FAQs

What is Firecircle?

Firecircle is an online hub where you can find all the information, resources and support you need to plan, launch and grow a successful Tourism and Hospitality business. Tourism and Hospitality is a unique industry with many opportunities and challenges that set it apart from other industries. Firecircle has over 30 years of experience working in the industry and helping new and existing entrepreneurs just like you, plan, launch, grow, and maximize business all across the country.

We’ll guide you through Firecircle's easy 5x5 Method™

What is the Firecircle 5x5 Method™ and what is included?

The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ is our easy to follow, 5-step, 25 workshop foundational planning and implementation program to coach you through envisioning your opportunity, building your brand story, building your operations, designing your product and managing your money. 

It follows the same approach we’ve used for the last 30 years to help Canadian tourism enterprises of all sizes, in smaller, rural and remote communities plan, launch, grow and maximize their Tourism and Hospitality businesses. 

The Firecircle 5x5 Method is a step-by-step method that starts with your idea and helps you plan the 5 key areas of your business. Here’s what you learn in each step: 

 STEP 1 - Your tourism vision and the opportunity. In this step we explore your tourism idea, including your vision and motivations for starting your business. We will also explore what the real opportunity is for your business idea in the marketplace. (1 hour 17 minutes. | 5 Workshops).

STEP 2 - Developing your tourism brand story. This step takes you through what it means to develop your unique tourism brand. We coach you through 5 key steps to build your brand story in a way that will deeply connect with your customers. (55 minutes | 5 Workshops)

STEP 3 - Designing your tourism operations. This step is about designing your business operations - both in front of your guests and behind the scenes. We coach you on organizing your operations according to your vision and your brand story. (1 hour 14 minutes | 5 Workshops)

STEP 4 - Designing your tourism products and services. In this step we get creative with your physical design. Step 4 guides you through the planning and presentation of your physical environment and services to work with your business operations. (1 hour 11 minutes | 5 Workshops)

STEP 5 - Pricing, packaging, marketing and cash flow. Step 5 is all about making money and organizing it. The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ ties together everything to complete your Sales, Marketing and Distribution strategy and to understand your Cash Flow. (3 hours 16 min | 5 Workshops)

Who is the program for?

New tourism entrepreneur: If you’ve got an idea for a new Tourism and Hospitality business, Firecircle is for you. All you need is an idea and the drive to make your idea come to life. Firecircle will walk you through your business planning process step by step. Through Firecircle, we’ll help you figure out how to make your unique business stand out from the competition and keep customers coming back so that you’ll be in business for the long run. In short, Firecircle will help you turn your great business idea into a great business.

Existing tourism business: If you’re already operating a Tourism and or Hospitality business, that’s great! Firecircle can help you look at maximizing your business by adding products and experiences, forming partnerships, strengthening your financial planning, adapting to changes in the market and much more. The Firecircle 5x5 method has been developed and used for over 30 years, helping businesses just like yours to become more competitive and sustainable.

How is The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ different from other business planning products?

The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ is designed for members with all levels of experience. Whether you have a great idea you want to plan out, or you’ve been in business for 20 years and now want to add a new product, improve your efficiency, a new user experience or increase profit margin, the Firecircle 5x5 Method™ can help.

Our program is designed to accommodate all learning styles. The program is made up of 25 animated video workshops that are fun to watch, easy to understand, and full of real-life examples. The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ also includes custom-made Worksheets to help you organize your thoughts and ideas as you develop your business idea. No one knows you better than you do.

With The Firecircle 5x5 Method™, you’ll gain expert knowledge in the 5 key areas of your tourism business that will ensure your competitiveness in the market and your financial success. The bonus of completing the worksheets is that you are simultaneously completing your business plan! All in a fun-filled and empowering process!

What if I don’t have any experience in business?

If you've got a tourism business dream and the guts to try, we'll give you the tools to make it real. No experience necessary!

The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ starts with you: your idea, your motivations, the unique opportunities, and challenges that come with where you live. The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ builds on important concepts as you go. We’ll never give you more than you can handle at one time. We’ve made The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ easy to understand and there’s no business language you’ll need to know ahead of time. We’ll explain everything step-by-step.

This is how it goes:

1. You’ll watch an animated video workshop that introduces and explains 1 concept of the business planning process, starting right from the beginning.
2. We’ll present you with a task that will help you think through the ideas from the workshop. This could include thinking about and jotting down notes about your community, doing some internet research, or thinking through the equipment you’ll need for your business to run for example.
3. We’ll show you an example Worksheet so that you’ll know exactly the kind of information that will be helpful for you to gather.
4. You’ll download a blank worksheet for yourself and print it out and save it to your computer. The Firecircle 5x5 Worksheets are fillable PDFs that you can work on and keep saving as you go.
5. You’ll fill out your Worksheet and you’ll be ready to move on to the next workshop.

All you need is an idea. We’ll help you do the rest.

How long does it take to complete The Firecircle 5x5 Method™?

The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ gives you 8 hours of animated video content over 25 workshops. After you watch each workshop, you’ll have your own thinking, research, and planning to do on the topics covered. It depends on how much time you set aside each day or week to work the Firecircle 5x5 Method™. Some of our clients spend every day on their workshops and complete their business plans in a few weeks. Other clients need a little more time and may take several months to complete the videos, all the worksheets, and fill in their business plan.

As an annual member you’ll have access to all of the content at once so can work at whatever pace works best for you. Monthly members get content released every 2 weeks so that you have time to think through and complete your planning over the course of a year. We’re there for you every step of the way with lots of resources that you can tap into.

What additional resources come with the program?

Through The Firecircle, you’ll have access, not only to The Firecircle 5x5 Method™, but also to other digital tools like Webinars, Masterclasses and Podcasts that dive more deeply into important parts of the Tourism business planning process. You’ll get links to funding opportunities all across the country and also have access to one-on-one coaching from our tourism industry experts (coaching bundles start at $99 CDN)

How will The Firecircle set me apart from my competitors?

Many new and even existing Tourism and Hospitality entrepreneurs don’t know what they don’t know. The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ is a comprehensive guide that will help you develop, brand, market, design, and price your Tourism products to create the absolute best customer experience possible.

Your business will stand out from your competitors because you will have planned all 5 key elements involved with starting and running a successful Tourism business. We’ll help you make sure that your business idea is exactly what people are looking for and we’ll help you build partnerships and packages to maximize your profit in the long run. We have 30 years of experience helping new or existing business owners, just like you, maximize their business opportunities.

What will this program give me that I can’t do by myself?

The Firecircle 5x5 Method™ provides a unique framework for organizing your thoughts and ideas and providing knowledge that will help you plan, build, launch and grow any kind of tourism or hospitality business using our easy-to-follow, step-by-step workshops and worksheets. There are lots of small business resources out there these days, but none are as complete as the Firecircle 5x5 Method™ in taking you through everything you need to consider before you start your new tourism business.

Why wouldn’t I just download a template or pay someone to put my business plan together for me? 

Sure, you could pay a consultant to write you up a generic business plan or you download a generic business plan template off the internet and try to fill it out on your own. But you’ll still need to understand all of the concepts and information that a business plan requires. And we’ve made that SO easy with the Firecircle 5x5 Method™! 

Plus you’ll miss out on the easiest way we could create for you to do this yourself – and gain the amazing tourism knowledge we have embedded in each Step of the Firecircle 5x5 Method™. At Firecircle, we say that your business plan is your map. With Firecircle, you are in control and your business plan will be a true reflection of your motivations, vision and idea. 

You’ll create a customized business plan that works for you. You’ll think through all the details of your business and you’ll have a great sense of how your business will run, where your best opportunities lie and what challenges you’ll need to overcome so that you’ll be ready to turn your dream into reality. 

By belonging to the Firecircle platform, you will also have access to tried-and-true Tourism and Hospitality focused business planning tools, expert advice and a community of other new and existing Tourism business operators that will help you plan your business. You’ll have access to webinars, masterclasses, podcasts and more. When you join The Firecircle, you are joining our circle and you’ll be surrounded with sustained support and resources that help you achieve your goals. 

What happens if I get stuck at a certain section?

Planning a successful Tourism and Hospitality business takes work. We’ve designed the Firecircle 5x5 Method™ to be an enjoyable process for bringing your business vision to life. We walk you through the planning step by step, but we understand that there may be times when you need a bit of extra help.

If you get stuck on a Step in the Firecircle 5x5 Method™, you can reach out to us through email at [email protected], or leave a question or comment under any of the videos in the workshops. You can also sign up for our community forum and connect with other like-minded tourism entrepreneurs as well as access our recorded and live webinars. We are all in this together. We are invested in your success to please feel free to reach out to us anytime with questions or concerns.

If you find that you’re really stuck or you want to run an idea past an industry expert, you can also purchase an hour of live 1 on 1 coaching at: Click Here for One on One Coaching

How do I cancel my subscription if I no longer wish to continue?

We are sorry to see you go!

Prior to cancelling, we would love to have the opportunity to address any questions or concerns that you may have with The Firecircle program. Please contact us at: [email protected] and we will be happy to do what it takes to provide you with a good resolution.

If you would like to cancel your subscription, you can do so by following these 5 steps: 

1. Select the avatar picture in the top right corner of your Firecircle dashboard screen.
2. Select ‘My Account’ from the drop-down menu.
3. Select ‘Billing info.’ in the top right corner of your settings page.
4. Select the 3 dots to the right of your subscription and click ‘Cancel’.
5. Confirm Cancellation.

Just remember – We’re here for you whenever you’re ready to continue on with your journey to tourism excellence!

The Firecircle Team