The Wonder Of Dogsledding - Winterdance Dogsled Tours

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in adventure but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tanya McCready, Co-Founder and CEO of Winterdance Dogsled Tours, located in Haliburton, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Winterdance Dogsled Tours is what we started 23 years ago. Taking guests from around the world out into the Canadian wilderness dogsledding with our amazing huskies. This will always be our core, but we now also have a maple syrup operation. Have 2 best-selling books, and tiny cabins we rent out in the summer, and we speak to organizations/corporations around the world about leadership, teamwork, and adversity from the lens of our adventures in Alaska & the Yukon with our huskies and what they have taught us.

Tell us about yourself

I started out as an environmental engineer headed to environmental law. But along the way, I realized it wasn't the career that I wanted that would make me happy. Dogsledding was our hobby, and our huskies our life. One day a friend suggested we turn our hobby into a business, and the rest is history. We quit our jobs, rented out our house, and moved to a piece of property in the wilderness (Haliburton), where we built a log home and started a dogsled tour company and a family the same year. What motivates me every day is, first, our dogs; the passion and joy they bring to everything they do are infectious. Also, like our dogs, the love and mystery of "what is around the next corner" and "what is the next adventure." Entrepreneurship certainly has its challenges, but the excitement and anticipation of being able to create your own opportunities, lifestyle, and impact is second to no other career.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Reaching our 20th anniversary in business and the acquisition of 2,000 acres of land for our company. Touring our stories from extreme adventures with our dogs and business into a successful keynote presentation to some of the world's top brands as well as books and TEDx talks.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

That word "balance." How to find a balance between work and the non-work parts of your life. We have given up and integrated it all, life, family, work, play, and relaxation. That has been one of our biggest gifts and lessons.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Make sure you LOVE and are passionate about the business you want to start.
  2. As soon as you can (and likely sooner than you think you should), start finding people (employees or contract - even a few hours a week) to start doing the things you don't need to do, so you can focus on the things you are best at that will build your business faster
  3. Pay for speed, pay for proximity. In other words, find people who have the experience, knowledge, and connections to help you grow.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.winterdance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winterdancedogsledtours
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winterdancedogsledtours/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winterdance-dogsled-tours/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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