Making Waves More than one hundred government agencies mocked Andy Wilson's idea, but look who's quacking now.

The first thing you're struck by when you hear Andy Wilsontalk about the birth of his tour company, Boston Duck Tours, is howhe finds a positive spin to put on every obstacle he's faced.Even though it took him two years to bring his dream to fruition,Wilson is hesitant to complain about the lack of support he foundin the more than 100 government agencies he had to deal with to getthe 29 permits required to open his doors.

"There was a great deal of resistance to the idea at thetime, but that's taken a 180-degree turn," says Wilson,42. "Now everybody we deal with thinks we're a very goodthing for Boston."

Wilson chalks up both his good and his bad experiences to fate,but it took a lot more than destiny to get him where he is today:It took tenacity and confidence, as well as faith in the power ofBoston's history and the amphibious World War II vehiclesfondly known as Ducks. Last year, nearly 400,000 passengers tookthe plunge on Wilson's 16 Ducks--which cruise down the streetsof Boston and splash through the Charles River--to the tune of $6.2million for the 5-year-old company. And Wilson, who expects hissales to reach $7.2 million this year, has become one of the moredistinct and respected members of the Boston landscape, spreadingthe joy of quacking throughout the city.

Setting Sail

Back in 1992, however, Bostonians thought Wilson was a bit crazywhen he began to spread word of his idea. Fresh from a lucrativejob in corporate finance, Wilson knew he wanted to steer his lifein another direction. While on a cross-country trip, he found hisinspiration on a Memphis tour given in Ducks.

He decided to bring the concept back to Boston and create a fun,yet informative, historical tour given in candy-colored Ducks withnames like Beantown Betty and Fenway Fannie. Pouring $30,000 insavings into his efforts, Wilson began making the rounds to applyfor permits and find investors.

The unique nature of the Duck--part bus, part truck, partboat--led Wilson through a maze of government agencies, seekingpermits everywhere from the Department of Public Utilities toenvironmental groups. He encountered not only skepticism but evenconfusion and rudeness as he tried to explain his concept toofficials, who, unfamiliar with the Duck, pictured a World War IItank rumbling through Boston's historical districts. "Theshort and sweet of it is that everybody thought I was nuts becauseit was a new idea," says Wilson.

Between the city of Boston, the state of Massachusetts and theU.S. Coast Guard, Wilson faced dozens of officials asking questionshe admits he wasn't prepared for. For example, he says,"There's a stability test to make sure a vessel isoperating in the proper condition so it won't roll over whenpeople are on it. The first time I walked into the Coast Guardoffice, they asked me about stability. `I'm a stableindividual,' I said. I knew a lot about boats, but I didn'tknow anything about what the Coast Guard wanted."

Almost a year later, Wilson was still lacking permits, investorsand support from just about everyone. "It was clear I wasgoing broke," says Wilson, "One day I said, `I'mgoing to give up. But before I do, I have to see what my potentialcompetitors are doing.'"

So Wilson took his first trolley tour. "It was such apathetic experience compared to what I wanted to do," he says."I said, `If this is my competition, it's ano-brainer.' And I never looked back."

Plowing Ahead

Soon after his inspiring trolley tour, Wilson found his firstsupporter in Manny Rogers, a funeral parlor owner and militaryvehicle collector from across the Charles River in Cambridge. ADuck owner himself, Rogers understood Wilson's vision andinvested $90,000 to pay for the first vehicle. Wilson could nowgive skeptical officials and potential investors tours in the Duckso they could experience firsthand the excitement of seeing thecity from the amphibious vehicle's perspective. He went onestep further and sent tour invitations to everyone in the GreaterBoston Visitor and Convention Bureau to get the local tourismindustry familiar with the idea.

Around the same time, Wilson met Robert MacDowell, the owner ofa 25-year-old Duck tour business in Branson, Missouri. Wilson beganto use MacDowell's business as a model to show naysayers thatDuck tours could work successfully. Also, MacDowell restored Duckson the side, which provided Wilson with a much-needed source ofvehicles. Now he only had to wind his way through the remaining redtape and persuade investors to provide the $1.25 million he stillneeded to get Boston Duck Tours rolling.

Choppy Waters

As Wilson was traversing the halls of government, he was alsofalling deeper into debt. Other than Rogers' $90,000, he'dgotten only verbal commitments from potential investors. And as thepermit process dragged on, even those sources dried up.

"I originally thought it would take six months [to startthe company]," says Wilson. "But then six months came andwent, and I hadn't gotten anywhere. By the time I pulled allthe [permits together], people had pulled out, saying, `What elseis going to go wrong?'"

By June 1994, Wilson had all the necessary permits but no moneyto get the venture rolling. After pouring every dime he had intothe business for two years, he was $250,000 in debt. Wilson playedhis last card by calling CPA acquaintances from his formercorporate job. Through them, he found an investment firm thatquickly went to work, finishing Wilson's private stock offeringand raising $1.25 million in two months. Wilson was ready to openfor business.

Land, Ho!

Wilson set his opening day for October 4, 1994--almost two yearsafter he was struck by the idea of starting a Duck tour company.His crew began the final preparations for the grand opening. Allseemed good to go...until the government stepped in once again.

Months before, the city of Boston had told Wilson he couldslowly work on equipping his Ducks to be wheelchair-accessibleafter opening. Just two weeks before launch date, however, theyreneged, telling him he wouldn't receive his sightseeinglicense until the Ducks complied with the Americans withDisabilities Act. He scrambled to order custom-made lifts for theDucks, and they arrived on October 3--the day before Wilson was setto open.

"Literally the morning of our grand opening, I demonstratedthat we were wheelchair-accessible," Wilson remembers. "Ahalf hour before my opening speech, the city issued my sightseeingpermit. It was a rush."

Wilson doesn't begrudge the city their last-minute change.Since then, he's carried thousands of wheelchair-boundpassengers and received numerous letters from families who take thetour annually with disabled relatives. Looking at Boston DuckTour's phenomenal rise since it's been open, it'sunderstandable that Wilson would be beyond such grievances.

Wilson was only open for two months his first season, but hecarried 9,000 passengers. During the first full season in 1995,Boston Duck Tours carried 130,000 passengers and sold out everyday. "The tide really turned by 1996; everybody seemed to beembracing us," recalls Wilson. "I can't think of asingle person who was my adversary who right now isn't myfriend."

Wilson has strengthened his presence in the community by gettinginvolved in local environmental groups and by getting the communityinvolved in his business. He sponsors a contest in which localschoolchildren name new ducks, donated one million pennies to hisone millionth passenger's charity of choice, and gives veteransfree tours during the week of Veterans Day in honor of his father,a World War II veteran. And, not least of all, his tour guidesmercilessly goad Bostonians to get into the act by getting fullDuckloads of tourists to quack at them--expecting a quack back, ofcourse.

"I realized all along that if this was going to succeed, itwas because Boston existed," says Wilson. "It's awonderful city. So I've done everything I can to be aresponsible citizen."

And Wilson's efforts have paid off. The recipient of the1997 Small Business Person of the Year for the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts award from the Massachusetts SBA and the GreaterBoston Convention and Visitors Bureau's 1997 "Spirit ofEnterprise" award has proved to past detractors that he'snot only sane, but an asset to the city. "I went from somebodywho was nuts to having a successful business that we operateresponsibly [by] giving back to the community," Wilson says."It's like I've been reborn. I went from being asocial outcast to being a local hero."

Contact Source

Boston Duck Tours, 790 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02199