Chris Stephens spent several years as a data engineer working in everything from local government to Silicon Valley startups. Like many in the industry, Stevens has become burnt out during the pandemic. However, Stevens always dreamed of starting his own company to make money, and many friends and family told Stevens that he would make a good tour guide.
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Stevens loved Boston and was “obsessed with maps. More than half of my wall decorations are some form of map, history, or interesting story,” so he decided to give it a try. We founded Boston Hidden Gems in July 2022. The first year was like this.
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Start a unique travel agency
Stevens spent months researching, reading books, poring over maps, and trying to design a unique tour.
“I didn’t want it to be a standard history tour that just shows you the area’s famous tourist traps or recite the same 15 important dates in history, which Boston already does a lot. We wanted to do something new and showcase our hidden gems,” he said.
For example, “There are very few other than dentists.”—Know that Boston was the site of the first successful demonstration of anesthesia, and there is a monument to that discovery in the Public Garden. No one knows there was a telegraph-based fire alarm system except the firefighters, who know the full story behind four-time mayor and infamous “Rascal King” JM Curley. There are very few. These are the types of stories I wanted to tell,” Stevens explained.
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Turn passion into profit
It turned out that people wanted to hear those stories. The most difficult part for Stevens was finding the right platform to sell the tour.
“I started a website, but it’s hard to rank quickly on Google, Yahoo, etc. I’ve also posted on Viator and TripAdvisor, but I ran into the same problem. Even though I wasn’t making a lot of money, I had some success with ToursByLocals and got enough business to make the company self-sustaining.”
By June 2023, Stevens’ first 12 months in business, he had earned about $9,000. However, his business picked up in earnest in the second half of his 2023 year, and in the 2023 calendar year, Stevens made just over $26,000 in profit.
“The slowest months in Boston are from December to March, and yet we have already made a profit of $8,000 in 2024 alone. We are in the final stages of hiring,” Stevens said.
Tips for aspiring small business owners
For other aspiring founders and owners, Stevens offers some tips.
1. Be prepared. “Not only are there obvious industry, legal, financial, regulatory, and other hurdles to overcome. Also, be prepared for the fact that your business will be a baby for at least a year or two. It’s time-consuming, it’s stressful, it’s hard, and there are times when you want to quit your job and go back to a 9-to-5 job, but if you do it well, you’ll get better.”
2. Get legal and accounting help if possible. “These are some of the most complex parts of running a business without training, or even with training. I have a degree in accounting, but I still struggle with the details. ”
3. Expect the unexpected. “Sometimes things you thought would work might not work out, and sometimes things you never thought would work. I got more business than I expected from Viator and TripAdvisor when it came in. I was on tour for 27 days last October, and it was more than a full-time job! ”
4. Enjoy! “It can be a tough few hours, but it can also be a lot of fun if you do what you love. I went to a show and got a lot of free lunches from groups who just wanted to keep talking and had them all paid for, but given the current state of the business, what a deal. It cannot be replaced.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I run a small business: Here’s how much money I made in the first year
