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

Alright, Christy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

In my early 30s, I had the makings of the so-called “American Dream”: happily married with 2 beautiful kids, my husband held a steady job, I was able to see a few Pilates clients part time but still stay home with my very young children, we owned a home in a nice neighborhood, and had a good community around us. What more could you ask for? But, my husband (Clayton) and I couldn’t shake this feeling of “is this it? Is this all we were meant to do?” We started dreaming of something different — something bigger.

I grew up in West Texas, out in the country on a few acres of land, so as an adult living in Southern California on a tiny lot, I found myself craving more space, both for myself and my family. Naturally, both being from Texas, Clayton and I started thinking about moving back home so we could be closer to family and have the potential to own something a little larger. What we would do to make a living once we got there, was a bigger question. Clayton and I started thinking about our job histories and skill sets and decided that we might be a natural fit for the hospitality industry. We toyed with the idea of finding a lovely piece of land where we could build a wedding venue and hopefully eek out a living wage. That dream kept growing in our minds, took root, and we finally took a leap of faith and started looking for properties.

On a trip home to Texas for Christmas, we traveled several hours east to the Texas Hill Country, met with our long-distance realtor in person for the first time, and toured a few properties. Most of them were completely raw land or tear down jobs and generally overwhelming to even consider taking on. The final property we looked at was a last minute addition: it was a property with 6 small cabins on it and currently operating as a Bed and Breakfast — we weren’t sure that we wanted to take on a B&B, but decided we might as well take a look while we were visiting. It was love at first sight. We made an offer that day and after a brief counter, we came to an agreement on Christmas Eve — our lives were about to change in a major way.

In just a few months, we sold our house in California, left our jobs, our friends, our town, and headed halfway across the country to a small Texas town where we knew no one to step into an industry we knew nothing about. It was hard, and scary, and the biggest risk we had ever taken; we had no idea how it would shake out, but we had to find out.

We hit the ground running, taking over the B&B business immediately and learning as we went. After a year of learning the ropes, we rebranded the property to “Cabins at Red Rock” and started adding our own special touches and unique services to help us achieve the best guest experience we could. After 2 years, we decided to take another big risk and build the wedding venue we had initially dreamt of, but with a twist: I was able to step back into my Pilates career as this space also supported a studio for the people of our town. We were delighted to be serving not only our guests and tourists to the area, but also our community.

Eight years have gone by since we took that first risk and uprooted our lives, and I often wonder what life would be like if we didn’t take the leap. I’m so glad we did.

Christy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

In addition to running a cabin business and wedding venue, I am a Pilates Instructor and studio owner, not to mention a homeschooling mom of 2 boys — so I wear lots of hats and change them often!

The previous slide describes in detail how I got into the hospitality industry, so I’ll focus here on what sets our place apart. Our property is known as “Red Rock” and consists of the “Cabins at Red Rock” as well as our venue, the “Hillside at Red Rock.” Guests can enjoy a retreat from their daily lives out here in the country, overlooking a 20 acre meadow. Each cabin comes with its own front porch and rocking chairs and we have a guest corral perfect for stargazing away from the city lights. We like to say we bring a “Campfire Culture” here at Red Rock, as we love to see our guests gathered around our communal fire pit in the evening sharing some of our homemade s’mores (I make the marshmallows and graham crackers from scratch and pair them with fine chocolate). On the weekends, you can order our homemade breakfasts made with the best ingredients we can get, our own chicken’s eggs, and in the right season, produce from our own garden and fruit trees. We treat you like family here.

Our Hillside venue is (as its name suggests) located higher up above the cabins on a hillside, boasting 30 mile views from our sky deck. We host weddings, art retreats, family reunions, corporate retreats, and celebrations of any kind. The space is intimate and serene, and we’re on site to help you with anything you need. Once again, we treat you like family.

The Hillside venue is also known as the “Studio at Red Rock” as the other half of my business life involves a Pilates career of nearly 20 years. As a teen, I danced with a regional ballet company in my home town and started having knee problems at a very young age. My dance teacher at the time had been a Pilates instructor in NYC during the 1960s, and invited me to come try the method 3x a week to see if it might help. This was the mid 1990s, and I had never heard of Pilates, but I was up to try anything if it meant I could dance without pain. Within a month, my knee pain was gone. I was a believer! After college I pursued a comprehensive Pilates certification and have been teaching regularly since 2008. I started out as a contract employee, eventually built my own clientele, and now own a studio myself. I’m continually learning and have a dedicated interest in best movement practices which I weave into my Pilates work. I call myself “the Pilates Heretic” because I have no allegiance to any one “religion” in the Pilates world — in other words, I have mentors and teachers in both the Contemporary Pilates world and the Classical Pilates world, and I pull from both places. Sadly, the infighting between these 2 camps can be vicious at times, and I’m not interested in that — I’m interested in helping people move better so they can feel their best.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to utilize my different skills, talents, and resources to create complimentary businesses that allow me to put my family first while still making a living. For me, family is key — my family helped give me a head start in my life, and I’m hopeful to the do the same for my kids. Family is always the priority.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My partner in business is also my partner in life: my husband, Clayton. We actually met when we were 10 years old in elementary school, developed a friendship in Junior High, started dating in late high school, continued a long distance relationship for 5 years, and eventually got married after we finished college. He started his career working in museums and non-profit settings, managing volunteers, special programs, and organizing events. Meanwhile, I was working in the Health and Wellness arena, seeing clients one-on-one. It was our work with people — albeit, in very different fields — that led us to think about exploring the arena of hospitality. It was a little scary to think of starting a business with each other — after all, working with your spouse can often fail miserably — but, thankfully, we found that our work styles compliment one another beautifully. We’ve always been good with the division of labor which allows us to divide and conquer, rather than micromanage one another. We have similar goals and values which makes prioritizing tasks and business growth relatively simple. It’s not something that would work for all couples, but it’s worked well for us.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Whether with the cabins, the venue, or the studio, I believe there are two key commitments that support a good reputation:

1) Do what you say you will do, and
2) Return the phone call/respond to the email.

It’s not complicated, but it does require discipline and a commitment to your client. I am amazed at how many small businesses miss these 2 elements completely. My goal is to treat the people I serve with courtesy and respect, just as I want to be treated by businesses I interact with.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hillsideatredrock.com, www.cabinsatredrock.com
• Instagram: @thepilatesheretic @cabinsatredrock
• Facebook: Facebook.com/cabinsatredrock

Image Credits
Gara Hill