(17 Jul 2013, 11:54 am)Andreos1 wrote I get what your saying about the mini-bus, but the would that fit into his offer of offering storage for bikes, hiking equipement, freight etc.
In his forecasts, he has obviously worked in the extra revenue from freight and offering something different to a normal service with the storage facilities.

I don't think he has though. I think he's made a lot of assumptions along the lines of 'If I introduce a service which offers storage for hiking equipment and bikes, that's bound to generate more revenue as I'm offering something different'. But where is the proof?

The questionnaire doesn't touch upon it, and, even if it did, where are the hikers and bikers coming from? I'm presuming they're coming from elsewhere and not, specifically, from Upper Coquetdale. Therefore, distributing a revised questionnaire (containing questions about storage) throughout the local area is going to be ineffective when trying to gauge true demand for this service. However, it would be more effective if distributed among cycling/hiking groups and organisations (both regional and national) as these are targeted users of the service.

I just get the impression that he's trying to start off too big. I applaud his ambition but I think it will all end in tears. If he were to start off small and try and grow, then, OK, it may well still end in tears, but at least he's not burdening himself with huge amounts of debt and aggro.