By Home Business Magazine
Like most people, you’ve probably gazed at magazine cover shots of ridiculously beautiful white sandy beaches against sparkling turquoise colored waters and romanticized what it would be like to pack it all in and go live on a tropical island. Unlike most people, this family is actually doing it.
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| A few years ago, Brian and Leigh Woeller were bitten by the “move to an island bug,” and started researching islands. |
A few years ago, Brian and Leigh Woeller were bitten by the “move to an island bug,” and started researching islands. After visiting many islands, they and their children fell in love with the beautiful Virgin Islands.
Since three of the four Woeller children are still teenagers in school, they had to develop a business they could run from home that would allow them to gradually, over a few years, spend more time on the islands, until the kids were out of school and they could make a permanent move.
They decided on a boat tour company that would take visitors to different islands in the United States and British Virgin Islands. Since they are American, the boat was based in St Thomas, USVI.
Both Brian and Leigh have backgrounds in traditional and Internet marketing, so together they built the new company’s website and have marketed it from home. “We really rely on technology. We have a bank account set up in St. Thomas, but actually process credit cards for deposits and trips via an iPhone,” says Brian. “We also use a virtual phone system that accepts calls, transcribes them, and emails them to us, along with a digital sound file of the call. I call back immediately and get the booking.”
With their Internet prowess, Leigh and Brian target visitors to the Virgin Islands, whether they come by cruise ship, or stay in hotels and condos on St. Thomas and St. John. “The key for us,” says Leigh, “is to catch people while they’re planning their trip, so they already have a reservation on our boat before they get to the Virgin Islands. It’s much harder to reach them once they are on the island.”
