On the journey of entrepreneurship, there is no specific way of going about it. The common entrepreneurial practice is something like a lemonade stand, or helping out around the neighbourhood with chores and outdoor tasks. These days, there are more opportunities coming up for entrepreneurs, especially young and passionate enthusiasts who are willing to try it out.
Dan Geddes, the owner of Dirtbag Climbing Corp., was excited to give the space new purpose when he took over the climbing gym in 2022. Since then he’s created a multi-purpose room, started various programs for a variety of demographics, and made other upgrades to the space. Here is what Dan had to say about his entrepreneurial journey so far.
Let’s start with an intro about yourself! Prairie raised, I moved to Golden in the winter of 2018. I managed to scrape up a job in town to get me through the first season, and quickly realized that this could be a place for me long-term. Since then, I have been creatively coming up with ways to keep sticking around.
How long have you been an entrepreneur? The moment I became an entrepreneur is rather blurry. I have always had an inspiration to tackle the problems of life head on, in ways that are unconventional or outside the box. It has been two years now that I am the director of an incorporated business.
What inspired you to start your own business and what keeps you going? The inspiration to go ahead with starting my business is seemingly without end. A big chunk of my motivations though, are from the youth programs that I was so fortunate to take part in throughout my developmental years. Learning about my relationship to the world around me, and being encouraged to make positive impacts wherever I go is something that sticks with a person.
How did it feel to win “Young Entrepreneur of the Year”? Winning Young Entrepreneur was, in all honesty, bitter sweet. It is without hesitation that I express my gratitude and appreciation for the recognition. However, this year has not been without struggles, and those struggles certainly don’t disappear just because there’s an award in my hand. It was a beautiful event and so much fun to be a part of. Though it made me think a lot about how we define success in general in our society, but also more specifically in our community.
How do you like being a part of the Golden business community? Getting involved in the business community of Golden has been a really adventurous time for me in some respects. I have been meeting folks I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to meet. What is most interesting to me, though, is truly how small our community is. The citizens, and business owners, rely on each other in ways we can sparsely imagine. Every dollar spent matters in this town, and with increasing competition and a much more slowly increasing population, it puts into perspective what it really means to support local. To me it’s not just the dollars that are spent, but the people that are hired, the opportunities provided, the variety of services generated, all of these things should be assessed in greater detail when decisions are being made about who we support with our purchasing power.
What are you looking forward to in the coming years? What I look forward to most is having other businesses in town start to measure their growth not only financially, but in terms of the positive impact they have on the community. For me, success should be measured first and foremost by the relationship the business has with the land it resides on. Secondly, I hope to see more measures of success based on the quality of life of local workers, and opportunities for young locals to explore and get involved with different industries. I hope to see Dirtbag as being the ironic leader in what it means to have an impactful business.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, what advice would you give based on your experiences in launching your own business? If I was going to give any advice at all to the next at bat with a business idea, I could narrow it down to a few statements. First, eat problems for breakfast, because that’s the only way you will get used to how many problems you will face. Second, do your homework. In the age of information there is no reason to waste time trying to learn from classes. If you know what you want to know, go learn it. Lastly, everyone knows what’s best for you, which means no one knows what’s best. Always act on what you can live with morally and don’t listen to anyone else.
The “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award was presented to Dan in November 2023 at the Kicking Horse Country Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Excellence Awards. To learn more about the BCEA’s and what the Chamber does for the local business community, visit their website at www.goldenchamber.bc.ca and follow them on their social media.
If you’re interested in more stories like this, check out our local business stories here.
