LOSING A JOB AND GAINING A RAINBOW
After many jobs were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Allison Moist found herself working for a tour guide company. She disagreed with the practices they used at this business, and she knew she could do better. She learned a lot from this experience, and with her partner, Mason McCord, they opened Sleeping Rainbow Adventures, a jeep touring business in Torrey, Utah, in April 2021.
“I knew there was a better way to run a guiding company and wanted to start a small business that cares for people and the land,” she said.
Her goals were to share epic, memorable experiences in the outdoors while caring for the land. She personally knows how nature provides a healing place and believes travel fosters a greater understanding and land stewardship. She has a passion for creating opportunities for people to do the things they enjoy and making them happy.
During their first year, Moist and McCord faced many obstacles. Allison knew it wouldn’t be easy and understands they will continue to have more challenges, but she is grateful to have an amazing business partner who complements her strengths.
“We work through things really well together, and communication is so important,” she emphasized.
The other major struggle they had to overcome was money. Through many creative methods, they found their way.
“Don’t sweat the small things, like your first 3-star review, and keep doing the best you can.”
– Allison Moist
She would advise others never to give up and to learn from mistakes. She believes asking yourself, “How do we stand out from our competition?” is one of the best questions a business owner can ask. Allison is grateful for her interaction with the Richfield SBDC. She first heard about it from her dad, who is an entrepreneur himself. She reached out to receive all the help she could get in starting and running her business. The SBDC helped her connect to potential loans, reviewed her business plan, offered training opportunities in bookkeeping, social media, advertising, and extended reimbursements for wilderness medical training through the Custom Fit program available in their center.
One of Allison’s favorite parts of the SBDC was the creation of the SBDC Women in Business group in Wayne County that Christine Hanks started in early 2021. These monthly meetings provided training and networking to meet with other hardworking women in the area. They have banded together and helped each other.
When asked what words of wisdom she would give to others, she quoted from Napoleon Hill: “Within every problem is an opportunity. Even in the knocks of life, we can find great gifts.”
Allison realizes that life is incredibly hard, and sometimes terrible things happen, but there is so much beauty. The only choice you have is to make the most of the circumstances you are in because you do have a lot of control over how you handle situations. By losing her job, she was able to rewrite her story and is grateful for the loss; otherwise, she would have never started Sleeping Rainbow Adventures.
She concluded, “Don’t sweat the small things, like your first 3-star review, and keep doing the best you can.”
Business Assisted by The SBDC At:
