I’ve made a rookie mistake

Guided tour planning takes some time and effort and I’ve just discovered that I made a mistake! Such a rookie mistake!

But I’m glad my colleague caught it in time, before I made a fool out of myself.

I’ve been working hard on this tailor made guided tour assignment for an international conference group starting their visit in Helsinki next Monday with a guided walking tour. ~80 people, 4 guides.

Preparation

Researching. Finding the guides. Location scouting in person. Speaking with the staff members of the visiting venues in person. Finding cool details and interesting perspectives.

Finding replacement guides, because 2 out of 4 had to cancel already. And since this is flu high season… I’m concerned someone might still fall ill before Monday. So Plan B and Plan C are in place.

Writing the 16 page script and 11 page safety plan. A bit of an overkill, I know. But I can’t help myself, I wanted to get the details right. I wanted to set a solid foundation for my guide colleagues, so that they can shine bright and work their magic on Monday.

I won’t be able to be there in person as a guide, since I had committed to another job on the same day. But the client wanted a reliable contact person and I wanted to get this new experience under my belt. So I designed the tour and thought that I had taken everything into consideration.

Discovery

I thought all was going smoothly… Until this morning (Friday) one of the guides sends a text: “Good morning, it seems like one of our visiting venues, Kiasma, is closed on Mondays?”

Me internally: “Oh gosh, damn damn damn! What a rookie mistake!!! Silly me! Kiasma is a museum! Museums are often closed on Mondays! HOW did I not check this??! I even spoke with the staff members and asked if any special events would happen on the 14th of Sept. But didn’t check if they’re even open. I should’ve known better.”

Reset & action plan

But then I realised. No damage is done yet. Phew! My colleague spotted the mistake early enough.

We can make this work! The groups wouldn’t have been able to visit more than the entrance floor anyway and the things we wanted to show can actually be also seen from the outside through the windows. The stories are not tied to the indoors.

Learning

This was an important lesson for me. I’ve been a tour leader, following plans made by others.

Now I’m the one making the plan. I also make mistakes. And I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m here to learn and grow.

It’s good to have a team! Someone to double check. And people who know: “That’s okay, this is guide life, we always need to be prepared for the unexpected, and make adjustments on the go”.

What else can still happen?

It’s only Friday now. The tour is on Monday. I’m down with a flu myself. Our toddler started nursery last week and the classic thing happened. First the little one got ill and then the rest of the family.

Remains to be seen how many more surprises the weekend and Monday hold.

“And how’s that entrepreneur life going for ya, Kati?”

Ah well… This new chapter in life is certainly interesting. Being an entrepreneur and grabbing all sorts of new opportunities. Working for 4 different businesses in addition to my own. Exploring multiple different projects simultaneously, while navigating the new routines of being parents of a little kiddo bravely embarking on a day care journey. It’s a very colourful puzzle and the pieces are still lying all around, but piece by piece some progress is happening.