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.

Check out Lewis's business!

Queenstown Beer Tours

Check out Lewis's business!

Queenstown Beer Tours

More Success Stories

${successArticle.title}

${successArticle.description}