Inspiring Conversations with Lisa Peña

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Peña.

Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I heard about the idea of urban hikes on a podcast called Side Hustle Show, I was hooked. I love hiking in nature and I also love my city. After reaching out to Alex Kenin, the person they were interviewing who has her own urban hiking business in California (Urban Hiker San Francisco), I started to map out my routes. I’d run potential routes with friends and then once I got an interesting route down, I did all of the research. I finally launched my business about a year after hearing about the idea.

It wasn’t easy to get the word out about Urban Hikes Kansas City. In fact, that first year, I didn’t make any money. My revenue from my hikes just barely covered my start-up costs and insurance. Surprisingly the pandemic actually helped my business. Once the stay-at-home orders were lifted, locals sought out my hikes because it was a safe and fun activity that we could do.

In my second year, I brought on two new guides, which helped my business tremendously. I added new routes and started to do lots of private hikes. Year three has definitely been the best so far. I finally have a high demand for my hikes, lots of people book on the weekends and I have incredible guides who help me to lead and have developed new routes themselves. Now, when I say I’m with Urban Hikes KC, many people smile and excitedly tell me they’ve heard of it, which definitely wasn’t the case at the beginning.

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 hard to go from not existing to existing. That first year, my SEO (search engine optimization) wasn’t very good. I didn’t have an Instagram and it was hard to have large hikes because hardly anyone knew about urban hikes.

Now, the challenges are different. I’ve gotten so busy that I’m struggling to decide when I’m at the point to start paying for help with my social media and admin work. I’m still able to do it all, but know that it isn’t sustainable to do it all, especially as I keep growing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Urban Hikes Kansas City?
We lead urban hikes around Kansas City. You may ask, what’s an urban hike? It’s a walk around specific parts of the city that includes historic details, outdoor art including vibrant murals, sculptures, hidden bridges and steps, local businesses, stories of the past and present, hidden gems, and hills! A nature hike often includes some hills as do our urban hikes.

Most of our urban hikes are 4-5 miles long, so we get good exercise all while we are learning and making human connections. Some of our most popular urban hike routes are the Crossroads Westside Hike, Strawberry Hill and Downtown KCK Hike, Wine and Cheese Hike, our Artful KC Streetcar Urban Hike which includes art galleries and boutique hotels. Our seasonal Plaza Lights & Crestwood Hike which includes stories of the historical segregation in Kansas City and ends with the Plaza Lights is also really popular around the holidays. We often have morning hikes and sunset hikes. We offer corporate staff outing hikes and private hikes for birthdays, special occasions, and other private groups.

Initially, when I started Urban Hikes KC, I thought that our main audience would-be tourists, but actually 90% of our audience is locals. Locals mostly tell us that they are surprised about all that they were missing in Kansas City and they leave wanting to try out our other hikes. They often return with friends and family to share what they learned on the hikes.

Here is a link to our google reviews which people genuinely share about their experience, https://g.page/r/CeHZHkMkW_4IEAg/review

I’m truly proud to have the opportunity to show the hidden gems in Kansas City that most of us would miss if we don’t explore them on foot. Kansas City is growing and getting better by the day and I’m so happy to get to share that.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I loved to explore! As a kid, I always played in the woods behind my house in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City, KS. Those days playing in the woods with my neighborhood friends sparked my interest to be outdoors and independent.

As a teen, I kept exploring, but then it was the city. I’d explore Westport. Westport was the coolest part of the city since the River Market, Power and Light and the Crossroads weren’t re-developed yet. I loved the murals, the local shops, the vintage stores.

I’ve always had an adventurous spirit. As a young adult, I continued to explore, but this time internationally. In college, my first international trip was with my grandparents to visit family in Chile and Bolivia. Later, I became a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. I got to live for a total of five years in the Dominican Republic. Believe me, living in a completely new culture was a new adventure, every single day!

Pricing:

• Most of our public hikes are $32, however, we have a specialty Wine & Cheese Hike that costs $55 a person
• Our private group rates booked by individuals start at $250

Contact Info:

• Email: adventurer@urbanhikeskc.com
• Website: www.urbanhikeskc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanhikeskc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbanhikeskc
• Other: s https://g.page/r/CeHZHkMkW_4IEAg/review

Image Credits
Michelle Augustin, Margaret Norcross, Estuardo Garcia, Giovanni Santiago, ans Elaine Chong.