How these entrepreneurs turned walking around New York City into a full-time job

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At work

by perry ormont blumberg

If you’re interested in history, culture, food, or have a knack for local quirks, you might have fantasized about starting a small walking tour business, either as a full-time business or as a side hustle. not.

Ahead, people around town will share how they’ve worked on paved roads.

Gabriel Schoenberg, Graff Tours

Schoenberg’s uncle has been a tour guide for many years, and the entrepreneur worked for him during college to make extra money. “I saw a graffiti art tour in Buenos Aires and thought it was great, so I tried to bring it to New York,” he said of the business’ origins in Bushwick in 2013.

Now, the Greenpoint resident earns “a few thousand dollars” a month through his only job, Graff Tours. In addition to tours, his company offers Graffiti His art classes and hosts live His painting events. “To be a good tour guide, it’s important to have a passion for the subject, so only guide in areas you like,” Schoenberg says, adding that to become an expert in your field, I recommend reading books on a certain subject.

Seth Camil, Big Onion Walking Tours

Founded in 1991, Kamil is based on the South Slope and has been at the helm of the New York business for 33 years. The company was born out of “chance and economic necessity” by two Columbia University PhDs in American history. Kamil and his co-founder Ed O’Donnell’s students needed to make money.
The pair committed to hiring only graduate students and underemployed recent PhDs, which Kamil said is “still core to our business model.”

Mr. O’Donnell has left the company, but Mr. Kamil still runs Big Onion full time.

To succeed in this industry, Kamil emphasized being original.

“Read books and articles, but don’t take tours led by other guides to build your knowledge base,” he said.

Alana Hoy Barnabas, Ahoy New York Food Tour

Hoey Barnabas, a native of Gloversville, New York, moved to New York and spent his weekends showing around his loved ones as they often visited.

“I realized I had a talent for sharing my city, so I started volunteering with Big Apple Greeter,” she said of the free organization, which connects visitors with residents who want to share their knowledge of the city.
Eventually, she decided to obtain a tourism license to become an official tour guide and spent her time developing the Chinatown and Little Italy food tour, which is the operator’s signature tour today. .
In 2010, Hui Barnabas turned it into a full-time job.

In addition to finding your niche, Hoye Barnaba said organization is key. “Secondly, if you are going to hire, make sure you have the right training materials and teach your staff consistency so that the quality of the product is the same no matter who is doing the tour,” she said.

Hoe Barnaba hopes to become a million-dollar travel company by 2024. “Last year we just missed it a little bit,” she said.

Todd Levkovich, Who’s of New York Tours

Based in Greenwich Village, Levkovich (right) is originally from Cranford, New Jersey. During his early childhood, he became fascinated with New York, watching the local news and reading newspapers. And in the summer of 1977, at the age of 15, he began venturing into the city to explore.

Levkovich still fondly remembers the first time he explored 42nd Street. “The streets were full of peep show shops, XXX theaters, prostitutes, prostitutes, drug dealers, and derelicts. I’m from Cranford, a quiet, clean suburban town, and this is… It was the best experience!”

Levkovich brought friends, family, and girlfriends to the city to continue exploring. Everything was done on the hoof, without taking a taxi or riding the subway. “The only way to really explore is on foot,” Levkovich asserted.

His formal work began in 1998 and became a full-time job a year later. He currently hosts gourmet tours five days a week. Although the pandemic took a toll on his business, his total revenue in 2019 was $3 million. Now he’s worth $1.1 million, which is still no small amount.

To grow your business, visit lesser-known destinations, advises a tour guru. “Create your own gourmet tour in an area that isn’t flooded with other gourmet tours,” says Levkovich.

Stephen Odd, Walks Tours

Mr. Oddo is based in Boston, but his company operates tours in New York City and 24 other cities in North America and Europe.

The idea for his company began in 2008 when Odd was living in Rome and working as a tour guide at the Vatican and Colosseum.

“We wanted to show people new ways to experience these familiar monuments, with an emphasis on quality guides, small groups, and unique itineraries,” he said.

In 2014, Walks expanded to New York with small group walking tours of the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 9/11 Memorial Tour. In 2022, Walks becomes the official tour operator of Grand Central Terminal.

Oddo also served as a mentor last year for the New York Downtown Alliance’s Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program, which provides funding to entrepreneurs starting walking tours in Lower Manhattan.

Most of Walks’ guides work part-time, but Odd employs many guides to write travel blogs and create social media content. “Their local knowledge is incredibly valuable,” said Oddo, who shared that tour guide hourly rates around the world tend to be between $40 and $80 per hour.

Odd’s top tip for aspiring Amblers: Be sure to collect and publish good customer reviews to build trust with future customers.

“Producing high-quality social media videos on platforms like Instagram and TikTok is extremely valuable,” he said. And, “Especially in New York, we need to find creative ways to reach potential customers who already have a lot of choice when it comes to their experience.”