Today we’d like to introduce you to Mindy Flanagan.
Mindy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After re-careering out of the training and career development field, I was ready to make my avocation my vocation and together with my husband, we launched Tour Freely – a digital tour company, creating 3D virtual tours, GPS walking and driving tours. Our GPS-guided audio tours are immersive storytelling experiences in select Southern Californian destinations where the history, heritage, and lifestyle of the areas comes to life.
As a career coach/trainer, I was focused on helping others explore themselves, helping them find their spark, and “Follow their bliss.” Now I’m on a parallel path helping others explore and follow their wanderlust and curiosity in the great and grand outdoors.
My career trajectory has been filled with lots of career pivots, and it was a bumpy road at times, but my husband and I had always planned during our “Third act| Golden Years” we would follow the adage, “Do what you love…and the money will follow.” We didn’t believe in retiring. We believed in re-careering and re-purposing ourselves. We knew we both had a keen interest in history and going out in nature to explore. When we learned we could create tours using GPS technology, the light bulb went on!
We aptly named our company Tour Freely, as we believe in optimizing for freedom of movement, so folks can tour on-demand and stop and start at their command, accessible via a downloadable tour app. We believe if you want to stop for lunch or coffee, you should be able to tour freely – and you can – with GPS as your guide. We believe our customers want to be immersed to fully experience in their surroundings, not have their faces in a PDF or a phone. We believe in following your passion, not a tour guide.
This new career path aligned with so many of the things I love, combined with being near the ocean – nature’s healing elixir and simply enjoying the fresh air – nature’s anti-depressant. I have always been inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, and drink in the wild air” This quote embodies our business, and it embodies all that I love now and loved as a child.
In summary – we can be “Ladies who launch” and make that boss move to take the entrepreneurial path at any age. Albert Einstein was right when he said – “Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance, you must keep moving.“
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We launched our business when Covid decided to launch, as well …of all the nerve of Covid! Even though GPS-guided touring was a perfect pandemic-friendly activity, it was tough to get the word out when everybody was hunkered down in their cocoons. Hotels often refer a lot of business our way, but the hospitality industry was tanking. So, we were off to a little bit of a rocky start!
Recently we made a slight pivot, and we launched our new tour creation service called Freely3D.tours, where we specialize in creating 3D immersive and interactive virtual tours for the hospitality industry to enhance the marketing of their event and wedding venues. We were excited to make this career move, as we believe there is no better way to showcase venues and provide an unparalleled level of engagement. Many businesses need to pivot to continue to meet the changing needs of their client base, and when you pivot you typically have a new market. We enjoy this new technology, and now we are looking to expand our B2B marketing, So it’s onward and upward!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Tour Freely?
When we founded Tour Freely, we created four Southern California tours: Three walking tours, which are urban hikes in La Jolla, Sunset Strip, and Santa Barbara, and one driving tour of San Diego. Our tours have been recognized by Viator with the Badge of Excellence and they add the fun factor to the immersive storytelling experience! If you are in the Southern California region, you can let the adventure begin on one of our four GPS-guided tours!
San Diego Tours:
• La Jolla Walking Tour ($9.99) – Take in the romance and allure of this coastal paradise as you stroll the village and the seaside. Go back in time to La Jolla’s early days. Enjoy seeing the seals and the sea lions too!
• San Diego Driving Tour ($14.99) – You’ll experience the city through the eyes of San Diego locals, immersing yourself in stories about its past while taking in its spectacular coastal scenery. Experience the mythical coastal California lifestyle and find out why it’s called America’s Finest City!
Santa Barbara Tours and West Hollywood Tours:
• Santa Barbara’s Beginnings – A GPS Walking Tour ($9.99) – On this tour, you will soak in the stunning Santa Ynez Mountains, which back the sun-drenched shoreline. With the magnificent Channel Islands situated near offshore, you will experience Santa Barbara’s magic and appreciate the myths and mysteries. This tour showcases the best of the city’s intriguing history and glory of the Spanish-style architecture with 30 unique stops.
• Sunset Strip|West Hollywood Walking Tour ($9.99) Explore Tinseltown’s glamour scene. Check out where old Hollywood stars gathered. For music lovers – visit the epicenter of the folk and rock music revolution. Find out what is coming next – on the dynamic Sunset Strip!
Our most popular tour is our San Diego driving tour. Here’s what a couple of our customers are saying about our Drive San Diego tour and our technology platform (VoiceMap – that hosts tours across the globe):
– Wouldn’t want to travel without it! VoiceMap is an excellent way to see a city without having to be subjected to tour buses, lots of people, and seeing things that you really aren’t interested in. The app navigates you through the city, avoiding highways, gives you the option to stop when you feel that this site is something you would like to spend more time at, and ensures that you don’t get lost all the while listening to interesting information about the history, etc. of the areas that you’re seeing. It’s an excellent app! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to travel and doesn’t, particularly like big tour groups. (Laurie M.)
– Great Tour! – Really well done. Saw parts of the city we never would have explored otherwise. Learned a great deal. Technology behind this was great- system knew right where we were, and the directions were excellent. (Lori G.)
How it works: Download the free VoiceMap app (works offline) at TourFreely.com. Purchase the tour and have it for life. Listen on your smartphone. For the walking tour – lace up your sneakers and throw on your headset…and your adventure begins!
Our tours are designed for: Visitors and locals alike will enjoy taking in the spectacular scenery. We believe in democratizing the tour business by making it accessible and affordable for everyone. For those with limited mobility or limited time, we’ve created a virtual option so EVERYONE can enjoy touring freely!
Why 3D Virtual Tours: We recently launched a new client service for our hospitality clients, who are looking to differentiate and invite their customers to explore and virtually immerse themselves in their venues. There’s no better way to do it than with 3D virtual tours – with its interactive experience and unparalleled engagement. 3D tours will increase: bookings, conversion rates, and brand value. We have discount summer special running now – so don’t keep the beauty of your venue a secret!
We help the hospitality space by:
o Giving hotels the option to add our tours at a discount as an amenity to be included in the resort fees. This meets guest needs with a budget-friendly, on-demand tour for those who want to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of sightseeing, that suits their timeline and suits their likes.
o Providing an affordable option to be included in any guest offer package – such as a Discover San Diego Package.
o Offering affordable 3D virtual tours – to allow guests to have an interactive and immersive experience of their event and wedding venues. Great ROI!
We help the wellness community as our GPS walking tours:
• Foster wellness: As research supports, getting out in nature relieves stress. Nature heals!
• Add to a healthy lifestyle: Get ALL your steps in on our 60–75-minute urban hikes. On our La Jolla GPS tour, you will stroll through the village and along the sublime coastal seaside.
• Make an easy staff/customer giveaway. We sell our tours in bulk at a discount to companies and organizations who are looking to promote health and wellness for their employees and customers.
We help the real estate community as our GPS tours will:
o Save Agents Time: No need to be a tour guide and show every potential buyer around the community. GPS technology allows clients to start and stop at their command, so they can truly experience the area’s lifestyle, as they stop for a glass of wine, coffee or lunch along the route.
o Enhance the client experience and generate more interest in the local area, as the tours showcase the area’s unique and beloved features.
o Make practical budget-friendly client giveaways. We sell our tours in bulk at a discount to real estate agents.
Every town has a story to tell. We appreciate and love to share these illustrious backstories. Explore. Experience. Enjoy. – As you follow your wanderlust and curiosity!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Just before I was born, my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and back then, there were no treatments – therefore, it was tick-tock on the bucket list! So, when I was seven, my parents rented our house and off we went to live on the French Riviera! Though my dad was facing multiple health challenges, my parents were #killinit by launching this adventure with three small children. The seed for the love of adventure was planted. It was au revoir and laisse le bon temps rouler!
Pricing:
- Our budget-friendly GPS walking tours are only $9.99…
- Our GPS driving tour is only $14.99.
- We are currently offering a summer special on our already affordable 3D virtual tours. Pricing is based on square footage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tourfreely.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tourfreely/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TourFreely/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tour-freely/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreelyTour
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmO_RsQzcC3D9RprQAuTxA
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/flanagan3962
