Good Neighbor Podcast: Colorado Springs
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Colorado Springs. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Tony Hills helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Is your business serving the residents of Colorado Springs? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpColoradoSprings.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Colorado Springs
EP #100: Creating Community Through Affordable Fun Adventure and Women's Empowerment
What makes Jean Walton with Everyday Girl Adventures a good neighbor?
Jean Walton never intended to build a business empire, but her passion for creating accessible, affordable fun led to exactly that. As founder of Everyday Girl Adventures, she's developed a unique formula that supports women entrepreneurs while fostering community connection through her boutique social space and art venue in Colorado Springs.
"Everything I do is affordable, accessible, and fun," Jean explains, describing how her Old Colorado City location has become a hub for women-owned businesses and local artists. The space transforms throughout the week—hosting vendor markets on Saturdays, functioning as a workspace during weekdays, and serving as a rental venue for workshops and events. This flexibility reflects Jean's adaptable approach to business, where creating special memories and supporting small businesses go hand-in-hand.
What makes Jean's story particularly compelling is her organic expansion into publishing through Misfit Press. After creating the "Everyday Adventures" anthology series—where community members contribute their personal stories—she taught herself publishing from the ground up. Now she offers these services to others, making dreams of authorship accessible to everyday people. When questioned about the seemingly disconnected ventures under her umbrella, Jean remains clear: women are her focus because "we show up for each other, we cheer each other on, we're inspired by each other's journeys." Perhaps most inspiring is how she transformed her feelings of being a "misfit" in the business world into a brand strength. "When I make a mistake or don't know what I'm doing," she laughs, "I'm just representing my misfit brand." Ready for an adventure that's both everyday and extraordinary? Connect with Everyday Girl Adventures online or visit their Colorado Springs location to experience Jean's unique vision firsthand.
To learn more about Everyday Girl Adventures go to:
https://everydaygirladventures.com/
Everyday Girl Adventures
719-464-6587
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Tony Hills.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you looking for an awesome event organizer and publisher? One might be close to anything. Today I have the pleasure of introducing our good neighbor, jean Walton, with Everyday Girl Adventures. Jean, how's it going?
Speaker 3:Great, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Hey, we're excited about your business, so tell us about your company.
Speaker 3:So my company is Everyday Girl Adventures. I have a boutique, a social boutique and art space in Old Colorado City in downtown Colorado Springs, and I showcase women-owned businesses and local artists and we do a fun market for vendors every Saturday and it's workspace during the week and people rent it out as well for their own workshops and events, and I also. Everything I do is accessible, affordable and fun. So I also offer book publishing services through my imprint, Misfit Press, because I started sharing our everyday adventure stories through a book series called Everyday Adventures and it's an anthology that anyone can submit a chapter in and we published two of those so far. So I learned how to publish from the ground up and so I share that with people as well, because I love to just provide those affordable options for people to follow their dreams.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. How did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:By sheer accident, everything I do Now. I had this idea that I wanted to create a business that was fun and affordable in the community, that created special memories but also supported small businesses. And so I just had this idea one day that I wanted to start a business called Everyday Adventures for everyday people and I was going to do some unique themed events with partnership of local businesses so that they could get more business, but that we could also, so that we could support them, but also so people in the community could make special memories and do something really fun, you know.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. What are some myths and misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean because I do a little bit of everything. People sometimes are very confused because everything I do is intended to be fun in the community. But sometimes that's misinterpreted, because I do events, I do publishing, I also own a salon, I do a lot of things that don't seem like they go together, but they do Because, like I said, everything I do is intended to be accessible, affordable and fun in the community, and especially for women. And people ask me all the time well, why do you do women events? And I do women events because, quite simply, the women are the ones who show up. We show up for each other, we cheer each other on, we're inspired by each other's journeys, and it was just as simple as that when I decided that I needed a niche, when people weren't quite understanding what my mission was.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Who are your target customers and how do you attract them? Awesome, who are?
Speaker 3:your target customers and how do you attract them? Well, women, with a name like Everyday Girl Adventures. It's very intriguing At first. I see people, so I'm in my shop right now, but I'll see people walking down the street and the name catches their attention. But they look inside the windows because they, they are very curious. And so how do I attract them? Is by this really pretty space that I've created, that it's very girly, so appropriately themed, aiming towards women.
Speaker 2:Okay, Awesome Outside of work. What do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, my work is fun. People always say that, but I'm like you're always working, aren't you? And I'm like yes and no, because when you create a business that's based on fun, you're always having fun. But one of my main inspirations, besides family time and community, is that exploration. I am an explorer by nature and so I love to do that. I love to get out and hike. I like to go and find the new spots in town. I like to, you know, find new restaurants. I'm a huge foodie, so anything that's a new experience, especially around town. I love to travel. I'm going to London next week, so I say yes to every opportunity, so I get to do a lot of really cool things.
Speaker 2:OK, let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship of life challenge you overcame, how it made you stronger and what comes to mind?
Speaker 3:Can you describe a hardship in life challenge you overcame, how it made you stronger? And what comes to mind Well, believing in myself, I think is probably. I think every, every business person, every entrepreneur, goes through that imposter syndrome, and I think that that is a major hurdle when it comes to running your business, and sometimes it holds us back from doing things to make us more successful. We have a tendency to not want to put ourselves out there as much because we don't know if we can do it, and so you know, that was something I really struggled with in the very beginning of this journey. I felt like a misfit in the business world, and so I built a brand around that and turned it into actually a strength. In fact, like when I make a brand around that and turned it into actually a strength, in fact, like when I make a mistake or a fool out of myself or I don't know what I'm doing, that's what I will say. I'm just representing my misfit brand. So that helps me get through those challenging moments.
Speaker 2:Okay, jean, please tell usssa one thing they should remember about Everyday Girl Adventures.
Speaker 3:One thing that people should remember that it's always fun and it's always going to be a new experience.
Speaker 2:Okay, awesome. How can Alysas learn more about Everyday Girl Adventures?
Speaker 3:Well, they can go to the website everydaygirladventurescom. Socials, facebook, instagram, tiktok. Everyday Girl Adventures and our business, misfit Press, is misfitpresscom with two S's, so Misfit is MisfitPresscom with two S's, so Misfit wherever Misfits. And you can learn more about our publishing options as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, great Well, jean, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business much success moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening, for having me.