August 29, 2018
(Photos courtesy of Yellowknife Sport Fishing Adventures)
When Andrew Moore turned his sport fishing hobby into a business in 2017 he wasn’t sure what to expect. But with guidance through the Tourism Business Mentorship Program, he is now taking bookings a year in advance, seeing his web-traffic explode and developing wait-lists.
Moore runs Yellowknife Sport Fishing Adventures out of Yellowknife and offers tours on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake including day-trips and overnight or multi-day camping and fishing trips. One of the things that sets his company apart is that his all-inclusive tours offer a one-stop-shop for angling enthusiasts. With meals, fishing equipment and camping necessities part of the package it makes the experience simple for both locals and visitors.
Moore is well-versed in different fish species, the best times and locations to cast, how much line to let out and whether that “CJ Special” will reel in the trophy-sized trout that you have your hopes on.
On the other hand, he says he needed some advice and guidance on how to market his business to net new clients.
After seeing a YouTube video in which fellow tour operator, Kylik Kisoun Taylor (Tundra North Tours, Inuvik) talked about his mentorship experience, Moore was hooked on the idea.
He applied for the Tourism Business Mentorship Program offered through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment in partnership with the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO).
“One of the neat things about the program is that it doesn’t randomly assign someone to you,” Moore explains. “Instead, they send you several candidates with their resumes and you pick the best fit for your business and your mentorship goals. I was amazed that there were all these skilled and experienced individuals offering to help me build my business.”
Moore chose to work with CESO volunteer advisor Tim Robertson, who flew from Toronto to Yellowknife to spend four days doing a deep-dive into Moore’s business. “Setting out a marketing plan that included social media was crucial because platforms like Facebook and Instagram are such a huge part of business today. We did a lot of work on my website and Tim helped me look at the different ways to make it better. Together, we worked on adding new content, developed targets and goals, improving google search results and ultimately increasing traffic to the website.”
Moore quickly saw the success of his hard work. His website hits grew by over 3,000% in his second year of business and he now has a loyal following on social media who have given him a coveted five out of five rating. More importantly, for Andrew, bookings are already flooding in for his 2019 season.
Would Moore recommend the program?
“100%. I would recommend the Tourism Business Mentorship Program to anybody and any business that it is available to,” Moore says. “It opened my eyes and opened doors for me that would have taken me years of work and a lot of extra money to figure out. And we did all of that in four days.”
The Tourism Business Mentorship Program is currently accepting applications. Apply today! Deadline for applications is September 24, 2018.
