The 4 Pillars of a Successful Adventure Business

All businesses need a solid foundation from which to operate and expand. Your adventure or tourism-based business is no different. In this article, we are going to explore what I like to call the 4 Pillars of a Successful Adventure Business that lay a solid foundation to operate on. While your business might be slow right now, you can take this time to ensure the back end is ready for 2021.

With these 4 pillars in place, you will be able to focus on marketing and generating sales, getting new hires up to speed faster, operating smoothly, and even take some time off.

So without further ado, let’s dive in!

Pillar 1: Organization

This is obviously pillar #1 for a reason. Most small and medium-sized businesses are not very organized. It’s just the reality of being a mom and pop shop or solopreneur hustling to make it work. Taking the time to get your business organized now will make things easier in the future. Let’s look at the main areas to focus on first;

The Filing System

Whether this is a metal filing cabinet or a digital folder system, I suggest creating the following top-level folders (aka drawers):

Marketing – everything for generating leads/new clients
Sales – everything for converting leads into paying clients
Delivery – everything for providing your goods or services
Growth – everything related to expanding your biz
Operations – everything not related to any of the above, like Team Onboarding/offboarding, HR, Financials, Business Docs like insurance, etc.

Inside each folder, create the following 4 folders;

Master Files – metric tracking, big annual type of files
SOP’s – all the standard operating procedures needed for every process within this area of the business
Templates – anything that gets used again and again
Guidelines – a place to keep all your policies and overarching docs (like Risk Management Plans, the marketing guidelines around the brand etc.)

Katie recommends – Google Workspace

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Calendarizing

Calendars are a critical form of organizing TIME. At a minimum, consider using calendars for the following;

Working hours for team members
Meetings
Time blocking for deliverables
Marketing activities (emails, promotions, etc.)

Katie recommends – Google Workspace Calendar

Money Management

If you’re still on paper, folks – it’s time to get digital! Organizing your money is a big part of managing and growing your business. Using a tool like Quickbooks can make managing your money easier because it pulls all details from your connected accounts.

Know how much you make each month (run sales reports)
Set budgets (cash flow projection tool)
Track Expenses
Monitor Expenses (run expense reports)
Run Payroll
Add important payments and regular bills to the calendar (with reminders!)

Katie recommends – Quickbooks

Inventory

This is your products, services (aka time) or any resource from which you generate revenue. Having your inventory well organized allows you to know what you have on hand or what needs to be ordered or updated. Managing inventory is very business-specific and I recommend using a cloud software database to keep track of it all.

Katie recommends;

Airtable (multipurpose database)
Service Fusion for service-based contractors (like repair and maintenance companies)
Booking/Reservation system for tour operators and accommodations like Rezdy or CheckFront

Task Management

This is often a big missing piece in the small and medium business world. Using an project management tool will help you oversee what’s being done, by who, and when. Inside your PM tool, you assign tasks and track what has been completed.

Katie recommends – Asana

The Organizational Chart

Another critical organizational tool often overlooked is the organizational chart. The org chart helps you see where gaps exist, allows you to evaluate whether some roles should be consolidated or if new roles should be created. Being armed with this information is critical. It is how you can create SUPER effective roles in your business.

Sample Adventure Busines s Org Chart

Wanna learn more about organizational charts read here!

Katie recommends – Google Draw (inside google drive)

Pillar 2: Standardized Processes

Simple step-by-step procedures of routine tasks are a very important part of your business’s infrastructure. You have to make time to get “how things get done”, out of your head and into a documented process. This will then allow you to train and delegate your office team or a VA, as well as ensure guides deliver a consistent adventure!

SOP’s are documents that outline a Standard Operating Procedure – the way something should get done every time. SOP’s are very easy to create; simply designate a few hours each week (put this your deliverable calendar!) and choose a repetitive task. Create a new google doc and outline the following;

whose responsibility it is to complete certain tasks (delegate!)
the goal of the process (why is it important)
when it needs to be done (frequency and expected duration to complete)
the steps involved (the process outlined in easy to follow steps)
what resources are needed to complete the process (what tools, software, login info etc.)
any policies related to the task (include any bigger picture policies to help guide process)

Basically, SOPs help you transfer your time tested best practices (that you’ve developed inside your head) into documented processes that someone else can follow. Once the SOP is created, it allows someone else to complete those tasks with the same standard and care as if you were doing it yourself.

Over time, the way things get done will change (see the next section for more) and this means you have to ensure your SOP’s are current. I like to review them bi-annually unless a major systems overhaul is happening (you set up a new reservation system), then monthly is best until the process is dialled in.

Pillar 3: Streamlined Workflows

Identifying bottlenecks and gaps in the way things get done throughout your adventure business will allow you to shift from being reactive to proactive. If you are the bottleneck, your business can only accomplish what you can accomplish in a 24hr day. This is because your team is always waiting for you to make a decision or show them how to do something. Can you think of one task or job where you are the bottleneck?

Often, the process of developing SOP’s allows time to reflect on why you do something a certain way. Once you’ve written it all out, reflect on how this process could be made more efficient or where gaps may still exist. Can software or automation help? Is there any duplication happening?

Over time, the way things get done will change because of new software or new people. It’s important to take feedback from the team members doing the tasks to ensure things are working well.

Not sure where you can streamline? Here are two ways you can get some help;

Book a free 30-min consultation with me and I can offer some suggestions.
Fill out this Adventure Business – Online Office Questionnaire

Pillar 4: A Well-Trained Team & Responsible Leadership

An adventure business is nothing without its people! Office staff, guides, drivers and cooks all bring your transformative experiences to life. These folks are your brand, your face and your reputation so it’s important to invest in their training to ensure they feel prepared to deliver an outstanding product.

This is where your SOP’s come into play again – training. Having all your trip delivery processes documented, you now have a training manual. Each member should be given a chance to read all the SOP’s relevant to their role as well as in-field training referencing back to the SOP’s.

Over time, you’ll be able to identify key members who want to level up their responsibility. With your SOP’s and their experience with your business, they are well equipped to step up into new roles. These folks can also be made responsible for reviewing and even creating new SOP’s as the business grows and evolves.

Leadership from you, the owner, is critical since you define the vision, values, inspiration, and objectives for the team to meet. While inspirational leadership is important, your business needs a management structure to balance this so tasks and resources can be coordinated to bring the vision to life. Most small business owners end up serving in both roles within their own companies and as long as you can identify the responsibilities of each role, you can be very effective.

Summary

With the 4 Pillars of Successful Adventure Businesses set up and running smoothly, you can rest assured that your business is operating on a strong foundation. There is always room for improvement so be sure to revisit the four pillars and review if they are still firmly in place. Systems, processes, and people change over time so it’s important to do at least an annual review of these 4 key areas in preparation for 2021.

Which pillar do you find the hardest to implement? Share with us in the comments below.

Join the Conversation

We would love for you to join our Business of Adventure Facebook group. This is a collaborative space for business owners or freelancers in the adventure travel and tourism space. The focus here is to share best practices and tips about online presence and digital marketing (front end) and online systems (backend) so you can establish a rock-solid foundation for your adventure business. If this is something you could benefit from, please join!