Meet Heath & Alyssa Padgett | Entrepreneurs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heath & Alyssa Padgett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heath & Alyssa, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We both got office jobs right out of college and were immediately under impressed with the standard adult life of commuting in traffic, sitting in a cubicle, and working all day. I remember sending Heath a pizza to his office and he called me so happy and it was the highlight of his week. That’s kind of when we knew that we wanted to break out and start something of our own that would propel us forward.

For me (Heath), it was about building something bigger than myself and creating that legacy. But I also knew I didn’t want to work for anyone else.

We knew we wanted to travel too, so we clung to this idea that we could build a business, work from anywhere, and have complete freedom. Starting our own business seemed like the best route. The only problem was we were 23 years old and had very limited life experience to use to start a business. We spent a few years trying everything to make money and find a niche for our business. Wedding videography, freelance writing, book launch consulting, podcasting, data entry, speaking, Youtube, content creation, software. The more things we tried, the more we refined what type of work we wanted to and what would actually pay us enough to keep traveling.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Heath: I started a software company in the camping space for people to be able to book campsite online. This was a daily hassle for us as we were living and traveling full-time in our RV and I wasted hours calling campgrounds to find campsites. We have a rule in our family that we can’t complain about something if we aren’t willing to take action to fix it. So I found a technical co-founder and we built out the software for campgrounds. It took five years to actually get the product and business to a sustainable place where we were making money and the product was good. In 2021, it sold to Camping World. It’s funny, I actually found in my journals from years earlier as I was starting the business that I had written down it could be a good fit for an acquisition by CW. Then years later it actually happened. I had completely forgotten that I had journaled about that! It was a full circle moment.

Alyssa: While Heath built the software business, we were also running our personal brand sharing information for people who wanted to travel full-time in an RV while working or running a business. This was 2014, so the idea of remote work was very new. We had our podcast, the RV Entrepreneur (which still exists today though we sold it in 2022), and my book, A Beginner’s Guide to Living in an RV, which has been a surprising best seller on Amazon.

When we first started, We didn’t know where we wanted to go with business. Our dream jobs before then were to be a CEO/founder and an author. I still have to pinch myself a little that through all our efforts and grasping at straws, we actually made that dream life happen. And now we’re still building businesses and writing and traveling!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live out on the western slope of Colorado in Montrose. We love being surrounded by the mountains and closer to the action than in Denver. (Sorry Denver! Your food is much better though!)

For a week long trip, here is what we are doing:
Day 1: Drive into Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to hike the Warner Point Nature Trail with great views of the canyon
Day 2: Rent a surfboard and surf on the river! Montrose is a big destination for surfers and kayakers since the river stays high throughout rafting season .
Day 3: Visit Ridgway for one of their many markets and festivals. With four-wheel drive, head up to the Top of the Pines disc golf course and see how far you can throw a frisbee when you’re on a mountain top. Or swim and paddle at the state park!
Day 4-6: Ouray! Ouray is one of our favorite towns in Colorado. Brickhouse 757 is a must for dinner, but make reservations! And you can’t beat eating on the roof of the brewery or grabbing a famous burger at Maggie’s. Ouray needs days of adventure. Drive the scenic Million Dollar Highway, hike the perimeter trail (and then brag about it because that is a HIKE), go off roading at Box Canon, shop downtown, jump in a water, then soak in the hot springs. Ouray is pure magic.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to Jia Jiang for mentoring us and constantly reminding us that every rejection and failure is a step forward. Your story and advice gave us the confidence to take bold action.

Website: https://heathandalyssa.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathandalyssa

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/padge/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/heathandalyssa

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@heathandalyssa

Other: Alyssa’s current business: https://rvinspiration.com/ https://www.instagram.com/rvinspiration/

Image Credits
name credit to saved to files. if not specified, credit to Alyssa Padgett