Some of the experiences in life if you go for it are unforgettable, deep powder in Gulmarg Kashmir photo Sunstone collection

A few years ago when I started a guiding company in the Kashmiri Himalayas in India people thought I was crazy….but it really was an adventure of a lifetime and the experience I gained and people I met were life changing…

I already had been an IT recruiter after doing my psychology degree at UC and working for 9 years in the UK and then I thought I’d try and live the dream - become a ski guide…taking people on endless powder runs. After living the dream and realising that skiing overseas was probaly not going to be that conducive to having a family back in Christchurch I went onto start Sunstone Talent, my second love…getting people IT jobs…

Some things I learnt from starting a couple of businesses:

The people you meet…this couple proposed deciding to get married on this trip photo by Sunstone

Start-up - just get going as you can spend a lot of time on the ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’.
‘Divisionalisation’ & ‘let the users decide’…back when I started my adventure guiding company Sunstone Adventures I couldn’t decide whether to do trekking in Nepal or ski guiding in Kashmir (India) so I started both and the one I didn’t think was going to take off did…Trekking in Nepal seemed the obvious choice but the market was mature & saturated having been a thing since the seventies. Gulmarg in Kashmir was a new, exotic ski destination with only a handful of guides so there was a need. I had 13 clients my first season which steadily grew to 50 in my fifth season.
Be dynamic to try new things & markets. The last two seasons I expanded into ski guiding in Japan. It was a great destination but probably didn’t solve a problem as much as Kashmir did. Gulmarg was on the line of control between Pakistan & India having a large military presence and was a bit scary for people - having a trusted guiding company to meet them at the airport, sort out logistics & accomodation certainly solved a problem and provided a service that was needed.
Do something you’re passionate about. The businesses I’ve started have been from a love for skiing and then later on Sunstone Talent a love for getting people jobs & helping people. This way when the going gets tough or when you’re having to do some of the boring admin bits & pieces etc you have a firm eye on the outcomes that are ultimately satisfying.
Go for it. If you’re not sure whether to start a company then just go for it. You never want to have regrets in life and what’s the worst thing that can happen? You can just get another permanent job. Life is short so go on and launch now and see what happens - you might be quite surprised just how well it goes!!!!

Snow monkeys in Nagano, Japan a great ski destination photo by Sunstone

I’m Paul, lover of coffee, dogs, biking, surfing & skiing. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, mobile, blockchain, data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.

Lessons from a ski adventure start-up in India