There is not denying I’ve been neglecting this little bubble of the internet, my personal space to overshare whatever niggles at my brain. But you should know, it has been for a good reason! Not the standard “I’ve been busy” excuse but a slightly more original “I’ve been working on something big” excuse.

That something big launched to the world yesterday. After years of gaining experience on trails around the world and months of tying up all the “behind the scene” details Adventure Feet First is finally ready to share with the world.

Head on over + check it out. I’m excited [+ slightly terrified] about launching it. I’m also really hopeful for what it can become.

The website itself will tell you all sorts of things about what Adventure Feet First is, what we’re all about + why we think we’re worth your money + trust. So, if you’re curious about that stuff…head on over. This space right here is still my personal bubble, so I’m going to keep it personal by sharing the more emotional side of all of this. Essentially the Adventure Feet First story, sans a sales pitch!

Adventure Feet First started to take legitimate shape on a train headed west. It was last September + I had just pulled off the best surprise trip yet. For Robb’s birthday weekend I had requested his time + as soon as he agreed to a 4-day weekend I started planning. He had no idea where we were going or exactly what we’d be doing until we arrived at the train station + I handed him a list of things we could do on our trip.

Shortly after reading through all his options + working his favorites into the weekend Robb flipped my life upside down with this simple comment — “have you considered making a business out of this sort of thing?”. That’s all it took to get us started on the conversation we’d have for the next 24 hours on the Amtrak train headed for Reno + Lake Tahoe.

Look closely, you’ll see the train we’re on going around the bend!

Once we returned home I got to work.

This is not the first time I have ventured out to work for myself…but it is the first time I’ve truly committed to it. I cut my hours down at all three “for the man” jobs + starting telling people about my plan. If this had any chance of working I needed to do more than just work on it on the side. It needed to be the focus. I needed this to be official.

Enter the business plan.

Ten years after getting my hands on a college diploma saying I knew things about entrepreneurship I was finally putting it to use! It took me a week to nail down the business plan…after a few weeks of just discussing ideas + strategies + such. Turns out it takes a lot of brain power to whip up the details of something that is so abstract at the moment.

With a legitimate business plan in hand [albeit, with a lot of +’s but no and’s] I got to work with the other random bits + pieces required to make a business truly legitimate, according to the government + such. I updated my LLC, created a “doing business as”/DBA, opened a bank account, got a business credit card, bought URLs, hired a graphic designer, chatted up entrepreneurial lawyers + all the good stuff that takes time + energy but doesn’t give you much to show for your efforts.

Then I jumped into the good stuff…designing the website + making all of my business plan-y words into sentences that would be much more exciting to the rest of the world.

On a horseback tour of Bryce Canyon NP, in the name of “travel research”.

A full week of deep breathing + positive self talk later…I told the world about my business + opened myself up to feedback…but also clients.

So, it’s out there. It feels a bit surreal. I’ve finally found a way to put the knowledge + experience I’ve gained while traveling along hundreds of miles of trails around the world to good use. I’ve always been happy to share tips + suggestions, but now it’s official…I have given myself permission to be proud of what I know + told the world that it’s something worth paying for.

I love planning. I find researching interesting. Details are the foundation of my happy place. Great deals on travel make me giddy. Getting people outdoors to enjoy themselves gives my life purpose. This is quite literally the essence of everything I love.

That’s the story…from the oversharing, not-so-business-y version of myself. Now I need to go stare at the Adventure Feet First website to make sure all the links are working + I spelled everything right + I didn’t over-explain the simple stuff, because that’s what is freaking me out right now!

Side Note: I’d be remiss not to give Robb a ton of credit for taking away all my excuses to not do this + a million thanks to all of the friends that talked me off a ledge or through moments of “why did I think this was a good idea?!”. Oh, + that logo…it is a masterpiece created by Kerin Gaydou, who I met almost accidentally at a Trail Sisters Run With Her Retreat. Gotta love it when different parts of your world collide!


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