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New bike skills website

21 posts & 13 voices | Started 2 years ago by CheshireMTBskills | Latest reply from genesis

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CheshireMTBskills - Member

Hi Guys,

Im new on here and the main reason I joined was to try and get some feedback on my new business venture - bike skills and guided rides.

One of my friends has been kind enough to make me a website http://www.cheshiremtbskills.co.uk. Im thinking of charging £60 for a 2-3 hour session where upto 4 people can attend, Im looking at riding and teaching at Macclesfield forest, goyt valley, Llandegla, Delamere forest, Macclesfield, Wrexham and chester pump tracks to.

Im looking at getting some feedback on my prices, venues, website etc which would be great to help me get started.

Thanks James

Posted 2 years ago #
pedalhead - Member

Site looks good I reckon (although I'm no expert). Price-wise, I think I recall I paid £80 a couple of times for a full day's tuition with Nigel Page a while back (excellent experience), so your prices look good value if people can get a group together. Perhaps another rate if someone wants to attend a course on their own...or are you thinking of just having groups who already know each other, and therefore already understand their relative skill levels?

Posted 2 years ago #
tron - Member

Your logo jumps up and down on the first page when I mouseover it. Is it meant to?

Firefox 3.5.8 by the way.

Posted 2 years ago #
jimmy - Member

I would suggest dropping the News section all about your races. Maybe have it in a seperate blog with a link from this site. Not really a bad thing, but your website should be about your customers, not you. And I'd put all the stuff on the home page about your experience in a biography section, with the home page concentrating on what you offer to your customers. Or at least put what you offer first, then a 'Who am I?' bit below.

Site looks good, though.

EDIT: Getting in there for pedant medal: riders' techniques

Posted 2 years ago #
CheshireMTBskills - Member

I was thinking of having different prices but thought i'd keep it simple at first. I could do a slightly cheaper rate for closer venues to my home but for venues like N Wales and I have a few places I can privately uplift for the DH guys my fuel costs would be to high to charge anything less. I could probably drop to £50 or even a £15/hr rate for local rides.

The time of 2-3 hours was my idea so people wouldn't get to tired and be able to take everything in but could obviously cater to longer sessions. I remember Pagey running his bike skills and he looked like a great guide. How did you find out about his teaching days if you dont mind me asking?

Posted 2 years ago #
pedalhead - Member

I was thinking your prices were already reasonable, but prevented individuals from joining in. Yeah, perhaps an hourly rate for individuals (even groups of individuals, if you know what I mean) and a separate rate for group bookings.

I found out about NP's training via a local bike shop, the owners of which were/are friends with him, and he put on a couple of days for us.

Posted 2 years ago #
CheshireMTBskills - Member

Hi tron, it doesnt do that on my computor but will ask Joe to have a look at it.

Jimmy, thanks dude I think it does need a few things changing and I do see your point on the news page but thought it may show that im competent on a bike or maybe like you said I should just do that in the 'about me' section and leave news for photos of the rides with clients.

Thanks for the input!

Posted 2 years ago #
chakaping - Member

skills set > skill set

Site not bad, looks cheap but that's not a bad thing necessarily. I'd do away with intro page entirely though.

It's a bit wordy and I agree with the comment that it should be about the customer more than you.

Basically I think it needs cutting down a lot to make it easier to digest. Also it feels more like a CV than a sales pitch.

Hope you don't think I'm being too critical, but I do this for a living and I know negative feedback is far more valuable than positive!

Good luck - and feel free to email me if you want any specific advice (email in profile).

Posted 2 years ago #
CheshireMTBskills - Member

No not at all, all the advice is really helpfull and I think Im going to go through the website and shrink it down a bit, scrap a few things etc. May well give you an email in the near future.

Thanks a lot.

Posted 2 years ago #
DaveyBoyWonder - Member

Splash page on a website = no no. Spash page on website with blue border thing around the image still (although I am on circa Victorian-era IE at work) = slack. Get rid. Can't see the rest of my site as it crashed IE. Odd...

Good luck - hope theres a market for it as there seems to be quite a few of this kind of business popping up now and there are already some 'established' ones with rave reviews which are much more likely to attract business I reckon. I'd rather pay a bit more to actually learn something and get some value from it rather than pay less and come away from it wondering what I'd learnt (if anything).

Posted 2 years ago #
atthesummit - Member

I am in the same situation as Cheshire, and have recently started a business doing the same - other end of the country though so not competition. Spent a fair bit of time sorting the website out as this is where your customers will get a first taste of you and your company.

I would agree its a bit wordy and having less info and clear indications of costs etc makes it easier for people to book

Best of luck in your venture

Posted 2 years ago #
qwerty - Member

"manuels"

QUE?

or "manuals"

Posted 2 years ago #
DaveyBoyWonder - Member

Back home now and managed to access the website. Far too much writing. Blah blah, who cares where you've been riding. Focus it on the customers, not have an ego trip. Gallery contains one photo (?).

Posted 2 years ago #
oxnop - Member

Doesnt work on my computer (im at work) IE crashes when I click to enter your main site.

Posted 2 years ago #
singletrackhor - Member

As others of said, drop the splash page, all of that info can easily fit on the page headers.

I'd also suggest that you reword the copy, instead of writing, "I did, I have, I" etc, write the copy from a different perspective, copy then becomes " James did, James has, Chesire bike skills have" etc

Good luck

Posted 2 years ago #
genesis - Member

I'm guessing that you'll be coaching at Wessie park and Ponciau as well as the forest sites you mentioned? How do you stand on liablility with the councils given that you're using their land for profit?

Posted 2 years ago #
atlaz - Member

Also consider how much "gnar" you want to show on the site. My impression from the pictures is that it wouldn't be beginner friendly, irrespective of what the text says.

Posted 2 years ago #
genesis - Member

Thought that there could well be a problem coaching at Gasnach as its a private site that for insurance purposes you need to join the club, similarly the DH site at Llangollen

Posted 2 years ago #
DaveyBoyWonder - Member

Oh, and contribution to ST for advertising?

Posted 2 years ago #
ianpv - Member

Hi James,

I remember you guiding us in Spain a couple of years ago! Only guide ever to not have a pump and get lost

Good luck - agree you should put the info about yourself in a bio section, and your races in a blog, but make them easily accessible.I also agree that the race focus may put off a sizeable proportion of your market at the moment. I think people want to be taught by good riders and you've definitely got the skills.

Then again, there seems to be a lot of people setting up this kind of business at the moment, so the fact that you are a decent racer maybe a USP, as long as you can pass on some of your knowledge!

Posted 2 years ago #
genesis - Member

Where did he go?

Posted 2 years ago #