Eat This Shoot That - Tara Jones by 805connect

Eat like a local, shoot like a pro

I hate being a tourist. That's why this is not about the tour."

Tara Jones, the founder of Santa Barbara's Eat This, Shoot That, is a ball of energy and provided a stimulating and mouth watering conversation with Mark and Patrick. Her business and the journey to her dream venture is inspiring. She also writes for Noozhawk.

This wide-ranging conversation covered a lot of ground including:

-How she got started doing photo workshops
-How the recession in 2008 forced her to rethink everything and the journey she took to explore options
-Best quote about being a wedding photographer: "If you've been to 5 weddings, you've been to them all."
-She grew up in an entrepreneurial family - grandparents, and parents. Her Dad had seven businesses
-How going to Brooks Institute of Photography (RIP Brooks - such a loss)
-How a friend in Boston got her to think that Food Tours were in her future
-How following her passion turned into the right path to follow
-"What do I love to do? And how can I get paid to do it?"
-The story of her first tour
-Why the Funk Zone is perfect for her tours
-Loved this comment: "Goal for the tours? Stay off State Street." Why?
-How the SB restaurant scene is changing so fast, it's hard to keep up with
-Taking the Strength Finders Test (Marcus Buckingham rocks) to help figure out what she wanted to do - even though her parents paid for a very nice photography degree at Brooks
-Her Dragon? Staying on top of the pack and not paying attention to upstarts in her market
-How you sell people on coming back - We sell them a feeling. (Love that)
-She wrote a book too: 100 Things to do in Santa Barbara before you die. -These books are a franchise - if you want to write one in your town, click here. Cool idea

Thanks for joining us on the show Tara. We wish you the best and love that you're doing a great job showing the cruisers what SB is all about.