How to Start a Survival School

If you love the outdoors and have a passion for teaching others to experience nature and improve their life skills, the survival school business might be right for you. Your students might be children, families, or friends out for an interesting weekend experience. You may even attract people who are active adventurers seeking to learn practical survival skills for their next big trip. Your school might focus on barebones survival, or bushcraft, which places an emphasis on thriving over longer periods in the wilderness, or perhaps a mix of both.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee.

Northwest ($29 + State Fees)

DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start a survival school by following these 10 steps:

  1. Plan your Survival School
  2. Form your Survival School into a Legal Entity
  3. Register your Survival School for Taxes
  4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
  5. Set up Accounting for your Survival School
  6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Survival School
  7. Get Survival School Insurance
  8. Define your Survival School Brand
  9. Create your Survival School Website
  10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your survival school. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Survival School Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

  • Your state’s business records
  • Federal and state trademark records
  • Social media platforms
  • Web domain availability

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a survival school?

  • Location — Zero to $100 a day for camp or more. This cost will be dependent on where your sessions take place. If you use property you already own, there’s no out-of-pocket cost in this area, but you might otherwise have to deal with private property owners or public lands.
  • Transportation — A few hundred dollars or less to $1,000 or more. This expense depends on where you conduct your classes. If they’re held on your own or neighboring property this cost is minimal and might only involve expenses to get you to and from areas where you’ll conduct free intro programs or otherwise solicit business.
  • Certification training — Zero to several thousand dollars. Certification as a wilderness survival instructor is a good way of gaining credibility in your field. But you might not see it to be necessary if you have significant experience in wildlife survival.
  • Gear — Several hundred dollars to $2,500 or more. This can include such camping basics as tent, backpack, mess kit, knife, axe, and first aid kit. Additional gear will depend on your location and the type of training you’ll provide.
  • Logo, website and other marketing communications tools — $200 or more. Websites and social media accounts can he had for free or very little cost, but invest in a logo and site design that supports your image of professionalism.
  • Legal, licensure and insurance — Several thousand dollars. Liability insurance is critical, especially if there’s a distinct possibility of calamity. For instance, if your camp takes place during harsh weather (Canadian winters or desert training), or if there’s the threat of bears, poisonous snakes, fast-moving water, sudden storms, etc. Be sure to discuss this with a lawyer too. Also, ask your lawyer about licensing needs. For instance, will you need a food license if wilderness trapping or hunting and food preparation are part of your curriculum?

What are the ongoing expenses for a survival school?

Your largest and most consistent costs will likely be expenses related to your survival curriculum. This might include transporting students to and from select locations, supplying them with gear or specific kinds of equipment, or hiring assistant teachers or other guest speakers to cover all of the material planned out for that day’s class.

Who is the target market?

Your audience could range from serious outdoors enthusiasts to groups merely looking for a unique form of weekend recreation. But all will want to spend time outdoors and learn more about nature and their relationship with the outdoors. Be sure to adequately describe courses and expectations to avoid disappointing attendees.

How does a survival school make money?

You’ll charge participants either a per-day fee for workshops and weekend training, or a predetermined course fee for classes that are ongoing over a period of time.

How much can you charge customers?

Your audience expects to pay at least $100 a day in most parts of the country. This fee is in addition to students’ responsibility for transportation to and from the site and, usually, food (unless trapping or eating off the land will be part of the curriculum).

How much profit can a survival school make?

That’s highly variable, depending on the number of classes you run and the amount of students you have enrolled. Some school owners run their enterprise on a full-time basis while others combine it with work as farmers, guides or other outdoor pursuits.

How can you make your business more profitable?

The longer you’re in the business the more credibility you’ll have as a wilderness expert. If you have a knack for writing, consider authoring books on the subject. Offer your titles for sale on your website or take them along on your courses.

Also consider hiring yourself out as a guest teacher with larger survival schools, such as Sigma 3.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your survival school is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your survival school were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We’ve negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

FORM YOUR LLC

Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

  • Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
  • Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a survival school business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

Informed Consent Agreement

It is recommended to provide clients with informed consent agreements to decrease legal liability and encourage transparency.  Here is an example of one such form.

Recommended: Rocket Lawyer makes it easy to create a professional Informed Consent/Release of Liability form for your survival school when you sign up for their premium membership. For $39.95 per month, members receive access to hundreds of legal agreements and on call attorneys to get complimentary legal advice.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

Find out what types of insurance your Survival School needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Survival School.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a survival school

Use all available digital tools to attract new students. This will include a website and quite possibly such added properties as a Facebook Group, blog, and social media presence on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. Take a good digital camera along to your outings and be sure to post photos of happy and engaged students on your website and social media. (Just be sure to get the students’ permission first).

How to keep customers coming back

You’ll figure out how to draw an audience based on the demographics of your market. For instance, sell the concept to school boards or Boy Scout/Girl Scout groups if you’re seeking young people.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

  • All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
  • Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
  • Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPressWIXWeeblySquarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

Your first and most immediate skill must be a love for and depth of knowledge in outdoorsmanship. You should also have an innate ability to teach and to encourage students to share your passion for nature and wilderness survival. Depending on the specific direction you take your business and the ecosystems of your area, you might also require knowledge of first aid techniques, survival trapping, plant and animal identification, harsh weather survival, or other kinds of outdoor survival skills.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a survival school?

You’ll likely find yourself spending about one-third of your time on marketing and promotion, one third on typical business-related endeavors and one-third actually out in the field with students. Typical responsibilities can include the following.

  • Communicating on social media and creating and implementing other means of getting your message out to prospective students
  • Contacting property owners or public lands officials to schedule courses
  • Booking classes and answering questions from prospective students
  • Presenting seminars and workshops at coffee houses, libraries, civic centers, and other locations to inspire camp sign-ups
  • Conducting on-site training programs that could last from one to five days or longer

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful survival school?

It’s critical that you have ample outdoor and wilderness survival experience before you can teach it. If this is a skill set that’s in your background, consider earning certification as an instructor from a credible program, such as this one from Sigma 3 Survival School.

What is the growth potential for a survival school?

Survival training has become a big business since about 2012. This level of acceptance from the community means that more prospective students will know about it and seek classes, but it might also mean that you’ll find stiffer competition in the field and constrained revenue.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

  • Funding
  • Events
  • Guides
  • Support

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a survival school?

The business can go into so many different directions that it’s imperative to start by writing a business plan. This will help you not only refine your idea and figure out exactly what (and where) you’re going to teach, but also to identify your audience. It’s a very different experience to operate a summer day camp for grade-school children than it is to run a week-long stringent session in harsh climates for safety forces or military.

Once you’ve found your specific audience, run a few “soft opening” courses for family or friends to safely map out your concept. From this you’ll be able to identify unexpected challenges or obstacles and find areas of training that have the greatest impact, whether positive or negative.

How and when to build a team

As you meet avid wilderness survivalists, consider recruiting them for your business to either go along and help you run individual classes or to lead classes alone as you expand your curriculum. You also need to have more assistance if you’re leading groups of kids.

Useful Links

Industry Opportunities

Real World Examples

Further Reading