fishing guide you can pay Google to be found for the keywords that you know convert. Some trade secrets in PPC are to only bid on keywords that convert for you. Keywords such as "Fishing Trips" are high ROI percentage keywords and thus you eliminate so called tire kickers or budget wasters.
Treat Your Customers GREAT!
Your customers are your most valuable assets. They produce cash flows in forms of trips and referrals. So treat them as good as possible and they will turn out to be very profitable.
Be patient and considerable with your customers. You will need to wear your instructor hat during trips as most of your customers will have very little experience. Be encouraging and friendly.
Have A Plan B For slow times
The charter fishing business is driven by times of the economy. People do not take as many vacations or fishing trips during bad times. In these instances it is important to have a backup plan. Doing things such as commercial fishing, live bait fishing, or sight seeing tours are all good ways to fill the days off.
Summary
Being a fishing guide can be very lucrative, but you must understand that you are a businessperson first. A fishing guide that doesn't hustle to get business will be left at the dock and setup for failure. Having a strong marketing plan with the help of a solid website is your key to success.
Check out my manual on "How To Start A Charter Fishing Business" with trade secrets revealed. I have worked with hundreds of fishing guides who make in excess of $500 per day doing what they love. Learn how to get started and how to market your business the right away. This is great for established guides or start up guides. Charter Fishing Business
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