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Love of fishing and kayaks helps Benkelman man get a new business afloat.

If success in starting your own business stems from doing what you love to do, Marty Hughes should be an entrepreneurial poster child.

Always an avid fisherman, Hughes took up kayaking a few years ago, and then married the two activities. Then one day, Marty’s wife said, “You’re spending all of your extra money on outfitting these two hobbies. Why don’t you start a business so you can afford the stuff you buy?”

And that’s where it all began.

Accept Marty Hughes’ offer to fish from a kayak and you will catch fish, paddle a kayak with ease, and laugh a lot as you listen to Hughes tell stories about fishing, coaching, starting businesses, fitness, and the importance of compiling a list of 100 things you want to achieve in your lifetime.

Hughes’ Kayakjak Fishing Guide service started in 2003 with a mission to provide a unique outdoor experience incorporating fishing, kayaking, cooking, eating and storytelling. “I introduce people to a safe, fun, rural activity in Nebraska,” says Hughes. “I love it and believe in sharing the experience.” Hughes smiles and adds, “Actually the mission is to buy stuff so I can fish.”

A lifetime of fishing

Hughes has been fishing for 36 years and his interest in the sport started when he lived in California as a boy. He said, “I fished in the surf. I fished from a pier. I bought a Zodiac so I could fish for bigger fish in deeper waters.”

But before graduating from high school in California, Hughes visited a family friend in Benkelman and was hooked (forgive the pun) by small towns and the Western way of life. He graduated from Table Rock High School in Southeast Nebraska, after coming from California at the end of his junior year, and then earned a teaching and coaching degree from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. Hughes coached in several schools in Western Nebraska and currently teaches and coaches at Benkelman High School.

Hughes said he knew nothing more about kayaks than watching Californians fish from them when he bought his first kayak on E-Bay for $200 and launched it at Rock Creek Lake near Benkelman.

Hughes said, “At first I kayaked for the exercise and the fun, then I thought why not fish from the kayak? I saw west coast and east coast people fishing from kayaks in the ocean, and I noticed how they rigged them. I began fishing from my kayak, and my friends asked me if they could go so I bought another, and now I own three kayaks.”

Since starting his guide business, business has boomed. Today, Hughes is arranging trips for clients from Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North Carolina and other states every day of the week. Avid sport fishermen fly in to the Benkelman airport to fish with Kayakjak.

Advice on how to get started in business

Hughes advises others considering starting a business to talk to knowledgeable people. Hughes’ friend Steve Liedell, a professional fishing guide on the reservoirs in Red Willow and Dundy counties offered advice on guiding, while Jim Weeks, a fellow coach at Benkelman High School told him, “Help people get what they want, and you will get what you want.”

Hughes also advises people to take action. “We all have dreams,” says Hughes. “Write down every dream, talk to successful people about how they did it, and then take action yourself. List the things you most want to achieve and check them off as you accomplish them. We all only have so much time on this earth.”

Hughes developed his own Web site and imbeds key words that will be found by search engines. Owing to the uniqueness of his enterprise he’s also done much with public relations, including interviews by Nebraskaland magazine, the Omaha World Herald, and the Outdoor Channel. Kayak Fishing Magazine has already written two stories about Kayakjak.

Good food is also an aspect of a successful guide business, and Hughes has catered the food for McCook College football meetings and retreats. Hughes said, “I catered the food out here at Rock Creek, and everyone liked it a lot, and many will book a kayak adventure as well.”

“I handle every aspect of the business including advertising, creating and managing the Web site, equipment purchase and equipment set-up, booking the trips, preparing the food, guiding the trips, cooking and serving the shore lunch,” Hughes said. “I hope I can handle the interest, because the business is growing.”

Visions for the future

In the future, Hughes hopes to grow Kayakjak into a four-season fishing and wildlife viewing business.

Hughes said, “We go monster claw hunting (searching for deer antlers) from the kayak. We also go mushroom hunting, and we often see all kinds of wildlife, including turkey, deer and coyotes.”

And, of course, he imagines a future with more equipment and more fishing for himself.

“I’m looking forward to purchasing more kayaks and a rack to transport them to different lakes and reservoirs in Nebraska,” Hughes says.

For Marty Hughes, helping others have fun and having fun and fishing himself is what business is all about.

Who To Contact...

Kayakjak’s Fishing Guide Service
Marty Hughes
522 8th Ave. West
Benkelman, NE 69021
308-423-2478
kayakjak@bwtelcom.net
www.kayakjak.com/fishing

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