S2 E8 Jeff Comer- 3XP Tours

Exploring Buckeye Lake with Jeff Comer of 3XP Tours

In this lively episode of Cosmos and Commerce, Michele and Janis sit down with Jeff Comer, the visionary behind 3XP Tours at Buckeye Lake, Ohio. Jeff takes listeners through his journey of creating unforgettable kayak and bike adventures that capture the spirit of the lake, complete with stops at local breweries and wineries. Dive into Jeff’s story and gain insights into his entrepreneurial path!

Episode Highlights:

1. Origins of 3XP Tours
   Jeff’s inspiration struck in 2016 after an incredible kayak brewery tour. He realized Buckeye Lake was the perfect backdrop for a unique experience he named “Paddles, Pedals, and Pints.” By 2021, his vision became a reality, connecting people with the natural beauty of Buckeye Lake.
2. The Challenge of Time
   Running 3XP as a side venture to his full-time role, Jeff shares his struggles with time management and his strategies for making every tour a memorable experience. Prioritizing and setting boundaries has been key to his success.
3. Pride in Buckeye Lake
   One of Jeff’s proudest achievements is drawing visitors from nearby states who often discover Buckeye Lake for the first time. By sharing this hidden gem, Jeff feels he’s fostering a deeper appreciation of local nature.
4. Marketing Mastery
   Leveraging his media background, Jeff partners with local influencers to grow his business. Through savvy marketing and building relationships, he’s brought 3XP Tours to the attention of both locals and tourists.
5. Exciting New Projects
   Jeff reveals his latest venture: a self-service kayak rental kiosk, launching soon in collaboration with Ohio State Parks. This “kayak shack” will allow visitors to scan and rent equipment at their convenience.
6. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
   Jeff encourages listeners to start with thorough research, build connections, and, above all, love what they do. “Put gasoline on the fire—go all the way,” he says.

Lightning Round: Fun Facts About Jeff

• Favorite Pump-Up Song: Till I Collapse by Eminem
• Top Gear for Business: A waterproof digital business card bracelet
• Proudest Personal Accomplishment: 20 years of marriage

Connect with 3XP Tours:
Ready for your own adventure at Buckeye Lake? Visit 3xptours.com or their facebook to book tours, including kayak, bike, and brew experiences, sunset paddles, and kid-friendly kayak outings. And look out for the self-rental “kayak shack” coming this spring!

Join the Cosmos!
Subscribe to Cosmos and Commerce, leave a review, and share this episode with friends who love adventure. Until next time—keep exploring, hustling, and savoring those Cosmos!

https://cosmosandcommerce.com
https://www.facebook.com/cosmosandcommercepodcast

Transcript

Michele: Hey everyone. Welcome back to cosmos and commerce. I'm Michele. And as always, I'm here with my amazing co host Janis.

Janis: Hey, Michele, I'm really pumped for today's episode. We've got Jeff, Jeff Comer in the house.

Michele: That's right. Jeff is the brains behind three XP tours where he takes people on incredible kayak and bike adventures around Buckeye lake.

Janis: I bet he's got some wild stories. I mean, anyone who can make paddling and pedaling sound this exciting has to have some tails to tell.

Michele: Definitely. Plus I heard he wants kayaked faster than his wifi speed. So grab your favorite drink, sit back and get ready for some adventure filled stories with Jeff. Let's get started.

Janis: Welcome Jeff. We are so excited to finally talk to you.

Jeff: What's up, y'all?

Janis: So, Jeff, can you share the story behind the beginning of three XP tours? What, what inspired you to start a [00:01:00] kayak and bike tour business around Buckeye Lake?

Jeff: Absolutely. It was back in probably 2016. My wife and I and a group of friends, we did a kayak brew tour. Just loved it. And I was like, man, we need to do something like this. But it was kind of missing something that I thought. And at that time, I thought of 3XP, paddles, pedals, and pites. It's kind of like a shout out to one of my friends that had passed away.

A twist on something that we used to do. And I was working at Ohio State University at the time. And I would always walk the Olentangy River Trail. And I was like, man, I wonder if this could work out here. There were no like restaurants or bars that were on the Olentangy. And we used to take my oldest son out to the lake at the time.

So we would go visit out there and then The lake was shut down from 2015 to 2018 for some renovations. And we even went out there during that time. And it was just like this big mud pit and we're like, man, [00:02:00] what happened? Right. So then fast forward to during COVID, we went back out there and the lake has been refurbished.

That new bike trail was around there and it's just beautiful. So four years had passed since I originally thought of the idea. And I was like, man, that idea that I had like years ago, It would work here now. So I kind of started mapping everything out, introducing myself to the brewery, the winery, all the restaurants, and just kind of mapped out exactly how I thought the tour should go.

And I was like, let's just go for it. Right? Like, let's, let's just do it. I had enough capital. I invested things on my own and it's, it's just been taken

Janis: So that was 2021. When you,

Jeff: was our first season that we started. Yes. Yeah.

Janis: so what have been the biggest challenges you faced during the startup of 3XP Tours and how did you overcome that?

Jeff: Man, there hasn't been like, I don't know, there hasn't been like a huge, huge challenge. Obviously [00:03:00] money, right, is always a challenge. You know, family first, and you know, I have. Probably time, right? Let's just time like it, like any business owner. I do have another full time position. This, I consider this a full time job as well because any business, even though we're seasonal it's, it's still full time in our off season.

I'm constantly hustling and still marketing and preparing for the next season. So time is, is always kind of one of the things, just fitting a business into your regular life. You guys know, it's, it's crazy.

Michele: I

Janis: Mm hmm.

Jeff: So how do you manage that? You just, you do the best you can, right? You just, you just make time, you make time for it.

Like you want it to work. You have to make it work. So, so you make time for it and you sacrifice certain things that, that you have to, to be successful. Yeah.

Janis: I know, right?

Jeff: can tell I was in radio, right? I was a morning show [00:04:00] host for like a long time. So yeah, this

Janis: So you know the segues, how it goes. So can you share a moment or an achievement that you consider your biggest success so far with 3XP Tours?

Jeff: mean, , it's just been humbling, . To create a business and show people and let them experience what I wanted to do. Like I'm an outdoors person. I love it. Right. Our family is an outdoor family, so we created it so we would have something else to do as well. But an achievement, I think it's just been humbling to have people come from out of state.

Right? Like all the surrounding states, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, , just to come to this little business that I created, , , that's crazy to me, right? And we're helping Buckeye Lake get noticed because Buckeye Lake is beautiful. It's this hidden gem not far from Columbus.

We've even had people from Columbus that come to the lake and even Pickerington. And they're like, Oh [00:05:00] my God, I've never been out here. This is beautiful.

Janis: Mm hmm.

Jeff: And to have that, but even on a broader scope, , with some of the marketing that I've done to actually get people , from out of state.

And I'm like, I ain't nobody is, you know, it's, it's really humbling. And it's cool. I guess that would be a nice achievement for me , that I've accomplished.

Janis: Yeah, for sure. So what was your background before starting 3XP Tours and how did it influence your approach to this business?

Michele: you

Jeff: been kind of like a entrepreneur. Marketing has been my thing since I knew what I wanted to do. Media has been my background. So. I worked at a couple different radio stations here in the Columbus area. I was on a morning show, a morning show producer, got my foot in the door in media doing promotions and marketing and just kind of worked my way to the morning show, to marketing director.

And that my creative, my marketing has, it has helped me extremely grow this [00:06:00] business. Building relationships, having existing relationships that one, when we first launched three XP, that was, I had marketing going out before we even started. So we launched, I launched. The website and everything purposefully in November before our first season.

So I was, I was getting Christmas sales and I was putting videos and marketing together just using stock footage of, you know, promoting, Hey, this is coming soon. And when we first launched Like I did focus groups with our friends before I launched to find the right path, the right timing, things that were missing that I'm not including, like some of our stuff didn't, some of our friends that went, they didn't have a dry bag, right?

So they needed a dry bag to keep your stuff from getting wet on the kayaks. So we provide everything. People just have to show up and have a blast, experience the lake. We provide obviously the bikes, the kayaks The tour guides we have a little gift bag. [00:07:00] Everyone that books with us, they get a backpack, they get some sunglasses they get a free waterproof phone case that they get to keep.

So just doing that, focus group. And then my background in media, I relied on my friends that were still in TV, newspaper radio. I did a media tour a couple of times, right? So I just had some friends out from the dispatch from radio, from NBC four, and I gave them a tour and then they, they obviously they wrote a story on us.

They put me on there and you know, that kind of really launched us, uh, to get going here in the Columbus area.

Janis: Nice.

Jeff: Yeah.

Michele: So you, you said you're a marketing expert, which I, I know

Jeff: say expert. Don't put words in my mouth.

Michele: you. I have a couple of questions about it because I love marketing. So what marketing strategy has been the most successful through since you've been open?

Jeff: I mean, so we still, we don't have, we don't have a lot of ends for to put marketing [00:08:00] out how I wish, right? Because we are still a startup. We're only in our third year right now. So reaching out to partners, telling them, cause this was unique. Nobody was doing this, let alone in the industry. Columbus area.

Like I started marketing this when I first started as Buckeye Lakes, you know, paddles, pedals, and pints or kayak, bike, and brew tours. After doing some research, I found nobody in Ohio is doing this. So then I brought in my space to Ohio and I'm branded at Ohio's kayak, bike, and brew and started, you know, just simple social media, YouTube, right ads, uh, direct targeting, creating target audiences in the bigger cities.

So finding that white space, right? Nobody, nobody was doing this. So that, that certainly helped. And then marketing to the correct people. Another success was with some influencers, social media influencers. Not only here locally, but in out of [00:09:00] state. So Columbus foodie, she's phenomenal. She's on Instagram.

She's probably got 70, 000 followers. And I found some other influencers out of state and neighboring states that do the same thing, right? They just write and review and. They have crazy followers and I offered them a free tour to come out. Hey, do you want to try this? We stop at the brewery. We stop at Papa Boo's.

We stop at all these restaurants and they jumped on the tour, gave him a tour for free, made Instagram reels, wrote all these stories on us, posts for us. And within the next day we probably had like 15 bookings, right? Just from her followers and then putting this out. Columbus date night was another one.

So that's a success, right? And that's all free. Just building those relationships.

Michele: Yeah, small price to pay, a free

Okay. So you, you found these influencers. Did you have like a process to find them? Did you like use anything, an app? Did you just stumble across them? Like how, how did you find them?

Jeff: yeah, so just knowing them stumbling across them. Right, just searching Google doing the [00:10:00] legwork finding it but once I started. Once I started finding these influencers. escape to Buckeye Lake. They're kind of like, they're not part of Buckeye Lake Chamber. They're kind of their own entity. Visit Fairfield County, escape to Buckeye Lake.

They started pulling in influencers as well. Not saying that I was a first, but I noticed that they started doing the same thing to get people to promote escape to Buckeye Lake and visit Fairfield County. So then they started finding some from out of state as well. And they then included me. So then escaped the Buckeye lake, visit Fairfield County was like, Hey, Jeff, we've got this influencer coming in, checking out Buckeye lake.

Are you willing to give a tour? So then it even doubled, right? So other people started finding influencers and they wanted to promote the lake and they knew that I was something unique at the lake. So yeah, just, just doing the legwork for yourself and you know, you just gotta hustle.

Michele: So you're one of your top [00:11:00] things that you do that I've noticed is you make really great videos.

Jeff: Cool.

Michele: So did you take a class? How did you learn how to do that?

Jeff: Man, that's just been, again, like, that's just, when you find your passion, when you find what you do, you, you love it, right? Like, the stuff that I used to do for the Chamber, like, that's just fun to me, and

Janis: We miss you, by the way.

Jeff: man, I miss you guys as well. Yeah, like, that's just, that's just fun to me, right? And it's, I have to have that creative outlet, you know, and I'm lucky enough that, that has been, The trend right the last couple years is everybody making reels and videos and stuff So now that's just right in my wheels in my pocket.

How did I get started? I don't want to sound old but like shoot I used to before So I was a big michael jordan fan, right? So I would record michael jordan on tv And I would stack two vcrs And I would play one and I would wire them so I could record so I like make Michael [00:12:00] Jordan dunk and then it would like replay it dunk dunk dunk like so I've always been

Michele: with it for a while.

Jeff: right, but now it's just like you have you can do it on CapCut and you're it's endless right the platforms

Michele: could basically make your own class to how to make videos.

Jeff: I, I, yes, I truly could. Yeah, a hundred percent. I could. Yeah. And there's, there's certain things, right. With marketing, even videos and graphics, like there are ways, like I can make a graphic and I can tell you, or I can influence somebody's eye what to read next. Right. The way that I designed a graphic. And if I have like a swoop going this way, or obviously an arrow pointing to this, I can control somebody's.

way they read, right? Certain things on the page. I can make them see the title first and then the date or the price and move. I can control, you know, it's just, just learning and knowing how

Janis: What do you do that on? What format do you use mostly?

Jeff: for [00:13:00] graphics. I mean, I use everything from Photoshop to Canva. Obviously Canva is what everybody uses now and it's super easy. Photoshop I use if I really need to get into the weeds. Right, but a lot of people now, I mean, I can use Canva and have something done in seconds, and the, the normal or the natural viewer won't notice things that I would notice, right?

Things that look out of place. So if I just need something really quick, I'll do it on Canva. But if I really want to dig into the weeds and, you know, make something and something that's going to want to sell or put out there, I'll use, you know, Photoshop, Adobe, same with video. There's all kinds of video platforms, quick stuff, CapCut's my go to, but Adobe Premiere Pro, if I really want to get into the weeds of how, how something looks and if I'm Run it on TV or whatever.

I'd use Adobe Premiere Pro.

Michele: Awesome. All right. Let's switch gears a little bit from marketing to [00:14:00] customer satisfaction. What are your top strategies to keep your customers happy and encourage repeat business?

Jeff: man, I can probably say thousands of these tours now. But everyone, that person is, it's unique, right? To them. And it's an experience and they make the tours for me. So I'm meeting somebody new. That's not worked to me, hanging out on a lake, paddling and going to a winery and a brewery and riding a bike next to the lake.

Like it's, that's not worked to me. So they make the experience for me, but I make sure every, every tour is unique to them. How do I keep them satisfied? It's, it's. I'm just hanging out with people, right? So it's, it's your personality. And I've, I've hired a couple employees this year for the first time. And it's every, it's every review that we've got so far is a five star review.

And that says a lot, [00:15:00] every comment, it's like, Oh, the tour guides were great. You know, they, the tour was awesome. The tour guys did a great job. They blah, blah, blah. And that's hard to hand off because I have cultivated that. Right. And I've. Set that expectation for our customers and set that experiential expectation.

So, yeah, to answer your question, how do I keep that? Do what I love and it's, it's, you want to make sure they have the best time ever, right? Somebody coming into your shop, your shop's got to be clean. Janice, you're the most welcoming, friendly person that, that I ever met. Michelle, you're new. Bodyache Escape is amazing.

It's beautiful, right? The service that your people provided, and just checking in on you, like, you guys know what you have to do to be successful. People's expectations are so, so high, and they should be, right? You're, you're providing them with a service. So, yeah,

Janis: Thank you.

Jeff: yeah.

Michele: With tourism [00:16:00] being affected by various factors, how do you adapt your business to stay resilient or change your strategies

Jeff: got to stay fresh, right? Obviously, marketing is one thing. You got to stay fresh on the marketing, but you can't. I've already established my brand. So. You keep pushing it out there and people know your brand. So to stay resilient, you continue to do the same things that we've been doing.

That's making us a success. You turn it up a notch, right? So my marketing every year gets turned up a little notch. I was hoping to start TV ads this year. Turn that up. But I got some other stuff in the works that Actually, I'm going to be announcing, I could probably announce it on here today.

But yeah, like you have to continue to grow find different avenues to relate to people. You got to be out there making those connections. Yes. Tourism's always changing. The lakes, the attraction for me, . So as long as the lakes there. I'm going to be there and I position, , the lake , is what's bringing people here.

I'm just showing people the best time on the [00:17:00] lake.

Janis: don't think the lake's going anywhere.

Jeff: Right. I mean, it almost did a couple of years back. Yeah.

Janis: Yeah,

Michele: in a lifetime situation.

Janis: was awful for the people that lived there for a while, but yeah, it's bouncing back real fine.

Jeff: Yeah, and there's so much and like staying connected to with the community, with, with the Buckeye Lake Chamber, with the Buckeye Lake Civic Organization, like having all those connections, knowing what's happening and what they're planning for at the lake. I have a phenomenal relationship with the state park as well.

So just keeping all that like they look to me for things now as much as I look to them. So , that's kind of how you stay resilient or stay after it.

Janis: Yeah.

Michele: Okay. Sidebar. What is happening with that? Uh, announcement that I saw a couple of years ago with Buckeye Lake and the, the whole, like, beachy area that was like, amusement park

Jeff: Yeah, so they're, they're always right. They're always planning and throwing ideas [00:18:00] out there. So that I think what you're referring to was the canal district where they were going to extend this canal and put all these shops on there and have this beachy area. I don't think that passed. That was, they're talking about like 2034 or something that didn't pass.

I know a boardwalk did pass, so they're going to down on the east end of the lake, like Papa Boo's waterfront and way down at that end, they are going to put like a little boardwalk that will run along the lake. They've already cleared out space for that. And there are talks of the main boat launch area, North shore boat ramp right there, reconfiguring that and putting a pier out there, a possible hotel close to this pier too.

So there's always talk whether it's going to happen or not. You guys know as much as me, I hear what's going to happen, but until you see it actually being built, like

Janis: When I first moved to the Columbus area, it was back in the sixties. Uh, there was a big amusement park there.

Jeff: yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:19:00] We talk about that. That's what's one of the fun things that I love too, on our tours, I give history of the lake. I don't get as much as I kind of start dropping nuggets, right? Like I get to know what my. Guests are there for, right? If I got a bachelorette party that we're doing that, they're probably not really caring too much about the lake unless they really started asking about the history, you know, they're like, Hey, let's get to the winery.

Let's, let's get to the drinks. But there are people like our demographic is amazing. It's from like 25 to man, we've had 80 year olds out there. So we do get a lot of people and I'm dropping history about the lake and. Obviously, the amusement park is one of the things that we talk about actually where we put in our kayaks, the old roller coaster that used to be out there, dips dips on the lake.

It's, it's right, there's a couple little blocks in the water where that used to be the foundation of the roller

Janis: Oh, that's cool.

Jeff: So yeah, we, I mean, I give all kinds of knowledge about history about the lake, I love it.

Janis: So, winning habits and routines, what is your daily routine and [00:20:00] how does it contribute to your success as an entrepreneur? Do you have anything special that you do every day?

Jeff: Man, I mean, I check in every day, , on my business, for sure. , I'm non stop thinking about it. Not gonna lie, it's difficult. , husband first, right? Coming up on 20 years, married, husband, family, three boys. That's first. And then my current position in Pickerington Schools. That's, it's difficult.

Yeah, , it's taken over 3xp, but it's, it's not, , you're juggling. . So , I'm always checking in and I feel when I'm, I've become really phenomenal at being present in the moment. . So right now I'm talking about 3xp. I got my 3xp hat on y'all know I wear a hat every day. .

Janis: Yeah.

Jeff: When I'm at Pickerington schools, like I got my Pickerington schools head on, literally. So I'm really good at being present in a moment and I can shut off things. And I'm constantly [00:21:00] putting on different hats, but , checking in , on what I am in, in the moment. That's, you have to, if you're an entrepreneur and you got

Janis: I do the same thing with the real estate and with this and then the chamber and then the PVA

Jeff: Yeah, because you can't, , you don't get stuff done. , you're hurting yourself more if I'm sitting here, , in my Pickerington schools and I'm trying to think about, oh man, I got a tour coming up this weekend or what's the weather going to be , like I'm doing a disservice to myself.

I'm not really progressing anything, right? Like a lot of people confuse movement with progress, right? So. I can be moving, doing a whole bunch of things at a time, but really am I making progress? Probably not. So, you can't get movement and progress confused.

Janis: good point. Do you have any habits or rituals that you believe has significantly impacted your business journey in a positive way?

Jeff: Phenomenal question. Habits? I put gasoline on the fire. That's my habit, ? , I just go. , if [00:22:00] I'm gonna do something, I'll do it all the way. 

I think most entrepreneurs have that, ? If you're going to succeed, that's what's, that's what's beautiful, ?

Michele: uh, we

Jeff: Doing something like this and going after I've always had like a side hustle, like doing marketing for companies and things on the side, never fully started a business and the whole LLC and that whole process , until 3XP tours.

So it's, it's pretty cool. You can, you really go, you can really do what you want to and go after it. So I really, no strict habits or stuff that I follow daily, but I just know like me as a person, just putting gasoline on that fire. That's what I do, man.

Michele: you could have a paddle or bike ride with any entrepreneur that are alive, who would

Jeff: that's a tough one. An entrepreneur. I would [00:23:00] probably pick. One of these YouTube, Mr. Beast kind of influencers that are out now that are just crushing it. Right. Cause they're on a whole nother level that I wouldn't even know how to get to, 

Michele: you would record it and you would use that for your content and tag them.

Jeff: Yeah.

Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, I would say like Mark Cuban or somebody that they'd gone and I could learn from this whole path, but man, some of these. Kids now I'm 45. Right. So some of the kids now that are doing their thing, I would probably, cause that's, that's where we're going. Right. It's yeah. It's cool to look back, but man, I need to learn where we're going.

Michele: What's been the most memorable tour experience that you've had at 3XB? I know it was my group. My group where

Jeff: Well, yeah, we're definitely,

Michele: A

Jeff: saying, I remember I've [00:24:00] done every tour up until. Last week was the first tour that I actually handed off, and my employees did by themselves.

Janis: no kidding.

Jeff: I truly, and I upload every picture, I make every, you know, highlight reel video that we do, so I even remember everyone more.

Obviously your group sticks out, people from out of state stick out. One that's been really influential there is a company.

Michele: as exciting as it used

Jeff: Uh, that came out, well it was a family, right, it was a man and his wife and their son, and they had some friends, and they did, they did one of our tours, and Dude was just drilling me like he was there from down south.

He's like, Jeff, this is awesome. He's like, how'd you start this business? He's like, I need to get in on this. Jeff, how'd you do this? You know, I kind of gave him the background. So they came back from another tour. Long story short, they I found out they own 53 Verizon wireless stores all around the U S and they came back another time and brought like a bunch of different managers from Texas and California.

They flew them out just to For one of their meetings and they came [00:25:00] and did one of our tours. So now I ended up partnering with them and they sponsor, they're the ones that give me all the waterproof phone cases to give out. Right. So yeah, I mean, every single tour is, , there's never been a bad tour because people are out there to have fun, , and experience that.

And how can you be mad? On the water and going to a brewery or the winery and you know, like the live music that's out I'll tell a lie. We had well she ended up. Okay. We had one lady that it was I think it's probably my first season There's it was a couple so I do tours all the time. Just me and a couple and i'm the third wheel It doesn't bother me.

Right. It, it's fun. But the, we were kayaking over to the winery and this lady, she was just started complaining. She's like, she's like, oh my yawn, my arms are so tired, I'm not gonna be able to make it. Oh my god. And I'm thinking, man, I'm gonna have to like pull this lady all the way back from the winery.

Like, you know, I keep first aid kit and ropes and stuff with me. And I was like, man. So we get over to the winery, she probably had three or four wine slushies over there. [00:26:00] they shared like a wine flight. And I was like, yep, I'm gonna have to pull her back. She gets back in the water on the kayak, happiest as ever.

She's like, just cruising, kayaking. So I was like, just, just, just feed them wine, right? If they're ever in a bad mood or complaining, give them some wine slushies from Buckeye Lake Winery. Yeah, I've never had a bad experience ever.

Janis: That's funny. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So you're prepared to tow them back to shore if you need to.

Jeff: Yeah, we actually had, well, one of my employees, one of my employees had to, and he ended up getting a nickname Tugboat, he had to like pull somebody back before. So, yeah. Yeah, we do a lot. We keep everybody safe.

Janis: Oh my gosh. So Jeff, what piece of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own tour business or any other venture?

Jeff: Have a plan, right? Do your research. Find a mentor as well. And just go after it. , you [00:27:00] can do it. Think big, you're going to start small, but think big because , it's, it's doable,

Janis: Yeah. So knowing what you know, is there anything you would have done differently when starting 3xB tours?

Jeff: No, no, man. I'm truly blessed. , the way things are going and it's funny what they say , Oh, in that third year, you'll be able to start this or after three years, a lot of businesses fail, after three years and successful ones, they start taking off. Some of that data is true. , I wouldn't change anything because the people I met, what I've learned no, absolutely not. I wouldn't change anything. It's a journey, right? And it's if you're in it for the long run, you gotta know it's a forever journey, so I wouldn't change anything.

Janis: Oh, good. So what resources or networks would you recommend to someone looking to start their own entrepreneurial journey? Yeah.

Jeff: just [00:28:00] resources, golly. You need everything, right? , make those connections, find those other small businesses, , find some, , obviously your chambers and your local businesses, if you're your friends, your family that have businesses if you're going to dig into,

Michele: Yeah.

Jeff: , hiring employees and all the, all the paperwork, like it's a lot.

So you're going to need someone to walk you through that stuff.

Michele: Can you share any upcoming plans or projects for

Jeff: Oh yeah.

Michele: tours?

Jeff: Yes, I will. So obviously we do our tours, right? We got our three XP tour, which is the kayak bike and brew tour. We have our sunset tour that we do. It's just paddles. We have our kids and kayaks tour where we do some lessons with the kids and get them ice cream and do kayaking, play some games with them.

, We were doing [00:29:00] rentals last year, so I started renting kayaks. This year we launched our ScanNGo bikes, so we're the first company that now we have our own self rental bike stand. kiosk up at the lake. , it's right off of church street. It's right on the bike path. So really close to the north shore boat ramp.

You walk up, you can download the link to go app three XP tours, find us and you can rent bikes. You can explore the lake on your own time. So we launched that. What I'm announcing Friday, this is probably coming out after Friday. Yeah, so what I'm announcing on Friday, I've been talking with the Buckeye Lake State Park.

It's probably been over a year now. And I'm partnering with them and I'm actually going to build a kayak shack right on State Park property. So you'll be able to, a self renting kayak kiosk. So, Yeah. So same thing. So we did same digital app. The structure is actually being [00:30:00] built as we speak. So we'll have 10, uh, 10 different lockers.

So you'll be able to scan the code on the locker.

Janis: nice.

Jeff: doors will open up. It'd be a kayak in their life jacket paddles, and people will actually be able to take and rent kayaks on their own time.

Janis: That is so cool.

Jeff: Yeah. You can reserve them as well. So like a little kayak vending machine, right? 

Michele: Where is it going to be?

Jeff: It's going to be,

Michele: so people can find

Jeff: so it's right on North shore boat ramp.

So right where all of the main boat ramp is, there's this little beach area right there. It's going to be right there. We're super close to the parking lot. We're real close to the water, right next to the, it's super convenient. That beach area. A lot of people put their kayaks in right

Michele: That's where we went in. Ooh.

Jeff: , the Ohio state parks department and Buckeye lake state park, just, yeah. Allowing me and choosing me to do this, right? Like Bill, again, those relationships, right? Like those relationships and for us to have our [00:31:00] branding, , it's going to be all over the, this permanent structure that are at a state park.

So , that's phenomenal. So that's not only going to help , our rentals, but it's going to help our, the tour side of our business as well. And fingers crossed this goes successfully. There'll be an opportunity to. Duplicate this project and other state parks throughout Ohio. So it's again, yeah.

Moving forward.

Janis: amazing.

Jeff: Yep. Yep. So I'm extremely blessed.

Michele: All right. Are we ready for the lightning round?

Janis: Yeah. So Jeff, we're ready for the lightning round. We're going to throw some questions out at you and you just It's gonna be the first thing that comes into your, your head.

Jeff: rock.

Janis: All right. Let's go.

Michele: What is the book you've most given as a gift or the book that's made the biggest impact on you?

Jeff: I don't ever read hardly any books.

Michele: What about podcasts?

Jeff: Yep. Ah man, people typically don't

Janis: Cosmos and commerce, [00:32:00] right?

Jeff: Yeah, that one would probably be number two. The only app that I, you know, or read something every day is the Bible app and that's most influential to me.

Janis: Okay. That's good. What's an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

Jeff: I love my hats, right? I don't know if that's a habit, like hats are like underwear to me. So

Michele: think I've ever seen you without one on.

Janis: I don't think I have either.

Jeff: that's just it.

Janis: Oh, there you go.

Jeff: Yeah.

Michele: Mr. Clean under there. What is your proudest accomplishment?

Jeff: Personally, 20 years married, three kids. Business wise, I love my new position at Pickerington schools. I'd never thought in a million years I'd be working for a school district, but just the journey that I was on to get here. It's phenomenal. It's so rewarding every day, right? Like the students, the kids, [00:33:00] our district, our community.

The business partners, right? All the connections, like it's, it's phenomenal. So that's, that's, that's a great accomplishment to me, what I'm doing now.

Janis: Yeah. What's a purchase of a hundred dollars or less that has most positively impacted your life?

Jeff: Oh man, probably my digital business card, ? So there's like the dot card and then there's the, God, what's the other one I have with the bracelet, right? Cause since I'm on the water all the time, people will be like, Hey, what are you, what is this? What are you doing? You got a business card. I can't carry like these.

, regular normal business cards, they get wet in my pocket. . So I got like the dot card and I have a bracelet where people can just scan my bracelet and all my website and everything. I think it was like 20 bucks. So look into that. Yeah. Hmm.

Michele: your current passion project?

Jeff: I mean, I think this , like three XP, it's always going to be a passion project, [00:34:00] it's that your business needs to be, needs to be your passion. And a hundred percent, it's a project. So that's. That's the most simplest answer, I guess. Uh, what? Yeah, let me see it. Yeah. Three XP. That's got to be it.

Other than that, I mean, we got stuff going on at our house that we're always, we just bought a lake home as well up in Michigan. So that's gonna be, , that's gonna be a huge undertaking, that we're gonna be taking on. So

Janis: nice.

Jeff: yeah.

Michele: Research for your next kayak so you can write the whole thing off, right?

Jeff: That's true. Yeah. I mean, I've already looked into a couple other, I looked into a couple other states, , to launch 3xp in other states, but I'm content and super busy where we're at. So now this lake house is , to get away from all

Janis: West Virginia's got some beautiful lakes and rivers and stuff.

Jeff: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ours is up in Northern Michigan where actually where my wife and I met, we, the, the lake that we met on, we actually just purchased a home there. So [00:35:00] yeah.

Janis: that's very special. So what is one skill you'd like to master?

Jeff: Finances, ? Like we're pretty good at keeping them organized and stuff, but man, it's so much and me personally, I hate numbers and all that stuff because I'm that. whatever it is, the left or right side of the brain, the creative side, right? So finances and analytics and data, like I do like digging into some data, but definitely haven't mastered it.

So the other side of my brain, like I got the creative, the creative side mastered. I need the, uh, analytical and the numerical side mastered.

Janis: Okay.

Michele: your first job?

Jeff: My first job, I worked at the finish line, the shoe store, ? And I just spent all my money back on clothes and hats and Air Jordans and stuff.

Janis: shoes.

Jeff: Yes. Yep. Yep.

Janis: So where do you see yourself in five years?[00:36:00] 

Jeff: Five years, ? Man, one of my kids will be graduated. That's crazy. So five years, 3XP obviously is going to be continuing. It's going to be running smooth on its own. Cool. Would have stepped back a little bit. I'm going to continue to do tours, . Just cause I love it, but not as much, we'll just have it running smooth, like it has started to this year.

Definitely still at Prickerington school was making an impact in our community and, you know, connecting our businesses making an impact with the students and then chilling at our lake house,

Michele: Nice. What is your pump up song?

Jeff: M and M until I collapse, ? Like that. That just gets me, that just gets me hype, right? It just gets you going and you just go, right? You just go till you collapse. I even got my middle son who plays basketball and before he goes out, he's on a couple of AAU teams. He, that's his song. I got him playing that now before every game too.

So yeah, definitely till I collapse.

Janis: cute.

Michele: [00:37:00] Have you ever seen Eminem smile? Smile. I

Jeff: No. Especially not in pictures, right?

Janis: Yeah.

Jeff: No.

Michele: He's always very mad looking. Okay, I guess I have two in a row. Okay. Would you rather have the ability to create the most exciting and unique kayak and bike tour routes in But they can only be available during the off season or have the ability to make every tour you offer the most perfect weather conditions, but only for a limited number of days.

Each year.

Jeff: Yes. The second one. We already create the most. Yeah. We already have the perfect tour and experience. I've already done number one weather. That's, yeah. I'm at the mercy. I'm at the, I'm at the mercy of weather. I used to stress out about the weather, like days or weeks before I would check it, and now it's like, it is what it's gonna be.

I've gotten really good at watching, like the day of, I'll check and I still don't stress about it, and I can kind of tell, oh, [00:38:00] 30% chance of rain. Okay. That's, that's, that's gonna go away. A lot of times the weather splits the lake, so man, I'm becoming a weatherman as well.

Janis: Yeah.

Jeff: I trust Buck. I trust Buck. You watch JC,

Janis: I trust Buck.

Jeff: Yeah, Jeff, Jeff gets it going too.

Janis: Or the mighty Ben Gilbert.

Jeff: Yeah, right?

Janis: Yeah, he's good too. They're all good. Okay. All right, Jeff. Wow. Yeah. What an incredible journey you've shared with us today. Your passion for adventure and dedication to providing amazing experiences at Buckeye Lake is really truly inspiring. We love it.

Michele: Jeff. Thank you so much for joining us on Cosmos and Commerce. We know our listeners are going to be itching to book their next tour with you. Before we wrap up, can you let everyone know where they can find you and 3xP tours?

Jeff: Yep, so just 3xptours. com, you can check us out, book straight from there book any one [00:39:00] of our tours. Like I said, we've got the kayak, bike, and brew tour, the sunset tour, we've got a kids and kayaks tour, and then also rentals. If you want to just rent for four hours, it's only 30 bucks. You can rent straight from our website.

Our office is at the lake, so you don't have to have things delivered to you. Our bike rentals, self bike rentals, and then yes, soon, starting in the spring, your self rental 3xp kayak shack. So, 3xptours. com.

Janis: What are the hours there?

Jeff: So for me, uh, so we do our tours, we do our sunset tours, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, and then our longer, our kayak, bike, and brew tours, we do one. Saturday and Sundays, 10 AM and 2 PM.

Janis: Do they have to schedule everything online or can you just like walk in? You

Jeff: Uh, it's easier to, it's easier to schedule them online because if tours are booked, we can only take so many people, right? So you've got a group of six and you walk in and we only got two spots left. So I would say 3xptours. com book online and see what's [00:40:00] available. Yup.

Janis: That's fantastic, Jeff. Thank you so much again. And to all of our listeners, thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with your friends. And until next time, keep exploring, keep hustling, and keep enjoying those Cosmos. Cheers.

Jeff: We need to get a Cosmo soon. Cause I got the commerce part. So we're going to meet up.

Janis: Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

Michele: advice.

Jeff: Thank you. Cheers. You guys are the best.

Janis: Thank you guys. Thank you so much, Jeff.

Jeff: Bye.