We recently connected with Zion Bethel and have shared our conversation below.
Zion, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I’m 24 years old & an entrepreneur with two businesses. I have always wanted to start my own business since I was young, but it was always a good idea that felt like an impossibility for me. At 22, my older brother, Santiago, ran his own business for a few years, & challenged me to finally take all my good ideas & actually put the rubber to the road. I told him I would, but he said a lot of people say they will, but the fear of failure or “looking silly” prevents them from manifesting their vision. This notion lit a fire in me to prove him wrong. I have always held the belief that if Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, & other innovators could do it, why couldn’t I do the same? They are human just like me, all it takes is the drive & will power. In life, you never fail until you give-up. After speaking with my brother, I began doing research, A LOT of it! I looked into EVERY facet of the operation (from the financial side, market space, how much money is spent yearly in the market, demographics, the legality & documentation I would need, the engineering of my product / service, daily operations, etc). This allowed me to understand the cost & benefit to the risk I was taking. It seems like a lot, but owning a business is a commitment to the long game. There were many things I either didn’t know would work or seemed intimidating from a skill & knowledge perspective, but once I know the market had a lot of money in it, & I could start small, I took the first step & started making calls to the city for licensing. I was in college & working a day job as well. However, I did not let this stop me. Sidenote, WRITE THINGS DOWN! Excel is your friend, YOUTUBE IS FREE EDUCATION! If there is something you don’t know, it’s your job as a business owner to learn it & know it, so take the time to invest in your education by any means necessary. Moving on, as I began to run profit projections & see that I could make a few fixed purchases to provide my service, from start to finish I began to map out everything logistically to ensure this risk was something that I either knew how to do or could learn to do. I then quit my job after saving some money & began to create the website, ask people to become investors, & create a brand named Sea View Tours, providing clear kayak tours to tourist & locals alike. There were many bumps along the way, but having resilience is KEY! Never let any roadblock stop you; remember, you only fail when you give up! Sidenote, I do not really care about kayaking, in fact, I had only been kayaking a handful of times in my life. However, when I evaluated the market & saw the profit projections, as well as knowing the fact that once I grew the business, I could hire tour guides, I knew it was something I had to do even if it wasn’t something I liked doing; be who you need to be to get where you want to be, be like water! You don’t always have to love what you do, as long as what you’re doing will take you where you want to be–a means to an end. That being said, my passion was really film making, so as the business grew, I began to make my own video ads to save money. I didn’t know how to fly a drone or use a camera, but my drive allowed me to research how to do it & yes, I was not good when I first started. Having the mindset of a baby learning to walk is what you need. Babies see other people walking & fail all the time attempting to walk, but because they NEVER stop trying, they get to a point where they can run. Don’t be afraid to suck at something as long as you’re learning from your failures, take CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. After making a few video ads for Sea View Tours, I had found some success in the summer time, so I invested some of the profits to buy some basic video gear so I could start doing ads for other companies while in the off-season to help make money while the kayaks were not in season. It worked! I started & branded Mt Zion Media, & have worked for several prestigious international brands. Moral of my story is this; ideas are not mutually exclusive to you. If you don’t take the first step in manifesting your ideas someone else with more drive will, & you’ll probably end up working for them. Take the risk, embrace failure, & never stop learning.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a 24 year old from Alabama. I dropped out of college to pursue my dream as being a business owner. I own & manage two businesses, Sea View Tours & Mt Zion Media. Sea View Tours provides clear kayak tours to tourist & locals in the south Alabama region. Mt Zion Media creates cinematic story commercials for various companies throughout the South-East area. What I believe sets me apart is my character & my willingness to jump onto things others are afraid to. I am most proud of the work I create & the experiences I provide to those who work with me or indulge in my services. My unique perspective as a young mature man allows me to see the market from an entirely new perspective & create commercials that speak to a new generation as well as the old. I value my clients, & am results oriented. I love what I do & hope to inspire all those I encounter.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I first started my kayak business, the name I chose & the logo I made were struck down by copyright infringement. So I had to start over from scratch with a new name (Sea View Tours) & new logo. In addition, the kayaks I ordered were delayed by 4 months, which made me miss the majority of the summer season in which we would have made the most money. Through all this, I did not give up or allow any of it to slow me down.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Working with others. I am so driven, I often push others away because I move at a speed that is usually uncomfortable for others. I often would see them as a burden, & would leave them in the dust. I had to unlearn that mindset of “do it all myself” & begin to trust those who had proven themselves to be responsible with task that I knew they could handle. In addition, using ALL of your resources to make progress is key. Family, friends, & business acquaintances were all resources that I tapped in with to help manifest my ideas. They knew me well enough, & I had shown progress in certain areas that they trusted me with their resources & knew I would respect their time & energy. You’re not alone in this world, network as much as you can & build a small team of go getters who understand your drive & ambition.
Contact Info:
- Website: SeaViewToursAL.com & MtZionMedia.wixsite.com/mzmpro
- Instagram: @SeaViewTours @MtZionMedia
- Twitter: Kinglemuel47
Image Credits
Mt Zion Media