Bungy employee to Business Owner
Lewis' Success Story
The thing I love about my job is: I don't dread going to work. I look forward to meeting whoever's going to get on the tour.
Interview with Lewis
I own and operate Queenstown Beer Tours. I design the website, I do the marketing, I clean the van, I take the tours and I pay the bills - so I'm a one-man-band.
I grew up in a tourist town and my parents were in Tourism. So straight out of school I was like "alright, I will give this a go - everyone else is doing it".
I don't dread going to work. I look forward to meeting whoever's going to get on the tour and spending a good day with them. Really, at the end of the day I'm just sitting around having a good yarn.
Someone on my tour learned I was going to Matarangi and that I didn't have accommodation sorted yet, so said to me "here's the address, keys are under the mat, help yourself." So, I stayed at her bach for a couple of nights, which was really cool. Goes to show how much this industry is about people.
I get up, check out the bookings and dietary requirements for lunch, make sure the van is clean, then let all the breweries know we're coming around. So a bit of organisation in the morning. Then I round everybody up, try put a smile on their face, give them delicious beers, and drop them off happy as Larry.
Queenstown is a great destination for the breweries that opened here. It's cool to have a beer amongst the mountains, especially after a day on the ski field. They all have great backdrops so it's nice to have a beer and check out the scenery. Also, a small town nearby grows hops so it's great to use and promote local products.
In the next 3-5 years I want to get more bums on seats and up the amount of tours I do per month. I want to help out the local breweries more. I would like to expand the business with a new driver and tour guide, so I would want to find a good person who can safely look after a group of people.
Just give it a go. You're never going to know if you like it until you try it. You can either work your way up in a company or be like me and be your own boss. For running a business, you probably need skills better than I have… but you need to be able to learn and adapt. If I could tell myself one thing before starting my business, it would be to get more computer savvy. You'll be successful in Tourism is you have a good attitude, want to learn, are mindful of other people and cultures, and want to have fun at work.