Pagosa Mountain Sports: Go Find Your Adventure

A community outdoor shop with a heavy focus on bikes.

Doesn’t that sound like a dream?

Jake and Janine Emmets, Amanda Gadomski, and Coquette Collins all thought so.

So, in 2015, they launched Pagosa Mountain Sports in a tiny house in Downtown Pagosa Springs. And for the past seven years, their business has continued to grow. They sell and provide rentals of stand-up paddle boards, skis, snowshoes, and of course, bikes. They also carry supplies for a myriad of outdoor activities, and in 2021, they began leading guided mountain bike tours and clinics in Archuleta County.

By 2021, the team of managers realized that they had maxed out what they could accomplish in their tiny space. They knew they needed a solution for growth, so they reached out to the SBDC.

The consultants met with them to discuss various paths for expansion. They looked at enlarging their downtown facility but couldn’t find a way to do it without shutting down during their busiest summer months.

Then, they learned that an uptown bike shop was for sale. “After crunching numbers with Rich Lindblad, it looked like purchasing the bike shop would be a good move for us,” says co-owner Amanda Gadomski. Pagosa Mountain Sports completed the acquisition in the spring of 2022.

But, moving to two separate locations has been a huge transition, and the business has had to shift how they operate. Their downtown location focuses on rentals, while their uptown location has more room for servicing and inventory.

They’ve also brought on a number of new staff members. Amanda explains, “For years, our staff consisted of the four owners and one part-time employee. We now have four full-time and 12 part-time employees. In adding new staff, we really don’t want to lose the Pagosa Mountain Sports vibe. We pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service with a community-focused feel, and we want to make sure we aren’t just super efficient at selling stuff. We want our customers to know what we care about because that’s what made us successful in the first place.”

The new location opened in May of 2022—just in time for the summer business boom. Although it’s too early to determine if the expansion has been a success, business has been steady.

So, what’s next for Pagosa Mountain Sports? First, they want to settle into this new business model and make sure they are doing it well. Then, they hope to get busy enough to keep staff on year-round. In addition, they want to continue to see their nonprofit grow, so more trails can be built in the area. They still want to be known as the one-stop shop that provides education, knowledge, and gear.

The owners of Pagosa Mountain Sports are grateful to the SBDC for all their help. “The SBDC made the sale process super simple. They helped us gather and evaluate information, which made it really easy to decide that this would be a good move for us. They also helped us evaluate the cost and determine what to pay for the purchase. They are a good resource for anything that relates to business.”

970-507-7886
162 Pagosa St, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
https://pagosamountainsports.com/

Aspen Wall Wood

David Sitton and Sean Stafford are the owners of Aspen Wall Wood. I interviewed David for this article, who shared his story of purchasing a timber mill in 2016 and later purchased two other companies. The major factor in the acquisition process was the ability to obtain a loan. That was done with the assistance of Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Durango. David was well established as a Vice President for Skanska, a large

Love Untamed Collective

Meg Roberts is the owner of Love Untamed Collective. She specializes in elopement, wedding and event planning. Meg first fell in love with the wedding industry back when she was a stylist. During that time, Meg planned events at home, putting together parties for herself and friends. Her husband then encouraged her to get into the wedding planning business for herself. Meg said, “I did. I started by marketing myself as a bridesmaid for hire.” As her experience grew and creative

The Earth Girls

By Malia Durbano When Kirsten Gum and Emyrald Sinclair decided to be business partners they both had plenty of experience but still had questions that advisor Tom Holcomb helped them answer. Both women were new to the community and didn’t really know what resources were available or where to start. The partners had to decide what kind of entity they wanted to be. Was it to be a partnership or an LLC? How would they

Four Corners Guides

Lizzy Scully, CEO, and Steve Fassbinder, Head Bikeraft Guide, co-founded Four Corners Guides, a multi-sport guide service (bikepacking, packrafting and bikerafting), headquartered in Mancos, CO. This dynamic pair incorporated their passion for adventure with the natural wonder of the Four Corners area to offer guided tours and upscale camping experiences (referred to as glamping, glamourous camping) at their Scullbinder Ranch. Lizzy and Steve first shared their dreams with each other about teaming up to

PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods

There’s nothing like serving a niche of a niche industry . . . which is exactly what PJ and Rosanna Dufour have set out to do. Paul “PJ” Dufour has been an avid fly fisherman all his life. A retired carpenter by trade, he discovered the art of handcrafting custom bamboo fly rods years ago. What began as a hobby turned into a business in 2020, and PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods was born. “Fly fishing is already a

The Ring of Champions

Maria and Anthony Archuleta are in the process of fulfilling one of Anthony’s long time dreams – to own and run a boxing gym. Anthony used to box when he was young and remembers how it affected him. He wants to share his passion to influence youngsters. “I lived in Las Vegas for a while and trained at a gym there. I experienced first-hand how it changed me and saw it changing others. My business