Today we’d like to introduce you to Nickolas Arvanitakis.
Hi Nickolas, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Traverse City from Sonoma County, CA, with my wife at the time. It was during the early part of the winter in 2015-2016. I had visited Michigan several times before as that is where my ex-wife’s family lived. When we arrived, I had recently graduated from college and was looking desperately to find work. However, it being winter, the options were very limited. I went to some big interviews, but nothing came from them. One day, my wife was looking through Craigslist, and there was an opening for a wine tour driver at a new company in town. We both figured that I knew wine and I knew driving, so at the very least, it could be a good temporary or part-time job. I started training early in the spring and completely fell in love with being a guide. I was able to share my passion for Wine and Beer, while at the same time showing guests a great time. Everyone had such different stories to tell and were all here to take a little break from their everyday routines. I kept my eyes peeled for a more traditional job for a few years, but after a while, I realized I had found what I had been looking for. I did everything you can imagine, from repairing vehicles to laying the concrete for the new bus storage facility. After a while I began to think, I can do this. I could lead my own company and become a job creator. Then the pandemic hit. All tours came to a halt. During that time, I began to think, maybe this is the moment. I saved my unemployment check money and put it aside until things began to reopen. In December of 2021, I filed my incorporation paperwork, and Wonderland Tours was born. The first few months were seriously spent filing papers, opening business accounts, figuring out any form of advertising and basically taking a crash course in office management. Thankfully there were some local programs specifically designed to help new business owners get started. I made the call and was put in touch with Sam and the SBDA. He has been my rock as far as discussing, planning, and implementing successful strategies or just bouncing ideas off of. My family has also played an indispensable role in supporting me mentally. Our first season was very much trial and error, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, dialing in fair pricing now that I had smaller groups, and being responsible for the tour from the first phone call to final drop off. It was overwhelming, but again, I had a lot of support from many great people. In the second season, I had the basics down, and it was time to build Wonderland’s reputation. I focused on making sure my guests had the absolute best time on the peninsulas at a fair price. As my Google reviews grew, I began to receive more trust from potential guests, and the tours doubled from the first year. Now as we enter the third season, I am very excited to see what 2024 brings. I am at the point where I need to hire additional drivers. Part of our philosophy is to provide good wages, so I start my drivers at 20.00 an hour plus tips. Ideally, they should be going home with at least 30.00 an hour, sometimes even more.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was rocky, especially the first year. Getting everything legal, all the correct forms. It seems like every time I filled out something, they would need another thing from a different entity. Even tracking down an insurance provider was a challenge since Michigan requires a very specific kind of coverage to operate a livery business in Michigan. Then, getting the early adopters to book a tour with us. Though I had the experience, Wonderland didn’t have a well-known name. I felt like a kid banging legos together. Build this, take it apart, try it another way. The learning curve on creating a website, figuring out quick books, even finding the right payment processor were all challenges that required tons of research to make sure that they would be the right fit for the company. At the same time, I was running low on my initial start-up capital, so I needed to book tours while I figured everything out. My first wine tour vehicle was a great little, 5-passenger Ford Transit. I loved it to death, but within a couple of months I realized I needed a bigger vehicle, I was turning away too many tours based on their group size. I reached out to a dear family friend, and she agreed to help me upgrade to the Chevrolet Suburban we use today. Again, great people have helped me immeasurably along the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While living in California, I worked for two beverage companies. The first one, Revive Drinks, was a complete start-up. We made kombucha and used to have a bottle return system. Much like milk jugs in the 1950s. Customers would pay a deposit on the bottle and then return it for cleaning. I was responsible for delivery of the products all across the Bay Area and picking up the return bottles. From there I moved into additional roles and became the logistics lead. Tracking products, coordinating with partner companies, all the while still delivering our local routes. I don’t think we had a week under 60 hours for 2 years. A large part of the logistics lead position was creating and maintaining the relationships with all of our accounts as well as with suppliers. I spent many hours on the road, so driving became second nature to me. I was the face of the company, and it was a responsibility I took very seriously. Eventually, though, the hours began to affect my marriage, and we agreed it was time to move on to something that would allow more home time. Our son was a newborn, and my wife needed me at home. I was able to take a similar position at a craft brewery, I was very well known for taking care of my clients, predicting what they might need, and making sure everyone had a chance at new and seasonal brews, as well as some special blends for longtime accounts. If there was a misload and even one account did not get everything they ordered, we would make a special trip to the city to make sure they were completely happy. At the end of the day, it was the relationships I created with my accounts that set Moonlight apart from the other breweries in the area. Moonlight Brewing introduced me to the world of craft beer, and my wife’s position at a local winery allowed me to learn about the beauty of wine. I worked at Moonlight for two years, before our family had outgrown the home we had. We looked at options to stay in California, but the prices in the Bay Area were so out of control, it didn’t make sense, and my wife’s family lived in Traverse. After a lot of discussion, we made the move to Michigan.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
That is a big question. Already, the tour market is very saturated. While there are plenty of tours to be had, the sheer numbers of people getting on buses is overwhelming to the wineries. I could imagine a time when the ultra-large groups are no longer welcome, and the more intimate tour groups will be the ones able to make the reservations. It’s not just one large bus out there; it’s many buses, and when 2 to 3 twenty person-plus buses show up at the same time, the experience is strained for the staff, passengers, and anyone who came to go tasting on their own. Aside from that, large groups are far more unruly inside the wineries. People forget they are still wine-tasting and not at a downtown bar. I would love to see more tasting rooms open, especially as Michigan continues to build its reputation as a world-class wine destination. Aside from that, I see the trend going in the direction of increased tourism. Traverse City has very much become the vacation destination for Michiganders, as well as travelers from a far.
Pricing:
- 349.00 for a 4-hour tour
- 449.00 for a 5-hour tour
- 549.00 for a 6-hour tour
- Special pricing is available during certain times of the year.
- Airport shuttle/tour bundles are available.
Contact Info:
- Website: Wonderlandtourstraversecity.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderlandtourstraversecity/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WonderlandToursTraverseCity
