Kelly Gibson loves a good story

In this episode

In this episode I sit down with Kelly Gibson, the owner of Tours of Tulsa, and honestly, I could have listened to her all day. I went on one of her tours before we ever recorded, and I walked away thinking, "I have got to circle back and share her with you." She has a way of making the buildings, the churches, and the streets of Tulsa come alive — and it turns out that gift traces all the way back to her dad, who she says may be the best storyteller she's ever known.

Kelly grew up at Shepherd's Fold Ranch, the Christian summer camp her parents founded north of Tulsa in 1972, where she learned early how to capture people's attention and hold it. She spent years in accounting at downtown law firms, and I love that we share that background — because neither of us is doing that anymore. When she stumbled on a newspaper article about a little tour company, she picked up the phone that very day and said, "You have to hire me. You're not going to find anybody who loves Tulsa like I love Tulsa."

What follows is such an encouraging story about the slow, faithful way a side hustle can become your life's work. Kelly negotiated with her employer to clock in and out for walking tours while she raised her kids, eventually bought the company, and built it into something that's entirely her own. If you're carrying a quiet passion and wondering whether there's room for it, this one is for you. Keep going.