Bridging the Confidence Gap: Building Guided Outdoor Adventures with Julia Hartley

Sarah interviews Julia Hartley about creating Guided Outdoor Adventures and her “confidence gap” idea: helping people feel safe and supported while getting outdoors with caring professional mountain leaders who keep groups together and make walks more accessible. Julia traces her motivation to moving to a new area and to childhood experiences on PGL trips where instructors provided security after her parents’ separation, shaping her confidence and adventurous spirit. She shares her winding career path from early hospitality work to gaining qualifications, becoming a sports therapist, and later feeling restless before returning to her business idea with encouragement from a friend. Julia describes building a two-sided “Airbnb-style” platform for guides and customers, securing lottery-related funding, growing from six to 67 leaders, learning marketing and SEO through mentors and courses, facing competition and critical coaching, and planning gradual expansion while prioritising purpose over profit.A Question for the ListenerJulia leaves the audience with a couple of powerful prompts for self-reflection.Links for Guided Outdoor AdventuresWebsiteFacebook GroupInstagramReferencesThe Confidence Gap https://guidedoutdooradventures.co.uk/the-confidence-gap-guided-outdoor-adventuring-cic/HF Holidays https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/Mike https://cheshire-online.com/Ilaria Petrucci https://herwildadventures.co.uk/Meet The Guides https://guidedoutdooradventures.co.uk/meet-the-guides/Damian Baxter https://www.geogrowthmedia.com/Steven Bartlett https://stevenbartlett.com/Final notesVisit About The Adventure website to contact Sarah, the podcast host, with your comments, questions or suggestions for future guests. Or email directly: [email protected] to Sarah's newsletter to receive episodes in your inbox, along with career coaching questions and photos from the Peak District.