You're better off smashing your head with a brick. I am doing something similar with a group of people starting a small airline. Think Sandpiper air from the TV show Wings.
Knowing what to expect we took both tracks. We applied for a certificate AND bought one. That was nearly 3 years ago. We have yet to have gotten approval for either one. We missed a deadline (only one and the FAA had yet to meet any deadline) and they put us back in the wait list.
We are still waiting on the purchased certificate to be approved for transfer. It likely will never be. Meanwhile we throw 10s of thousands down the drain maintaining the operation that isn't allowed to operate. And there isn't a damn thing we can do about it.
I salute your efforts and wish you well but you're in for a very rough and long gruelling ride. The FAA has ZERO oversight and ZERO desire to actually do their jobs. Claiming staffing shortage, limited budgets and overwhelming need. Meanwhile when you walk into their office nearly everyone is standing around drinking coffee.
Brokers BTW are like used car salesmen. They tell you what you want to hear. And none of its true. Want real numbers, go talk with other operators. I think you will find that the passenger charter business is a losing battle. In my area 12 charter companies went out of business in 3 years and the remaining 4 are still living paycheck to paycheck.