Meet Jessy Hill | Power Sports Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessy Hill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessy, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
During the onset of COVID-19, my then-boyfriend and I were laid off from our jobs around the same time that March. I spent that summer with my best friend and her husband who both own their own businesses. I gained a lot of perspective on business ownership from both of them of those few months. When I realized that my husband’s talents for mechanics married with my drive and intelligence would be a great combination, I pitched the idea of opening our own shop to him and he was on board immediately. He already had a strong background in power sports mechanics and I am an avid power sports enthusiast, so it was a labor of love on both of our parts.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Uphill Motorworks is a repair shop located in Crested Butte, CO. Our main focus is in power sports repair (dirt bikes, snowmobiles, ATVs and UTVs) but we also do automotive, small engine and so much more; we will pretty much take a stab at anything! I am proud to be in the minority of women leaders in this male dominated industry, and I am beyond excited to bring more diversity to power sports in general. I recently organized a women’s moto maintenance clinic, with all proceeds going to a local charity. I love the power to affect real change in this way, something that my role as an owner at Uphill Motorworks gives to me. My husband and I opened Uphill Motorworks in October 2020 after being laid off due to the pandemic. We got here with the support of our family, friends and customers. The road was bumpy, but it felt like we were going in the right direction so we pressed on. Prioritizing our relationship and our mental health has been crucial to the opening, survival and future success of Uphill Motorworks. Owning a business with your life partner has been a wild ride, and we’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way. Most importantly- that if you don’t put your romantic relationship and your relationship with yourself first, then everything else will crumble. In the reverse, if you strengthen that romantic relationship and fortify your own mental health together, your business with thrive right along with you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is actually a bit of a loaded question for me. Our little town of Crested Butte is currently undergoing a housing and identity crisis and has been exploited by too much tourism and not enough community support. Locals are losing housing to VRBOs left and right at such a rapid pace it’s unnerving. Buying is nearly impossible because of pricing and the market. Everyone who remains (and rents) are worried it’s only a matter of time before the rug is pulled out from underneath them, too. It’s such a double edged sword though, because we rely on tourism for our local economy. However, it feels irresponsible for me personally to advocate in this way for visitors when we have tourism associations that already do that.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who helped make our business opening a success, our families in the midwest and south supported us is so many ways. Our friends have been there to encourage us and give us strength as well. I’d also be remiss to omit that if COVID-19 never happened, our business would have likely not have come to fruition in this form. Because of the job loss brought on by the pandemic, we were give the opportunity to evaluate our future from a totally new lens after being laid off. Uphill was born because of that moment.

Website: uphillmotorworks.com

Instagram: @uphillmotorworks

Facebook: @uphillmotorworks

Image Credits
Mountain Magic Media