Economic Readiness: What It Actually Means for Outdoor Businesses

In the outdoor recreation world, passion is abundant. Skill, grit, and commitment to place are everywhere. What’s far less common—and far more decisive—is economic readiness.

We often talk about impact first: access, stewardship, youth engagement, conservation, equity. Those goals matter deeply. But there’s a hard truth the sector still struggles to say out loud: Without margin, there is no mission.

Economic readiness is not a “nice to have” or something you work on once the business is established. It is the starting line. If an outdoor business is not economically viable—if it cannot consistently cover costs, pay its owner and staff fairly, and reinvest in operations—then every downstream impact goal is fragile at best and unsustainable at worst.

This is the first principle in the From Margin to Mission model. And Santa Fe offers a clear, data-backed case for why it matters.

Santa Fe: A Thriving Outdoor Economy—On Paper

Outdoor recreation is not a fringe activity in New Mexico. It is a core economic engine.

According to state and federal economic data, outdoor recreation contributes $2.3 billion annually to New Mexico’s GDP and supports more than 33,500 jobs statewide. Nationally, outdoor recreation accounts for roughly 2.2% of U.S. GDP, surpassing industries many communities aggressively court, such as oil and gas extraction.

Santa Fe sits at the center of this opportunity. The region’s combination of public lands, cultural heritage, tourism, and year-round recreation demand creates strong market fundamentals for outdoor businesses—guiding services, outfitters, camps, educators, retailers, and tourism operators.

And yet, many of the people powering this economy are barely scraping by.

The contradiction is stark: a sector generating billions in economic value, supported by entrepreneurs who often lack basic business infrastructure, access to capital, and pathways to scale.

That gap is not about passion or work ethic. It is about readiness.

Viability vs. Survival: Knowing the Difference

One of the most common—and most dangerous—patterns in outdoor recreation businesses is confusing survival with viability.

Survival looks like:

• Seasonal cash flow crises

• Owners not paying themselves a real wage

• Deferred equipment replacement

• Thin staffing margins that increase burnout and safety risk

• No financial buffer for weather, injury, or regulatory disruption

Viability looks different:

• Predictable margins across seasons

• Owner compensation that reflects real labor and leadership

• Staff retention supported by fair wages and training

• Cash reserves and access to capital

• Capacity to say “no” to bad-fit opportunities

Santa Fe has seen both versions play out. Businesses that shift from scraping by to building economic fundamentals unlock a different future—not just for themselves, but for their communities.

The uncomfortable question every outdoor entrepreneur must answer is this:

Are you viable—or just surviving?

Paying Yourself Is Not Selfish—It’s Structural

Few topics trigger more discomfort in mission-driven businesses than owner compensation. In outdoor recreation, the norm is often martyrdom: long hours, physical risk, emotional labor, and little financial reward.

But here’s the reality:

If you are not paying yourself a real wage, your business is already at risk.

Owner compensation is not about personal comfort. It is about:

• Decision quality

• Leadership sustainability

• Business credibility

• Long-term continuity

An unpaid or underpaid owner cannot make clear strategic choices. They cannot invest in staff, systems, or safety. And they cannot meaningfully engage in community impact because they are constantly managing scarcity.

In Santa Fe, the outdoor businesses most capable of supporting youth apprenticeships, conservation partnerships, and inclusive access share a common trait: they built margin first.

Impact didn’t disappear when profit showed up. It became possible.

Why Impact Requires Margin

Every meaningful impact initiative requires resources:

• Time to mentor

• Money to subsidize access

• Capacity to train new workers

• Stability to weather inevitable setbacks

Programs like workforce development, youth engagement, and stewardship don’t fail because people don’t care. They fail because the businesses required to host them are undercapitalized and overstretched.

This is why the All Forward Foundation’s work begins with economic readiness. Not as an abstract business exercise—but as a prerequisite for durable impact.

The Santa Fe Adventure Center concept, for example, is designed to address systemic gaps that hold outdoor entrepreneurs back: access to affordable space, shared services, mentorship, visibility, and business support. The goal is not charity. It is economic stabilization that enables long-term contribution to the community.

This is what From Margin to Mission looks like in practice:

• Margin enables professionalism

• Professionalism enables workforce development

• Workforce development enables access and equity

• Access and equity strengthen stewardship

• Stewardship reinforces the long-term health of place and economy

None of it works if the first step is skipped.

Lessons from Beyond Santa Fe

This pattern is not unique to New Mexico.

Across the country, outdoor hubs that have successfully expanded impact—whether in mountain towns, gateway communities, or rural recreation economies—share a consistent trait: they invested early in business fundamentals.

Examples include:

• Guide services that standardized pricing and payroll to reduce seasonal volatility

• Outfitters that diversified revenue streams beyond peak seasons

• Recreation companies that partnered with workforce programs after stabilizing operations

• Regional hubs that pooled resources to lower individual business risk

• Well established collaboration across the outdoor recreation ecosystem that was mutually beneficial for all stakeholders (lodgers, retailers, outfitters, guides, etc.)

In every case, impact followed readiness—not the other way around.

The Hard Truth—and the Opportunity

Economic readiness is not a betrayal of values. It is an expression of them.

If we want outdoor recreation to:

• Offer real careers instead of temporary gigs

• Reflect the diversity of our communities

• Serve as a steward of land and water

• Support youth and create next-generation entrepreneurs

Then we must stop treating financial sustainability as optional.

The outdoor economy is too important—and the people in it too valuable—to accept chronic precarity as normal.

Key Takeaways

• Economic readiness is the starting line for impact, not a later-stage concern.

• Outdoor recreation has the potential of being a major economic driver in New Mexico, but value capture can't continue to be uneven.

• Survival is not the same as viability—and the difference matters.

• Paying yourself is foundational to leadership, safety, and sustainability.

• Margin is not greed; it is the fuel that makes mission possible.

What’s Next

If you are an outdoor entrepreneur, the most impactful work you can do right now may not be adding another program. It may be strengthening your foundation—pricing, compensation, capital access, systems, and strategy—so your business can truly thrive.

And if you need help making that shift, the All Forward Foundation exists for exactly this reason. At no cost we delight in working

alongside outdoor recreation professionals to build economic readiness first—so mission can follow.

No margin. No mission. Let’s build businesses that thrive