Question on starting an outfitting service

[14idaho]

Yeh if your wife can navigate through the politics it'll be a big plus. Every year I had to apply for forest service use permits and they would set the "use days". The amount of days you could be on forest service land. It varies but the wolves and grizzlies eventually cut my use to the point that it wasn't practical. Years later no outfitters in the area and the elk herd is a fraction of what it used to be. The memories are mine and it was worth it.

 

[Antarctica]

You don't get value out of a business by buying one. You develop value by building one.

If you can't or won't leave SLC for six years, then you are not ready for it or not dedicated enough to your dream.

+1 on comments of turning your hobby into a business. No better way to ruin a great hobby. Many of the engineers I work with know this first hand.

I don't know, but like many 'lifestyle' businesses, I suspect most would fit the old adage "how do you make a million dollars guiding? Start with two million".

Not trying to dissuade you, just trying to be realistic.

 

[Antarctica]

At 34 you're still young enough to fail. At 40 you likely won't be.

 

[HighUintas]

Well... My wife talked some sense into me on the financials side of it.

She did however say she would support me in starting a side hustle of guiding over the next few years to get my feet wet to see if I would actually like it.

So, step 1 I guess will be researching first aid certs and other requirements to be a licensed guide in my state.

Not being able to operate with pack animals may limit my customer base haha. Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

[HighUintas]

You don't get value out of a business by buying one. You develop value by building one.

If you can't or won't leave SLC for six years, then you are not ready for it or not dedicated enough to your dream.

+1 on comments of turning your hobby into a business. No better way to ruin a great hobby. Many of the engineers I work with know this first hand.

I don't know, but like many 'lifestyle' businesses, I suspect most would fit the old adage "how do you make a million dollars guiding? Start with two million".

Not trying to dissuade you, just trying to be realistic.

We literally can't leave SLC for 6 years due her kid's biological father living here.

I think you're misunderstanding my intent. I'm not looking to make a ton of money on a business such as this. It's something I've always dreamed of doing and I can't think of anything better to call work than to spend most of my time being outside and helping others enjoy hunting, fishing, etc. The value of it for me, is to be able to do it and have it pay my bills.

I know all about turning hobbies into work... I've done it!

But yes, I know it's extremely unrealistic to expect it to work out if I can't be there full time for the next 6 years.

 

[Justinjs]

Well, other that pack animals, are there any animals that people typically want to pay for?
It'll help get your feet wet and get some gas money.

 

[14idaho]

You will need to first find an outfitter that will hire you.

 

[HighUintas]

Well, other that pack animals, are there any animals that people typically want to pay for?
It'll help get your feet wet and get some gas money.

Th

Well, other that pack animals, are there any animals that people typically want to pay for?
It'll help get your feet wet and get some gas money.

The easiest route for having pack animals available would be for me to rent pack goats and forward that cost to the service but they are only able to handle about 50 or so pounds, so they would only be used for packing meat in a backpack hunt scenario. I'd like to get pack goats anyway, but my wife's divorce decree prevents us from even moving to the edge of the city where we'd be able to have space for them.

My idea for doing this side hustle to try it out would just be to have a service for non-resident general season hunters who want that deep backpack hunt experience when they are not able to spend a lot of time in the area scouting. They would be paying me for knowing the area, doing the scouting, cooking their food if I were to pack in some actual food ahead of time, packing out at least half of their animal if not all of it, allowing clients to use my extra gear if they don't have it or want to leave it at home to save on checked baggage costs, having a certified wfr guide them, and arranging their meat processing and shipping.

So, I'd be doing that under my own employ and with the help of my wife. But, I'm not sure if that's all possible with regulations and licensing in Utah or if it would even cover the cost of any insurance I would have to purchase.

 

[14idaho]

Th

The easiest route for having pack animals available would be for me to rent pack goats and forward that cost to the service but they are only able to handle about 50 or so pounds, so they would only be used for packing meat in a backpack hunt scenario. I'd like to get pack goats anyway, but my wife's divorce decree prevents us from even moving to the edge of the city where we'd be able to have space for them.

My idea for doing this side hustle to try it out would just be to have a service for non-resident general season hunters who want that deep backpack hunt experience when they are not able to spend a lot of time in the area scouting. They would be paying me for knowing the area, doing the scouting, cooking their food if I were to pack in some actual food ahead of time, packing out at least half of their animal if not all of it, allowing clients to use my extra gear if they don't have it or want to leave it at home to save on checked baggage costs, having a certified wfr guide them, and arranging their meat processing and shipping.

So, I'd be doing that under my own employ and with the help of my wife. But, I'm not sure if that's all possible with regulations and licensing in Utah or if it would even cover the cost of any insurance I would have to purchase.