In this episode of Coffee with Cool People, Chip sits down with Myrtle Beach resident and “experience curator” Ron Opher. After nearly a decade on the Grand Strand, Ron has become a familiar face in the local business community as co-owner of My Journey Begins Travel, an award-winning agency he runs with his wife, Melissa. Their firm has earned Reader’s Choice honors from both the Myrtle Beach Herald and North Strand News, thanks to a simple philosophy: listen closely, design thoughtfully, and make sure people come home with stories worth telling. Beyond travel, Ron is deeply woven into the region’s entrepreneurial fabric through his work as a SCORE mentor and former chapter chair, and as an ambassador for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ron’s path to travel wasn’t linear. Before trading in legal briefs for boarding passes, he spent nearly 25 years practicing law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, serving small businesses and lenders in areas like contracts, credit, and collections. Even earlier, as a college student, he built and ran a DJ and video entertainment company, getting a crash course in marketing, client service, and what it takes to run something of your own. That early entrepreneurial streak, combined with decades of watching how businesses operate from the legal side, eventually evolved into a passion for helping other owners, and for building a business around experiences rather than paperwork.
His move to Myrtle Beach is a story a lot of locals recognize: the vacation that never quite let go. As a kid, Ron spent summer weeks here, dreading the Sunday drive back north. Years later, when he and Melissa had the chance to relocate permanently, they took it, and he’s quick to say he’s “living the dream” being here full-time. What he didn’t expect was how deeply he’d plug into the community: mentoring small business owners, volunteering, and helping visitors (and locals) see the area in a new way.
As a modern travel advisor, Ron is very clear: the job is nothing like the old “print your paper ticket” days. His value isn’t just booking flights; it’s understanding what a client actually wants out of their time away, luxury or budget, mountains or beaches, adventure or relaxation, and then matching that to the right cruise, resort, tour company, or itinerary. Sometimes that’s a straightforward all-inclusive or cruise. Other times it’s far more complex: multi-generational trips where teenagers, parents, and grandparents all need something different; curated cruises like a one-way itinerary with four Italian ports and stops in the south of France and Barcelona; or a once-in-a-lifetime journey to India where a client wants both the Taj Mahal and a clear view of Mount Everest. Ron and Melissa lean on industry buying power, insider relationships, and a lot of research to make those trips both feasible and memorable, and they’re often the ones troubleshooting when airlines, weather, or logistics throw curveballs.
Ron’s love of place extends to Myrtle Beach itself. Through My Journey Begins Travel, he and Melissa maintain a dedicated Myrtle Beach section on their site that highlights local attractions, experiences, and “only here” opportunities, like taking a sunrise ride on the SkyWheel over the Atlantic. They quietly promote area businesses through blog features and interviews, while also exploring more group-based travel ideas for local HOAs, associations, and affinity groups who want to see the world together. Whether he’s helping a family design their first big vacation, mentoring a startup founder, or shining a spotlight on a local attraction, Ron approaches it the same way: start with what people really want, then build an experience that fits.
