We recently connected with Gretchen Dunlap and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gretchen, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

There are always risks to be taken in life, if you’re the kind of person that isn’t scared of NOT playing it safe. There is something to be said about playing it safe, which I have also learned along the way. But there is something really great and exciting about taking a risk as well. The biggest risk my husband and I have taken is in our life on the ranch. It started with deciding to move from our comfortable home in the city to a 5th wheel on the family ranch. We still had our house as a backup if we didn’t like it. But we did like it, a lot. So much so that we sold our house a few years later. The next thing we decided was that we wanted to build a business on our property to be able to share this beautiful space we have been blessed with others. After much thinking and talking, we landed on a wedding venue. So we hiked around the property to figure out the right place to build it. We found it as we hiked up a hill thick with cedars to a small clearing in which we could peek through the brush and trees to see the biggest most amazing breathtaking view of the Texas hill country right before our eyes. So we began to create our business, J-D Ranch Texas Wedding and Event Venue.

In the meantime, my husband worked as an elementary school music teacher back in the city, it was a long commute. I worked with my family chiropractic office, which was also a pretty good commute. I was able to adjust my hours to accommodate our new ranch lifestyle and the beginning of building a business, but my husband was not. The commute and other things began to wear on him. We decided to take a risk and have him resign and start working with me as the marketers for our family chiropractic office, giving us both more freedom to build the business and work on the ranch. After a while, we both realized two things, my husband really missed his teaching and the kids and we kinda liked having some “play it safe” along side of our “taking a risk”. Fortunately an opportunity arose for him to go back to teaching music only 4 miles from our gate. Much different than the commute he used to have to the city. We were very excited. The time also came for me to resign from working with my family and get out fully on my own, building the business.

So the building began, on all levels. From what’s our name, how do we get a tax ID number to what style of venue do we want to build and who’s going to do it? Then there is the how do we run this business, what’s entailed? How do we market it? Who can we talk/work with that has been in this business and knows the ropes?

Here we are a full year in with several events under our belt and it has been an amazing experience. The people we have met from the ones who helped us along the way to build J-D Ranch Texas to the brides and grooms who have had there weddings at our place. The families and friends we’ve met and connected with. To experience an event and see the joy that people get from being in our space and taking in the epic view and the beautiful nature all around them. This “risk” has been totally worth it. It has taught us so much about not giving up, persevering through all obstacles and working together as husband and wife to accomplish something big and exciting and hard. We are very thankful to have said YES to our dream nudges.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an entrepreneur at heart. I believe I got that from my Dad. He started out his career as a pharmacist and 10 years later decided that wasn’t for him, and set off for chiropractic school with my Mom and 3 of us kids. It was a risk that changed all of our lives. He’s been in the business for almost 40 years and has opened many offices and impacted many peoples lives with his love and understanding of chiropractic. I have never been one for school, but I also have never been one for working for other peoples businesses. Not that I haven’t done so. I have had many jobs in my life. But when I was in my early 20’s I started a cleaning business and learned I really liked setting my own schedule and value. Even with working with my family chiropractic office after several years, we decided I needed to get out of the office to do the marketing because it gave me variety and I also love people and educating them on the benefits of chiropractic.

I got into the wedding industry by deciding to build a business on our property. My husband and I got married on the property many years ago and it was beautiful. When I was looking for a venue for us with my Mom, I just couldn’t find a space that was appealing to me and/or I didn’t feel like I was special. And we all know when you are a bride, you want to feel special and that the place you choose makes you feel that way too. So to the ranch we went. It was very raw, but so beautiful. All our guests loved it. It made sense to find a spot on the ranch to build a different kind of special place for people to get married. Or have any kind of event really. Then we found our view and everything fell into place.

A common thing we hear from people who visit our space and/or choose it for their event is that it is not like all the other places. It’s different. That’s what we strive for. To give an experience like none other. We provide a space that has the most incredible view of the Texas hill country, with nature all around, the peace and quiet is so relaxing. It can be a real spiritual experience. For weddings, there is no need for an abundance of decor, the natural beauty does a lot of the work. Therefore, it keeps planning simpler and less costly. We have an amphitheater overlooking the epic view with built in seating on natural limestone butter blocks on crushed granite. A 4500 sq foot open air pavilion with a dance floor and plenty of room for the tables and chairs we provide. And a 1000 sq ft bridal suite for all the ladies to get ready in. And if the bride and groom desire to wake up to that beautiful view in the morning, they have the option to stay the night in the suite as well.

We are happy to say that all of our clients have been beyond happy with J-D Ranch Texas, both space and service. And my husband and I are equally beyond happy the have served and provided for all our clients.

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

I met my business partner in high school. He was my first boyfriend. We dated for a little while then went our separate ways for many years. When we dated in high school, we went out to his family ranch on a date or two. I loved it. I love outside. When we got back in touch many years later, our lives had gone through many things, as all our lives do. We were both available again and we hit it off right away. After about a year and a half of dating again, we got married….on the ranch that we went on those high school dates. My husband is the best business partner I could ever ask for. Our ideals totally align. And we are both skilled in different areas that compliment each other and make it possible to do what we are doing. It’s a huge blessing.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

My husband and I both had houses when we re-met. There was a time when we were ready to sell them, after having them as rentals for several years when we moved out to the ranch. We took that money and decided to put it into the business. That’s how we got started. Then as we went through all the processes of what everything costs, especially the big stuff like building it, we got several bids and determined how and where and who and when we would spend money. We were very strategic and thoughtful about it and still are. We found that if we took our time and had patience and allowed things to happen organically, a lot of the parts of the process came in our favor.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.j-dranchtx.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jbardranchtexas
• Facebook: Facebook.com/jbardranchtexas

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