Your opinions please.

[Westtexassurvivalist]

Hello, my name is JD. I just started on these forums today because I wanted an unbiased opinion from other people in survival world.

I was approached by a small group of my co-workers about instructing them and their friends and families in the subjects of bugging in, bugging out, wilderness survival and bushcraft. I have never considered being an instructor on the subject of survival but after they asked me it got me thinking about starting a small class based survival training business. There isn't anything in my area for hundreds of miles that provides any similar type of service or training so I'd have the market cornered.

Now a little about my background in the survival field.
I was a Boy Scout for 6 years. Life Scout but not Eagle.
I have the most basic military survival training that they teach in OSUT. Land Nav and basic survival skills.
I've spent the last half a decade, since getting out of the Army, expanding my knowledge base and honing my skills. I take a trek a few times a year to put what I've learned to practical use in a non-emergency situation.

I wouldn't consider myself a master by any means because you cannot master a concept who's purpose is to stay fluid and ever expanding. I would however consider myself an expert.

All of that being said, what is your opinion? Would you consider me qualified to train others?

Thank you for reading and for your response.

-JD

[Rick]

I know nothing about you other than what you posted. There is nothing in what you posted that tells me whether you can train others or not. Having the knowledge is one prerequisite being able to communicate those ideas to others is something else entirely. Have you ever taught anything? Do you have any business background? Try this thread.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-in-Central-PA


Thank you for your service.

[Westtexassurvivalist]

I have quite a bit of public speaking experience and I've taught other skills before. The business end will be new to me though.

[Cast-Iron]

Howdy and Welcome, JD! Thanks for your service.

I don't believe there is a one size fits all approach to prepping. There are a lot of skills which may come in handy under a variety of scenarios, but it isn't realistic to think you can or should cover all the bases either. Be upfront with your potential students about your abilities and experience. I think prepping starts with recognizing what kind of emergencies you're most likely to experience, developing the knowledge and capabilities to manage those scenarios. You can then move onto those less likely scenarios if your students still feel a greater level of preparations are warranted. Maybe getting together with any interested parties to discuss their concerns will help you determine if you're up to the task? That's my two cents, Good Luck!

[crashdive123]

You've got a lot of work to do before you even think of opening a school. Things like.....business plan, insurance, financing, location (legal), curriculum, and on and on.

Now - since your approached by co-workers with a request for classes you could do something as simple as a series of talks on short, specific topics. Charge a few bucks or not, but this may tell you if A) there is real interest, B) you like it, and C) can you convey the message as intended.

If that works, then the real work of everything you need to do to start up a school begins.

[hunter63]

Hunter63, saying Hey and Welcome.....Thank you for your service.

I guess I would have to say, that instruction of others is something many are good at,....and some aren't?

But if you are gonna take money, the business end will have to be dealt with.....Location, insurance, permits, license's, and any certs you may have or need.
Wisconsin required a permit to Guide hunting and fishing....which is mostly a way to collect money form you....but you still need one.
I need a permit to train my dog...I have one...but I don't consider myself a Licensed Dog Trainer.

So maybe start small, have word of mouth help you get started?

I for one would have no idea what you do or don't know, and how you plan to teach it?

Best of luck.

PS, Maybe check out existing schools, maybe even attend a few..... and see how they do it?
Example:
http://www.trackerschool.com/

[finallyME]

Teach a one time class with those who are interested. Then take a class from someone else. That should tell you if you want to do it. You can always try and do a school extension for another school. That might help with some of the business aspects.

[letslearntogether47]

Teach that small group and see how you do.

[Westtexassurvivalist]

Hey everyone, here's a little update. I taught that class for my co-workers and I got a lot of really positive feedback. I started looking in to starting something up in my area and found that its close to prohibitively expensive just for property alone. Everyone who's selling land is hoping to strike it rich apparently. I looked in to general liability insurance and facilities and marketing and its a lot of money just to get started. I think I'm going to stay small scale for now and just do word of mouth advertising and small classes.

[Cast-Iron]

You're right. Property values have skyrocketed over the past few decades. Largely due to a declining dollar. Why do you need to buy property anyways? I would think you could accomplish a lot of instruction in a classroom, garage, or city park and combine that with a week-end camping trip to further demonstrate and practice survival skills and some basic equipment. State, local, or national parks should have facilities which would allow for primitive camping. Make a few calls and check around. Maybe no firearms, but that's probably a good thing from a liability standpoint.