This Personal Outfitter is Leading Adventures
on Prince of Wales Island
Sharing her love of all things wild and Alaskan, Katie Rooks took her education, experience, and numerous certifications and turned them into a vibrant and venturesome business.
Prince of Wales Excursion Outfitter LLC is an outdoor recreation business dedicated to visitors who truly love the outdoors, want to fully immerse themselves in their Alaskan experience, and appreciate professionalism and expert service. With a mission dedicated to meticulous detail and knowledge, excellent customer service and memories to last a lifetime come naturally. Considering Katie’s master’s degree in Recreation and Park Management with 15-years of U.S. Forest Service field expertise, this is one business start-up that was created for outdoor enthusiasts, by an avid outdoor enthusiast.
Katie began to work with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Ketchikan with an idea and a year later she is working on maintaining and growing her successful start-up. To get from point-A to point-B, she started with fine-tuning her business plan and financial projections. Coupled with well-matched referrals for legal interpretation as well as SBDC student market research, she worked one-on-one with Ketchikan Center Director, Kimberlee Hayward on her business plan narrative, figure adjustments, and designing and launching a complementary business website.
In discussing her entrepreneurial experience she shared, “When I started working with AKSBDC, owning my own business was just a dream. Succeeding was an even bigger dream. I had little idea if or how I could pull it off. From my business plan to my financial projections, marketing, and all the related logistics, AKSBDC was there with me. They were responsive, prompt, professional, and friendly. As long as I put forth the effort to do as much as I could myself, they were there to guide me, teach me, and encourage me. I literally could not have done this without them. Now I own Prince of Wales Excursion Outfitter, who earned its first customer before even formally launching the business. I am so grateful that AKSBDC was a resource I could use.”
To create your own southeast adventure, connect with Katie on the Prince of Wales Excursion Outfitter website and review the assorted activities, equipment, and experiences available at your fingertips.
