Name of your website?Footscape
Your name?
Tim Bond
Your Location (city, etc)
Cerne Abbas, Dorchester, England
Please give us a short summary of your website?
It provides details of our guided and self-guided walking holidays and heritage tours, all based in Dorset, England.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
There is no other way for a small tour operator to be found. The website is the product of the business. Why did I start Footscape? I have always enjoyed walking, and I liked the idea of helping people to discover the beauty of Dorset on foot.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Footscape was my first website, and it launched in December 2004.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
It took ages for me to reduce a shortlist of possible names down to one - Footscape. It gives a sense of walking (foot) and both escape and scenery (scape). That's it.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
First, we are a very small agency, based in Dorset and operating only in Dorset (I am the owner/manager). Therefore we can provide a very personalised and flexible service. Since, on many of our holidays, our vehicle is available throughout the day to pick up anybody who has done enough walking, we can offer a lot of flexibility in terms of walking distance and itinerary.
We also encourage families with children to come on a Footscape walking holiday, and we provide some tailored services for children (see www.footscape.co.uk/children.htm).
Next, Dorset has England's only Natural World Heritage Site - the Jurassic Coast, which is a stunning landscape of cliffs, grassy ridges, beaches and blue sea (on sunny days). Gorgeous. Some of our trails include long stretches along this coastline ("Jurassic Coast Trail", "Purbeck Trail", etc.)
Dorset was also the home of Thomas Hardy, whose novels were almost all set there. We live and work in Thomas Hardy Country, which is largely unchanged from the time of Tess of the D'Urbevilles or Jude the Obscure. Dorchester, the County town is Thomas Hardy's Casterbridge. The whole area is evocative of Hardy's writings. So our 3 night Thomas Hardy tour (self-guided walk or accompanied tour) aims to give people an opportunity to walk in his footsteps.
Our other heritage tours (Sherborne and Dorset Gardens) are always on a small group basis - the exact opposite of a large coach tour. We take small lanes through quintessentially English countryside and villages, stopping off at a stone and thatch pub for lunch, and giving our clients the opportunity to walk at their own pace through some beautiful landscapes. Again, there's a lot of flexibility, and time for impromptu detours and special requests.
Finally, we offer a choice of hand-picked accommodation, which (generally) suits everyone's taste and pocket, often old cottage B&Bs, village inns and sometimes small, independent hotels.
Right that's enough self-promotion for moment.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
If we are talking about the website, nobody will buy it, unless it is part of the sale of Footscape. I suppose that I will think of selling the business once it makes a decent profit, which is not the case at present. I never expected a small and very localised operation such as this to make much money. I spent over 30 years working in human rights and social development projects in a variety of developing countries in Asia, before starting Footscape. So I am not young, and I have no ambition to expand or do anything other than try to provide a really good service in a terrificly beautiful part of England. We'll see how it goes.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
It doesn't - yet. Too much time and too little income. However, I don't consider that a poor income means a lack of success. I have enjoyed creating Footscape and I enjoy my clients' enjoyment. Hopefully the one will match the other some time soon.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I don't think that I would change it much. It's about right.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I don't think that there's any chance of that happening.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Reviewing and making changes to the website every year (carried out by my website designer), which always seem to be more complicated each year.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Returning to the UK after 32 years living in Asia, and trying to start a business from scratch, without any previous business experience and without knowing much about how things function in England. Difficult.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Google Adwords.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I had no experience or expectations, but once again, the website is just a small part of the business. It was all 100% new to me.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
It's been open for over 3 years. I will close it down, if there is little prospect of my earning a living income.
What will you do if you decided to close your business?
Good question (ha ha). I will probably return to Vietnam, where I lived and worked for over 10 years (until 2003, when I returned to the UK). I love Vietnam, so it will not be a sad move, if it happens.
What is your website address?
Footscape
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