How to Start a Ghost Tour Business

A ghost tour business takes customers on tour of their city that focuses on alleged haunted areas and local ghost stories. It's a great community business as it builds interest and excitement in the city by getting customers to look at everything around them in a whole new way.

Learn how to start your own Ghost Tour Business and whether it is the right fit for you.

Ready to form your LLC? Check out the Top LLC Formation Services.

Start a ghost tour business by following these 10 steps:

  1. Plan your Ghost Tour Business
  2. Form your Ghost Tour Business into a Legal Entity
  3. Register your Ghost Tour Business for Taxes
  4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
  5. Set up Accounting for your Ghost Tour Business
  6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Ghost Tour Business
  7. Get Ghost Tour Business Insurance
  8. Define your Ghost Tour Business Brand
  9. Create your Ghost Tour Business Website
  10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your ghost tour business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Ghost Tour Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

  • Your state's business records
  • Federal and state trademark records
  • Social media platforms
  • Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Want some help naming your ghost tour business?

Business Name Generator

What are the costs involved in opening a ghost tour business?

The actual cost of opening your business is quite low. This is because it is primarily comprised of walking people through various public areas. As such, you can start this business for $3,000 or less. This includes $500 for a professional website and $2,500 in advertising, including radio and newspaper ads. With permission, you may also advertise at some of the areas that you will be taking tours, creating a nice bit of community synergy. Beyond this, you can functionally operate the business from your home and simply meet customers at the appointed time, completely removing the need for any costly overhead or lease.

What are the ongoing expenses for a ghost tour business?

There are little ongoing expenses except for advertising (typically less than $200 a month). Your business can be run from home and requires no overhead or additional lease, so besides advertising, you are really just paying for the price of gas to drive to the tour site.

Who is the target market?

While you will have customers of all stripes, your target market is likely couples between the ages of 28 to 38. This is a group that is settling (or already settled) into the city for their foreseeable future and would like to either learn more about the city or to simply look at it through new eyes. If you are in an area that experiences lots of natural tourism, the tourists most interested in the ghost tours are likely to skew a bit younger (between 21-26).

How does a ghost tour business make money?

A ghost tours business makes money by charging a fixed fee for a one or two hour tour of the city. That fee is typically per person (though you may consider offering group rates).

How much can you charge customers?

Prices for ghost tours vary, but they are typically in the range of $10 to $50 per person. Your prices are often dictated by your local economy and the presence (or lack) of any competition. You may consider offering special pricing for children and small groups.

How much profit can a ghost tour business make?

The profit of a ghost tours business is determined by how many customers you have and how much you charge. For instance, for a business that charges $25 for an hour-long tour and sees eighty customers a week, you could make over $100,000 doing this. You are unlikely to make that much when you first start, but it may be worth doing this as a side job first to gauge its success. This is particularly easy as the best time for a ghost tour is in the evening!

How can you make your business more profitable?

Don't be afraid to make a spectacle of yourself. If you are willing to dress in ultra-goth attire, for instance, it increases your potential entertainment value. Reach out to local “ghost hunters” to help recruit more customers and possibly develop partnerships and networking opportunities. Finally, you may consider seasonal rates: ghost tours become more popular the closer it is to Halloween, so even a small rate increase during your busiest season can lead to bigger profits!

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your ghost tour business is sued.

Form Your LLC

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

  • Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
  • Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

  • Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
  • Build your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a ghost tour business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Ghost Tour Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Ghost Tour Business.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended: Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a ghost tour business

As mentioned earlier, advertising via radio and newspaper helps to raise awareness of your business, as does your professional website. Be sure to advertise on social media—the highly visual nature of social media makes it easy to showcase spooky photos of some of the tour destinations, and it allows you to seem more accessible to customers. While television advertising may be out of your budget, you can get free advertising by getting local news stations to report on your business and some of the local ghost legends you'll be talking about. Make sure to tell local hotels about your business—the concierge can spread the word about you to those staying at the hotel, and you may be able to work out a business arrangement with hotels that are part of your haunted tour.

How to keep customers coming back

You can attract customers through various promotions. This might include giving tickets away via radio station promotions, or conducting your own contests via social media. See if you can attract customers of businesses on your tour by advertising at those venues—a restaurant on your tour path may be happy to advertise for you in the hopes that hungry customers will come by after the tour. In terms of customer retention, one of the best things to do is to periodically change up tour locations, so returning customers always have something to look forward to!

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

  • All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
  • Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
  • Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

This business is ideal for people who are already very familiar with local lore, including ghost stories. It's also good for those who have previously researched occult studies, as they will be able to discuss ghosts and hauntings in a more authoritative way. Finally, it's great for storytellers: part of these tours is not simply explaining what happened, but making customers feel like the tour guide is bringing the past to life.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

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What happens during a typical day at a ghost tour business?

On the actual ghost tours, you will spend one or two hours at a time walking groups of customers through the city, stopping in key areas and explaining the special connection these areas have with ghosts. When you are not conducting the actual tours, most of your time will be taken up by advertising and communicating (with city officials as necessary and prospective customers). You may also network with related businesses to help promote one another's work.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful ghost tour business?

Most of the skills and research you'll need for this are found at your local library. Ideally, your tour will have lots of info about very specific businesses and areas and why they are considered haunted. Your library is a great place to begin researching this and putting together a narrative of what you will tell your customers during the tour. You should also participate in ghost tours in other cities to get an idea of the features your own tour should include.

What is the growth potential for a ghost tour business?

The growth potential for this business is modest. In 2012, the Orlando Sentinel reported that ghost tours and their related industries bring in over $300 million per year, which marked a significant jump from what used to be a gimmick. The presence of reality TV shows where individuals explore haunted houses also helps sell the idea of this as an exciting adventure for your customers.

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Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

  • Funding
  • Events
  • Guides
  • Support

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a ghost tour business?

Try to make sure your tour is situated near the areas tourists frequent. That way, you get some “pick-up” customers in addition to people who have already contacted you. Make sure your tour integrates areas of general historic interest—this makes the ghost tour seem more real and also attracts history buffs. Finally, one tour tip that is not for everyone is to bring along your own ghost-detecting equipment, allowing you to make a theatrical show about the lingering presence of spirits in an area.

How and when to build a team

Most of the time, these businesses start out as solo operations. However, you may consider building a team if you have enough business that you must “stagger” tours and start them at different times. Alternately, because the heart of this business is storytelling, you may take on a partner who helps you craft compelling narratives to attract and enchant customers.

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