Backyard Entrepreneur^TM
 

Tour Guide

The wheels on the bus go round and round. -- children's song

Make money working from home as a tour director.  Develope a limousine service and publish tour guides. 

Guided Tours and Packages

Your town is really special.  It has a history.  It has ghosts and wonderful stories. Visitors come to town because relatives live there or because your town has special attractions.  If there are no such draws, you can create them.  There is something special and you just have to figure out what it is and then get the word out.  Tour the surrounding countryside, tour the businesses in town, or offer a combination of the two.

Sometimes kids in smaller towns can't wait to get out of their very small and boring town.  Towns need kids to grow up and stay in town to make it exciting and viable.  Create a tourism business in town, stay in town, make it an exciting place. Create a beautiful downtown that people will want to tour.  There is a haunted house or a spooky history somewhere in your local area.  Get that story out.  Find out about the local cemetary and who is burined there.  Maybe someone needs to know this because of the geneology research.  Offer tours of the cemetary.

This is a great job for a retired babyboomer who really knows the local gossip and old stories of your town.  You have town celebrities and old houses with great histories.  You have beautiful churches, a river, or a park of interest.

Work with your local Chamber of Commerce to get ideas and support. They can give you access to lots of statistics.

Promote your town like it has never been promoted before.  Rural towns are of special interets to urban dwellers.  Advertise your business in nearby larger towns. Do a regularly scheduled Saturday morning tour and be on call for those who come into town during the week and need a tour.  Holiday tours are a certain hit for those who do not want to drive themselves.

There are several ways you can make money at this:

1. Guided tour van.  Fill up a van, get a driver, and you give the tour. Tell a mix of local stories and statistics.
2. Guided walking tour.  Led the tour through your downtown business district.  Show off all the backyard entrepreneurs in your town.  Get permission from various businesses to let the tour visit their shops.  End up at a coffeee shop for snacks.
3. Self-Guided tours. Tour-at-your-own-Pace.  Sell tour maps.  You select the main locations and sell maps that lay out and give directions for self-guided tours. Print these in a nice brochure and set them out on the counters of all local businesses.  The local business will buy them from you to display.
4. Rent bicycles for self-guided tours
5. Dinner Tasting Tour.  In this tour, you stop at several local diners ( no chain resturants) for various courses for a meal -- like a Progressive Dinner Party.
6. Write a tour guide or a travel guide for your area.  Create a historical newspaper with news of what hapened on this day, 1 year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, and so forth. Sell ads to businesses. 

 Adventure Tours

Create an adventure:

Midnight Tour: Figure out what there is to see and do in your town at night.  Cut a deal with a local hot spot to stay open late for your tour.

Canoe Trip:  Fell a log, carve out a canoe.  Make some oars.  Take a trip.

Hike:  Make a hiking trail.  Hike.  See our page Tejas Neighborhood for an example of a hiking trail.

Search for:   Rocks, pertified wood, gold, plants, birds.

Treasure Hunt:  Hand out maps and rules.  Bury something worthwhile to look for.  See who can be the first to find your treasure by following your directions and clues.

Limousine Service

Buy a beautiful stretch limo or turn an old school bus into a party bus and offer your services to party goers, those out for a relaxing Sunday afternoon drive, and for all special occasions. Be certain that your license and insurance is in place.

Publish Directories and Maps

Publish a business directory of your town.  Publish an entertainment directory for tourist who visit your town.  Make maps for tourists and walking tour maps. Publish tour guides for future tourists.  Make special maps out of fabric or wood.  Make map puzzles of your town.  Get your town noticed.

Make a set of paper placemats to sell that promote your town.  Include a buried treasure map, a map of your main street, important information.  Business can help defray your costs by advertising on your placemats.

Touring Van

Outfit a van to teach something you are interested in -- history of an area or an event;  petrified wood; art or mosaics;  CPR instructions; weather station; biography of a famous person -- to name a few. For example, fill a van with the history of barbed wire, all labeled and dated, brands used on ranches, horseshores, and cowbells. Show city slicker kids how to ride a horse using a stationary saddle at a low level for small kids.  Contact schools, libraries, or other interested parties who would benefit from your expertise and collection.

© Backyard Entrepreneur^TM 2007

Link to us.  Contact us if you wish to have your site listed here as a resource in Tour Guide or related areas.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Links

Books

Gear

Magazines

Resources

Seniors as tour directors