Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Selbee-Koch and Jennifer Woerner.
Denise Selbee-Koch and Jennifer Woerner are Co-Owners of Dirty Girl Adventures. They met 23 years ago when both worked in Alternative Education, Denise as a Social Worker and Jennifer as an Occupational Therapist. They used Environmental Education and Service Learning as their primary intervention with disenfranchised high school students. After several years of teaching and leading youth in projects and outdoor learning, Denise and Jennifer each moved on to other jobs but remained friends who loved time spent outside.
One summer day in 2013, while kayaking on the Kansas River with a small group of friends, the idea of once again sharing their love of outdoor adventure with others was born. The two decided that it would be fun and rewarding to focus on women and empowering them to connect or re-connect to nature and enrich their lives and relationships with others. In January 2014, Dirty Girl Adventures, LLC became an official business.
Denise and Jennifer created the Dirty Girl Club to support the connections that women built during adventures. Their dream was to create a community of support, non-judgment and acceptance for women of all ages, stages and walks of life. They did this through leading hikes, kayaking adventures and camping adventures. As time went on, the level of challenge in the adventures grew with the growing experience from participants. From short hikes and lake kayaking, Dirty Girl Adventures now leads river kayaking and camping, backpacking and long supported hikes, as well as mission/adventure trips to Guatemala! In addition, they have broadened their participants by opening them up to all people who are seeking more adventure and connection in their lives. Now adventures often include Dirty Girls, Dirty Dudes, Dirty Kids and Dirty Dogs.
After six years of adventure, Denise and Jennifer, who had been dreaming of a “basecamp” for Dirty Girl Adventures, found an ideal location to settle their business. They purchased a property in NOTO, the Arts and Entertainment District in Topeka, Kansas. Compass Point home of Dirty Girl Adventures opened in April 2019 and is two blocks from the Kansas River. From this location, they now teach various classes about adventure and whole health and wellness, yoga classes, the shop features outdoor adventure gear from kayaks to backpacks and an outdoor Courtyard where they host live music on a pontoon boat stage and serve drinks from a Canoe Bar. All of these offerings continue to build connections between people from all walks of life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to adventure is never smooth, we have struggled along the way to establishing Dirty Girl Adventures just as we struggle during challenging adventures. Sometimes, we have taken or nearly taken a wrong turn, causing us to double back, often working twice as hard. Sometimes, we have been tired and dejected when our plans fell flat. We work together to slow down and be thoughtful as we continuously adjust and readjust our path forward. Remembering to focus and clarify whether or not what we are doing is in alignment with our vision and goals has helped us stay the course and grow with intention.
Our most significant challenge to date has been expanding our adventure business by purchasing property, opening the retail store and event center while continuing our schedule of outdoor adventures. Wow! The learning curve was steep, and the work was continuous. Our purchase of a building built in 1905 was and continues to be a challenging experience in property management. After 2.5 years, we have settled into our still new expansion. We have had so much fun meeting new people and connecting outdoor adventure with live music, bringing different groups of people together to find shared interests. We know that we are still cutting a new trial, we will make some changes in direction but we will continue forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dirty Girl Adventures?
Dirty Girl Adventures specializes in a high quality of customer service. We go beyond the basics by creating a community that welcomes individuals of all ages and stages to unite in a love of connection to nature and adventure. We promote a culture of acceptance and non-judgment within the community that offers a safe place for everyone to participate. This has resulted in an identity for the women who participate, they are proud to be Dirty Girls. Generally, we are viewed as teachers more than as salespeople and as involved and active owners who are available to meet the needs of our customers.
We are also known for creating comfortable and welcoming environments, knowing and intentionally connecting our customers to others we think they might enjoy and our ability to help others feel comfortable in any adventure with us, from the trail to the courtyard music events.
How do you think about luck?
Luck always plays into a business, especially into a business that is based on OUTDOOR activities. From our outdoor adventure to the use of an outdoor venue for live music events, we spend a lot of time monitoring the weather, water levels, trail conditions and all safety conditions. We have had some bad luck with rainy seasons and high water levels which impact our adventures with cancellations. We have had good luck with good weather and great conditions allowing us to share adventures with wonderful people. What we have learned is how to adjust, pivot and flex as conditions evolve and change. Our connection to nature helps remind us that we aren’t in control and that we can only respond to what is in front of us each day.
Pricing:
- Adventure pricing ranges from $15 -$1000
- Retail prices range from $2 – $2000
- Events at Compass Point range from Free to $200
- Yoga classes range from $5 per class to $20 per session
- Event venue rental prices start at $100 per hour to $300 per hour dependent on amenities desired
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.dirtygirladventures.com
- Instagram: @dirtygirladventuresks
- Facebook: @dirtygirladventures
