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

Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

At my core, I am a cheerleader…for real. From seventh grade through Michigan State University and then again as a business associate, wife and mother. I cheer for others. The glass is always half full – and I’ll find a silver lining. My mission is to be positive in a not-so-positive world. I created a business based on a love of my city. A love for everything Grand Rapids…its history, culture, entertainment, vibe, tastes and exciting growth. All of this goodness needed to be shared; and that’s what I do. As a downtown dweller, I blended my two favorite pastimes, exercise and education with my peppy personality and what do you get? A tour guide. Now I narrate the fascinating tales of Grand Rapids lore to visitors, locals, conventioneers, clubs and organizations. The tours are evocative, relevant, entertaining and always, hopeful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Certainly, this sounds cliche, but it started with a tiny seed of a dream…to create a business doing what I love to do… to tell interesting stories while exercising! That business was formed in 2013 as Grand Rapids Running Tours. It has evolved from running only – to walking, step-on bus tours and virtual tours. Now with a menu of over 80 unique, thematically organized tours, I have become a local “go to” for healthy, “burn while you learn” events for all ages and abilities. As a speaker, I share the same enthusiasm in presentation form by adding some technology magic to the narrative for an exciting combination of verbal/vision.

I am most proud of the fabulous partnerships that have been formed. I provide ongoing tours on behalf of the City of Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc, Experience GR, the Gerald R. Ford Museum, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, area recreation departments and neighborhood associations, senior retirement communities, churches, visiting conventions, businesses and residents. I value these relationships immensely.

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

Word-of-mouth. One-by-one. My business is not brick and mortar. It’s a service. When I “opened” my business…I was the proverbial Maytag Repairman, waiting for business. I jumped every time my phone rang. Spam. It was three months before I landed my first official running tour. Slowly, one by one, my customer list grew. And one by one they recommended my tours to their friends and family. If I do my job well, I create raving fans.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Exceeding expectations.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.grandrapidsrunningtours.com

Image Credits
Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.