TREKKING enthusiast Sim Tim Suan lives on passion and determination, especially in the face of challenging circumstances. So it's no surprise that he keeps his business Blazing Outdoor Adventurers & Co (BOAC) open even though 'the firm is just about breaking even'.
Business means more than just making money to Mr Sim. "If I focus on the bottom line alone, the company would have closed a long time ago," he says.
BOAC organises adventure tours, alpine expeditions and wildlife safaris to destinations like Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Silk Road in China, Tibet Overland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. And destinations aside, the company has equally interesting origins. They go back to 1998, when Mr Sim got together a group of trekking enthusiasts under the Social Development Unit (SDU).
"Basically we maintained a mailing list of like-minded SDU members and organised a series of trekking trips for them," he recalls.
Things got off to a flying start - the BOAC mailing list grew from 20 names at the start to several hundred within three years. Various trips were organised - to faraway places like Tibet, East Africa, Nepal, Sikkim and Pakistan. Then in 2001 Mr Sim decided to quit his job as a financial planner to run BOAC as a commercial
profit venture.
Most of its expeditions these days are group tours involving more than 10 people, but it also caters to small groups of two or three.
Mr Sim says the most important element in an adventure tour is not the group size but the participants' fitness.
"At altitudes of over 4,000 metres you have to be well-conditioned to endure the climate," he says.
For this reason, BOAC provides 'group conditioning sessions' in which would-be adventurers trek up the arduous slopes at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on Saturdays.
Also, the company has developed a series of guides on its destinations to acquaint travellers with issues like basic first aid, hypothermia and mountain sickness.
All this is part of its belief that "no one should have a bad time when in the outdoors", says Mr Sim.
"Most times there is no bad weather, only bad gear," he says. "At BOAC we do more than just organise a trip and pack off our members for an adventure - it is our mission to ensure that they are in the best-prepared shape of their life."
BOAC organises about 60 trips a year, and Mr Sim says numbers are rising as more people develop an interest in adventure and fitness.
Increasingly, local schools are drawn to the concept of outdoor trips for students as a means of instilling discipline and independence.
BOAC recently organised an 'Outdoor Learning Skills' course for 70 students from the Australian International
School here, and a day-hiking trip to Gunung Datuk in Negri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Besides students, Mr Sim's clients include young professionals in their 20s and early-30s - all thrill-seekers and trekking enthusiasts.
Although the expatriate community now accounts for less than 5 per cent of business, he sees this growing to 15 per cent in one or two years.
To build up its brand, BOAC advertises in sports magazines and takes part in trade fairs at expatriate clubs and international schools.
To complement its travel business, the company opened a new retail section last year, selling equipment like outer and fleece jackets, watches and boots.
The brands it carries include higher-end Lowe Alpine and Asolo, as well as China's King Camp, which is meant for budget travellers.
The King Camp line is priced some 50 per cent lower than Lowe Alpine and "targets the middle segment of the market", says Mr Sim. Also, "some first-timers may not want to splurge so much on the apparel since most don't know if they will pursue the sport actively".
The retail segment now accounts for about 25 per cent of BOAC's turnover but there's hope it will rise to 50 per cent.
In all, Mr Sim is hopeful the company's revenue will hit $500,000 this year, up from $350,000 last year.
Gross margins range from 10 to 15 per cent, but Mr Sim reckons there is room to grow them. What is his long-term goal for the business? "To continue providing great value services to our clients and ascend the revenue summit," he says simply.
