Bob Walker jumped off the entrepreneurial cliff twice, in 1993 and 1999, and he’s about to do so again. An insatiable optimist who likes to invest in crazy ideas, eight years ago Walker leveraged his expensive training and intensive career as a local diagnostic radiologist to personally guarantee the first of three business loans that enable him to spread his wings and literally fly.

One year after securing his pilots license, in 1993 Walker launched Gulfshore Helicopters from Page Field because “I get tickled when I fly my helicopter up and down the Gulf Coast.” By 1998 his part-time helicopter sightseeing and aerial photography business proved economically sufficient to purchase a larger second chopper and hire a full-time pilot. Payments on loan number one haven’t been a problem, though Walker has yet to extract a salary or profit.

The major issue was that he grew tired of ferrying his two “ships” to Florida’s East Coast for repairs and maintenance. So he plunged into plans for Gulfshore Maintenance in 1999 and by September 2000 launched a 10,000-square-foot single- and twin-engine aircraft maintenance facility.

“Employing a factory-trained mechanic here, we can legally do the maintenance work for Gulfshore Helicopters,” he explains.

Loan number two covered 80 percent of start-up capital. And paved the way for Walker to grow his maintenance staff from two full-time mechanics and a handful of part-timers to five full-time employees as of August 2001.

Though he admits that the second business’s mortgage and increased payroll still keep him up nights, he has no regrets. Walker keeps sparking along, working 50 to 60-hour weeks in 28-hour shifts at Lee Memorial Health System and putting in an average of 12 administrative hours each week managing his two companies. Ironically, increasing responsibilities mean that his flying time has decreased. So in the past six months he’s brainstormed a third business idea, with a concomitant loan.

“This one’s a little more of a sure thing,” he says. “The risk is less. It’s related to my core business in the medical field and I don’t have to rely on other people’s skills to make it go.” His motive is to move from being on call 24/7 at the hospital to having more control over his schedule while reducing hours.

Signs of Success

With $100,000 of his own money seeding his dream, Walker is warmed by the fact that the 7,400-square-foot Gulfshore Maintenance hangar remains filled with local private airplanes in for repair and maintenance. In addition to the second qualified mechanic, he has hired a mechanics helper and parts person to facilitate billable jobs. An office manager on board since February 2001 has freed him to institute efficiencies, troubleshoot, and pursue marketing ideas. Letters from satisfied customers — a rarity in this business — decorate the office.

All in all, things are going well. That’s not to say there haven’t been bumps on take off.

“Every time I turn around, I’m getting hit with another large bill,” says Walker. He points to a $6,000 invoice for the firm’s annual update of airplane manuals and parts as an example. Finding the exact part for sky craft models dating back several decades also is extraordinarily time consuming. Add in ground fees, licenses, water management costs, charges for disposal of fuel and solvents and, or course, insurance.

“The regulatory and liability environment impacting businesses in this country continues to deteriorate,” opines Walker, who discusses the rising roadblocks with legislators. “One wonders at what point even people with entrepreneurial drive will give up and not even consider going into business.”

He notes that for every piece of legislation passed by attorneys in public office, fellow lawyers derive a host of new ways to sue people. The aftereffect is escalating costs and closed businesses. “Yet no one is looking at that.”

Overall, Walker estimates that doing his homework enabled him to project about 80 percent of Gulfshore Maintenance’s operating costs. The revenue challenge was realizing consistent eight-hour billable days for his mechanics, who can become embroiled in processing estimates and answering questions.

A reality check shows that neither of his two companies, though self-sufficient, is apt to deliver a high profit margin. Gulfshore Maintenance may start throwing off a modest return on his investment a year from now.

Yet flyer Bob Walker is glad for the living business laboratory he’s created. “I’ve learned construction, management and business accounting principles and have a tremendous base to move on to other projects,” he says. He’s invested heavily, but is comfortable with his assets and options.

For Walker, the intangible return on investment makes it all worthwhile. “For me, the thrill is being here watching my helicopters come in and land.”

S. Alison Chabonais is a freelance business writer specializing in marketing communications.