Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ike Bancroft, Owner of Dig Deep Tours, located in Bellingham, WA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Dig Deep Tours is a mountain bike guiding company based in one of the most special places in the country - Bellingham, WA. Dig Deep focuses on "travel" over "tourism" and finds it our duty to share some of the deepest qualities that make our region unique. While mountain biking is a super fun, exhilarating activity, when all is said and done, it is really about exploring the world, challenging ourselves, and becoming better people.

Dig Deep offers mountain bike-guided tours around the best trails in Bellingham and NW Washington, curated to each group's skill level and fitness. We offer half-day trips, full-day trips, and mountain bike rentals all in one package and plan to begin offering multi-day trips starting in 2023. Our customers are anyone and everyone! Mountain bikes are for everyone to experience, and people travel from all over the world to taste the incredible trails we have here in Bellingham. One doesn't have to be a hardcore cyclist to enjoy a Dig Deep tour - beginners have a great time as well!

Tell us about yourself

While I've been deeply passionate about mountain biking for 12 years, it wasn't until I started guiding that it became something more than a hobby. Bringing people out for their first time experiencing something that has brought so much good to my life is one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. Owning my own guiding outfit adds a whole new level of agency to the experiences I am able to curate on each outing. The beautiful thing about mountain bike guiding is that I get to spend time with new people every day who are always at their best - trying something new, pushing their boundaries, and exploring nature!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As simple as it sounds, my biggest accomplishment was running my first tour! After years of planning and months and months of grinding through the startup phase, the experience of offering my first half-day tour and seeing the huge smiles on my guests' faces still feels like my biggest accomplishment.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Being extremely invested in every small detail of your business. It can be hard to remove yourself from the desire to control every outcome. As an employee of a business, it tends to feel easier to do one's job to the best of one's abilities and let the chips fall where they may. Owning a business can sometimes be a difficult balancing act between intense attention to detail and trying to go with the flow. Many people become business owners in order to be the masters of their own little universe, but at the end of the day, Murphy's Law is still the law.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Utilize passion. The product or service you offer doesn't have to be your biggest passion in life, but having some passion invested in the core of your business will give you more sustainable energy, and your customers will notice.
  2. Don't expect things you be linear. There will be ups and downs, frustrations, and celebrations. The excitement you feel when you first register your business will diminish, and doubt will sometimes creep in. If you can expect that to happen and know that it is natural, it'll be easier to push through to the next phase of success and excitement.
  3. Get your network excited. Having people that care about you invested in your success is huge. They will spread the word, offer ideas, and encourage you. It can feel strange to promote your business to family and friends, but they are the ones who want to see you succeed the most.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Mountain bikes are the best invention ever. Objectively.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.digdeeptours.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digdeeptours
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digdeeptours/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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