On any given weekend in San Francisco, out of earshot from the barking harbor seals at Pier 39 and the clang of the cable cars, a small group of urban hikers are exploring the city from a different vantage point. For three hours, they walk, climb, and even slide their way through historic neighborhoods and scenic outlooks.
They’re led by Alexandra Kenin, or one of her carefully selected guides, and have paid $49 apiece for this unique travel experience. Alexandra runs UrbanHikerSF.com on the side from her day job as a content writer and editor.
Related: 40+ Ways to Get Paid to Walk
More than 1000 people take her urban hikes each year, and she now oversees a team of 4-5 guides that can lead the hikes in her place. (She was in New York when we caught up, earning passive income from this business she’s built, as hikes were taking place without her.)
We actually connected through HARO while I was looking for sources for my upcoming Buy Buttons book.
Tune in to hear how she came up with the idea, how she planned out the service, how she landed her first customers, and how she’s taken advantage of pre-existing platforms to grow and expand.
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Learn:
- How Alexandra came up with the idea to host urban hikes (and charge money for them).
- How she landed her first customers and the smart way she leveraged those bookings into more exposure.
- How she’s made the most of free advertising channels to attract a steady stream of customers.
- The unique way she targets business clients in a traditionally b2c space.
- How she’s carefully “outsourced” some of the boots-on-the-ground responsibilities.
- How Alexandra landed a traditionally published book deal without an agent.
- Her plans to grow and scale the business to remove her “time-for-money” involvement.
- Alexandra’s #1 tip for Side Hustle Nation.
Links:
- UrbanHikerSF.com
- Urban Trails San Francisco (Alex’s book)
- The $100 Startup
- Zozi
- TripAdvisor
- Airbnb (get $35 off your first adventure)
- Vayable (get $10 off your first booking)
- Verlocal
- Viator
- Zola (alternative wedding registry)
- Cloud9Living.com
- Xola (booking software)
- David Fugate (publishing support)
- World Domination Summit | What World Domination Means To Me | WDS Highlight Reel
Download the Free PDF "Highlight Reel" from this Episode
With all of my guest's top tips and resources included.
Enter your email to access it now:
Success! You just unlocked the highlight reel from this episode ... AND over 200 other subscriber-only bonuses. Check your email for details :)
(If it doesn't show up in 5-10 minutes, check spam/promotions.)
You'll also receive my best side hustle tips and weekly-ish newsletter. Opt-out anytime.
We would love to be included on this list as well.
https://www.tourzan.com is a marketplace to show tourists around to make some side cash.
Great podcast! I’m thinking of getting into starting a tour guide hustle in Maui. Thanks for the inspiration.