2.  Peter Charron was interviewed on his new
business.
 Nichols College
 Business and Society 9:25-10:40
Monday/Wednesday
 I met this small business owner at a prior job
I held throughout high school, he was my
manager.
 By: Ryan Foley

3.  The type of business Peter Charron has with
his partner, Jeff Fleury, is a Corporation.
 The reason they chose a corporation is it
eliminated the risk of them losing anything
outside of their investments. This is
important because of the large amount of risk
their whole business entailed.

4.  Pure Flight Disc Golf and Ultimate provides
service for Amherst, MA and the greater
public with a variety of disc golf equitment
and ultimate Frisbee gear.
 Pete and his business partner opened the
business in November of 2010.

5.  Disc golf had been a passion of Pete for years
and as soon as he saw an opportunity to
open a business the sport he did.
 With a disc golf course going in at Umass
Amherst he assessed a new incoming target
audience.
 While in college Pete had taken several
entrepreneurship classes.

6.  In addition to this he has been playing the
game for years and has gained a wide
knowledge of the sport through that
experience.
 He has also played on the professional player
circuit.
 However, last year he began running a disc
golf league at a local course.
 These basic qualifications have proved to be
very helpful in running this business five
months in.

7.  Some successes Pure Flight has enjoyed are a
great reception from the community.
 A great first month in sales, which sailed over
their projections.
 Already being able to move into a bigger
building and expand their company.
 They have also received a good deal of press
in the paper which has helped their business
grow.

8.  A critical success factor in their is that disc
golf remains the second fastest growing sport
in America.
 In addition, the course opening up a mile
down the road has provided their major
income
 There is also another course opening up at an
old golf course a few miles down the road.
 As long as the sport continues to expand, so
will Pure Flight.

9.  Some challenges include learning the best
way to keep inventory, organize, and deal
with the corporate business procedures.
 Maintaining good relations and coordinating
with a business partner.
 Maintaining good relations with the disc golf
community.
 Also, the ability to find more ways to expand
the business.

10.  As well as sacrificing minimal revenue at first
for long hours of work.

11.  The biggest challenge in this business, is the
business it self.
 Its hard to make a business out of profits
from just selling Frisbees and Frisbee
products alone.
 Pure Flight has been able to stay in business
with the help of the business that the Umass
course a mile down the road has provided, as
well as retaing good relations with all
costumers.

12.  In addition, building brand name via
advertising has been a huge help.

13.  A fatal flaw of this type of business is the
possibility of becoming unprofessional.
 Ways of being unprofessional include opening
up late or closing early unfortunately, it is
easy to when working for yourself.
 Avoiding this is crucial to success and
keeping your costumers loyal and happy.

14.  Pete plans to stay in business for the
forseeable future.
 He would like to expand his business further
and open at least one retail outlet.
 He would like to develop a brand name for a
large target demographic.
 Keep his products affordable, while building
the brand name.

15.  Him and his partner would like to eventually
become as recognizable as the Nike or
Reebok brand in the disc golf world.

16.  How do you deal with all the long hours and
hard work to get the business on its feet and
running?
 “It is tough dealing with the long hours at
times. I’ve always been a hard worker and I’m
proud of my work ethic but I’ve got a lot on
plate. It’s both a physical and mental burden.

17.  It is a lot of responsibility if you forget about
one thing it can lead to unprofessional image.
You just need to remember to cross all your
T’s and dot all your I’s.” (Pete Charron).

18.  To follow your passions, do something you
enjoy.
 Identify what you really love and then
formulate a business plan.
 Make sure you have all the loose ends tied
before jumping into business.
 Consult professional advice.

19.  Get as much feedback as possible from
friends and family.
 Utilize small business centers that are
provided by the state.
 Then finally be willing to take that risk and
make the jump.

20.  I took a lot away from this interview with
Pete. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in
since Pete is a long time friend. I ended up
receiving a good inside look into what it’s like
to own your own business. Although, he is
working his dream job it still comes with
some downfalls. For instance, he doesn’t plan
to become profitable from it for about a year
which means he will have to maintain two
jobs.

21. This can’t be easy but he is doing what he loves
so he is happy. The major point I took away
from this interview, is that owning your owning
business is rewarding but difficult and stressful.