Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Griffith
Hi Dawn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
15 years ago, I moved to Salt Lake City from Las Vegas, NV. I was starting a new life and needed a new beginning from a failed relationship and a much different lifestyle. I didn’t know anyone when I moved here and decided to start a meetup called Adventure Seekers of Salt Lake City. I wanted to meet new people who were interested in doing exciting adventures they have never tried before so I made a list of all the things on my bucket list I wanted to accomplish within a year and created the meetup. I marketed the activities as bucket list items and found there were a lot of people who were looking to have the support of other people in order to do these types of activities. Some of the adventures were things such as snowmobiling, sky diving, paragliding, snow shoeing, peak bagging, hot air ballooning and so much more. One event was at Gorgoza Tubing Park (when it was still there), and we had almost 100 people attend. People got excited to conquer their fears and make new friends all at the same time. I am proud to count so many of the people I met in this meetup as my closest friends to this day.
After about 5 years I ventured into creating a business with this same idea. We called it Bucket list Adventures, and I strived to do the same thing for people but make a living at it. Sadly, I didn’t do enough homework and there is a lot of permitting that goes into such a business and I had to switch the business model to more of a concierge service. After a year of breaking even I closed the business and took a hiatus from the efforts for a bit to figure out my next steps. I had given up my meetup to someone else and focused on my own life for a time while realigning.
In 2019, I decided I wanted to go back to my childhood passion of photography and couple it with my love of adventure, so I joined the Wasatch Camera Club. 2020 hit and so did Covid so workshops and fieldtrips were all done over zoom but I was highly engaged and loved it. The club advertised a need for a field trip director, so I promptly applied. Once again, I was in a position of putting together field trips and activities for club members for them to use as a reason to get out and shoot and make new friends. The club has given me the gift of getting SO much better in my photography and making some incredible new friends as well. It is a passion for me, and I strive to put together activities and outings that are unique and exciting and cover a wide range of topics for people to photograph. I want there to be something for everyone. While all of this is going on in the background, I do maintain a full-time career as an outside sales executive for XPO where I work anywhere from 40-55 hours per week. I am hoping to retire in the next 4-6 years and will continue finding ways to contribute on a higher level using my leadership skills as well as my ability to bring people together. It is a huge passion for me and my friends would claim it is my superpower.
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?
Most definitely not. As mentioned in the previous segment- I didn’t do my due diligence on my business idea of having Bucket List Adventures and I had people coming out of the woodwork to shut me down quickly. I also am a parent to a now 27-year-old autistic son. It has come with so many challenges there isn’t enough space for me to write them all down. When they say it takes a village they aren’t kidding. My village came from my meetup as I mentioned. The stories around my son are many and thankfully end up on the positive side of things but I would say it has been a bumpy ride.
In addition, I moved here to start over. I had no money, no place to live, and was in real estate during a difficult time. I was literally mapping out a new life while managing a positive outlook and healing from the life I had left behind in Las Vegas.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I addressed the creative part of my life in the previous questions. My professional life has been interesting for sure as I have done so many different things. As mentioned, before I am an outside sales professional for a shipping and logistics company. Considering my college degree is in Clinical Dietetics it is a weird place to land in my opinion. In pursuit of becoming a doctor I took the MCAT when my son was 2 years old. At that time, we learned he was developmentally disabled (there was not really an autism diagnosis back then), and I opted out of pursuing a medical career and switched to a sales career. I have sold many different things from gas price signs (Maverick was my main account), real estate and dynamic splints to orthopedic surgeons where I was allowed to watch surgeries from time to time. I was pursued by a recruiter and landed at XPO which I do enjoy very much. I am proud of the customer base I have built and relationships that have developed from my professional role. It is not just a sale. You are connecting with the decision makers and being real. People hate being sold to so being genuine is the key to being a great salesperson. I genuinely care for my customers, and I believe it is why I am successful.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
This is a tough one for me to answer as I am hoping to grow my website with photography and social media to a place where I am able to make a little extra money to pad my retirement. I am in that place in life of building the future while staying focused on my present line of work until I retire. I call it bridging. I am building a bridge so I can leave one behind to jump over to another seamlessly. The industry of photography will change a lot as AI is a huge deal right now. I have a curiosity and a dislike for it all at the same time. It can really polish up a photograph to make it look exceptional AND it can really create a false look for a photograph that is no longer a true representation of the real thing. Let’s face it – social media has changed the game and that genie will never go back into the bottle. Hidden gems and places that were unseen are seen by the millions now and we will never stop that from happening. While I love the concept of the outdoors are there for everyone, I wish it had the disclaimer- as long as you agree to take care of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dawngriffithphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natureinsights801/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550783932610
