We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joseph Layden. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joseph below.
Hi Joseph , thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I’m much happier as a business owner. There is more stress involved because the next payday is never guaranteed, and I work longer hours, but I enjoy it more and receive a real sense of accomplishment. Also I am able to quickly improve my services when I learn something in the field rather than having to go through the chain of command.
Joseph , 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?
Captain Stoner’s Dive Bar Ghost walk came out of Hearse Ghost Tours in Savannah. After the pandemic lock-downs, we were only allowed to rent our tour vehicles as a whole for an entire group because of social distancing, but we still had many singles and couples wanting to buy a ticket for a tour. I was the only driver who’d done walking tours before, so my boss had me create a tour to handle the extras. When the company changed hands, the tour was given to me and I formed a company out of it.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’ve built my social media audience by posting almost daily with videos of groups having fun on my ghost tours and shorts of myself telling ghost stories.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Being one of the only local tour guides who was actually born in Savannah gives me an authentic advantage, and working with other tour companies for 14 years gives me a good reputation and many contacts in the vicinity. I fill a niche that is the fun, laid back ghost tour and clients often compare my tours to hanging out with a friend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.captainstoner.com
- Instagram: @captainstonerjoe
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StonerJoeTour/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@josephlayden?si=_m-VBy9hqvQDboTM
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/captain-stoner-s-dive-bar-crawl-savannah-2
Image Credits
Joe kayden