How I Built This
In the last few years, America's eyes (and palates) have turned to Cincinnati. National and regional stories seem to follow one right after the other with Cincinnati appearing in a different "top" list every few weeks. Led by the independent organization Cincinnati Experience, a team that works behind the scenes to tell the good news about our region to a national audience, the positive media blitz has been nothing short of amazing.
Back in 2012, I was running my small business like so many others, working essentially by myself. Arranging tours and balancing the books left little time for any concerted efforts toward sales and promotion. Then something happened. Susan Lomax, from what was then called Source Cincinnati, reached out to see if I would host a media tour at Findlay Market. One tour led to another, and my confidence grew as I began to believe that I could be a real piece of the local travel and tourism industry. In 2017, I found myself thrust into the limelight when Cincinnati Food Tours was mentioned by The New York Times in an article entitled 36 Hours in Cincinnati. Suddenly my little company was no longer just a one woman show. I felt connected and was no longer just representing myself. I was part of a bigger Cincinnati story, and I began feeling a whole different kind of pressure. Not only did I want my business to succeed, but I also wanted my whole community to succeed. I wanted to get better not just for my own business, but for all of Cincinnati and for each of the restaurants and merchants that I represented.
Just a few short months later, The Times included Cincinnati as one of 52 Places to Go in 2018. Shortly thereafter, Elaine Glusac wrote about Cincinnati Food Tours in Don’t Underestimate the Dining Scene in Cincinnati’s Dynamic Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood in the Chicago Tribune. This was crazy and flattering and amazing all at once.
I listen to a popular NPR podcast called How I Built This. As part of each episode, the host Guy Raz asks his guest, "How much of your success do you attribute to luck and how much do you attribute to skill or hard work?" I have a hard time distinguishing between luck and opportunity. I was lucky to get an opportunity. Starting a business in 2012 based on tasting food in Cincinnati was the right decision at the right time. Crossing paths with Susan and her colleagues through Cincinnati Experience and Visit Cincy was fortuitous. Yes, timing is everything, and thanks to the collaborative media push, nowhere has the spotlight been shining any brighter than on the Cincinnati food stage. Consequently, my food tourism business was perfectly positioned at that time. The explosion of new restaurants and the resulting media coverage in our area is proof positive of the continually growing attention we deserve.
Travel + Leisure says Cincinnati is experiencing a "culinary revival" and Findlay Market is "the beating heart of Cincinnati’s culinary scene." I'm lucky enough to be riding that wave. For a small business like mine, lots of small steps lead to one giant leap. Get connected. Don't miss your opportunity to be a part of the story. Build your network. Let's keep growing Cincinnati, one step and one small business at a time.