Geoff Karlavage had just landed in Las Vegas in August 2007 when his Blackberry buzzed with an message saying that the mortgage lender he worked for was shutting down. There’s no place like Las Vegas to drown your sorrows, but before long Karlavage was back in Florida looking for a job. But at every job fair he went to, he was competing with other laid-off mortgage industry-employees for jobs so he decided to take charge of his own future:
About six months ago, Karlavage decided to change gears. He bought five motorized Segway scooters for $5,500 each and opened a kiosk in the Channelside Bay Plaza complex, where he runs his company, Magic Carpet Glide Tampa Bay Segway Tours. From there, he leads guided tours of the city.
“I started this just to get some money in the door,” he said. “But it’s been very successful so far. I’ve been booked up.”
Early next week, I’ll be doing an interview with Geoff Karlavage about the specifics of starting an operating a Seqway tour business.