We recently connected with Bruce Leadbetter and have shared our conversation below.
Bruce, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I started this business in 1992 It was named “Arizona White-Knuckle Adventures”. It was mildly successful, but in 2004 we realized that the name put some people off. Not only that, but they assumed we were a white-water rafting company.
So, I bought out my (at that time) business partner, and came up with a different concept. AZWKA was a guide service. After some introspection on where the industry was going I realized that I knew some of the best tour operators in Arizona. We might as well continue to operate our guide service, but we also started an online “concierge” service. Essentially we would be an Arizona/Adventure based booking service.
We had to come up with a name that represented this new direction…so I had a brain-storming session and we came up with 360 Adventures – “anything anywhere”. This name will allow us to grow into other states as well.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
When I was a kid, I helped my parents operate a hunting guide company. Essentially I was a “dogger”…this meant I would help get the clients ready, set them up in their positions, show them their field of fire making sure they didn’t overlap other clients. Then my brother and I would circle around and “dog” the deer & elk into their view. On more than one occasion we were fired upon.
So, after high school I decided to join the US Marines – this was a different kind of hunting and guiding. Your prey can shoot you back.
Once I got out of the USMC I knew how much I loved being outside so I bought a mountain bike and wrote up a business plan for a guide service. I had a dual major (finance & services marketing). When I got into my major classes I asked if we could use my business as the model for our class. In some cases they said yes. So I got to run my business plan through the University experience.
Once I got out of school I started my business. I had to work as a cook/server/bartender to make ends meet, but after about 10 years it finally paid off and now it’s my full time “job”.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I really didn’t “fund” the business other than via my own efforts. By that, I mean I did everything – web design, marketing, guiding, etc. When I had to purchase equipment I just used revenues from the business. It took a while but eventually we found ourselves in a strong capital position.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was about to go into boot camp my dad gave me one of the most important bits of advice I’ve ever received.
He said “you’re going to come across moments where you feel like quitting. That’s OK. You can quit…tomorrow. Just tell yourself that you’ll finish today strong and in the morning you can quit. Tell yourself that every day.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.360-adventures.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/360Adventures
- Twitter: @360ADV
Image Credits
Devil’s Bridge – Bianca Salazar Holderman. Mountain Biking – 360 Adventures