Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Jones.
Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hmm, where to start… I was born and raised in Arizona. My parents put the bug of business and entrepreneurship in me at a young age. At 18 I ran for the working world with everything they taught me and a know it all attitude, haha. I worked in promotions and marketing for a tobacco company for a few years, which took me all over the country and taught me invaluable lessons about people, travel, business and more. At 21 I went part time with them and took an office management position for a home security company hoping to set some roots in my home state of Arizona. Over the next 3 years, I worked my way up the corporate ladder to Vice President of Operations. I took a lot of pride in my career but as fate would have it I still had that entrepreneur bug. I left that job in 2014 and hit the road with the goal of taking my dreams to Florida. Once here in Florida I took yet another VP position in the same industry. I knew that I had to get established here before launching my business, since I came to Florida alone. I knew no one and I had never been north of Fort Myers on my previous FL visits. I had a lot to learn about this beautiful state but I was ready!
It took me 2 years to truly call Florida home and to finally begin my journey into the entrepreneur world. After discovering the abundance of freshwater springs, lakes, rivers and oceans I knew that I was in the right place. I have always been a water lover, so it seemed more than fitting that I would start a paddleboard and kayak rental and tour company. In 2015 I started spending all of my time manifesting, planning and being on the water. I had very little cash to work with and still very few friends or business contacts here. I decided to take a part time bartending position to help me meet people, earn cash and get started. I started by creating a Facebook page, I got a free Google phone number, the cheapest Constant Contact account they had and started marketing my idea.
I did things completely backwards. At this point, I didn’t own any of the equipment I needed to actually do tours or rentals. But, I had a plan. Find the area with the biggest demand, discover my niche, build a client base, see where my clients want to explore and then buy the equipment. Crazy, I know! I started getting calls and this is what I would say “We don’t have any available at this time but if you give me your contact information I will reach out when we have openings and give you a coupon for your first trip with us”. People were very receptive to this and over the next few months, I gathered hundreds of names, phone numbers and e-mails. With the cash, I was earning bartending I started to buy equipment and began doing my first rentals. They were fun, but they didn’t bring in very much money, especially since I was discounting it right off the bat. I also didn’t seem to be connecting with anyone. My customers came, had their adventure and then left. I suppose that’s normal for most businesses but I wanted more of a connection and a community.
In March of 2016, I still had very few good friends and wasn’t finding many outlets to make them. I came up with the idea to branch from family-friendly tours and rentals to women only trips. I will admit that selfishly I hoped this would be my way of making new friends that had similar interests. In those moments of loneliness, my business Women Making Waves was born. It took me until July of that year to conjure up the courage to create my first Women Making Waves event. I described the event on Facebook as a chance for women to connect, sip a little wine and make new friends. We would paddle to an island in Winter Park, sit in a circle and share a little about ourselves. I was terrified that people would think this was ridiculous and I am sure some did, but I had to do it anyway.
Three women showed up to my very first Women Making Waves event. They didn’t know each other or me. They were simply taking a chance and trying something new. Ugh, my heart flutters thinking about that day. I took a chance, they took a chance and we had the best time. We paddled, explored the island, sat in a little circle, sipped wine and shared stories like we were old friends. My soul needed that. In that moment, I learned that even when I think I am the only one who feels alone, less than enough or terrified, that I am not. I didn’t celebrate learning that I wasn’t alone in those low feelings but I did celebrate knowing that other women are willing to take risks to feel better, be better and be vulnerable enough to share, heal and grow with others. It was the birth of Women Making Waves and the moment I found my true calling.
The very next week I hosted my second event and EIGHTEEN women showed up!! It was just as magical as the first event. I continued these events and eventually took them to New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Ormond Beach and beyond. Once a month I hosted these events in each place. Sometimes I saw the same women at all of the paddles but every single time there were a few new faces and the tribe grows.
Fast forward to 2022, I have sat in those circles with over 2500 different women. We have shared stories, wine, food, belly laughs, tears and so much more. These women have changed lives by sharing their stories in those circles. They have given women that started as complete strangers hope, friendship, love, acceptance and confidence. We still host those paddles, the same exact way, each time adding a new women to the tribe and community. In addition to those events we also host weekend camping retreats for women called Women In The Woods and quarterly land/beach events for continued empowerment and connection. We are sponsors and volunteers for Surfers For Autism, Legacy Housing, Save Blue Paradise and as a tribe we try to make as many positive waves in our communities as we can.
I could never truly express the amount of gratitude I have for the women that make up our tribe. They gave my business a chance to be what it is now. But more importantly, they have shaped who I am, they gave life to my calling.
Alongside my women’s events, I still host year around family-friendly tours and rentals with my business Paddle Florida Now.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any business goes without struggles but I have been lucky enough to have only a few, so far.
2020 and covid is probably the biggest challenge we’ve faced since opening. We were closed for 9 weeks in peak season and then were only able to host at 25% capacity for several months. It also shut down our camps for a year and some of our most popular launch sites remained closed. People were full of fear which made tours a little more tense. But, overall I was happy that my business survived a trying time because I know a lot of small businesses sadly didn’t.
I would also have to say that employing people has been a huge challenge for me. For a few years, I had an amazing guide, Jessa, but she followed her dreams to be a High School teacher and basketball coach. I am proud of her but was so sad to lose her as a team member. Finding someone that can connect with others, be reliable, safely drive a truck and backup a trailer, is a bigger task than many would think.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
This is a good one. I learned to put my own fears and uncertainty away when running tours and events. I was the outlet that people needed to unwind. I offered an outdoor experience that had the potential to help people forget about all the bad stuff going on, connect with nature, with others and remember to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.WMWtribe.com | www.PaddleFloridaNow.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/WMWtribe
- Facebook: Facebook.com/WMWtribe
