Meet Roniq Bartanen

We recently connected with Roniq Bartanen and have shared our conversation below.

Roniq , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Optimism, adventure and curiosity fuel my resilience. In 2017, after working in salons as a hair stylist since my late teens, I made the decision to leave the industry I’d worked in for over 30 years at age 48. I had no immediate plans except for an upcoming trip to Denali National Park for its centennial celebration. I took a year to reflect, take classes on various interests, talk to others about their life, all while continuing to travel.

In fact, it was a serendipitous conversation at Denali NP with a park tour guide and bus driver who set the wheels in motion for a life pivot.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

After taking nearly a year off, I started working part time at Argosy Cruises, a Seattle-based boat tour company. It was scary to start over and work in a completely new industry. Regardless, I jumped in and was excited for a change.

Argosy closed for several months due to the onset of Covid. I spent time at home, getting to know the wildlife in my urban garden and contemplating starting my own business as a bird guide. I decided to go for it, creating my business Shebirds, building my website www.shebirds.com. I took loads of online classes and devoted time to figuring out my focus. With the pandemic, interest in birds and birding soared and the timing felt right.

I wanted a business name that reflected my support of women bird guides around the world. Shebirds is the result of that and inspired me to create a list of international women guides for hire. This list was a result of my difficulty in finding female bird guides during my travels.

In a hyper stimulated world, particularly the buzz of the city, mindful or slow birding, invites us to slow down focusing on nature, using all our senses to experience the outdoors. The brain being task oriented, likes to solve and move on. There are many ways to bird, mindful birding invites a more intentional approach, letting ourselves settle in to observe birds, tuning in to behavior, sounds, environment. An immersive and more connected experience like this often yields surprises that we miss, when we primarily focus on identification or expect an outcome. I’ve led mindful birding trips for the last several years at a local birding festival based in Edmonds, Washington.

I started birding in urban Seattle car-less, relying on public transportation to visit local parks and nature areas. Fortunately Seattle is rich in parks, many of which can be accessed via bus, light rail and bike, depending on location. I’ve created a list of urban and accessible Seattle birding locations on my website www.shebirds.com.

As a longtime volunteer for Birds Connect Seattle I also lead a monthly accessible bird outing at one of Seattle’s most popular parks. Access to birding and nature doesn’t look the same for everyone. My passion is to share the joy of birding and the mental and physical health benefits it provides with others, regardless of one’s circumstances.

I lead private mindful, urban and accessible bird outings for individuals, groups, corporations, schools, celebrations, assisted living facilities and more.

My business is growing and changing which is exciting! The printable gift certificates I personalize for birding trips have become popular gift items for birthdays and other milestone events. I led my first birding bachelorette party, which was a blast and my first birthday birding party for a young boy and his friends, equally fun as well!

I enjoy writing and sharing about birds and birding at my website www.shebirds.com and Instagram she_birds and just celebrated my third year of Shebirds!
I’m excited to see what the future holds!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

A willingness to learn, curiosity and adaptability. Talk to as many people as you can, share your ideas and ask questions and keep optimistic, knowing you can always pivot yourself if you need to.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I turn to nature when overwhelmed. Observing how it adapts during times of stress, difficulties, and a lack of resources inspires me reflect how I can use those adaptations during my difficult times as well.

The support I receive from dear friends has been instrumental to my personal life as well as my business. Some of them are small business owners too and have been key to providing encouragement, direction and resources.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Roniq Bartanen and Marisa Allison

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