How to start a tour company – Leading our first test Tour! (157)
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The Tour Operator Start Up Series with Nikki Padilla Rivera and She Shapes History tours continues.
How to start a tour company – our guests Sita and Ripley are back on the Tourpreneur Podcast to share their experience leading their first tour and the feedback, insights, and lessons they learned from it.
They describe how the test tour did not go as smoothly as they had envisioned it and discuss one important aspect they need to include in their next test tours. They explain the most surprising comment they received after getting feedback. They also highlight the importance of long-term strategic planning in business and underscore what it means to be a “COVID-friendly” business.
“It’s been hard, but it’s been amazing. When friendship is the backbone of a business, it can help you get through the stress.” -
This week on Tourpreneur, the Tour Operator Podcast:
- How their first test tour didn’t go as smoothly as they had anticipated
- The different ways Sita and Ripley presented their test tours
- Why the skill set needed to create a tour is different from the skill set needed to deliver it
- The importance of keeping an overarching narrative in a tour
- Why they decided to invite friends and family to their first test tour instead of industry partners
- How Sita and Ripley gathered feedback
- The most surprising feedback Sita and Ripley received from their test tour
- Why it’s essential to have a strong cancellation policy and to write a COVID-safety plan on your website
- Preparing for success and the importance of setting aside time for strategic planning
- How to make a tour more interactive
- And Much More!
“I’m always happy to have feedback - it’s the only way you can grow.”
“You get a lot more bookings if you’re a COVID-friendly business, and if you deal with cancellations in a great way, people will probably rebook.”
Today’s episode of Tourpreneur is kindly sponsored by The Tourpreneur Facebook Group
Why FareHarbor?
Looking to plan, launch or grow your experiences business? Here are 3 great reasons to join our Tourpreneur Facebook Community
- The group is run by tourpreneurs for tourpreneurs, the admins and mods are all tour operators and travel professionals. Our mission is simple, to flatten the learning curve to help your tour business grow and to help you delight your customers by sharing the successes (and failures) of other tour operators.
- Save money, time, and avoid pitfalls. Get real-life advice about launching, creating and growing your tour business from 2,800 tourpreneurs. No hucksters or ’empty suits’ selling courses in this group. We discuss everything from how to hire tour guides to how to attract more online reviews.
- Our group is moderated, with no spam, promos nor trolls. We pride ourselves on being a safe (and fun!) community for tourpreneurs.
Don’t wait. Join the Tourpreneur Facebook Group today!
More about today’s guests - Sita Sargeant and Ripley Steves of She Shapes History Tours
Sita Sargeant and Ripley Stevens are the founders, directors, and guides of She Shapes History, a Canberra-based tourism start-up dedicated to filling the lack of womens’ stories in Australian history.
By offering walking tours of Canberra that explore and highlight womens’ achievements, Sita and Ripley envision She Shapes History as a company that recovers the stories of notable women and the ways they shaped Australian history.
The Tour Operator Start Up Series is designed help you learn how to start a tour company
Check out the previous episode and hear why Sita and Ripley wanted to start a tour business.
