We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brian Cole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I have always been into knowing and continuing to learn about history. I love studying about the people and the places that came before us. I think it is important to understand how people lived in previous generations so that we can learn from their knowledge and their mistakes. Columbia has such a rich history that many people don’t know about. For years there have been wonderful ways to tour historic homes and museums in the area but not a way a too experience the history and see where it happened.

After, wanting to start this company for years I finally decided to purchase a shuttle bus several months ago and launched Soda City Tours, LLC. We offer several historic bus tours in the Columbia South Carolina area and will be expanding our services even further in the upcoming months.

Brian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Brian Cole, I own Columbia Food Tours, LLC and the newly formed Soda City Tours, LLC. I have been leading culinary and history tours in Columbia for over 10 years. Two of my greatest passions are good food and history. I have been able to combine those passions with the creation of Columbia Food Tours and now am able to take them on the road with Soda City Tours and the bus tours that we offer.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Online reviews are by far the best source of new business! Don’t be afraid to ask for good reviews and you will be surprised how many people will actually give them. I tell them I would appreciate a 5 Star review and lots of them are happy to do it. The more great reviews you receive, the more people will find your business and the more likely they are to pick you over the competition.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I am a strong believer in keeping the need for initial capitol as low as possible. Look for a need that can be filled without having to go into tremendous debt. By keeping overhead as low as possible you can maximize how much money you reinvest in your company. So many people want to buy into franchises and by doing so lose so much capital in franchise fees, rent, equipment, etc. I recommend creating your own brand so that you have full control over how you spend your capital and can decide for yourself what is best for you in your specific market.

My tour companies only have a bus payment and insurance as overhead expenses, this allows me to put more money into advertising as well as paying myself a salary that I might not be able to do if I had more expenses.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sodacitytours.com
• Instagram: Soda City Tours
• Facebook: Soda City Tours