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How to Create a Really Awesome Adventure Travel Company

[ 0 ] April 15, 2010 | Derek

“How to Create a Really Awesome Adventure Travel Company.” If only I could have found such a manual or guide during the startup of my business…but what fun would that have been?

My name is Derek Falk and I am the one responsible for creating the fantastic little company, Falk Custom Adventures.

As a child, I knew I was destined for entrepreneurship. I was one of those kids who always had a lemonade stand and one of those pre-teens who would sell candy to my fellow classmates in junior high, marking the price up 100% so that I could reinvest that money into even more candy for the following day. It was no surprise when, after working many jobs that a typical teenager tends to have — such as my job at Jack in the Box as a fryer or the time I was a cashier at the local Texaco — I decided that working for others wasn’t for me.

At the age of 18 I opened my first retail store. It was a skateboard/snowboard shop, started with $1000 that my mom and dad had loaned me. I built the store up quite a bit, but unfortunately I was still a little too immature to grasp the responsibility of running a business, so after a few years I ended up closing it. I spent the next few years working odd jobs, mostly in the skateboard industry, and then I decided it was time for an actual career. I decided to become a firefighter and paramedic, which I did for many years. That was until the entrepreneur inside could not be contained any longer. I needed to start something!

I spent years thinking about what type of business I should get into, never really being satisfied or acting on any of the ideas I came up with. Throughout this entire time my wife, my children and I were all very active, always hiking or traveling and trying to experience everything this world has to offer. I considered a perfect weekend to be backpacking way off the beaten path for a few days or traveling to a completely new destination for a little exploration. The important thing was that we were always having fun, experiencing nature — and if we were exploring foreign destinations, it was mandatory that we meet the people, listen to their stories and immerse ourselves in their cultures.

One day my wife, Jessica, and her sister, obviously sick of my constant rants about starting a business, said, “Since you love traveling, hanging out with people and creating new trips so much, why don’t you just start your own adventure travel company?”

That was it! They lit a fire in a big way, and from that point on I was dead-set on starting my own adventure travel company.

The Idea

I had been on group adventures before and some were good and some not so good. It seemed that the trips were either so jammed-packed with things to do it was hard to enjoy the beautiful areas that we visited, or they were so relaxed that it was almost boring. The boring trips were cultural trips, and they were fun, but I could have used a little more excitement. So drawing off my previous experiences with other tour companies, I thought about what I could do to make my company better than the others. How could I create a company that people would get excited about?

My big idea was to create a company that offered the “real deal:” culture, wildlife, exploration, excitement and adventure in every destination that we visit.

We would design completely custom itineraries for private departures and small group departures to some of the most exotic destinations in the world.

The group itineraries would be for small groups only, having a maximum of 10 people per trip. (I personally hate being herded around like cattle from one location to another with large groups of people.) Having only 10 people on a trip would keep it personal, as if you were traveling with a group of friends.

I would also hand-pick the best local guides to lead our trips, and we would stay in locally owned lodging that would immerse us in local culture and nature.

Every trip would be filled with adventure and culture and just be absolutely incredible!

Now to Implement this Super, Fantastic Idea

From the moment my wife and sister-in-law pitched the idea, my mind was working overtime in creativity mode. It drove everyone around me crazy!

What would I call this new business?!
I need a logo!
A website!
A Business plan!
A bank account!
Licenses!
A Skype account!

Well, it turns out everything listed above is the easy stuff.

Honestly I thought that finding the guides, lodging and making all the arrangements was going to be somewhat time consuming but not a huge problem. I was in for a big surprise!

Look Who Just Showed Up…..It’s Reality

During my prior travel experiences, I’ve encountered exceptionally great guides as well as downright horrible ones. (When I think of a horrible guide, I think of the one who took a detour in the middle of a tour to go to his girlfriend’s house to get in a huge argument with her while we stayed outside in a cramped, hot van. Outrageous.)

I knew that having really, really good guides was going to be a huge part of the puzzle in delivering an all-around incredible experience for our guests. Now all I had to do was go out and hire the best, most knowledgeable local guides around.

Easier said than done.

The first location that I wanted to add as a group itinerary was Belize. I searched the internet endlessly looking for websites and recommendations and then finally I just started calling around looking for good leads. I could find plenty of guides, but who was really the best? After interviewing countless guides and checking endless references, my hard work finally paid off. I landed one guide in one location and it only took about a month to find him. (Just so you know, our Belize guide is amazing and we still use him to this day.)

Some destinations have taken a lot longer. My dream of having an incredible trip to Costa Rica was nearly crushed when I couldn’t find the perfect guide for nearly three months. Finally, I found her and we couldn’t be happier. Sure, there were hundreds of guides; but I needed to find the right one.

The Lodging

I had pictured that the lodging would be small, very comfortable, locally owned lodges that are hidden deep within a jungle or right on a beach. I wanted the lodging to be something that you would imagine finding only in the movies or in your dreams.

Well, it turns out that most other adventure travel companies use larger, resort-type establishments, and when I would tell my guides what I was looking for they would kind of give me a funny look. So the search began for the right type of lodging that met our needs. This seemed to take forever, but we eventually found the most amazing places that I’m positive will set us apart from the competitors.

The Itineraries

It was very important that our itineraries were unique to Falk Custom Adventures. When I would sit down and speak with my guides to brainstorm the design of the itinerary, I had to make sure that our itinerary was not just some mass-marketed trip. It had to be unique to us. And although it was time-consuming, this part was rather fun and exciting. I always tell people who ask how we come up with our itineraries, “That part is easy; we sit back, get creative and create our ultimate dream trip.” It’s everything else that’s a pain.

The Finished Product

We’re busy and getting busier! We are growing steadily and we’re taking more and more people who want to experience something unique and incredible all over the world on exciting adventures.

Even though starting an adventure travel business has been no easy feat — and there were a couple of times I was so frustrated that I could easily have thrown in the towel — when I think about all the hard work that went into creating this business, and all the phenomenal people that I have met along the way, I have to pinch myself; it’s been an incredible adventure!

I hope the future continues to holds great things for this amazing little business!

I could not have started this adventure without the amazing support of:

My wife Jessica, whom I am positive had times when she regretted even bringing up the idea.

Aunt Susan Brown, thanks so much for everything!

My sister Andrea Rowe and brother-in-law James Rowe for being there to harass and constantly bounce ideas off of.

My mom and dad for encouraging my early dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

The amazing staff at Falk Custom Adventures!