Riley Floyd ’13 – Last week, I rode 22 miles on a bike and ran a 5k-road race. And that was only Tuesday.
My internship with Nantucket Bike Tours has been nothing if not active. I’ve learned more about biking and about hospitality than I thought possible. I’ve seen so much of Nantucket that the island legitimately feels like a second home.
But the crux of this internship isn’t about the great history, the amazing food, or the fantastic people that make this place what it is. The crux of this internship is a small business. Who knew owning your own small business could be so much fun? Jason started Nantucket Bike Tours last year. And 71 (and counting) Trip Advisor reviews later, the business is the number one tour on Nantucket—thanks in no small part to the welcoming, easy going, and fun-loving atmosphere Jason and Courtney create for their customers.
The business is small: there’re only four of us working. Instead of having revenue projection meetings with anonymous colleagues, we gather around an iMac and talk about QuickBooks printouts. We decide, as a group, what pictures we want to appear on the website, how we want the copy to read, and what aesthetic we want to convey to site visitors. Here, there’s access—to understanding the workings of a small business, to friendships, and to learning more about yourself. And that access can only be found on the ground, in the thick of it—not in a classroom at Wabash or even at a business school.
A good tour isn’t based on how well you know the facts. It’s about how you talk to people. And Jason and Courtney are experts. They’ve taught Carl and I how to adapt to the different people and interests we encounter on tours. They don’t like history? Skip this stop. Averse to hills? Take this route. The fun (and the challenge) of this internship is gauging people: their interests, their enthusiasm, and how well they react to your tour. This business is about people, and that’s why this internship has been such an informative experience.
Nantucket is an active, vibrant community. We’re here to show those attributes to everyone who takes our tours. We want them to have a good time—to walk away from the tours as if their friend just showed them around a familiar place. That’s what makes Nantucket Bike Tours unique. Engaging with people—talking to them, learning about their interests—is something I’ll do for the rest of my life. NBT pushed me out of my comfort zone in an industry in which I hadn’t had much experience. Because of the lessons I’ve learned here, the skills I’ve honed, and the relationships I’ve formed here, I’ve grown.
Did I mention I can change a flat?
