Notes from Chris

Episode 1408

Kevin Groh has always loved to travel. In 2015 he was working as a Physician Assistant when he decided to visit Machu Picchu. The ancient city is nestled high in the mountains of Peru, and getting there is a formidable four-day task taking adventurers through the majestic scenery and exhaustive mountain passes. The conditions require that anyone trekking there must be accompanied by a guide.

For Kevin, that guide was a local named David Villagra. David grew up in a farming town nearby and worked for a local tour operator. However, he’d always dreamed of starting his own company to guide visitors from around the world through his own backyard.

In fact, he’d tried once before, and failed. Guiding is a serious business in Cusco, the historical city near Machu Picchu, and competition is fierce. Without any experience in marketing, he couldn’t compete with the larger local businesses. As he explained this problem to Kevin on day two of the trek, Kevin’s mind began to wander.

He had seen first hand what a fantastic experience the trek was, and put forth an idea. If David could handle all the logistics in Peru, he’d find a way to market to tourists in the U.S. In a handshake deal on day four of the hike they agreed to start Cachi Life, a travel company specializing in tours of the region.

David would arrange permits for the hikers, local porters, equipment and food. Kevin would build a web presence and handle all the marketing. Once Kevin returned stateside, he got to work.

With each happy customer the word of mouth spread, and Cachi Life soon had referral business coming in on top of the new business being funneled by their content marketing. By the beginning of 2020, the side hustle was making sixty thousand dollars per year!

But… you know the next part of the story. COVID-19 became a cloud covering the summit, making the next steps more a little foggy. The Peruvian border was closed for several months in 2020. This means that the tourism industry has taken a huge hit. A hit extended to Cachi Life.

While upsetting, Kevin still has his day job and knows tourism will be back in full swing before too long. In fact, the region is already reopening this month to visitors from select countries.

He’s been taking the time to increase the amount of content he produces to keep Cachi at the forefront of discussion. Furthermore, to attract people who may want more of a DIY approach to exploring Peru he and David are creating a Peru travel guide that they hope will help produce additional, non-tour related income. As soon as it’s feasible, they also plan to expand their tours to Bolivia and Mexico.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• We'll be able to travel again some day! Start dreaming about going to Peru at Kevin's website, CachiLife.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Project Manager Helps Cubicle Workers See the World: When a corporate employee is told she can’t take a big trip because of her daughter, she starts a company to make travel more accessible.
• Developer Gets Paid for Weekend Trips Abroad: This web developer always wanted to travel, but only had a few days a year to do it. Little did she know that her jam-packed adventures would become a profitable side hustle.
• Management Consultant Creates Astute Traveling Videos: Travel videos on YouTube seemed like a crowded market, but this rewards-loving consultant finds a way to stand out.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work! Yours in the revolution,

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