Getting down to business

With a few days to get grounded before I had any lessons or even met my host employer, I set to discovering the lay of the land in terms of the competition.

Turns out there is a bit of friction between my guy Pedro and one of the local shops, ran by a guy named Nelson. Hopefully my straightforward approach has smoothed the waters some, but after meeting Pedro and the owner of the other shop, Daniel, it sounds like the guy just doesn’t understand the concept of fair business and playing nice. We'll see.

In fact this Nelson guy made me feel quick unwelcome and nervous after confirming I was with Pedro, stick his finger in my chest and saying I was not to teach on his side of the lagoon. I remained calm and said that’s fine. (In fact, I think it is easier to teach on the other side, as you can drive right there, versus the 15 minute walk necessary to use ‘his’ side.) But low and behold, 2 days later he called to ask me to teach one of his clients! This was doubly peculiar as the student had also contacted us [GustyKite] and got my phone number from that correspondence! It was meant to be.

Pedro’s asked me not to take any more of Nelson’s clients, as this happened last year and Nelson ended up stealing Pedro’s instructor. But it gave me the chance to get an inside scope on this other operation. It’s all perfectly alright, but he’s not an authorized IKO school, so I will use that as my out. Plus he only pays $30 commission on a flat fee, instead of a nicer 50% from Pedro.

The other operator, Daniel is friendly to Pedro, which is encouraging. I made contact on the phone and suggested I would be available if he had overflow work. Before I met him, I tracked down his house/store, and later met his instructors when I had to ask to be rescued from when I drove the wrong way on the beach and wallowed in the sand - oops! What an embarrassing way to make an introduction.

Finally Pedro showed up as promised, and we really nailed down his requirements and business model. I’m happy to report he’s a switched-on guy, and a very nice friendly dude as well. I had concerns at first about getting work, but I think it is just early in the season. I now have advertising material and I hope to change the situation to where I have too much work instead.

In fact, I’ve been keeping busy by visiting hotels, surf shops, and tourist activity booths, handing out flyers. Yet I’ve been careful to ask if they are affiliated with any other schools first. I’ve discovered a couple of other operators around, but surprisingly all the others have put very little effort into trying to generate business this way. Hopefully it pays off for me…