We recently connected with Sherrie Ortiz and have shared our conversation below.

Sherrie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today.When I pondered the change of careers from Bakery owner to Tour Guide I questioned how those skills would transfer. Imposter syndrome can be very real. That’s when I realized my heart is truly in the service industry. It did not matter if I was serving cake or serving others needs. 

Like many entrepreneurs, the the idea for this business was held on the back burner for many years. My Mother had frequently taken group tours as a means to travel as a widow and I thought I sounded like a great business idea.

I was working retail bakery and looking for a better way. We had two small children at the time so day travel was not a viable decision for that time. I did open my own in home commercial bakery and did that for 18 years. Now that our children are adults and off on their own careers I had the chance to reconsidered this idea.

I spent months researching cost, ideas, structures, investment cost for upfront things like the web site, license and insurance. I also consulted with SCORE, took their classes as a refresher. I talked with other business owners in the travel industry and of course my Husband to bounce ideas around.

This research and my experience from the first business guided me through the first steps and into the first round of client contacts.

Sherrie, 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?

The business has many facets. We provide single day bus adventures in and outside of Kansas City. It sounds simple but if you have ever organized an event for 20-55 people you know how much love goes into that event. These events just happen to be on a bus, traveling to locations, having meals, making memories and so much more.

Groups we serve are conventioneers and their spouses coming to Kansas City. Reunions for families, wedding showers, holiday light tours and extended locations to places like Topeka, St. Joe and Weston for starters. The tours can include specific theme events like a quilt tour or a winery tour. With growth the plan is to also bring tours from those cities to Kansas City to show off all we have here. I am a KC fan!

We can also help you serve your client with team building events to rebuild company synergy, We take care of the details while you take care of your clients. Everything is specifically curated to the group desires.

I got into this industry when I was looking for a career change. 30+ years in the wedding/bakery industry was enough for me. I loved my job and the creativity, but really wanted to do something new and exciting. When I pondered the change of careers from Bakery owner to Tour Guide I questioned how those skills would transfer. Imposter syndrome can be very real. That’s when I realized my heart is actually in the service industry. It did not matter if I was serving cake or serving others.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Like so many other businesses and entrepreneurs, I launched this business in Sept of 2019. Yep, you guessed it, just in time for Covid. I was making all the right connections and starting to see some great movement in getting events up and running the spring of 2020. Then it all fell apart.

Being in tourism there were no options for doing tours. I pretty much took a step back and worked more on blogging, touching base with people and places and waited it out… for 2 years or more. I took a part time job and also started actively selling on ebay.

Once things started moving again I discovered a lot of the contacts I had also changed jobs, so it was back to basics once again. Perseverance is key in every endeavor. I know it will happen and I am starting to fill up dates for 2023 already.

For those that are just starting their own journey just know that in those moments of despair when it feels like it will never happen you must keep an eye on the prize and reflect on all small wins.

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

When my husband and I were married we had a lot of combined consumer debt. We quickly realized it was not how we wanted to live and provide for our future family. We spent 5 years paying off that debt with both of us working full time and adding 2 kids along the way.

With the debt free life being the goal and opening my first business of a commercial in home bakery, we spent 3 years slowly building the space and buying equipment with cash. Being able to run a business with minimal overhead was very important to us and lead to much success in that business.

This concept carried into the new career as well. We waited and saved for it until we had the funds. I picked up a part time job with an auction co that also lead to selling collectables and home goods on eBay, which I used the funds to pay for the business overhead during covid.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://justonedaytraveltours.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justonedaytours/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Justonedaytraveltours
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrie-ortiz-77a097197/

Image Credits
Professional images by @tiffanymarieprotography.