Like many Canadian teenagers, I graduated from high school with many uncertainties but one thing I knew for certain – I would obtain a post-secondary university degree, likely a Bachelor of Science, before my twenty-fifth birthday.
I looked forward to the many opportunities attending the University of Victoria would provide me both in and out of the classroom and through networking, I found myself working part-time conducting whale watching tours during my studies. Unbeknownst to me, working this seasonal job was the first step I would take down the path to pursuing my MBA.
Leading tour groups came naturally to me and my affinity for both the job and the business grew with each season I worked. In 2005, a work opportunity moved my life to Tofino, British Columbia, a location that offered a longer and more diversified tour season. In Tofino, my expertise and passion for the marine eco-tourism industry solidified and I became confident that I could provide a first class product into the market that had not yet been fulfilled.
In 2007, after some business planning, I was able to construct my first marine vessel, a 12-passenger all weather boat, to launch my own eco-tourism business, West Coast Aquatic Safaris (WCAS). WCAS found an early fit with the high-end clientele that frequented Tofino and enabled me to build business relationships with international hospitality organizations such as Clef d’or and Relais & Chateaux. After the second season, every seat on my 12-passenger vessel was selling out and I determined that business expansion was the next step.
After more business planning, I elected to have a second larger capacity boat built in Washington State. The construction process was slow and tedious and the resulting product was not to my satisfaction. However, after several negotiations and vessel modifications, the mistakes were eventually corrected and the final product was perfect for the west coast eco-tourism industry. During the construction of my second vessel, I also realized there was a need to improve my customer management process. Investing in an intuitive and sophisticated point-of sale system was the answer as it was also designed to serve as a marketing vehicle.
The decisions to expand my fleet and to invest in the new point-of-sale system doubled my sales and enabled WCAS to hire full-time managerial staff. At this point in running my business, I took a step back to assess the business choices I made. I wondered if making these major business choices could have been less arduous and the process a more efficient one if I had some formal business training. There was only one way to find out. I made the decision to pursue my MBA at the Sauder School of Business and feel optimist about the opportunities ahead.
My first promotional video can be viewed by clicking here. More videos can be viewed on my company website: www.WhaleSafaris.com.