Wayfarers Travel on an upward path thanks to St Helens Chamber

Business plan drives growth of mini-bus hire company in year one of trading.

With a passion for sport and in particular his beloved Aston Villa, Wayfarers Travel Director John Morris knows plenty about getting from A to B on time.

For over a decade, John had been organising transportation for friends to and from various sporting events, including regular trips down to Birmingham for the North West Lions club.  

It was his enjoyment of organising these trips and driving his fellow passengers to various events, that gave John the idea of owning and operating his own travel business. However, with the commitment of a full-time job, John recognised that there were some barriers to overcome when starting his own company and that he needed some professional advice on how to plan his next move.

Looking for expert support and a sounding board for his business idea, John approached St Helens Chamber.

John commented: “I knew it was really important that the business had a plan, and I needed to work out if my business idea was feasible before committing to it.  Working with Steve Mather at St Helens Chamber, we put together a detailed business strategy that looked at finance, marketing and business administration and as a result, Wayfarers Travel was born.”

Initially running the business part-time, alongside his day job, the plan produced in conjunction with St Helens Chamber enabled John to gain his PSV Operators Licence, as well as acquiring his first 16 seater mini-bus.

Focusing on minibus hire for nights out, sporting events and airport runs, Wayfarer Travel has been steadily growing in its first year of trading, with John supplementing his business knowledge via various courses run at the Chamber.

John continued: “The support I’ve received from St Helens Chamber has been essential.The demand for our service has increased so much that I’m delighted to announce that as from December this year the business will be full-time.

“Without support, it would have been really difficult to transition from being employed to running my own company. It’s been challenging, but equally, it’s immensely rewarding to think the hard work is paying off and I’m doing something I love.”

As well as his core areas of business, John is keen to work more in the education sector, with local schools being made aware of Wayfarers Travel, in particular transportation for school sports teams and tournaments.

Steve Mather, Business Start up Adviser at St Helens Chamber commented:

“It’s great news that John is taking Wayfarers Travel full-time and this is a testament to his hard work and dedication. His business can certainly look forward to a bright future.”

St Helens Chamber is part of Enterprise Hub, the enterprise gateway for business start-up support in Merseyside. Offering expert advice and support to anyone thinking about starting a business, including help to:

• Understand the process of starting a business
• Research a business idea
• Build a comprehensive business plan
• Develop a marketing plan
• Create financial forecasts to understand the costs of running your  business and potential income
• Identify sources of finance to get started

Enterprise Hub is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

For more information about Wayfarers Travel, visit www.wayfarers-travel.co.uk or contact John Morris on 07751 000115.

For more information about the support available from St Helens Chamber to start or grow a new business, call 0845 340 9980 or email startup@sthelenschamber.com.

Enterprise Hub support is available across the Liverpool City Region. For anyone outside of the St Helens area, please contact Enterprise Hub directly on 0151 706 8113, or e-mail enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk to find out about the support in your area.