Meet Melissa Cheshire | Owner of Niyama Mountain Retreat

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

Hi Melissa, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?

I spent a good portion of my college career studying anatomy and physiology but in my senior year I realized that my life long dream of being a doctor had faded. I longed for a family and the thought of medical school and residency consuming much of my child bearing years was daunting. Over the next few years I worked in various fields trying to figure out where life was going to take me. I worked as a dental assistant, receptionist for a pediatrician, assistant manager of massage studios and even accounting. It was during this time that I realized I wanted be an entrepreneur and a stay at home mom. My husband’s job allowed me to start a family and be with my children, so I spent the first couple of years focusing on them. Being with them was such a blessing but I also started wanting to do something for myself. I tried starting a cake decorating business, party planning business and even real estate but they never felt promising. I wanted a business idea to come organically and not feel rushed, so I stopped trying to force any ideas. It was during the pandemic that I started feeling that I needed to do more and my love for travel led me to start a travel agency. Friends and family had a lot to do with it too. They were always telling me that I should be a travel advisor because of my ability to pay attention to every little detail when planning vacations. However business was slow to start due to the uneasiness and restrictions that were placed on travel. I needed to get creative to keep the business going through the pandemic and I started noticing that Coloradans were mainly traveling within the state. I have an excellent advantage of living in the mountains and I wanted to share my knowledge of travel, the mountains and help local businesses in our community by curating vacation packages for the Park County area. I started by going to local businesses to put together the perfect itinerary. One of the first things on my agenda was to secure lodging and the Glen Isle was perfect! Mary Ruth, the owner, was receptive to the idea of using the Glen Isle for the lodging portion of my packages. I spent several hours exploring the historical Native American grounds, cabins that were built in the early 1900’s during Park County’s railroad days and enjoying the beautiful 150 acres the property sits on. Mary Ruth told me that she had always envisioned the Glen Isle hosting retreats and I fell in love with the idea. I spent the next year finding a local yoga instructor, massage therapist, hiking guide, chef and getting Niyama Mountain Retreat started. I’ve used my expertise in travel to curate an amazing itinerary and brought together several local business women to make Niyama what it is today. It’s been an absolute joy watching the business grow.

What should our readers know about your business?
What do you want the world to know about your brand?

Niyama Mountain Retreat is a collaboration of 6 local business women to bring to the world a retreat that is centered around your personal growth, self-reflection, and healing the mind, body and soul. Imagine a safe place where you can fully release anything that you’re holding onto, spiritually grow and synchronize the two alongside our beautiful earth. Nestled in the mountains of Bailey, Colorado, Niyama Mountain Retreat brings together a small group as a community and individually to help plant the seeds and embrace the changing of our seasons.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Bailey, Colorado is such an amazing small mountain town. You can enjoy fishing the Platte River or zip lining through the woods at Treehouse Adventure Park. The hiking here is beautiful, whether you want to take a gentle hike near Kenosha Pass or hike a 14er, there’s a trail for everyone. (If you go to Kenosha, do not forget to say hi to the resident moose family.) After hiking enjoy lunch or dinner by the river, with a glass of local wine at Aspen Peak Cellers or enjoy a nice meal at Rustic Station or the Shaggy Sheep. No matter what you decide you’ll love the escape to the mountains and find yourself treated like family by the locals.

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?
Niyama Mountain Retreat would not be where it is without the encouragement and support from Mary Ruth and Brenda Nelson at the Glen Isle Resort. They have put their trust in me and have allowed Niyama to flourish. I will always be incredibly grateful for my first meeting with Mary Ruth, she’s the reason Niyama is here.

My husband and my children have also been such a blessing in helping me reach my dreams. They have been so understanding and have helped manage the household while I’ve poured hours into the business. Their constant reassurance and cheering me on is what keeps me going.

Website: www.niyamamountainretreat.com

Instagram: Niyama.mountain.retreat

Facebook: @niyamamountainretreat

Image Credits
Tiffany Maksimowicz of T. Mak Photography