Starting a bushcraft School

[Merlin26]

Hi

I have just joined this site as I am looking at opening a local Bush-craft and Outdoor Skills training centre and am looking for some advice from others who have opened and run successful ventures such as this.

A bit of my background:

I have over 25 years experience in training young people on a voluntary basis (mostly through Scouting) in Bush-craft, Camp-craft and Outdoor skills and have a further 7 years experience prior to that of being on the receiving end of such training.

I am now looking at setting myself up locally and moving away from my established career as a Commercial Consultant.

I have already located and obtained permission to utilise over 200 acres of woodland (as needed) that I shall be renting rather than purchasing.

I have procured the equipment needed (incl. tents, axes, knives, saws, steels, cooking equipment, etc)

I will be getting my First Aid training sorted in the new year and assume I will also need a DBS for my company to cover working with young people and vulnerable people.

I am currently looking into getting the appropriate Insurance cover as recommended by a fellow Bush-craft enthusiast who has her own company already.

I am looking to set this up properly but do not know the current requirements on skills / training certification needed (if any) or any other 'red tape' considerations I need to obtain. .... This is where I am seeking advice if anyone would be kind enough to offer some from their own experience.

Marketing advice on what works and doesn't would also be appreciated

Thanks

Paul

 

[Robson Valley]

My cousin taught for "Outward Bound" for some years.
The company is global and still very much in business after many years.

I suggest that you look at their offerings for ideas as well as
the target audience, even their business programs.

 

[sunndog]

Best advice i reckon is be prepared for a long haul before it becomes your sole income

 

[Fadcode]

I have to agree with sunndog, to derive a sole income from this venture will not be easy, and until you have established yourself and have a good reputation it wont be easy ...however

There are ways to quickly establish yourself, as ( as far as I know) there is no official body that represents the Bushcraft Industry, and those established Bushcraft Schools issue there own training certificates, diploma's etc, you will need to set up a proper training syllabus, H&S, First Aid, etc and apply to have it recognised as an educational qualification, level 3, 2 etc.

Now the best way to do this is to tie up with an educational establishment, such as a University,Local School, etc and establish your training as education merit, by doing this you would then qualify for funding from the National Lottery, etc .
Because you have access to a large piece of land, you can also incorporate other activities to not only raise funds, but to reinforce the importance of your training as educational, for example Forestry Management,wood carving, replanting trees, clearance of rhododendrons ( government grant available for this) and other pest tree. varieties.botany, wild life studies,etc,etc

Depending on your rights regarding the rented property, you could open up part of it for wild camping, hold shows exhibitions, meets, etc etc, which can be held even in the winter months.

I think you have a good opportunity to develop a good business, get the youngsters in the local schools interested in outdoor activities, which I feel is much needed, offer training to the teachers on a free basis to get them interested and they will push the schools to get involved, there is a multitude of activities you can offer, and the more you can do the better the chance of being successful,

What this will mean ultimately is a lot of planning both academically and in forestry itself, making sure the woods are a safe place, sites are established in safe areas for the activities to be carried out,fire pits, toilets facilities, water etc. if you need help why not offer a long free camping week/weekend on here I am sure there are plenty who would love to come down and help(just a thought).
Anyway I can only wish you all the best in your new venture

 

[woodstock]

Xyleria and I tried and between us we know our stuff the response to our adds and marketing amounted to almost zero income from that venture, even that xyleria has a vast knowledge of fungi,and flora.

 

[Lime2023]

Hi

I have just joined this site as I am looking at opening a local Bush-craft and Outdoor Skills training centre and am looking for some advice from others who have opened and run successful ventures such as this.

A bit of my background:

I have over 25 years experience in training young people on a voluntary basis (mostly through Scouting) in Bush-craft, Camp-craft and Outdoor skills and have a further 7 years experience prior to that of being on the receiving end of such training.

I am now looking at setting myself up locally and moving away from my established career as a Commercial Consultant.

I have already located and obtained permission to utilise over 200 acres of woodland (as needed) that I shall be renting rather than purchasing.

I have procured the equipment needed (incl. tents, axes, knives, saws, steels, cooking equipment, etc)

I will be getting my First Aid training sorted in the new year and assume I will also need a DBS for my company to cover working with young people and vulnerable people.

I am currently looking into getting the appropriate Insurance cover as recommended by a fellow Bush-craft enthusiast who has her own company already.

I am looking to set this up properly but do not know the current requirements on skills / training certification needed (if any) or any other 'red tape' considerations I need to obtain. .... This is where I am seeking advice if anyone would be kind enough to offer some from their own experience.

Marketing advice on what works and doesn't would also be appreciated

Thanks

Paul

Hi Paul, really interested to know how your venture has gone since you posted? Looking to do something similar, and would love to know - how did you go about identifying land and agreeing the rent please? Thanks so much!

 

[Mesquite]

Hi Paul, really interested to know how your venture has gone since you posted? Looking to do something similar, and would love to know - how did you go about identifying land and agreeing the rent please? Thanks so much!

I doubt you'll get a reply from the OP as he's not been seen on the forum since his one and only post

 

[Ystranc]

He is active on YouTube but it seems Covid knocked a big hole in his plans. His advertised website comes up as “server not found”
I guess starting a bushcraft school isn’t the licence to print money that many assume it is.
In this day and age you really need to stand out and offer something substantial to succeed in this game.

 

[Broch]

There are loads of small bushcraft schools - I don't see any of the owners running around in new Range Rovers - but maybe that's not the point.

Nearly every well known instructor has written a book or three and there are no new books to write (there weren't 30 years ago). Some provide online training because the margins are higher but the best (such as Paul Kirtley) have put a great deal of hard work into preparing, delivering, and marketing them.

If I'm honest, I would suggest that the heyday for the subject has passed

(But, yes, we are chatting amongst ourselves; the OP has long gone)

 

[MikeLA]

Was thinking that myself but wasn’t keen on writing it. To me the heyday was the 1990s to 2010. So many good and bad schools have closed because the bubble bust.

 

[Chris]

The good thing about the outdoors and bushcraft skills is they don’t become irrelevant. It’s not like certain technologies which appear and then are outdated after a few years.

I’d imagine there are ups and downs in terms of popularity and it’ll come back round again.

It may also just be that bushcraft is more accessible to beginners now with YouTube and things like that. Now you can watch videos and go out and try some of the basic skills as an amateur with a dabbling interest, without needing to pay for an instructor or a full course.

 

[Pattree]

I know Bushcraft isn’t Prepping but there is an overlap. For many of us, particularly as we get older, this sort of preparedness and survival skill, while fun to know about, has lost much of its practical relevance.
It might be fun to achieve fire with a fire-bow once but it would never be my go-to way of keeping warm in real life.

I’m not particularly attracted to the big festival moots (sorry, just me) but the Mindfulness Moot calls to me.
I suspect that if the offer a course under canvas is to succeed it will need some extra dimension beyond the ( let’s admit it) gloomy message of post apocalyptic survival.

 

[Broch]

I suspect that if the offer a course under canvas is to succeed it will need some extra dimension beyond the ( let’s admit it) gloomy message of post apocalyptic survival.

Well, if that was the course content, I would suggest it's out of date anyway.

A good school now will start with our responsibility to work with, and for, nature. It would emphasise how we are part of the cycle not working against it. But, as I have said many times, bushcraft skills are far ranging and are applicable to outdoor activities in general; I am sure there are relevant subjects for a changing clientele.

 

[Suffolkrafter]

Perhaps the greatest value that schools can offer are for specialities, rather than general bushcraft. For example, Paul Kirtley offers specific plant id courses which are very in depth. There are specialist boyers offering courses, same for canoeing, butchery, fungal identification and so on. For me, this is where the value lies. Stuff you can get your teeth into.

 

[Broch]

Perhaps the greatest value that schools can offer are for specialities, rather than general bushcraft. For example, Paul Kirtley offers specific plant id courses which are very in depth. There are specialist boyers offering courses, same for canoeing, butchery, fungal identification and so on. For me, this is where the value lies. Stuff you can get your teeth into.

Agreed, but there have always been canoe training courses and qualification, bow making, botanical, plant, and fungus ID courses. They're not restricted to bushcraft instructors and, to be honest, many of the professionals in these fields are truly qualified, expert, and peer tested.

 

[Wayne]

Running a successful Bushcraft school is hard work and not an easy way to make a living.
You meet lots of wonderful people, occasionally travel to some interesting locations but often it’s as mundane as any other job. Cleaning kit. Loading equipment and carrying it through muddy fields.

Building a loyal customer base is challenging. I’m fortunate I get a lot of repeat custom.

I will use BCUK for an example. I’m one of the early members. A mod and a regular at the Bushmoots from the very first gathering. We have hosted many local gatherings over the years. Yet when people post asking for recommendations for bushcraft courses the same few big names get trotted out like Paul Kirtley or Mr Mears. It’s not a whinge just an observation that if you want to succeed your much better off being an average bushcrafter and a fantastic self promoter.

Find your own style and develop your skills in areas that most interest you. I focus on the craft side of bushcraft and the cooking. Others are great Flint knappers or leatherworkers etc.

Remember bushcraft is a very saturated industry with a vast number of schools offering courses in the basics with new ones popping up daily. Often run by enthusiasts with good primary incomes so can afford to run a few courses a year at very low rates compared to others trying to work full time and pay the bills.
My local Wildlife Trust offers bushcraft experience days for £15 per person. No way I can compete with that.

 

[Ystranc]

Agreed, but there have always been canoe training courses and qualification, bow making, botanical, plant, and fungus ID courses. They're not restricted to bushcraft instructors and, to be honest, many of the professionals in these fields are truly qualified, expert, and peer tested.

That is one of the true problems with paying for a bushcraft course, since the certification or diplomas are educationally worthless it is effectively just recreation. Whereas a first aid course or mountain leader’s qualification are recognised.

 

[Suffolkrafter]

We live in an era where it's hard to innovate in any field. At least, it feels that way to me.

 

[GreyCat]

I don't know owt about Bushcraft schools (@Wayne has some great points above), but I do own and run my own small business in a particular technical niche. I set it up when I was made redundant several years ago when it was the fashion in my sector to make persons deemed "unproductive overheads" redundant. Basically if you were an older technical non-frontline person with deep knowledge/experience, you went.

When I finished with my employer, the following day I continued working with them as a specialist contractor. The redundancy payment and some ad-hoc work with them helped me during those first 2 critical years. After those first 2 years I was starting to do OK with a developing customer base, but then a year after that we had COVID and it was back to first base. I got square root of **** all from the govt, but thankfully had built my reserves, had no debts and had low outgoings (I'm a service business with no premises, I work on customer sites or from home) so I survived. Battered, skint and without debt- but I survived. I was one of the lucky ones.

It's taken another 3 years to rebuild and realign since then, and even tho I'm in a specialist technical niche, my market has changed considerably. A whole chunk of my business has.... gone.... and will never return. (On the bright side tho, most of the other people doing what I did were a few years older and retired permanently, so less competition).

The government bureaucracy increases every year for a small business and no matter how technically good you are, you also need to learn a bunch of other skills e.g. financial, marketing and the behemoth of govt requirements, the (various) tax(es) being top of the list.

Insurance premiums have gone up too since COVID and if I didn't already have good cover it would be much more difficult to get now. Opening a business bank account with a mainstream provider gets more difficult every year.

Once you get the customers, getting them to actually pay the full amount due in good time is another matter entirely (especially when you work business-to-business).

Qualifications, competence, maintaining CPD etc is another can of worms. Then there's marketing, social media presence etc.

To @Lime2023 :

There's MUCH more to running a business than having the interest and technical skills.

Sorry if that's cynical, but it's real life.

GC

 

[Suffolkrafter]

@GreyCat would you go back to normal employment if you could? Or are you happier with your current setup?