We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Blake Kirkpatrick. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Blake below.

Blake, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

So many times I have wished that I started this business sooner in life. Maybe when I first became an adult and already had a love for Southeastern, Utah. Perhaps during or after my first hospitality job in the remote Capitol Reef country that affirmed to me the space for more accomodations and promise of an escape from the growing cities up North.

The truth is that had I started another time, I wouldn’t have the experience I have now. I may not have the team I have now. We may not have acquired a dream parcel or developed it all the way through rezone approval. Through constant pushing of paperwork and endless team effort, that’s where we are now; looking ahead to our future launch with the conditional use permit in-hand to help get us there. I could keep spending my time wishing that it was all done in the past and already running smoothly, but the truth is the same to all entrepreneurs out there: There’s no better time than now to chase that dream.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Mesa View Oasis, LLC was born from the combined vision of our family of founders to bring exciting new accomodations and adventure opportunities to the East side of Capitol Reef Country. Our team has the experience in hospitality and food service to one day offer a full-service functioning homestead and resort from our location. Being surrounded by BLM and rich in geography, we’re excited to incorporate adventure options into our nightly stays, starting with E-bike rentals powered by an off-grid solar energy system.

Our team has worked tirelessly as our own agents and attorneys to push permit paperwork through our county and state, to get all the approvals needed, and to be as ready as we can to launch our first phase of accomodations. We are still exploring the ways we might get units on the ground, and finish our utility work, but we stay motivated knowing we’ve already added significant value to our parcel and that we have a lot more to offer.

The truth is that we’ve ran into plenty of road blocks and long waits over the last couple years that were not for the faint of heart. The only thing you can do in those moments is remember why you started and where you’re headed. It will all be worth it someday!

Have you ever had to pivot?

There was a time when we thought we would bring our entire operation to life by running a breakfast food truck for tourists near our future resort location. We ended up all-in and confident this revenue stream would help get us to launch, and also help us continue to be successful after launch.

Unfortunately, the food trailer was a rental and had problems that the owner refused to address. We had to take the work we’d done and let it go completely. We still have hopes of bringing our breakfast menu back to the area, but for now we have pivoted towards gig work to make sure we don’t fall behind while chasing down the dream. Every day feels like a battle between what we need to get done and want to get done, but we know the key is to just keep making progress as we go.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience is the name of the game, truly. We have faced our revenue stream having to close down, business partners with unexpected medical issues, a year-long wait for water approval for the project, a septic install that never made it to the end, along with so many other setbacks.

We could have pumped the brakes or looked for an exit strategy and had plenty of justification for doing so by now. We simply believe in our vision and know what’s ahead for us if we can maintain the resilience to see it through. That little spark that is your dream shining at the end of the tunnel is everything once you’ve seen it. We can’t wait to get there, no matter what hurdles come our way!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mesaviewoasis.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mesaviewoasis