Check Out Steve Chapman’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Chapman.

Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Salida Walking Tours began with one person, a t-shirt, and a 60-minute history tour. After selling his business in Southeast Asia, I wasn’t ready to retire. What to do with all that time? For years, I collected tidbits of Salida history — stories, factoids. In 2018, I looked around our thriving tourist town and wondered why no one offered tours of downtown, home to Colorado’s largest National Historic District with 136 buildings preserved from 1883 to 1910. So, I did it. Over time, the history tour expanded to 90 minutes. We also added a Ghost & Murder Tour (our most popular offering) and a tour of a historic cemetery. I began writing history books in 2019 and even hosted an award-winning radio program and podcast about Salida’s past. The rest, as they say, is history.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
To run your own business is rarely smooth. If it gets to easy, I become nervous. The obstacles in the beginning were getting the word out locally and to out-of-town visitors. As we grew and added more guides, logistics and personnel management and training became the new challenges. Of course, then came the lockdowns and associated drop in tourist traffic. This year, just as tourist season started, the economy tanked, gas prices skyrocketed, and our traffic shifted from out-of-state visitors to more in-state. It’s always something new. But it’s a lot of fun delivering tours, entertaining guests, and creating lasting memories for visitors.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a storyteller. Unlike a museum, we do not walk with guests and share random facts. We entertain. Our jobs as guides is to make guests laugh, to ‘see’ the past (or feel the haunts), and to help them escape the real world for 90 minutes. The company motto is ‘Serve the Show’. While our tours are fact-based, they are also one-person shows. There is laughter, puns, titillating stories, and memorable anecdotes shared on every tour. Staying in our lane, and focusing on delivering great shows, is why we have over 700 5-star ratings among all the travel platforms.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
It’s been my experience that most people want to be helpful. From the beginning, I’ve looked for people who are creative, insightful or who are strong in areas I am not. And I ask for their help. And I listen to their advice. No one has a monopoly on great ideas, so I constantly reach out to local business owners, guests, and friends for comments and criticisms. If we aren’t growing, we’re dying. I’m not ready to die yet!

Pricing:

• $30 per person for all tours

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salidawalkingtours.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/salida_walking_tours
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/salidawalkingtours