KD school

Originally Posted by Stu

As a service/experience that's OK, but for 2 hours

You only get 2hrs of tracktime on a normal trackday and you are using your own bike/fuel/tyres for that, you don't get a DVD either

CSS etc is several hundred ...

How much would you be prepared to pay? (that was one of my first questions ).

[G]

This sort of service is very weather permitting which would really be an issue in my eyes, people dont want to be learning how to get their knee down in the wet or on a freezing cold day where ice is forming on the gound. So it limits you massively to the number of days a year you could work.

I have though about it loads of times starting up a business but when I sat down and worked out the number of days a year I would have to work and then sat down and worked out realistcally how many of those day I would ACTUALLY get business through the door it was a risky affair.


Alternatively, and this could actually work, there are plenty of old air fields around with massive hangers. You could strictly speaking run the course inside a large hangar as your not going to be building up massive speeds with frame attached to the bike.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

You only get 2hrs of tracktime on a normal trackday and you are using your own bike/fuel/tyres for that, you don't get a DVD either

CSS etc is several hundred ...

How much would you be prepared to pay? (that was one of my first questions ).

I have answered that, but don't base your business decisions on me, I am cheap!
2hr trackday is still a day's experience.
So how many sessions are you thinking of having a day? 4?

[northwind]

Originally Posted by graemepaterson

This sort of service is very weather permitting which would really be an issue in my eyes, people dont want to be learning how to get their knee down in the wet or on a freezing cold day where ice is forming on the gound. So it limits you massively to the number of days a year you could work.

Yup. I put a bit of proper research into a trackday-related business idea a couple of years back, and though the economics of it seemed more than feasible in summer, it'd have at least a 5-month layoff over winter which made it unviable as a sole earner. Which was a bit of a downer really...

Originally Posted by northwind

Yup. I put a bit of proper research into a trackday-related business idea a couple of years back, and though the economics of it seemed more than feasible in summer, it'd have at least a 5-month layoff over winter which made it unviable as a sole earner. Which was a bit of a downer really...

No, it means you have to make sure you get enough turnover in the summer to make a years profit hopefully you can buy a pay-monthly public liability too (i.e. you only pay for the summer months, not annually)? ... then you get to sun it up/bum around for the remaining 5 months ... I can handle that!!

I was also thinking of a hydraulic indoor trainer too ... you basically have a bike on a merry-go-round that can lean over. That was my idea if I struggled to get an outdoor venue, but it would also double as a winter money maker ...

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

No, it means you have to make sure you get enough turnover in the summer to make a years profit

Yup, which made it unviable It'd probably turn a comfy profit while it was operational but not enough. And most compatible business ventures I could think of were equally seasonal, I was trying to come up with something that'd be compatible but no such luck. My idea could be turned to foreign trackdays but it couldn't compete with the fly-and-rides.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

No, it means you have to make sure you get enough turnover in the summer to make a years profit

Yup. Which is what made it not viable.

Originally Posted by northwind

Yup, which made it unviable It'd probably turn a comfy profit while it was operational but not enough. And most compatible business ventures I could think of were equally seasonal, I was trying to come up with something that'd be compatible but no such luck. My idea could be turned to foreign trackdays but it couldn't compete with the fly-and-rides.

Not if over the off-months you don't have any overheads ... its the overheads that are the killer and if you are wasting 5 months worth of overheads its a non starter ...

But I have to say because of the overheads, it is going to be hard to make a proper profit if you only have one outfit. If you could run 10 or more outfits/centres, then it makes more sense. But that is a big initial investment.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Not if over the off-months you don't have any overheads ... its the overheads that are the killer and if you are wasting 5 months worth of overheads its a non starter ...

If you're trying to make it a sole income- which I was- then you really need to nail the profits in the on-season, otherwise you need to do other work in the off.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

I was also thinking of a hydraulic indoor trainer too ... you basically have a bike on a merry-go-round .........

Ha ha. You crack me up Blue. WTF have you been smoking. Meet me at the burger place again with a bag of it.