Arch Vacations, Inc. 

It took two years to create the business plan, negotiate the best-discounted rates with travel providers and launch Arch Vacations, Inc. online. It required extensive capital and a minimum of fifty employees. To become profitable it had to start big. In less than sixteen months, the company reached seven figures in sales. It achieved four million dollars annually by the third year.

Challenges encompassed hiring, maintaining, and training employees. Other issues included negotiating relationships with banks and credit card processors. Because credit cards were accepted by telephone or online, banks easily approved any charge disputes in favor of the customer. Cash flow was a major issue.

In its fourth year, the state government began legal proceedings against the business, claiming it violated local telemarketing laws. After two years of preparation, Arch’s attorneys presented a legal defense in court. The judge assigned to the case rendered an opinion in favor of Arch Vacations. 

However, when the state initially released public statements of the lawsuit, all credit card processors stopped doing business with Arch. Unable to accept customers' payments, I terminated the business.  Many employees lost their jobs. The company lost extensive amounts of money. Customers returned to purchasing vacation travel from other vendors where they were locked into specific locations and dates of travel.

The original business with a plan of fifty million dollars per year, employing close to 300 employees and servicing thousands of consumers was forced to close in six years.