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He Had No Idea How to Be A Tour Guide. Then He Built One of America's Most Successful Tour Companies. On this episode of "America's Favorite Mom and Pop Shops™," we take a spin around the Windy City with the founder of Bobby's Bike Hike.

By Jason Feifer

Key Takeaways

  • Bold entrepreneurs understand that if your business isn't growing, it's dying.
  • Sometimes you need to pivot from the tried and true to take things to the next level.
  • Small businesses with lasting power develop meaningful relationships with their community.

What does it take to build a meaningful business that lasts? That's the question we're exploring on Entrepreneur's new series America's Favorite Mom and Pop ShopsTM. We teamed up with Walmart Business to step inside the stores of passionate entrepreneurs to learn how they run shops that fulfill their personal and financial goals and bolster the communities around them.

On this episode, we traveled to Chicago, Illinois to visit business owner Jeremy Lewno who was faced with a decision many founders of growing companies face: Is it better to cling tightly to what worked before or is it better to reinvent their business and themselves to unlock their full potential?

Related: He Had $2,000 and No Idea How to Run a Business. Here's How He Turned That Into Two Thriving Barber Shops.

Jeremy is the founder of Bobby's Bike Hike, the longest-running city bike tour operator in the country. As I learned over the course of our conversation, Jeremy found the courage to boldly slam the brakes on a business that was working just fine and change gears to take things to the next level.

As smart entrepreneurs know, if a business isn't growing, it is dying. Growth and change are the only ways forward. Watch to learn how Jeremy embraced this concept and overcame some inevitable bumps in the road on his company's transformational journey — and see his reaction when I let him know that Walmart Business had a surprise gift package to help his business pedal even faster.

Jeremy was given a six-month Walmart Business+ membership to help put him on track for even faster growth. Benefits include free shipping, free delivery ($35 min order), limited-time offers on products for business owners and 2 percent rewards back on purchases over $250. Plus, Jeremy was gifted an eGift card for $1,000 to spend on whatever the business needs—all courtesy of Walmart Business!

Jason Feifer

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor in Chief

Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine and host of the podcast Problem Solvers. Outside of Entrepreneur, he is the author of the book Build For Tomorrow, which helps readers find new opportunities in times of change, and co-hosts the podcast Help Wanted, where he helps solve listeners' work problems. He also writes a newsletter called One Thing Better, which each week gives you one better way to build a career or company you love.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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