3-2-1 Lift Off! Total Heliski is born!!
Talk about a whirlwind few months. When I look back on it, I kept getting signs from all sorts of people and places that I felt were encouraging me to invest my time and energy into something that turned out to be Total Heliski.Or perhaps I was just now open and looking for the signs. After all, I was reading all sorts of blogs (Seth Godin’s was most influential here), talking to friends about the merits of doing an MBA or doing a startup, and then one day in July I think it was, I got an email from Greg Porter, the owner of Great Canadian heli skiing (heli operator), asking me whether I was actually going to setup a heliski promotion company to represent his operation and showcase it to people in the UK and other markets because he would like to see more Brits come heli skiing.
Totalk Heliski CEO
That was the clincher. Because I had always thought- the only reason more people who can afford it, don’t go is because they don’t know enough about it. So, I thought, why not? Then and there, I started ideating. I dug deep and asked myself, what could this business be? What would the basic values be, and how do they align to mine? What would I sell or do? How would or could I make money? And the biggest question- how much commitment and/ or risk would it be? And, I kept coming back to the same thoughts- that I must do it because heli skiing, powder skiing, telemark skiing, in fact anything involving some speed, the mountains and tons of snow really sums up my greatest passion in life. I couldn’t possibly invest so much of my precious time into something that I wasn’t passionate about.
I still had no idea what it would be called or whether anyone would be interested, but like building a house, it started with the first building block.
One day I decided on the name of ‘Total Heliski’. It was short, it was all encompassing, it was sexy (anything ‘heli’ is), and most importantly, the URL was free. From the name I then briefed in the logo to a designer. It had to be eye catching. It had to be blue and white to represent the colours of a bluebird (bright and sunny) powder day, and it had to have a mountain and a heli in it. 6 iterations later, we got there, thanks to Tom from Movement agency.
And then to the tagline. Never sure if I needed one, but if I could find the right one, then I felt we were in business. Many weeks of to- and- fro, and finally, the simple yet evocative tagline was born. ‘Where every day is a powder day’. (thanks John Belmonte). I loved this because IF you are a skier or boarder, then I don’t need to explain the significance of a powder day being the ultimate goal, I capture my target market right there and then- On the contrary, if I have to explain the significance of every day being a powder day, then you will never be interested in heli or cat skiing. Ever.
And finally, I realized that the tagline could be a metaphor for my life at least. If everyday were a powder (snow) day, my world would be pretty much perfect. It gives me the greatest personal satisfaction and pleasure to be skiing down a mountain in deep powder. So much so, that after I started heli and cat skiing, the stakes got a little higher..but never the less- to me, it defines opportunity in life and a way of saying ‘glass half full’. Life, (like powder on a powder day) afterall has been supplied by nature, and it’s all for the taking. On that note, I’ve gotta run now, my snow cat is leaving….
And then to the tagline. Never sure if I needed one, but if I could find the right one, then I felt we were in business. Many weeks of to- and- fro, and finally, the simple yet evocative tagline was born. ‘Where every day is a powder day’. (thanks John Belmonte). I loved this because IF you are a skier or boarder, then I don’t need to explain the significance of a powder day being the ultimate goal, I capture my target market right there and then- On the contrary, if I have to explain the significance of every day being a powder day, then you will never be interested in heli or cat skiing. Ever.
And finally, I realized that the tagline could be a metaphor for my life at least. If everyday were a powder (snow) day, my world would be pretty much perfect. It gives me the greatest personal satisfaction and pleasure to be skiing down a mountain in deep powder. So much so, that after I started heli and cat skiing, the stakes got a little higher..but never the less- to me, it defines opportunity in life and a way of saying ‘glass half full’. Life, (like powder on a powder day) afterall has been supplied by nature, and it’s all for the taking. On that note, I’ve gotta run now, my snow cat is leaving….
And finally, I realized that the tagline could be a metaphor for my life at least. If everyday were a powder (snow) day, my world would be pretty much perfect. It gives me the greatest personal satisfaction and pleasure to be skiing down a mountain in deep powder. So much so, that after I started heli and cat skiing, the stakes got a little higher..but never the less- to me, it defines opportunity in life and a way of saying ‘glass half full’. Life, (like powder on a powder day) afterall has been supplied by nature, and it’s all for the taking. On that note, I’ve gotta run now, my snow cat is leaving….