Let's Get Wild

Owners Marley Nelson & Kelsey Grunigen

UMLF: Hey guys! We’re excited to interview you as our Business of the Month. Can you introduce yourselves to our readers?

• Wild Mesa: Hi there! Our names are Kelsey and Marley. We own and operate Wild Mesa, a mountain biking guiding company in the Zion area.

UMLF: Tell us about Wild Mesa and why you decided to start your own biking venture?  

• Wild Mesa: Both of us have experienced a much deeper connection with ourselves and our environment through mountain biking. It completely transforms how you interact with the outdoors, it takes you to magically beautiful places, and it shows you how strong you are. We wanted to share this, and encourage more people to go outside, get on a bike, and connect with the natural land, and what better place to do that than Zion?

UMLF: For someone who hasn’t been to the Zion area, what can they expect? Are there better times of year to go?

• Wild Mesa: The greater Zion area is truly a special place, and not just for the world-class mountain biking! The landscape is so unique and offers a variety of fun activities. If you have never been, it should absolutely be on your list of places to visit. Mountain biking is a popular year-round activity here, with Fall, Winter and Spring offering the best conditions for riding. Even during the hot summer months, we can escape to higher elevation and bike on trails with much cooler temperatures and shade from trees. Since Zion is one of the busiest National Parks, and quickly gaining popularity, we recommend visiting the area in the Fall and Winter when there are fewer crowds.

 
UMLF: Are these tours better for beginners or all skill levels? 

• Wild Mesa: Our guided tours and courses accommodate all experience levels, from beginners to experienced riders. There is no shortage of mountain bike trails in the greater Zion area, the variety of terrain allows us to customize each tour to fit the skill and experience level of every rider. We also offer a few different courses, all of which are tailored to the client. Our courses are aimed at helping brand new riders build confidence on the bike, shaping fundamental skills, and learning to ride and navigate more technical terrain like slickrock. 

 
UMLF:  In an outdoor state such as ours there are lots of different companies to choose from when booking a tour. Why is Wild Mesa a cut above the rest?

• Wild Mesa: We are lucky to be surrounded by a community of guides and other guiding companies who we have learned from and worked with. The guiding community in the Zion area has such a strong, positive presence, which does mean more competition. Wild Mesa stands out as a one of few female-owned and operated guiding services in the state of Utah, and we are proud to provide a service that is inclusive and accessible to all abilities and experience levels. We offer an experience that is customized to each individual or group, and is more affordable than our competitors. The cost of a guided tour with Wild Mesa includes all equipment, day-of transportation, and an expert guide at a lower cost than what our competitors charge.

 
UMLF: Entrepreneurship has its highs and lows. Can you tell us about a challenge you faced a small business owner and how you overcame it?

• Wild Mesa: One of the challenges we faced was with our booking tool. As a guiding company, we have unique scheduling needs that most booking systems are unable to fully support. We chose a system that ended up causing pain points on the front and back end when booking. The client experience when booking was poor, which we feared would drive customers away. We implemented a temporary solution by advertising a discount to clients who called to book so we could make their reservation manually. After further research and more careful consideration of our tools needs, we found a booking service that delivers on our needs as a guiding company. We were able to customize, test, and practice using the booking system before integrating it onto our website , which we had not done before. This experience taught us how to more effectively communicate our unique business needs, and how important it is to have a back-up plan you can easily execute so you can continue doing business even if one of your major systems or processes fails.

 
UMLF: How has the Utah Microloan Fund has helped your business? 

• Wild Mesa: As cheesy as it may sound, the Utah Microloan Fund transformed our dream into a reality. From our very first interaction upon reaching out to UMLF, we have received enthusiastic support from everyone we have worked with. The support provided throughout the application process helped us gain a deeper and necessary understanding of our business plan and objectives, projected financials, and ultimately prepared us for a successful launch of our business. The Utah Microloan Fund recognized our potential, and in doing so gave us the ability to purchase the equipment necessary to starting and operating our business. We started Wild Mesa with the goal of sharing our passion for mountain biking and outdoor enrichment with others, and UMLF made that possible. The ongoing support and education provided by UMLF has also been hugely helpful as we learn and adapt as a new business!

UMLF: Aw thanks guys! To stay in touch with Wild Mesa or to book a tour please visit: 

• Website
• Tiktok
• Instagram 

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