What they learned from the outdoors, Squamish businesswomen apply to their work. Lauren Watson never dreamed of owning a business, yet she founded Ground Up Climbing gym two years ago.
Though it seemed out of reach, she treated becoming an entrepreneur like something she would recognize — a climbing project. “I had to work through the sequences,” she says. “How does that work, I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.”
Not quitting on a climb also taught Watson how to fail. “Passion actually means to suffer endlessly for the thing you love,” she explains. “Those moments when you are incredibly uncomfortable, emotionally, mentally or physically. Passion means you see it for what it is and push through it.”
Watson uses all three main strength areas in climbing — mental, technical and physical — when it comes to her business, noting nothing in the sport is gender separated, just like her work. Building personal confidence was her biggest lesson. “I’m not naturally brave, it’s just a matter of putting yourself out there,” she says.
That’s because you’re stronger than you think, says Gina Hopper, backcountry instructor, mountain biker and business administrator at the Waldorf School.
“The outdoors raised me to be tough and resilient,” she says. “It comes down to who you are and what you’re able to do. Not what you look like.”
Introducing girls to the outdoors at an early age creates a lifelong desire to strive for more, she explains. “The pursuit of bigger and better never really stops.”Being in nature taught Hopper how to face her fears and know that when it gets tough, the only way out is to continue. It’s about who is in a position to make the wisest and safest decision for your team.
“Women’s voices are often squashed, and if we speak our mind there’s a fear that’s not ladylike, or too bossy,” she says. “But in the backcountry, it doesn’t matter. You’re supposed to be bossy because lives matter.”
How that translates into business, is having the confidence to speak up about ways forward and the reasons why. “It’s about raising women who are aware enough to say this is my limit, or you know what, I think I can go further,” Hopper says.
Having a community to help push you on is vital, says Alicia Woodside, athlete and founder of Girls Gone Wilderness, a group with the goal of empowering young women by heading outdoors.
Woodside’s biggest lesson has been in knowing she’ll get there. “It’s a paradox but trusting and believing that eventually, this little step will lead to that big goal,” she explains, noting it’s important to actively seek out the people who inspire.
“The minute you start surrounding yourself with people who inspire you, that becomes the benchmark. You feel unconstrained by creating a group around you that are your own role models,” she says.
When you’re active outside as a young woman, those habits always stay with you. “It has a ripple effect on all other parts of your life,” Woodside says. “It builds character, confidence and self-esteem.”
