Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jaye White, Owner of Exploring the North Shore, located in Grand Marais, MN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Exploring the North Shore is a multimedia tourism company all about Lake Superior's North Shore. We have a podcast, a tourism website, and social media accounts highlighting this beautiful area. Our customers are anyone with interest in the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. On the local level, we provide photography and videography services for local non-profits.
Tell us about yourself
Martha and I are the hosts of the Exploring the North Shore podcast. We were both raised on the North Shore, me in Silver Bay and Martha in Duluth, and we both found our way to Grand Marais in the mid-2010s. I started the podcast in May 2019 with a different host, and Martha joined the podcast in the winter of 2019. We launched the website in January 2020 to expand on the wealth of knowledge we have gathered from two lifetimes living on the North Shore. We love the area and love sharing it with visitors from all over the world.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our first time appearing on the Apple Podcasts charts was pretty thrilling! Since then, we have consistently ranked in the top 200 tourism podcasts on Apple, peaking at number 7! Launching the 50th episode of the podcast was also a huge accomplishment. However, it was being able to use our skills to help out our community through work with local non-profits that we value the most.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
We launched the website with plans to expand the business in January 2020. Just two months later, COVID-19 changed the world as we knew it. Having to shift goals and wade through a sea of uncertainty when the business was very young was challenging. However, we adjusted and made it through the lockdowns. We are still working daily to make the website and podcast even better.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Use your resources (and don't be afraid to tap into them)! Exploring the North Shore would not be where it is today without the support of the owners of Cascade Vacation Rentals, who financed gear purchases and have been the podcast and website's longest sponsor.
- Be flexible! We didn't expect a pandemic to completely change our business strategy just weeks after launching the website. But things happen, and you need to be able to change and adjust to everything happening around you.
- Ask for help when you need it, and don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Exploring the North Shore podcast was an idea we had for years before we finally launched. We knew nothing about recording, editing - and the first few episodes are a little rough -and launching a podcast, but we had a lot of help along the way. Sometimes you just have to ask for the help you need.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://exploringnorthshore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exploringnorthshore/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exploringnorthshore/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaye-white-903553138/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@staycvr
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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