Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cory and Tiffany` Unsworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cory and Tiffany`, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

In the beginning, it was just us. Tiffany at the phone and Cory on the trail. And one day, we found we couldn’t do it alone. After a year in business, Tiffany was diagnosed with cancer, and that’s when we really needed to reach for talent outside ourselves. The first help who came our way was in the form of “Gentle Ben”, as we referred to him. He was a sweet grandpa who loved showing guests the beauties of the land he had come to love. Then Larry came on board and is now our longest-serving employee, having been with us through the highs and lows of running a business. We opened a little gift shop, which brought to us some of our sweet staff who answer phones and make us shine. Over time, our guides and staff have come to us through incredible means. Our interview process is pretty simple: If they feel like a friend immediately, they’ll fit in (and trust us, we haven’t always followed this formula, at times to our detriment). Together, we make a somewhat rugged band: people who don’t mind getting dirty and sweating, if it means getting to see something beautiful together.

Cory and Tiffany`, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We love working together, and we feel that our strengths and weaknesses create a yin and yang that works in business. Cory grew up scrambling over rocks and spending most of his time outside in his home state of Utah. Tiffany is a creative who loves dreaming up the next phase, as well as designing special experiences for our guests. Our primary motivation is to help people have transforming experiences in nature, and our background in recreation and education has prepared us to do just that.

We have grown some deep roots in the red soil of Southern Utah, finding it a place where visitors come away having been transformed. We are most pleased when we see big smiles on our guests’ faces, whether it is behind the wheel of an ATV or coming over the crest of a hill to take in an epic view. We hope that those who come our way do not feel like just a number to us. We love guiding small groups, we love living in a small town, and we love running a small business, where we know every employee and their kids and dogs, too! We believe that big impact can be created in small settings.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Investing, as you know, is inherently scary.

We had just placed a second mortgage on our home in order to purchase a 3,900 sf vacation rental for our clients to stay in. That felt a little crazy, but right.

Not long after that, I was walking through the 12,000 sf building where we rented office space for Kanab Tour Company. A little voice inside of me said, “You are going to own this building one day.”

The thought was petrifying. A home had worried me; this was much more daunting.

I did consider the idea, however, thinking we should prepare for the eventuality that the owners would likely want to sell in about 5 years.

Make that 5 months. The owners were ready to get out and approached us with first buying rights. Again, we were overwhelmed with going into large debt, but we were comforted that it was the right choice to move forward. We closed on this large purchase in February of 2020. Our tour bookings were solid that year and we felt confident that we could make payments.

And then the world shut down.

Tours were canceling left and right and we didn’t know how we would make it. Our once-tour guides became contractors, helping us paint and renovate the huge building we just bought. We used recycled pallets to create wall mosaics, and we found any free building material we could to piece together something professional looking. We cleaned and we cleaned and we cleaned, which fortunately didn’t cost much but improved conditions greatly.
We relied on the payroll protection program, our loyal employees, and mostly, God. We feel we had heaven’s help in surviving COVID.

And then, when the world started opening up, it turned out that our investment was very well-timed. The outdoor industry experienced a boon like no other as people sought for safe ways to get out of their homes. The small tours we offered in individual vehicles turned out to be a beautiful way for visitors to breathe some fresh air, safely. We were supported by the states that surrounded us, as international travel had come to a stop.

What started as a tragedy in 2020 turned out ok. We were able to make payments on these huge loans. We serviced thousands of visitors. And the building, with it upcycled materials, garners compliments almost daily.

The lesson I have learned: listen to the little voice inside of you. Though it may speak things which are initially scary or out of your realm of current thinking, your intuition is often right. Trust your gut and you’ll get through the storms.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients is old clients.

Because we spend a lot of time with people (in jeeps, on trails, driving along scenic routes), it means the world to us when they invite a friend to do the same.

One night, after a week-long experience, we were driving some guests to their hotel.

“Have you ever thought of creating more packages like these?” One of them asked. We responded that we hadn’t.

They expressed pure confidence that if we did, our guests would return.

We did, and they did. And the cool thing? They brought friends with them.

Can’t beat that.

Contact Info:

• Website: kanabtourcompany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kanabtourcompany/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=kanabtourcompany
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kanab-tour-company-kanab?osq=Kanab+Tour+Company

Image Credits
Emily Graham Shelly Wayne Morgan Peterson