Intentional Business: Know Your Value, Cap Your Size
When you take a business trip to New York City, it’s easy to get sucked into the tourist traps, long lines, and overpriced entry tickets. But how do you create an experience- and a business model—that actually connects with people on a human level?
In this episode, we sit down with Adam Guy, founder of I Know a Guy NYC Tours, to talk about what it takes to guide visitors beyond the usual NYC checklist. After leaving a long career in the non-profit sector and training at Trip School following the pandemic, Adam bet on himself to build a boutique, highly customized tour company centered on history, vibrant neighborhoods, and real local culture.
We dive deep into the intentional choices behind his business model: why he refuses to scale up by hiring a fleet of guides, how keeping group sizes small lets him deliver genuine value, and why word-of-mouth beats broad paid ads every single time. Whether you're an entrepreneur wrestling with the pressure to grow "big" or a traveler looking for a better way to navigate the City, this conversation is packed with honest business wisdom and practical insight.
Key Takeaways & Operational Realities
Scale standard, or scale value? Adam chose to grow his business by gradually raising his prices rather than expanding his headcount. Keeping group sizes capped allows him to preserve the personal connection that makes his tours special without sacrificing profitability.
Relationships over advertising dollars: Instead of relying on third-party booking algorithms or massive ad budgets, Adam built a steady pipeline of repeat business through word-of-mouth, direct outreach, and hyper-targeted communities like Facebook mom groups.
The non-profit transition: Pivoting from non-profit work to solo entrepreneurship required equal parts grit, strategic reinvention, and trust in the process—especially during slow seasons and early financial uncertainty.
Curating the experience: True hospitality isn't just showing up on the day of the tour; it’s co-planning the itinerary ahead of time, teaching guests how to confidently navigate the subway, and saving them hours of waiting in line.
Connect & Connect More
Looking to skip the line and experience NYC like a true insider on your next trip? Connect with Adam to plan a private, small-group tour tailored to your schedule and interests.
Website: www.iknowaguy.nyc
Reach Out Directly: Contact Adam to design a custom itinerary for your family, partner, or small group.
Transcript
Welcome back to Getting Real with Bossy, the podcast that talks about what it actually takes to own a business.
Speaker A:And today we are taking Bosse on the road.
Speaker B:We're kicking off a special city series where for the next four weeks, we're going to go inside one city to meet the entrepreneurs, business owners and community builders who make that city what it is.
Speaker A:That's right, one city.
Speaker A:Four episodes, four different perspectives, and four weeks of Getting Real.
Speaker B:We'll talk about the businesses they've built, the challenges they've faced, the lessons they've learned, and what it's really like to be an entrepreneur in their corner of the world.
Speaker A:Because every city has its own personality, its own business culture, and its own stories, and we want to hear them.
Speaker B:So whether you live there, love it, are thinking about starting a business there or have never been there at all, come along with us.
Speaker A:This is Getting Real with Bossy city series, and this week we are heading to New York City.
Speaker A:Let's get real.
Speaker A:Welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy, the podcast that talks about what it's actually like to be a business owner.
Speaker A:Today our guest is Adam Guy, who helps people experience New York beyond the usual tourist checklist.
Speaker A:He creates experiences that capture the city's history, personality, neighborhoods, and hidden stories.
Speaker A:Today, we're talking about what makes an experience feel authentically New York and how Adam brings the city to life for the people exploring it.
Speaker A:Adam, welcome to the show.
Speaker C:Thanks.
Speaker C:Thanks for having me.
Speaker A:Kelly and Kelly, we're very excited to have you on.
Speaker B:We're big fans of New York City, so Kelly used to live there.
Speaker B:I just go there all the time.
Speaker B:We're Broadway.
Speaker B:Well, she's much more of a Broadway nut than I am, but my kids are teaching me.
Speaker B:I'm getting.
Speaker C:We'll have to do a whole nother podcast on just Broadway.
Speaker C:We can do that.
Speaker A:I already sang Orlando to you.
Speaker C:I have a show tomorrow night, so.
Speaker B:We're good to go between Orlando and Broadway.
Speaker B:You guys are new best friends?
Speaker A:Yes, exactly.
Speaker A:That's perfect.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, Adam, can you introduce yourself for our guests?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Again, I'm Adam Guy.
Speaker C:I run a company called I Know a Guy NYC Tours.
Speaker C:That's the little clever catch.
Speaker C:A little bit of that's just.
Speaker C:Cause it's a cute thing with my name.
Speaker C:But it has evolved to be this sort of understanding about the relationship I have with people.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I run a private tour company, meaning I only give private tours.
Speaker C:I'm not out in the public.
Speaker C:You don't sign up online just to Be like, join the group of 50.
Speaker C:You know, those tours, the guy with the flag and the microphone, and those are just fine.
Speaker C:But I don't do that.
Speaker C:I'm typically small groups, most often families or groups of women.
Speaker C:Women travel together.
Speaker C:Men don't.
Speaker C:Just so you know.
Speaker C:And I take them around neighborhoods across New York City.
Speaker C:Things like Greenwich Village or Brooklyn Heights, some of the really personal, warm neighborhoods.
Speaker C:There's probably a dozen that I do.
Speaker C:And I try and customize them all a little bit to each person's interest, right?
Speaker C:If we're a Taylor Swift fan, if we like graffiti.
Speaker C:But what I'm trying to do is show you the part of that it's just more real.
Speaker C:It's where the vibes are happening.
Speaker C:I think the Empire State is great.
Speaker C:Building is great.
Speaker C:I think Statue of Liberty is amazing.
Speaker C:But I always tell people, you don't need me to wait in the line with you.
Speaker C:That is not a good use of your dollars or your time.
Speaker C:Let me help you do those things.
Speaker C:Let me give you the resources, the best link, how to buy tickets, best time of day to do them.
Speaker C:I'll give you all of that.
Speaker C:But let me take you to the places either that are on your list, and I can help you see those much, much faster.
Speaker C:Cause guess what?
Speaker C:I know where to go.
Speaker C:Or let me take you to places May.
Speaker C:You don't know that you're gonna love, but I know you're gonna fall in love with.
Speaker C:I think that's where I've sort of become a specialist.
Speaker C:And I think.
Speaker C:But at the end of the day, telling you the stories, seeing the sights are great.
Speaker C:But what I'm trying to do over the course of, whether it be a half day or a full day, is give you an experience that's gonna make you have some really amazing memories of New York.
Speaker C:And I say that because this isn't a checklist, right?
Speaker C:I know where we're gonna go that day.
Speaker C:But if we're a family of five and we're having a great time and we hit this chocolate shop and we're just.
Speaker C:We're gonna have a chocolate eat off that moment, because that's what the day is calling for.
Speaker C:We're gonna do that.
Speaker C:Or I'm with a group and we're just seeing this crazy stuff happen in Washington Square park, we're gonna stop and we're gonna experience that.
Speaker C:Like, let's be of the moment, and let's make sure we experience the city like it should be seen, like it should be, feel like it should be, experience is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker C:And I think that's what I wanna do.
Speaker C:I want people to fall in love with the city.
Speaker C:It's a daunting, daunting city, especially when it comes to navigation.
Speaker C:I'm gonna teach you the subway.
Speaker C:I'm gonna show you how to use it.
Speaker C:You are gonna gain a great perspective on how to really be here.
Speaker C:And once you're.
Speaker C:Once you get that, you kind of fall in love with it and you wanna come back over and over and over.
Speaker B:Subway has changed in so many great ways in the fact that now you can tap your phone.
Speaker B:I mean, the Metro card was like, the biggest issue I ever had with the subway.
Speaker B:But, yeah, you talk about these neighborhoods, and as somebody who goes down fairly often, you know, you don't wanna be in Times Square.
Speaker B:Like, yeah, the first time you go to New York City, you see all the big sites, right?
Speaker B:But then my cousin lives there, and when we would come visit with the kids, the kids wanted to sites.
Speaker B:So he was like, well, it's kind of fun because I don't do this, right?
Speaker B:So he's like, I get to actually go see the tourist traps because I am not spending my time there.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:You know, but then the second time you go or the third time you go, you're like, well, what else are we going to do?
Speaker B:And I'm the person that's going to, like, Google search all the terms, you know, unique, weird, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker B:And it's so daunting.
Speaker B:But to have somebody be like, listen, this is the neighborhood you're in, or this is the neighborhood you're interested in.
Speaker B:Let's find those amazing things.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker C:That's most of my tours.
Speaker C:Don't get me wrong, I'll do Midtown with people.
Speaker C:I'll do Times Square with people.
Speaker C:That's important stuff.
Speaker C:I also think very much, and I have conversations with all of my guests before we even.
Speaker C:The first thing we talk about is what should we do together?
Speaker C:Let's say you're here for one day.
Speaker C:You've never been here.
Speaker C:Midtown might be on our list.
Speaker C:I did it the other day with a couple who had never been here.
Speaker C:They're here for one day.
Speaker C:Yeah, we gotta cover Grand Central and we gotta cover Times Square and we gotta go to the stock exchange.
Speaker C:But that's great, because that was their first visit.
Speaker C:Or we have kids that are pretty young, so there may be a neighborhood that just won't speak to them in any way.
Speaker C:No matter how, you know, how I dress it up for them, it just might not resonate.
Speaker C:And I do take an abundance of kids around.
Speaker C:That's sort of my bread and butter.
Speaker C:I have a camp counselor spirit, if you will.
Speaker C:And I did a lot of time in youth development, and I just.
Speaker C:I'm a big believer that if you can win the kids, you win the family.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker C:And I tell parents up front, like, I'm going to spend 75% of my time talking to your kids.
Speaker C:And you know what?
Speaker C:They love it.
Speaker C:It's the best thing.
Speaker C:Because once the kids have fun, the whole reason they brought them here is for that.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker C:And I like it.
Speaker B:As someone that deals with families, our entire mantra is, if the kids are happy, the parents are happy.
Speaker C:You got it.
Speaker C:You got it.
Speaker A:Cut.
Speaker C:I will say I'm not above a candy store or a carousel.
Speaker C:Sometimes you gotta.
Speaker C:Sometimes you gotta cheat.
Speaker A:Yeah, I love that.
Speaker A:Before we get started with how you got started, I just want to thank you.
Speaker A:This is such a real and natural, in my opinion, approach of how to do this kind of thing.
Speaker A:There's this really strange gatekeeping around New York where visitors don't want to look like tourists.
Speaker A:And New Yorkers or former New Yorkers are very quick to say, well, that's not the real New York, and you don't want to do that.
Speaker A:And I just think it's very refreshing to know that there is an experience that will make you feel genuinely New York without making people feel self conscious about being visitors.
Speaker C:No, that's great.
Speaker C:I think learning to appreciate the whole of New York lets you be happy in Times Square, but it also lets you be happy on Roosevelt island, which nobody's ever heard of.
Speaker C:Like, how do you do both and.
Speaker C:And savor?
Speaker C:I tell people at almost every tour, I'm like, my favorite thing about New York City is every neighborhood has its own energy, its own vibe, its own architecture, its own people.
Speaker C:And once you learn to discover that everything's great, even the ones that aren't so great, sometimes they can be great.
Speaker B:So I saw on your website, you max out at 12 people.
Speaker B:What made you come up with that magic number?
Speaker B:Did you start that?
Speaker B:That was your thing.
Speaker B:Like, 12 people was your number.
Speaker C:I knew I wanted to do small groups.
Speaker C:I have a general sort of thought is, if I can't remember all the names in a group, it stops being personal.
Speaker C:And for me, maybe that's 12.
Speaker C:Now, occasionally, I'll break my own rules.
Speaker C:I took a school group from University of Georgia, around 20 people, but that was a very specific tour.
Speaker C:Or I took these 14 people around.
Speaker C:There were three families from Perth, Australia, who all knew each other.
Speaker C:And I was with them for two days.
Speaker C:So, you know, that's the right thing to do.
Speaker C:So it's a loose guideline.
Speaker C:What I'm trying to help people understand is that I'm not.
Speaker C:You're not getting a 50 person group.
Speaker C:That's not the experience you're gonna have.
Speaker C:Once I stop remembering names, for me, it stops being fun.
Speaker C:Cause the banter in between the conversations we have from stop to stop are just as important as the stops themselves.
Speaker C:You know, the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is amazing, but it's a 25 minute walk.
Speaker C:And if you aren't gonna spend meaning with all your guests and be like, look, Sarah, look at that thing and look, you know, Janice or whatever, and make the kids make fun of each other.
Speaker C:Which one of you is the messiest one?
Speaker C:Like, if you can't have that great interaction and without knowing the names, it means nothing.
Speaker C:So that's why 12.
Speaker C:It's a loose number.
Speaker C:But I know that groups.
Speaker C:Beyond that, it stops being personal.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker C:Personal is important to me.
Speaker A:So how did you get started?
Speaker A:Did young Adam think about, gosh, I cannot wait to just be.
Speaker A:And I'm going to say tour guide very loosely because clearly you're doing much more than that.
Speaker A:A tour guide, experience, creator at 5 years old or how did this all start for you?
Speaker C:Wasn't even on my radar.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:So the short answer, but I'll give you the long one, is that I'm the COVID story.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I had a 25 year career in fundraising and marketing.
Speaker C:I was really successful at it.
Speaker C:I worked for a number of great organizations like Zoo Atlanta.
Speaker C:I lived in Atlanta.
Speaker C:And then the bulk of my career I spent with an organization called Boys and Girls Clubs of America, if you've ever heard of them.
Speaker C:I did corporate partnerships, celebrity partnerships, and it was really meaningful and wonderful.
Speaker C:But then kind of life changed on me and I needed to sort of leave Atlanta.
Speaker C:I'd just been there a long time.
Speaker C:My wife and I were itching for a little something new.
Speaker C:And I got a new job in New York and it was for an organization called Serious Fun Children's Network.
Speaker C:They do summer camps across the world for 10 children with serious illnesses.
Speaker C:So I was their head of marketing for a while.
Speaker C:And it was very meaningful.
Speaker C:You see a theme in my work life, kids, right?
Speaker C:And that was a good job for a while.
Speaker C:I had something else while I in New York because things go up and down.
Speaker C:And then Covid hit and I was at a job, and I was working through Covid, so I didn't have a break.
Speaker C:It's not like I had to reinvent myself.
Speaker C:Then it was at the end of COVID I got laid off.
Speaker C:I kept working as a freelancer, really, without a break.
Speaker C:And then I got a new job and had a new job for six days.
Speaker C:And what happened was it was a great job.
Speaker C:I woke up on day six at about two in the morning in a cold sweat, and I was like, something's wrong.
Speaker C:I just don't know.
Speaker C:And so, like, four in the morning, I wake up my wife up, and I said, I just.
Speaker C:I don't think this is right.
Speaker C:And she's like, so talk to me.
Speaker C:So we had a long conversation.
Speaker C:It wasn't that the job wasn't a good one.
Speaker C:It wasn't that the money wasn't good.
Speaker C:It wasn't.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:I sort of thought I was done.
Speaker C:And I saw this next five years, being in this job.
Speaker C:Like, is this what I'm gonna do for the next five years?
Speaker C:Remotely, let alone?
Speaker C:And what I also know about myself is I'm a pretty intense extrovert.
Speaker C:And at least being in an office is healthy for me.
Speaker C:For some people, that's not their cup of tea.
Speaker C:But I decided to quit that day, and it was with the encouragement of my wife.
Speaker C:So the short version of what my wife said was, you are Tigger, Adam, like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
Speaker C:And for the last two years, Covid has turned you into Eeyore.
Speaker C:And if this new job isn't gonna get you back to Tigger, it's not it.
Speaker C:And then we had a conversation of what's next.
Speaker C:Well, I had been volunteering for this lovely organization before COVID called the Big Apple Greet.
Speaker C:And that's a lovely, like, visitor organization that you get international visitors on their first day in New York City, and you show them around.
Speaker C:Now, it's not a tour.
Speaker C:There's no stories.
Speaker C:It's just greeting.
Speaker C:It's how do I show you how to be comfortable?
Speaker C:How do I make this place a little less daunting?
Speaker C:How do you put a friendly face on the city?
Speaker C:It's a great organization.
Speaker C:It started at a time when New York was a dangerous, not so lovely place.
Speaker C:It's obviously Disney World now, but I got a chance to go out every weekend with people, and I kind of got addicted to it.
Speaker C:And so my wife was like, look, I know you love that.
Speaker C:I think tour guiding is what you need to try.
Speaker C:And so thus, the journey Began.
Speaker C:And I've been talking a little while, so I want to see if you.
Speaker C:I have the other part to that.
Speaker C:But that is what I did.
Speaker C:And I quit after six days.
Speaker C:The guy who I worked for was the most amazing guy, because if I heard that, I would freak out.
Speaker C:This guy was like, I get it.
Speaker C:Actually, I applaud you for figuring it out.
Speaker C:And then I freaked out for eight weeks.
Speaker C:So we can talk about it.
Speaker C:You can talk about that.
Speaker A:But, yeah, I think that happened a lot to a lot of people during COVID where they had that moment where something needed to change.
Speaker A:And this is a great opportunity to do it because, you know, options are limitless.
Speaker A:So I'm so glad that you made that leap.
Speaker A:That's gotta be really scary though.
Speaker C:It is scary.
Speaker C:And so I, I, I, I, you know, I had a tearful conversation with family, like, you know, you don't wanna be perceived by people as a failure.
Speaker C:You certainly don't wanna to seem like you're quitting or giving up.
Speaker C:And it just, my gut was just screaming at me, broke out in a cold sweat.
Speaker C:But the question was, is my gut talking to him?
Speaker C:Is my head talking to me?
Speaker C:Like, who do I listen to?
Speaker C:And at the end of the day, my gut was the one I listened to.
Speaker C:How do you give up the Money and the 401k and the health insurance?
Speaker C:Now, I couldn't have done this without my wife being employed at a place to get health insurance.
Speaker C:So sadly, in America, that is our state, and I needed that.
Speaker C:But then I told you, I freaked out a little bit.
Speaker C:Of course you do.
Speaker C:You go from a circure life to nothing in one day.
Speaker C:And you go, how do I do it?
Speaker C:And I hadn't started a business, right?
Speaker C:I didn't really know how to be a tour guide.
Speaker C:I know how to deal with people.
Speaker C:That's a really great skill.
Speaker C:And then I just dove in and that was looking at every website I could find, taking as many tours as I could take, researching, reading books, writing, watching videos.
Speaker C:And then I got a job.
Speaker C:Now, I worked for somebody for two months, and it was something I could ease into.
Speaker C:It was like a food tour company.
Speaker C:But I was like, all right, give it a shot.
Speaker C:And I learned a lot of things there.
Speaker C:I learned things I didn't like.
Speaker C:I learned things that I did like.
Speaker C:I learned that, like, for example, most tour guys make all of their money on tips.
Speaker C:I just came from a very healthy salary.
Speaker C:I'm not about to do that, not, not selfishly.
Speaker C:I'm like, there's a different way.
Speaker C:I learned that I love making the connections with people, but when they're not my people, I forget about them the moment they leave.
Speaker C:And the thing that I learned that I like the most is the connection with people.
Speaker C:You can tell the same stories over and over and over until you find a way to make that connect with somebody and then laugh and be silly.
Speaker C:And that's what I crave.
Speaker C:That's the extrovert in me.
Speaker C:And at the same time, I discovered a school called Trip School.
Speaker C:Trip School is this tour guide school.
Speaker C:It's a small one, but it's here in New York and it's run by these two great guys, three great guys.
Speaker C:And they just happen to have a class A boot camp.
Speaker C:They call it one week intensive in New York City about how to do it and what they do is day one is like, let's talk about storytelling, let's talk about this.
Speaker C:And then the next few days are, here are your assignments.
Speaker C:Go give us a tour.
Speaker C:Like, they put you in it.
Speaker C:And for me, it wasn't about learning as much because I had some practice, right?
Speaker C:Like, Big Apple, greedy, all that stuff.
Speaker C:For me, it was like, did I enter into the right world?
Speaker C:Did the door that seemed to open in front of me was that the right one?
Speaker C:And at the end of the week, I was like, yeah, I got this.
Speaker C:And then I quit the job for the other company because it was like, if I don't invest in me, if I don't invest in my time, I'll never get it.
Speaker C:And then I put myself out there.
Speaker C:And what I mean by that is, listen, any business that starts up is always gonna rely on family, friends, right?
Speaker C:People who wanna support you.
Speaker C:Getting emotional thinking about this.
Speaker C:Because once I put myself out there on LinkedIn, on Facebook, like, the world screamed at me, why haven't you been doing this for the last five years?
Speaker C:You're gonna crush this.
Speaker C:This is so you.
Speaker C:And I say that whether you're a bakery or whatever, like, people will help you, they will lift you up if they believe in you.
Speaker C:And I'm just so grateful that I had so many people get me started.
Speaker C:I think the first year I ended up with about 30 or 40 tours.
Speaker C:It was not a full year.
Speaker C:It was a partial year, but that's pretty good.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker C:I'm not on any of those, like, Viator platforms or get your guide.
Speaker C:You have to come to me.
Speaker C:You have to find me.
Speaker C:I didn't know how to develop SEO.
Speaker C:I didn't know how to I didn't have a social media flavor yet, but your friends are going to go, I know somebody.
Speaker C:And with my name, it's pretty organic because, oh my gosh, you're going to New York.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker A:I got.
Speaker C:And just so you know, it has just been building and building and building.
Speaker C:And last year I did 250 tours.
Speaker C:I'm gonna do it the same this year.
Speaker C:They're all private, they're all personal, they all come inbound.
Speaker C:I don't advertise.
Speaker C:And I believe it's because I just.
Speaker C:I care immensely about the experiences my guests have.
Speaker C:And if I treat them well, it's gonna come back to me.
Speaker C:And it does.
Speaker C:And I'm just.
Speaker C:I love doing it.
Speaker C:I go out every day, my cup fills up for my guests.
Speaker C:I can't think of one that's really gone awry.
Speaker C:I know that sounds crazy.
Speaker C:I'm never going to let it go awry.
Speaker C:If somebody said to me, I had a terrible time, you get your money back if you're not having fun.
Speaker C:And I've developed some amazing friendships out of this.
Speaker C:So it's been great.
Speaker A:You can have the best SEO in the world.
Speaker A:And nothing beats word of mouth.
Speaker C:Nothing beats word of mouth.
Speaker C:You know what it is for me?
Speaker C:You're going to laugh.
Speaker C:And I Facebook mom groups.
Speaker A:No, I believe it.
Speaker C:So around the country, and certainly in a few key cities, Atlanta became a big city.
Speaker C:Cause I had such a strong network there at the beginning.
Speaker C:But there are these groups all over the country, all over the world, where moms ask moms for opinions and tell you what.
Speaker C:The second a mom says, oh my gosh, you're going to New York, I know a guy.
Speaker C:My phone is off the hook.
Speaker C:There's doctor's groups and lawyers groups and neighborhood groups.
Speaker C:And these are moms.
Speaker C:And all I know is don't make them mad.
Speaker B:Yeah, they'll share that too.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:No, but pretty good track record.
Speaker C:But that is.
Speaker B:Moms trust each other.
Speaker C:Moms book the travel, moms make the decisions.
Speaker C:And honestly, they're the ones who are thinking about this stuff.
Speaker C:And so I'm grateful for all that.
Speaker C:It's not something I could have planned, but I'm kind of.
Speaker B:That says something about who you are, what you created.
Speaker B:Because as a woman traveling alone or traveling with my daughters or traveling with girlfriends, it's uncomfortable.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's a little nerve wracking.
Speaker B:We have to take a little extra precautions, you know, safety.
Speaker B:And make sure everything's going well.
Speaker B:Your personality carries it across.
Speaker B:But even just the name, like the.
Speaker B:I know a guy already, makes you feel more comfortable, feel like somebody I could talk to, right?
Speaker B:Seem like an average guy that's not like some conglomerate and no background check or, you know, they just got hired off the street.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:When you pick up the phone, literally my number's there.
Speaker C:You get me?
Speaker C:There's only.
Speaker C:There's only me.
Speaker C:One thing I do that this will kind of speak to.
Speaker C:What you're saying is, so we get on the phone.
Speaker C:I'm not just talking about the half day or full day or two days we're going to plan together.
Speaker C:What I say is, let's talk about your whole trip.
Speaker C:Let's talk about Sunday to Friday.
Speaker C:Let's plan the whole thing right when they're on the call and they're like, really?
Speaker C:I'm like, here's the thing.
Speaker C:When we do that, number one, I know you're gonna have a great experience, because I know where stuff is.
Speaker C:I know how long things take.
Speaker C:Number two is that way we can back into the things that make sense for me to show you.
Speaker C:Because if you wanna see something and it just.
Speaker C:I already know it doesn't make sense, or you're gonna do a thing over here or, oh, my God, my daughter loves Broadway.
Speaker C:Listen, do this with me.
Speaker C:But there's another tour company that actually does a tour inside the theater, right?
Speaker C:She would freak out.
Speaker C:Do that one.
Speaker C:Like, really?
Speaker C:I'm like, yeah, let's.
Speaker C:Let's make that experience the seven days or five days, everything it needs to be.
Speaker C:And I'll.
Speaker C:I'll carve out my day and a half, and we'll make that great, too.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker C:So that's.
Speaker C:That's trust building.
Speaker C:You know, I also.
Speaker C:I also say, please stalk me.
Speaker A:Look.
Speaker C:Look at my website put up, you know, check out my social media.
Speaker C:And I think you guys have checked out my social media with permission.
Speaker C:I write stories about my guests.
Speaker C:I want people to.
Speaker C:One, I want my guests to see how much I pay attention to them.
Speaker C:Some people are like, God, you listen.
Speaker C:But number two, they're like, yeah, sure.
Speaker B:And then you share everything.
Speaker B:And they're like, wait, what?
Speaker C:Well, I'm very good about how to share the right things.
Speaker C:Let's just point out, people get more personal than you think.
Speaker C:But I'm very careful about that.
Speaker C:But number two, I want another family to look at that and go, that's what we want.
Speaker C:I want that for my kids.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's it.
Speaker A:It's that trust building.
Speaker A:And I think what Kelly was saying Earlier.
Speaker A:It's the name, too.
Speaker A:I know a guy.
Speaker A:It's so.
Speaker A:It just builds trust.
Speaker A:Like, if that's one of the things that we love about Bossy, we always say we don't know all the answers, but we probably know somebody who does.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And you are that person for what it is they're looking for.
Speaker A:And it's just.
Speaker A:It's very.
Speaker A:I don't even know the right word.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And even when I don't have it, I'll help you find it.
Speaker C:Because I may not be an expert on all the chocolate stores, but we'll get them.
Speaker C:Or I may not be an expert in art deco architecture and somebody does a tour in art deco.
Speaker C:Let's give you that.
Speaker C:Let's get you there.
Speaker C:I can find it.
Speaker C:I want to be helpful as much as I want to be a great tour experience.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So to circle back to business, we're in New York, obviously.
Speaker B:We're upstate western New York.
Speaker B:So our seasonal changes are quite a bit more drastic than yours.
Speaker B:But I assume there's a seasonality to your business.
Speaker B:You're outside.
Speaker C:Yeah, there's a little bit.
Speaker C:I mean, I'd say for me personally, spring break, fall break, November, December are definitely the key seasons, because that's when regular people travel.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:They have time off for work.
Speaker C:I tend to get a little more coupley in, like, January, February.
Speaker C:Although there's a whole lot less tours in February.
Speaker C:And I'm okay with that.
Speaker C:Cause I leave the city.
Speaker C:Cause it's cold.
Speaker C:But also think about this.
Speaker C:If schools are sort of getting in at end of August, beginning of September, there's a slowdown there.
Speaker C:We're kind of in a slowdown now, which I'm okay with.
Speaker C:Fall breaks have just started.
Speaker C:And I mean that because in the north and south, they're very different timeframes.
Speaker C:So I have a bit of a window.
Speaker C:But I'm aware of those gaps, and I use that for personal time.
Speaker C:Because when you run your own business, you have to decide what makes sense.
Speaker C:And for me, it's a little bit hard to turn off the spigot.
Speaker C:Meaning, I hate saying no, but sometimes I know I have to say yes to me or the woman in the other room who says that we really need to go somewhere.
Speaker C:And I'm like, I agree.
Speaker C:But, you know, I'm fortunate that I have people coming to me.
Speaker C:And I got.
Speaker C:It's so hard to be like, my best friend told me I had to come on a tour with you.
Speaker C:And I'm like, oh, I'm leaving town that day.
Speaker C:But you do.
Speaker C:You have to decide what's good for you.
Speaker C:And I've done it for four years now.
Speaker C:I have a general sense of the patterns.
Speaker C:Don't get me wrong, Running a business isn't simple.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I sound like I'm just 100% successful.
Speaker C:About two weeks ago, I went for six days without a single email Facebook message.
Speaker C:And I'm like, oh, my God, does anyone know about me?
Speaker C:And it changed.
Speaker C:But there are times when you feel like you're failing even though you're not.
Speaker C:And then there are times where you're like, it's booming and you just have to breathe.
Speaker C:And what I've been trying to do for the past few years, just be consistent.
Speaker C:And if you just keep sort of pounding and hitting the hammer on the nail.
Speaker C:That's a horrible analogy.
Speaker C:It will come, and it does, because I just don't give up on it.
Speaker B:There's also that overwhelmingness because we can't say no because we do know that the slow seasons are coming.
Speaker B:Or you have this time.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So the calls come in and like, my husband and I are in this right now.
Speaker B:It's the slow season.
Speaker B:So we are taking all the catering orders, but they just keep coming in.
Speaker B:And we're like, well, we can't say no.
Speaker B:And it's like hospitals and colleges, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:So it's like, I can't say no because these are long term, you know, clients.
Speaker B:And now I'm like, oh, my God, this week sucks.
Speaker C:Well, and like your business.
Speaker B:What did I do?
Speaker C:Like your business, you probably get the bulk of it by saying, oh, my God, Kelly.
Speaker C:Kelly and her husband do this great thing.
Speaker C:You gotta use them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And when you're in that kind of business, every client I take, so people in the industry here are like, you take couples around, you take a lot of couples.
Speaker C:I'm like, yeah, but every couple is another network.
Speaker C:I'm like.
Speaker C:And I've had lots of couples who have said families.
Speaker C:You know, four people, six people, eight people have repeat visitors.
Speaker C:Like, everyone counts.
Speaker C:So even though I may not make as much money on a couple, it kind of balances out because they're going to send me a group of six or you know what I mean?
Speaker C:So to your point, I have no.
Speaker A:Idea what that could be.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So the group that you're catering to, even maybe a small order, maybe they become a monthly order.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:But it's that understanding your business, which takes some time to know, like, okay, this week's gonna be absolutely insane.
Speaker B:But then I'm gonna have nothing in two weeks.
Speaker B:And then I can actually like catch up on everything I need to do for the business.
Speaker C:And you do get some that you like.
Speaker C:It's a little stretch or it's out of what I really wanna do.
Speaker C:Or maybe they don't feel like the right people.
Speaker C:And I have one right now.
Speaker C:I'm not gonna tell you about it, but just.
Speaker C:Cause there's some privacy concerns in there.
Speaker C:But they.
Speaker C:I probably won't do this group again.
Speaker C:Like, I now have this profile of this one group and I'm like, yeah, but no matter how lucrative is, I think it's just too far out of my sweet spot that I.
Speaker C:It didn't.
Speaker C:I didn't get joy out of it.
Speaker C:And listen, I'm in part two of this career.
Speaker C:I'm gonna squeeze as much joy out of this as I can.
Speaker C:If I'm not, then it's just money.
Speaker B:I mean, that's why you left your last job.
Speaker C:Yeah, I needed to find Joy.
Speaker C:And so, you know, listen, I'm blessed to have the privilege of being able to say that some people couldn't.
Speaker C:But I've also worked at it.
Speaker C:I earned it.
Speaker C:So I'm not gonna be ashamed of the fact that I can do.
Speaker C:You know, I also work a lot.
Speaker B:We also learned this during COVID that we have to put ourselves first a little bit.
Speaker B:You know, we all, we've.
Speaker B:We're all.
Speaker B:Everyone's different now.
Speaker B:The world is different now.
Speaker B:Everywhere you go, things are different.
Speaker B:And I think that no matter who you are, you came out of that with something.
Speaker B:And I think so many people were like, no.
Speaker B:Like, I came out of it with like, no, I.
Speaker B:Now if you want to have a meeting with me, it's in two weeks.
Speaker B:People are like, what are you doing this?
Speaker B:No, I can meet you in two weeks.
Speaker B:Like, no more jamming my schedule last minute.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like, I can plan you out two weeks.
Speaker B:And then I can have time to actually not be frustrated and annoy.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:So it's like we all came out of it with something.
Speaker B:And coming out of it, being able to appreciate your own joy and making your business work for you is all we could ever dream of.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker C:That's the goal.
Speaker C:Sorry, Kelly, go ahead.
Speaker A:I was saying that's the goal.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker C:I agree.
Speaker C:I'll also say this.
Speaker C:I probably work more for myself than I've ever worked for any other organization.
Speaker C:And I used to work those quote unquote, 40 hour week jobs that were 70 hours a week.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I'm sure we've all done that.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But I work all the time and it sounds like I'm killing myself.
Speaker C:It's different when you work for yourself.
Speaker C:Like I'll be, sadly, I'm an early waker upper.
Speaker C:I get more done between 5 and 8 than I do anything.
Speaker C:But I don't mind it.
Speaker C:I know that sounds a little weird when you're doing it for yourself.
Speaker C:It doesn't feel like that stress.
Speaker C:In fact, I probably have less stress in my life working more than I ever did in the past 30 years working for somebody else because I was accountable to me and there's pride in that and there's, you know, that's it.
Speaker C:Like I'm proud of what I do now every day.
Speaker C:I was grateful for all.
Speaker C:Listen, I work for charities that help children.
Speaker C:I loved it.
Speaker C:But there's still some organizational corporateness that goes into that accountability.
Speaker C:And my performance review is, did you do a good job today, Adam?
Speaker C:Great.
Speaker C:Did you kind of where you are today, you know?
Speaker C:You know, you know, give yourself a raise regardless?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I always say there are plenty of 14, 18 hour days that I do and I'm okay with that because they're my decision and they're planning it on the days that I want.
Speaker A:Put me in an eight hour in somebody's office.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I don't know if it's going to feel the same.
Speaker A:But one thing I wanted to talk about, you know, being a small business owner is so personal.
Speaker A:Our lives are so intertwined with what we're doing for a business.
Speaker A:And you're taking it a step further, making these personal connections with the people that you're serving as, you get busier because it seems like you're going in that direction.
Speaker A:Is having an employee or two, is that something you could consider doing?
Speaker A:Is there room for that?
Speaker A:Is there anybody that you would trust to be able to do it the way that you do it?
Speaker A:Because it's also tricky when you're in some type of service business to be the only one who can do the thing you're doing.
Speaker C:It's a good question.
Speaker C:I get asked a lot and the answer is I'm not going to grow like that.
Speaker C:And it was a conscious decision for a lot of reasons.
Speaker C:Number one, I have never liked managing people.
Speaker C:It's not my thing and I don't believe anyone's going to do what I do.
Speaker C:And I'm not saying that with arrogance.
Speaker C:There are some amazing tour guides that can talk circles around me and tell stories around me.
Speaker C:What I do is a very holistic thing.
Speaker C:I'm having this long conversation with you at the beginning to plan.
Speaker C:I create these welcome kits here at home.
Speaker C:I drop that welcome kit off at the hotel before you get there.
Speaker C:We do our tour.
Speaker C:I am your resource every minute of the day you're here.
Speaker C:You can text me when you're lost on the subway, when you're.
Speaker C:I couldn't hire someone to do any of that, number one.
Speaker C:And the couple of times I've had to add additional guides because it was a one off group where I'm doing a 30 person food tour, which I don't do, or some other thing that just required more.
Speaker C:It took me three times as much work to get those coordinated than just doing it myself.
Speaker C:And that's not one of these.
Speaker C:I just want to be clear.
Speaker C:This isn't, oh, I'm just the best.
Speaker C:I do it myself.
Speaker C:I know that attitude.
Speaker C:This is really like, how do I make this about the right experience that both they need to have and I need to have.
Speaker C:And if it's not, I'm not the right person.
Speaker C:I don't want to fret about logistics.
Speaker C:I wanted to keep my business pretty simple.
Speaker C:My growth has resulted in raising my prices seven times in four years.
Speaker C:So I'm growing in terms of the number of people.
Speaker C:I'm not quite capped out at the number of tours I can do.
Speaker C:I think I'd probably fall down at about 280 because that's a lot of walking.
Speaker C:I walked about 3,500 miles last year.
Speaker C:Oh, gosh.
Speaker C:But I'm going to continue.
Speaker C:I mean, in terms of growth, I'm just going to test the market in terms of price.
Speaker C:I'm happy to be more expensive.
Speaker C:And when the market tells me I'm too much, I'll lower my prices.
Speaker C:But until that time happens, and that's not a greedy thing, that's just how do I respond to growth.
Speaker C:I don't want to manage the people.
Speaker B:We just came out of a series talking about growth.
Speaker B:And growth isn't always having ten locations or a hundred locations or 500 employees.
Speaker B:Not every business needs that.
Speaker B:And sometimes growth is just figuring out how to do it.
Speaker B:It better, how to do it, you know, simpler how to do it where you're getting what you want easier, how to streamline things, raising your prices, you know, it doesn't have to look like what everybody tells you it has to look like.
Speaker C:That's exactly right.
Speaker C:Listen, I'm in career chapter two, right?
Speaker C:I don't need to build the enterprise yeah, I'm doing great.
Speaker C:I'm literally putting joy onto the world and getting joy back.
Speaker C:I'm doing fine financially.
Speaker C:As a result.
Speaker C:I'm good.
Speaker C:Like, there's a good satisfaction.
Speaker C:And as long as I can ride this, as long as I can walk on two feet and not lose my voice every day, I'm where I want to be.
Speaker C:You don't want them to be disappointed in you.
Speaker C:And just the idea of that's maybe the kind of thing, as a business.
Speaker B:Owner, it's hard to explain to other people what that means.
Speaker B:And a lot of what Kelly and I talk about is a lot of people look at you like, oh, you have it great.
Speaker B:You're not working for the man.
Speaker B:You make your own schedule.
Speaker B:You do whatever you want.
Speaker B:Your life is cake.
Speaker B:You get to go on vacation and do this and do that, and you're.
Speaker A:Like, actually, yeah, we call them the must be nices.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:But my question.
Speaker C:Go ahead, Yuv.
Speaker B:My question is, now that you're in it and you're growing and you're doing what you want to do and you're enjoying it and you've streamlined it, how would you define success now versus how you define success when you were in that other world?
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, I would say in the other world, it was, did my boss think I was doing a good job?
Speaker C:I mean, that's most people.
Speaker C:Not that I couldn't find satisfaction in the work I was doing as well, but at the end of the day, like, and it's not even like a threatening, do I keep my job?
Speaker C:Do I not?
Speaker C:But the pressures of job were constant here.
Speaker C:I don't feel that pressure anymore here.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:The joy sort of overrides all the work, and that's success.
Speaker C:There's a pride in building something from nothing that I go, look, there's a little luck in all of this, right?
Speaker C:You get help along the way.
Speaker C:People give you tons of ideas that you don't want to take, and that's okay, too.
Speaker C:But as long as you sort of stay focused on what you're doing, you can really feel that.
Speaker C:Pride is probably.
Speaker C:Pride feels like the opposite of the stress.
Speaker C:I keep coming back to that word, but, like, I'd never really felt that kind of pride before in any of those jobs.
Speaker C:I felt I did great things.
Speaker C:I can tell you I've got lots of accolades in those worlds.
Speaker C:It still doesn't feel the same as, like, my.
Speaker C:My inside, my gut screaming at me, saying, you're doing it, kid.
Speaker C:Like, keep doing it.
Speaker C:Like, go.
Speaker C:And, like, Every day to wake up and feel that, you know what I'm not afraid of anymore?
Speaker C:Sunday nights.
Speaker C:Because usually I'm working on Sundays.
Speaker C:But that's my point is I'm in control, and this isn't a control thing.
Speaker C:But I know my world really well, and I feel good at it.
Speaker C:I feel like I am good at it.
Speaker C:I can always get better.
Speaker C:There's always more stories.
Speaker C:There's always more neighborhoods.
Speaker C:Let me tell you, this is an endless learning platform.
Speaker C:Even the neighborhoods I know, I could relearn them with different stories.
Speaker C:So I don't feel like I'm failing at all.
Speaker C:And that's not a financial thing.
Speaker C:That's not how popular I am, has nothing to do with how many social followers I have.
Speaker C:I'm not on social to gain followers.
Speaker C:I want to be in terms of marketing, because I have some skills in that.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:I target people.
Speaker C:Like, who are the people that want to take my tours?
Speaker C:That's how I want to follow me.
Speaker C:If I'm not that person, don't follow me.
Speaker C:It's okay.
Speaker C:I'm never going to be an influencer, I promise.
Speaker C:I can't even influence my cats, I swear.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I don't know if I really answered your question.
Speaker C:I probably circled around it a little bit.
Speaker A:Oh, I think that's a different level of pride that you get being successful, however you define that in the thing that you've created.
Speaker A:And I think that's a perfect way to define success as a smaller.
Speaker C:Can I also add on that is that same support you get at the beginning.
Speaker C:Once you get to where you're going, they're like, gotta tell you about my friend Adam.
Speaker C:Like, people come out of the woodwork.
Speaker C:They say, I've been following you for three years.
Speaker C:It's awesome what you're doing.
Speaker C:And some of that's their own worlds where they're like, I'm still stuck.
Speaker C:I might be making $300,000 a year, but I'm kind of stuck.
Speaker C:And look what you're doing.
Speaker C:You look like you're having fun every day.
Speaker C:And I am.
Speaker C:I'm good.
Speaker C:You know, listen, would I love $10 million tomorrow so I can retire?
Speaker C:Yeah, of course.
Speaker B:Please.
Speaker C:That's not real people.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:That's not real.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But those same people are your greatest advocates the whole journey.
Speaker C:And I love.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:You know, every once in a while, some friends from elementary school, middle school, wherever they are, they come at me and they're like, adam, I know we haven't talked for three years, but I follow you every day.
Speaker C:Reading your stories is the joy of my day.
Speaker C:Every day.
Speaker C:I can't wait to come and see you.
Speaker C:Just heart filled right here, like I'm good.
Speaker C:That, that's.
Speaker C:That's what we're here for.
Speaker C:That's what we're here for.
Speaker B:I think that's what we all want our businesses to do, is make us feel that way.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, Adam, when you need help, because you're a tour guide, essential more than a tour guide.
Speaker B:But when you need help, where do you go to get it?
Speaker C:Yeah, there's probably more functions.
Speaker C:I think so.
Speaker C:It's interesting.
Speaker C:It is a solitary world.
Speaker C:I work by myself.
Speaker C:I know other tour guides.
Speaker C:There's a guide association.
Speaker C:But the reality is I'm every day sort of in my house planning or I'm out on the street.
Speaker C:My wife is a great supporter.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:She will read all my Facebook posts, make sure they're spelled right, things like that.
Speaker C:I have certainly friends around that do that.
Speaker C:I have an accountant because I'm not about to tackle that.
Speaker C:And it's worth to pay the money for that.
Speaker C:I mean, I log everything, but I turn it over to that person and say, can you please make heads or tails?
Speaker C:This help me with my taxes.
Speaker C:All that stuff I do.
Speaker C:Every once in a while, I go back to the people who run that school and float ideas by them.
Speaker C:In fact, early on, I took one of their classes after I started it was an entrepreneurship class.
Speaker C:And the funny thing is, it's really for people who are just getting started and don't have anything.
Speaker C:I had sort of built the brand.
Speaker C:I had sort of gotten things going.
Speaker C:And so this really great guy named Don, who was the mentor of the program, if you will, I would go to him all the time.
Speaker C:But the funny thing is he would give me heaps of advice.
Speaker C:But the only thing I ever took from him, and he was sort of baffled the whole time.
Speaker C:It turns out all I needed was a cheerleader.
Speaker C:I needed somebody to be like, I know you haven't heard a thing I've said, but you're doing it.
Speaker C:Keep doing it.
Speaker C:I would go to him more often.
Speaker C:The one question I would ask him almost every phone call was, am I crazy for thinking this way?
Speaker C:Like, I'll shoot some idea his way.
Speaker C:Am I crazy?
Speaker C:It wasn't the kind of businesses that he run.
Speaker C:Like, he ran several tour businesses, which is why he's qualified.
Speaker C:But all I needed was a cheerleader.
Speaker C:And so sometimes, and I don't mean like mom rooting you on.
Speaker C:I Mean, somebody who's looking at you with you, sees the potential in you, sees the drive, sees that you are cranking the crank, whatever that crank is, and goes, I believe in you.
Speaker C:Like, I can't tell you how much.
Speaker C:That's 80% of it.
Speaker C:And said, that's what I needed.
Speaker A:Asking that question, am I crazy?
Speaker A:To be doing this means you are in the right, right field.
Speaker A:Because when you're not questioning that entrepreneurship is not for you, I'll tell you,.
Speaker C:The model I have is unlike any other model I've seen in the city.
Speaker C:It's just not.
Speaker C:I think people who get going sort of try to copy other models.
Speaker C:I understand that.
Speaker C:But my rules when I started were different.
Speaker C:I want personal.
Speaker C:I want to actually make money.
Speaker C:I don't want to rely on tips.
Speaker C:So, you know, for those who eventually, look, I'm not inexpensive.
Speaker C:I am.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker C:I'm not overly expensive.
Speaker C:Families can still afford me.
Speaker C:But I'm not the $20 guy.
Speaker C:Nothing wrong with the $20 guy.
Speaker C:But know that that $20 guy is working for a company that's making an enormous amount on top of that person.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And that poor guy or girl is living on tips.
Speaker C:And I just.
Speaker C:I didn't want that lifestyle, so I had to figure out another way.
Speaker B:All right, one more question.
Speaker B:In this journey, actually, two more questions.
Speaker B:In this journey, what is the biggest thing you learned?
Speaker B:The hard way is the first question.
Speaker C:I think to have faith in myself in a very real way.
Speaker C:And what I mean by that is, when you go to your corporate job, and I was sort of a relatively senior person, you believe that you can do things, but you're always questioned above you.
Speaker C:And so that's the backstop.
Speaker C:And sometimes that's the backstop for good, and sometimes that's the backstop up, not for good.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That's where the unease comes from.
Speaker C:Even if you feel confident, I went out there and I put something out there into the universe that didn't exist.
Speaker C:And I could have fallen down, I could have been impatient.
Speaker C:I could have changed my model.
Speaker C:And I just kept doing it, and it started working, and I just kept believing in myself in a really different way than I had before.
Speaker C:Not like you got this assignment.
Speaker C:You can do it.
Speaker C:No, you have to figure out your life and make money and exist and fulfill the thing you think you want to have created at the end.
Speaker C:And I have.
Speaker C:And that faith has given me a confidence in myself.
Speaker C:And I don't mean walk out in the world.
Speaker C:Look at me, world, look at me.
Speaker C:But I mean like my shoulders higher, you know, I mean that, that is a.
Speaker C:Again, we're back to pride.
Speaker C:The lesson in four years is that feels better than anything, right?
Speaker C:There's love and pride.
Speaker C:I got em both.
Speaker C:So I'm good.
Speaker B:We call that being a fucking expert.
Speaker B:I feel like the world teaches us we have to constantly listen to somebody else in the world.
Speaker B:And you have your boss, you have your supervisor, wherever you're going, you have your teacher.
Speaker B:And as business owners, it's hard to get rid of that.
Speaker B:That you're like kind of looking for that person and to acknowledge all that we are and all we've created and how amazing it is.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:The sidestep to that is, and I'm sure you've heard this on many of your shows, comparison is the thief of joy, right?
Speaker C:It's hard not to create this new ball of wax and go, what do all the other balls of wax look like?
Speaker C:And where am I in that regard?
Speaker C:I have lots of new tour guys coming to me asking for my advice.
Speaker C:I tell them everything.
Speaker C:I tell them everything I do.
Speaker C:I show them my books, my numbers.
Speaker C:And people are like, you're really open.
Speaker C:I'm like, because the thing you create, even if you copied mine, isn't going to be your thing.
Speaker C:Isn't going to be my thing.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker B:I say the same thing.
Speaker C:So I'm like, I'll tattoo everything.
Speaker C:I just want you to.
Speaker C:This is where I go, how do I become their cheerleader?
Speaker C:That feels great.
Speaker B:There's plenty of people in the city for tours.
Speaker C:Listen, I tell this to everyone who asked me.
Speaker C:I said, you may think There may be 3,000 guides, you may think there's competition.
Speaker C:There's 60 million people coming to New York City.
Speaker C:About 5% use tours.
Speaker C:We got plenty of business and I only need a thousand people every year and I'm crushing it.
Speaker C:You get the other 59.5 million.
Speaker C:That's up to you.
Speaker C:There's plenty of business.
Speaker C:You just gotta figure out who you are, figure out what your lane is and get really good at that lane and love it.
Speaker C:There's some other people who do what I do are trying to now.
Speaker C:And there's one or two people who I've had these meetings with and if you want to do it, listen, some people come to me, I'm not available.
Speaker C:I'm like, here, take it.
Speaker C:I'm not available.
Speaker C:I don't ask for a commission.
Speaker C:I'm just like, treat them well, right, Start yours, it'll pay off, It'll Pay back.
Speaker C:I'm not worried about that.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker A:Writing this down.
Speaker A:Get good at your lane and love it.
Speaker A:That's your shirt for this.
Speaker B:Yeah, that'll be the quote.
Speaker C:That's my shirt.
Speaker C:That'll be your shirt.
Speaker B:We'll send you a shirt once we get em made.
Speaker B:So I was gonna ask you what surprised you about yourself in this journey, but I think you kind of just answered that, how much confidence you were able to get.
Speaker C:Yeah, and I wanna be.
Speaker C:Because it's not like arrogant confidence, but I know that.
Speaker C:Here's the thing, some people go out with a group of strangers and that's.
Speaker A:Hard.
Speaker C:Both tactically and intentionally, but also naturally, it's.
Speaker C:I literally start the day as if we're friends.
Speaker C:Like I will start cracking jokes and not like, I mean, banter jokes the moment we see each other.
Speaker C:I need to break down that stranger wall as fast as possible.
Speaker C:And I do it naturally.
Speaker C:I kind of love it.
Speaker C:And so maybe that's surprising to people.
Speaker C:Like, I met him.
Speaker C:I've had three sentences, he's already mocking me.
Speaker C:How is he?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But I always do it in a healthy and fun way.
Speaker C:Or, you know, and I think, I don't know again, I kind of lost my train of thought.
Speaker C:But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker C:It's a surprise.
Speaker C:But I love that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's incredible.
Speaker A:Well, if ever this is something you don't want to do, go into bartending, you'd be perfect at that.
Speaker A:It's that first couple.
Speaker A:Couple seconds you can get in.
Speaker A:You're good, you're good.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah, I got that down cold.
Speaker C:I got that down cold.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:All right, Adam, so where can people find you to hire you or find more?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So yeah, I have a website which is iknowaguy nyc.
Speaker C:So it's not dot com, it's nyc.
Speaker C:Couldn't get dot com.
Speaker C:But that's actually even helpful because you know where I am?
Speaker C:I am on Facebook as I know a guy nyc, and on Instagram as I know a guy nyc.
Speaker C:And you should really follow me on there, mostly because one, you'll learn a little bit about New York that you don't know.
Speaker C:And two, I write these fun little stories about all my guests.
Speaker C:They're always fun, they're always wonderful.
Speaker C:Occasionally they're really deep.
Speaker C:If we have a meaningful moment, I always ask for permission.
Speaker C:You should know that.
Speaker C:But you'll understand what a tour is like with me.
Speaker C:And you can call me, reach out, listen.
Speaker C:There are times, many times, where the timing didn't work out.
Speaker C:Or I couldn't give a tour.
Speaker C:And I'll still help you.
Speaker C:I'll help you figure stuff out.
Speaker C:Listen, it's a complex world.
Speaker C:I just want to help you figure out New York.
Speaker C:If I can take 20 minutes and have a chat, I'll do that, too.
Speaker C:But that's the best way to find me.
Speaker C:And if you end up calling me or texting me, you're going to get me.
Speaker C:I have no mystery number two over here, you know, so it's me.
Speaker C:I always wear the red shirt.
Speaker C:You see my little.
Speaker C:I know a guy.
Speaker C:That's me.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:Well, if you ever see a lady with part gray hair come running up to you on the streets, it's me.
Speaker B:Yeah, you just come watching for that shirt.
Speaker B:Now, when I'm.
Speaker C:When I'm there, I wear red very intentionally because everyone in New York wears black.
Speaker A:Just so you know, I'll be in.
Speaker B:Black, but that's not even in New York City.
Speaker A:We'll be looking for the red, though.
Speaker C:I just want people to be able to spot me, especially my guest.
Speaker B:Yes, I love that.
Speaker C:But it works.
Speaker B:Everyone wears black because my wife won't.
Speaker C:Wear anything red anymore.
Speaker C:So that's fine.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Not surprised.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for sharing your story.
Speaker B:I feel so rejuvenated, and just talking to you on the Internet was amazing.
Speaker B:So I hope to meet you in person someday.
Speaker C:I appreciate it.
Speaker C:I'd say if there's one thing I would leave with people, and this is the same advice that was given to me, is leap and the net shall appear.
Speaker C:I'm sure you've heard that a lot of times.
Speaker C:It's the leaping that's the hardest part.
Speaker C:That net may be people, that net may be friends.
Speaker C:It may be a stroke of luck, but leap, that's the hardest part.
Speaker A:Just leap.
Speaker B:Just leap.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Thank you, Adam.
Speaker C:Thanks.
Speaker A:Well, I want to go open seven more businesses now.
Speaker A:I'll tell you what.
Speaker A:That was fun.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I never knew I wanted to be a tour guide before.
Speaker B:I've already thought about how I could tour Rochester.
Speaker B:Aaron actually was trying to get you on board for a tour, wasn't he?
Speaker B:To do, like, a ghost hunt tour?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think that's still in the works.
Speaker B:But, yeah, he was such a.
Speaker A:Such an interesting approach.
Speaker A:Yeah, I love it.
Speaker B:I love everything about him, and I love that he started a business based on relationships when his entire history was in, like, that realm of, like, not for profits and children and the relationships that you have to.
Speaker B:To Develop to be able to be successful, to raise money for those things,.
Speaker A:And based a business based on relationships in a time where we were all separated from each other.
Speaker B:I know, right?
Speaker B:So I had this picture of him when he was talking about, you know, sending the tour guides off.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, it's like Miracle on 34th Street.
Speaker B:Which is my favorite analogy.
Speaker B:Because I constantly tell people to go to other restaurants.
Speaker B:Cause I'm like, oh, you didn't like my restaurant?
Speaker B:If you're looking for this kind of Mexican food, you should try this place.
Speaker B:It's amazing.
Speaker B:People are like, why are you telling people to go somewhere else?
Speaker B:Like, well, if you don't like me or I'm not available, I want you to have a great dinner.
Speaker B:Like, I don't want you to hate your dinner.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Or not be able to use my services because I'm not available.
Speaker B:So, yeah, he's.
Speaker B:He's the.
Speaker B:He's the real Santa Claus.
Speaker A:He is the real deal.
Speaker B:What was the.
Speaker B:I don't remember his name in the.
Speaker A:Show, but call him to let me Santa.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:What was his name?
Speaker A:Normal menu Santa.
Speaker A:We'll just, you know, Santa.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I really took from it that.
Speaker B:That success is being proud of what you're doing.
Speaker A:You can be proud of yourself in any job that you have, but when it's something that you've put all of your everything into, there's nothing like that.
Speaker A:And if you're not feeling a tenth of the pride that that man is feeling for his business, you are in the wrong industry.
Speaker B:Well, you know what?
Speaker B:That aligns with your topic of the year, Kelly?
Speaker B:Alignment.
Speaker B:So if your growth doesn't align, you need to reconfigure what you're doing.
Speaker B:And that's a great tie in to switch from our growth chunk to coming out of the growth chunk.
Speaker B:Because he didn't open up a conglomerate or he's not trying to grow to a conglomerate, which is great.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's doing it.
Speaker A:He's doing it the right.
Speaker A:I don't even say the right way, but it's just so organic and his way.
Speaker A:And he's not compromising for anything other than what fits for him and his family.
Speaker B:It's his way.
Speaker B:So that's a great reminder, listeners.
Speaker B:Redefine, find success.
Speaker B:Make sure you're aligning your growth and build those relationships.
Speaker B:That's what I'm taking.
Speaker B:I'm gonna make all those T shirts, Kelly.
Speaker A:I will.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:I'm like, I'm gonna be very busy.
Speaker B:All the T shirts.
Speaker B:All right, listeners, follow us.
Speaker B:Subscribe like all of the fun things that you know how to do because you all know how to work technology really do.
Speaker B:Can email us at bossyrock B O s s y r o c gmail.com or go to our website, bossyco b o s s y c o and.
Speaker A:Be bold, be brave,.
Speaker B:And be the boss.
