Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gen Leggett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Gen, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
The outdoor industry has so many wonderful and helpful resources, and we see an opportunity to connect everyone for more inclusivity and accessibility to Earth’s incredible playground. A core value of the Nature’s Playbook App is to promote eco-stewardship. Fortunately, we believe most people who participate in the outdoors are eco-conscious. However, we cannot assume every person knows the do’s and don’ts when engaging in the ecosystems to protect our environment, so we incorporated it into every post on our app. We keep this as an undercurrent in all of our messaging and marketing. There will always be naysayers and those who think we are not doing enough or our stance is too strong. Ultimately, If we can help move the needle towards protecting our natural environment then we are doing something right. It truly is all about paying it forward for all to enjoy nature and maintain it for future generations.
Nature’s Playbook never asks anyone to reveal secret locations. We understand that some things are best kept to word of mouth. There are infinite places in nature to enjoy, so we don’t need to turn over every stone. Still, we have a strong passion and values to create more accessibility in nature, attempting to remove obstacles that often prevent people from enjoying nature.
We intend to break down barriers that keep some people from maximizing the benefits of getting outdoors. Some of these barriers are simply knowledge, etiquette, or lack of finding a community to join. Bringing together the right resources for an all-inclusive platform can help everyone. The outdoor industry has many wonderful and helpful resources, and we see an opportunity to connect them for easier access to both new and avid outdoors people.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
We created Nature’s Playbook to give back to the community and the environment. It’s all about sharing outdoor video experiences, to give you a good idea of what an experience will be like before going. We’ve dreamt of an all-inclusive platform where someone can easily search outdoor experiences based on activity and or location.
Plus, by sharing experiences on the app, you get to build a virtual pin map of all your outdoor adventures! We call this your Video Atlas because clicking on any of the pins will take you right to the associated video post with more details about the experience!
Our platform is a great community hub for local businesses and outdoor enthusiasts to exchange insightful information that paints a great idea of the best experiences to do, some of the best food, and also reminders of safety, etiquette for various activities, and environmentally friendly practices. We want to see our communities grow, and the environment grow even more around us. We give back to Mother Nature because she is ever-generous to us.
We are based in San Diego, but our platform allows communities across the globe to share awesome outdoor experiences, boosting their travel economy, and inciting reminders to visitors to respect the local communities they visit.
As a thank you for growing our communities, we recently launched a $1500 giveaway called the “Nature’s Playbook SeedStakes”. Those who participate on the free iOS app or purchase Nature’s Playbook eco-friendly merchandise can receive entries towards a $1500 surprise trip. Participants in this SeedStakes must be 18+ to win. No purchase is necessary. Anyone interested can find out more at naturesplaybook.com/seedstakes!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Having confidence in your product or service if it gives value to others, networking, and getting feedback from your market. The exploratory phase was extremely important for us early on to get feedback on whether we had a good idea, and whether it would be successful in the market. While we did get a lot of feedback, I think we were intimidated to share our idea with others and lacked the confidence to make it successful early on. In the beginning, you get people playing the devil’s advocate. Negative comments can make you second-guess your business idea. It is essential to differentiate negativity from feedback that might be constructive criticism. It might hurt your feelings, (it can feel like a sucker punch to the stomach) but on the other hand, it helps you work through foreseeable problems. The important thing is, if it’s something that you believe in, keep moving forward! It has taken us a few years to get it off the ground and be something that we are proud of, and we are certainly proud of it now. I think if we were more confident in sharing our idea to begin with, and keeping an open mind to constructive criticism, then we probably could’ve reached more people by now. We found it important to view this constructive criticism as an opportunity for problem solving.
As far as networking, I cannot express how important this is! Hearing about other people, and what they do, can bring a lot of opportunities for partnerships, friendships, and support. Even if it is a simple feedback form or a share of your post on social media, any support makes a really big difference. It’s important to try to give more than you take because you end up receiving more than you ever expected.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We would love to collaborate! Anyone who is an outdoor enthusiast, who likes to travel and discover new places, a local outdoor business, or any outdoor social group, we want to hear from you! Our purpose is to make the best tool for you for building community and emphasizing a common value of taking care of the earth. We have some developments rolling out soon that are wonderful for connecting with other nature lovers and finding event opportunities to enjoy nature with your local community.
We are always open to collaborations on social media, partnerships, focus groups and feedback opportunities for new feature development, and more.
If you are interested in connecting, please email hello@naturesplaybook, or feel free to message us on Instagram @natures_playbook.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.naturesplaybook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natures_playbook/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturesplaybookapp/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/97189742/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6YVAaHq8SqzBTh631VRNA
- Other: Nature’s Playbook App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/natures-playbook/id1635332417
Image Credits
Grace Dwyer
