0
MMinNJ

business plan

Recommended Posts

A friend of mine, who also happens to be wealthy, has agreed to finance/invest in my pursuing a skydive/photography career. And he wants a business plan B|. Something I know nothing about.

Quick background, I have a very limited number of jumps. I have gone uncurrent numerous times due to my unwillingness to spend everything I have on -well, anything. I love to jump and obsess about it daily, love to take photographs, seem to have good instincts and need a life that is exhilirating and challenging or I lose interest immediately.

The investor understands that the first year (minimum) will be spent developing my skills ( and having fun doing it!) and there will be no income. I will be packing to help pay my rent, I work 25 hours a week bartending and have full health coverage and the ability to move anywhere there is a TGI Fridays and keep this insurance and basic income. He is willing to put up the rest for training, gear, equipment, software, etc. I have made it clear that my goals are to be happy and to make a living, and that i will most likely never make any substantial money doing this. He, however knows people who make movies, commercials etc and thinks that maybe someday something bigger could happen. If it does, he wants a piece of it. And frankly, I feel inspired and want to try.

Can anyone direct me to helpful information? This would include, average income and costs to photographer for tandem, student and advanced video, stats including how many people made their first jump in 2001-2006 compared to the 1990s, stats on how often a skydiving scene appears anywhere in mainstream media....Also things like how often camera and software technology becomes obsolete or needing replacement, etc. I know how my dropzone works, but how use of editing equipment is regulated at other dropzones, the best places to find useful training, etc.? A general idea of costs from A to Z...

I am not asking people to research for me, I am just asking for direction to things that can be included in this plan. I hope to head down to Florida by January or February to get current again and begin intensive training, probably with SDU, and to return to the northeast for the summer to jump.

PS-would this be better in the general forum?
Thanks!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
This is an easy business plan - Plan on spending $5000 on a rig and $5000 on jumps before ever jumping a camera.

Figure another $5000 on cameras and a helmet, plus $2000 on jumps to learn how to use it.

Add in another $5000 for a back-up rig, and you'll be all set to shoot tandem/studetn vidoes, or lock onto a video slot on a four way team.

If all goes well, plan on making $10,000 a year.

Keep it up for ten years, and then hit the big time shooting commercials and movies. I don't know how well that pays, but since there are only four or five guys with that job, it should be easy to track down an answer.

I don't want to discourage you, but this isn't really a 'business plan' sort of thing. The vast majority of working skydivers have a 'day job' for a reason.

If you can get your buddy to bankroll your venture, more power to you. The reality os though, you'll be lucky if you can make enough to feed yourself, let alone make a life for yourself and get a return for your investor.

That said, it will be a good time. I've been shooting video for ten years. The first five was full time, the last five was weekends only during the Ohio jumping season. I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hmmmphhh

lucky YOU.....

we should ALL be so fortunate.....

what gives you the idea that this approach is even remotely sensible???

no offense... but Your naive' enthusiasm seems matched only by your 'friends' misguided willingness to bankroll you.....:|

hell,,, tell him to buy a turbine, and rent it to OUR club... He'll be waaay ahead of the game...(at least then,,,, there will be some "RETURN on Investment"..) ( a KEY aspect to any business plan)

I'm not sure how financing YOUR desire to
be a cameraman, would benefit this friend????
You say he notices skydiving footage, here and there..... well sadly THOSE slots are full...
and are being capably handled by others, who
have invested of Themselves for years and years...

Trust me there is only self satisfaction, and a shelf load of tapes along with a few dozen really GOOD images,,, that MIGHT come from a decade of DEDICATION to this field.....Many Many skydiving camera people Hold REAL jobs,,,
despite a devotion to this skill which far outshines your borderline interest in it..( as I quote You,,,," i have gone uncurrent numerous times due to my unwillingness to spend everything i have on, well, anything" )

and so then,, you, with 35 jumps, and a blank check, you come along and are ready for some great career...
well i admire your willingless to dream....and applaud you for having found a "piggybank" willing to back you.....

But I do resent the implication that it is SO simple....

Business plan?????

skydive for a couple of years, then skydive some more. then buy thoudands of dollars of camera and editing gear,,, THEN "just go out and capture Top of the Line footage each time you exit a plane"...:S

hollywood will be knocking down your door...:o:P;)>:(.......

only drawback...... There is a line.... and it's a long line, and some have been standing in it for decades,,:|, and are financing it Themselves...>:(
BUT hey !!! you'll do just fine....
don't give up the day job...
convince your pal to buy an airplane.

.. now before i get flamed for being a jerk and stepping on your dreams...I'll admit to five things...
1. i'm a jealous asshole
2. i speak for LOTS of hardworking SELF made video people here, who are thinking the same as I am
3. i'm a jealous asshole....
4. If it was EASY , everybody could do it....
5. if it was hugely Profitable,,( enough to support you and your investor ) everybody WOULD do it...


just enjoy skydiving........isn't THAT enough???

peace

jt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
A business plan? lol!

Sorry man, but if you're friend is looking for a good investment, ask him to pay for your college degree and just give him half your salary for the rest of your life.

You might be able to support yourself by working as a year round, full time, tandem videographer but, unless you turn out to be something truly exceptional, you'll never turn a profit for the investor.






Action©Sports

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thoght I made it clear that I have a job with health insurance that I am not giving up. If someone wanted to give you a bunch of money to jump or do anything you really wanted to do, and all they wanted was a business plan, you'd find a way to write one too. I am not trying to step on any toes and have no illusions that next year (or any year) I will be "making it big" or stealing jobs that other people actually earned.

A friend didn't just see a commercial with a skydiver and and then approach me trying to give me money he could get a huge return on. We were talking about wild dreams. I told him mine was to spend my life skydiving. The money described in the post above, which is close to what I was thinking isn't much to him. Not getting it back won't break him and he knows it. I've known him for years, and he's a genuine guy. He also wants the plan so it forces me to take a little bit of time to learn some very basic things about business, so that I don't blow all the money because I have no idea how to spend it properly.

Your opinions have been helpful, thanks. :SB|:P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Ok, maybe I didn't make my point clear. I am not trying to make lots of money, or Hollywood movies. Someone wants to help me, and they want to see a business plan. So forget the mainstream media question. I am trying to demonstrate how I would spend the money and what I would bring in, under usual circumstances. If anyone else has useful information about expenses, income, varying rates at different dropzones, etc. it would be appreciated.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Here is a flaw in your plan... most DZ's that have full time staff require them to be able to work 7 days a week or every day the DZ is open (usually 5-6 if not 7) when ever someone walks through the door. As a video person the average sell through rate for videos ranges from 15% to 80% depending on the DZ that you are at. If you are at some DZ's they will not allow you to take off mid day to work other jobs unless the weather is too bad to jump. With multiple video people it may take 5-8 tandems to come through the door before you name gets to the top of the worklist for the next video.

What this means is that if you only plan on doing video work you could be sitting on the ground a lot unless you are the only videoguy and then the DZ will not let you take off unless they are done jumping for the day since if someone shows up you just screwed them by leaving. If you really want to make money while jumping your best bet is to get every rating under the sun so that if someone walks in you can be on multiple work lists and have a better chance of getting work. Also with a riggers ticket you can do the repacks when the plane is tied down or in the evenings.

The other issue to consider is if you are planning on doing this in the NorthEast is the season is only from April-November (tandems are more of a May - October thing) at the most so during the other months you'll have to move south if you want to keep making money jumping. I'm not sure how happy your other employer will be if you are moving every 6 months on them. That may last 1 or 2 moves but 3 moves in less then a year and a half chasing the weather is a lot for someone to accept.

Rate of pay for a tandem/AFF video is from $25-55 depending on location and things like stills, etc. Min gear cost is couple grand for a rig, couple hundred on reserve repacks, helmet at a few hundred, camera (2 video and 1 digital still) plus tapes, camera suit, audibles, altimeters, misc gear like ringsights, Cameyes, etc. You are looking at easly $5500 and thats buying everything used and needing to have canopies relined in the near term. Figure every 1000 jumps on a canopy it needs 2 relines ($300 each) and at 1500 jumps it gets retired (they usually last longer but for depreciaion values figure it is done at 1500) . Then you need 200 jumps to jump a camera and usually 50-100 jumps to have a sellable product during which time you are paying for the jumps. So at $20 per jump thats another $6000 in jumps before you are making your first dime back.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think people are making this way too complicated.

Find out what the deal is with video at DZs near you. It varies a lot from one DZ to the next. Find out how much they get paid for jumps. Figure out how many jumps you could do on a weekend. Explain what the other costs are. Write a business plan around all that. Then take the money and go have fun jumping your butt off and worry about doing that video stuff in a couple years.

Dave

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I saw that! I actually found sample plans online, and the closest match was for someone opening up a home-based pet photography business :D It seems to be a good guide though.

The work availibilty thing is an issue I didn't think of, thanks. :)
I like the idea about keeping it incredibly simple. My plan is actually to take the money and jump and figure the rest of it out as I go, its just hard to say that for 30 pages and make charts etc. B|

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
You can find an outline for a Business plan at the Small Business Journal web site. I wrote one using their guide lines, just to help me clarify my goals and expectations on a spare time Business I am doing (didn't have to have one for a Bank or Investor, since I have none).
The other posters are no doubt giving you a true picture of costs and chance of full time success. But if your buddy truely knows the chances, who's to say you can't eventually make it happen? Maybe he "needs" a Business investment with little or no return for a tax write off? I've known lots of only moderately well off people that started Business' expecting to break even at best, for that reason.
Edo
Concumbui
Aethrae Cernuare

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0