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

Alright, Haley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’m Haley and my husband is CJ. We met in college and quickly bonded over our love and shared experiences in the outdoors. We had both been on extended backpacking trips (I did 40 days in Wyoming with Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries and CJ did 23 days in Colorado with Outward Bound)

One year later, we got married. We have had 2 beautiful daughters, Adeline Rayne (Della) and Anya Lawson (Yaya) who both love being outside just as much as we do! We spend as much time as we can hiking, running, mountain biking, climbing as a family and with friends. I (Haley) have also started hiking and trail running as well as practicing yoga and prayer in an effort to handle postpartum depression after my second child. That is a whole other story that I’m happy to share with anyone who wants to know more but I’m passionate about helping others who are stressed, depressed, etc find freedom through unplugging, slowing down and getting outside through yoga and hiking.

A few years ago we realized we were always reaching for our next vacation to the mountains and had never truly taken advantage of the beautiful outdoor spaces available to us right here in Dallas Texas. We knew we couldn’t live our life wishing we were somewhere else, especially when there are tons of beautiful trails, rivers, lakes and outdoor climbing available all around us. We just had to explore a little more to find them. We wanted to explore more and also encourage other people to explore their own backyard because your backyard is bigger than you think. We also realized people don’t always want to go outside because they don’t feel knowledgeable or equipped for certain activities. We get asked constantly “take me with you next time you go backpacking”, “how do I hike with a toddler”, “what kind of hiking shoes do I need” etc

So in true entrepreneur fashion, we started a business. The goal of ExploreMore is to train and equip people to experience the fun and freedom found in nature. Our most popular event is our hike, yoga and brew where we combine a short beginner friendly yoga practice with nature and a group hike followed by a “brew” which is usually a drink ticket to a local coffee shop, brewery or restaurant near the trail. We are also huge proponents of supporting and exploring local business so we are partnering with small businesses as much as possible.

Don’t get me wrong, we still go to the mountains as much as possible and I still want to take people backpacking in the mountains and trying new experiences but I also want them driving 10 minutes down the street and hiking in their local park.

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.

I have loved the outdoors since I was a young child. I explored the creek behind my house and knew every little characteristic of the half mile between my house and my grandmas house. I used to dream about exploring the jungle and loved skiing, hiking and camping. As I grew up, I knew I wanted to help others have fun and find that same freedom outside. I always envisioned that happening when I graduated college and moved to Colorado or Washington or somewhere in the mountains. I kept waiting for that opportunity and it never came. My husband and I would think it was time and something would come up that kept us in Texas. We prayed about it and really felt like God kept saying “not yet”. We realized quickly that we didn’t even explore our own backyard. We lived near a lake and never kayaked, there are beautiful trails all over Dallas that we never explored. Sure, it isn’t the mountains but there is nature right here in DFW. So we started to intentionally explore more of our own backyard.

Eventually we started brainstorming how we could start our outdoor business we always dreamed of here in Dallas. We had no idea what the business would be but we knew we wanted to be in the outdoor industry. Did we want to do retail, guide backpacking trips, write or become content creators? We threw around tons of ideas but never settled on anything. In the mean time, I decided to start leading hikes. Those hikes led to hike and brews where I partnered with a local brewery and would sell tickets for guided hikes and a beer token. It was a hit! Next I added Yoga and that began our Hike and Yoga events and Hike, Yoga and Brew events.

We found many people wanted to discover trails across Dallas but were not always able to join a group or maybe preferred to hike alone so we created our DFW Trails Bingo card. We picked trails all over the metroplex and made it a fun game people could do at their own pace. It is just a simple and creative way to have a goal and discover new trails with prizes if you get a blackout. We now have Bingo cards in multiple cities across the nation.

It has grown over the years and we now have a training program for Yoga instructors who want to lead their own hike and yoga classes and we are launching our hiking games very soon! I have multiple guides across DFW and across Texas who lead Hike and yoga classes in their town. We are expanding into other states as well.

So whether you are a Yoga instructor or outdoor leader that wants to offer these kinds of events or your are a novice or even advanced hiker who just wants to connect with likeminded people and discover new trails or rediscover old trails, we have something for you.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I love listening to podcasts and one of my favorite business podcasts is How I Built This by NPR. I feel like I learn something new from every episode and Guy Raz does a great job telling the story of how founders got to where they are today. I try to make sure I get one take away from every episode. I also have done many local networking groups and masterminds and I’m a firm believer that relationships are the key to success. My goal is to build relationships and help other entrepreneurs, not necessarily find customers. Too often I have met up with someone from a networking group and as soon as they realize I won’t be buying whatever they are offering, they disappear and that mindset is just not going to help you grow.

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

I always tell people starting a business will take twice as much time and twice as much money as you expect (at least). With my current business, ExploreMore; I am determined to grow it debt free. Over the last few years we have grown organically and any money made just went back into the business. This meant much slower growth but I am ok with that. I am a workaholic so over the last few years I have been trying to force myself to slow down and not work all the time. We sold a few businesses so we are about to put some personal capital into more intentional growth but we will try to keep the funding organic and personal equity or investments and try to avoid debt.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.exploremore.fun
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/exploremore.fun
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/exploremoredfw
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@exploremore4165