Meet Jamie Mayfield | JAM – Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamie Mayfield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had been working 65 hour work weeks in Corporate Food and Beverage Management and wanted to convert that work ethic and time into working for myself. After honeymooning in Sedona, Arizona and taking the Kodak Jeep Tour theremany years ago, it hit me exactly what I wanted to do and Asheville, where this business started its roots, was the perfect place to make it happen. There were no “tour” based businesses in AVL and I knew offering a service for people to enjoy all the waterfalls, hiking and breweries that were there would be the perfect entrepreneurial adventure to offer tourists and locals alike. I knew I had the creativity and knowledge of the area to help me be successful. I’ve always been a people person and was excited to offer guests a whole new way to experience Asheville like never before, so I sat down and wrote out the business plan for Mountain High Adventures in 2014, and started production of the first tour vehicle we call The Beast! Breweries opened and Brew Tours became my #1 booked adventure. Eventually life and Covid would take me away from there and the business evolved with a location move to Myrtle Beach and growing into Hop On Adventures in 2022.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Hop On Adventures started in Asheville, NC as a different company, Mountain High Adventures. It was a dream of mine to work for myself. Throughout its development and growth, I have learned so many different parts of being the owner of a small company, an entrepreneur. Until this year, I spent years running the business solely. Creative, Marketing & Advertising, Adventure Tour Guide, Accountant,Taxes, and Social Media. All me. All the while maintaining a part time job at the same time to balance my personal finances and well being. Often tired, I would push through and make things happen. Sometimes I would make mistakes, but the rebound was always stronger and smarter. The one thing I’ve learned about my business is that it is a true reflection of me; Of my work ethic. There are so many working parts to a business. Social media posts, ad deadlines, maintaining bookings for each adventure booked, relationships with other local businesses, and offering a smile to every guest that rides with me. It’s time consuming and often flattening. But I remember that I am lucky to have my own business and I treat every adventure like the very first, making sure to connect with every guest and truly show them my passion for what I do on the daily. I am a people person. I love conversation and getting to know the people who support my business first hand. the success of my business rides on the outcome of every adventure. How do I ensure every guest, every time has a positive experience and tells others about that? This is what sets my business at the top. Understanding the needs and wants of our locals and vacationers, and then giving them the experience they crave with my personality, humor and knowledge. It seems to come naturally for me with each adventure. You read the guests, you analyze the moment, you make changes, you CONNECT! Connection is the key to a thriving business. Connect with every guest and the outcome is always positive. Connections turn into positive reviews and those reviews become new guests and returning guests. That is the one thing I have learned that has helped propel Hop On Adventures to new heights and I believe is also the reason I now have such a fantastic new partner in Josh Kay. He saw what I was doing, he knew there was so much growth to capture, and he also knew I needed some direction and help in getting the business to that point. It excites me to have support from him now and the future of our little company has truly just started to take flight. We have hired our very first employee as an Adventure Tour Guide and that little step has given me new life as an entrepreneur. It feels good to grow. It feels weird to step back from running all the adventures and giving that trust to someone else. But it also gives me the opportunity to train a new person to understand how this thing began and how we want it to grow. We have found our first to help us grow and that feels amazing!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Without a doubt we would get in our adventure truck The Beast every day because the feeling of your hair whipping in the breeze is truly what starts the experience off! We would start at Grand Strand Brewing enjoying some delicious craft brews and a smashburger of epic proportions. In house ground chuck and bacon shoulder smashed to perfection. Maybe an Airbrush Hazy IPA , Jolene Red Ale, or First Rodeo Pomegranate and Plum Smoothie Sour to wash it down. We would play some outdoor games and listen to some fantastic music from bands like Thursdays Dead, every first Sunday of the month, or Suavacado. Each day we would check out a new brewery like New South (25 years strong), Southern Hops, Tidal Creek, Crooked Hammock or Voodoo Brewing. We would make late night stops at Atlas Taphouse and The Pit for amazing live music from Craig Sorrells Project, Sweet Sweet, Bullfrog, Paperwork, Mystic Vibrations or The Goofy Footers. Under the live oaks and lights at the Pawleys Island Tavern (the PIT) is a special and iconic place to sit and listen to the areas best live music. We would be sure to eat at LOCAL in the Hammock Shops of Pawleys while we were down that way. John and Peta Dabrowski are amazing restaurant owners and genuinely wonderful humans. Their business is a model for incredible cuisine and should not me skipped by anyone visiting the area. John is the Executive Chef and he will visit your table with a smile to make sure each plate is tasting amazing and to just say a quick hello. The best! There would be many rounds of Putt Putt played at some of the areas best like Hawaiian Rumble, Ripley’s Crazy Golf, Captain Hooks, Jurassic Golf, and Shipwreck Island. We would crush some balls at Top Golf and visit the areas brand new PopStroke! Tiger Woods and Taylor Made’s much anticipated putting experience. There would be beach time for sure, soaking up the rays in Litchfield and spending time enjoying Huntington Beach State Park. We would definitely book the Tito’s Trolley for an epic day of dive bars. A stroll to Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the beach is sure to add to a wonderful week of fun. Hopefully, we would have time to enjoy authenticate mexican food from La Poblanita and grab some Birria Tacos from Rocco’s Tacos food truck. A truly “LOCAL” experience in Myrtle Beach with any of my friends and family!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Without a doubt, my shoutout would be my Mom and Dad. My mother passed away a couple years ago. She was the most supportive mom in the world, always challenging me and keeping me focused on my career path. My father worked for a big corporate company for many years and lost a battle with a huge downsizing with them in his late 50’s. One thing I remember him telling me was to work for myself if I could. That stuck with me. I never graduated from college after 4 years of school at the University of South Carolina. I instead followed my own dreams. I traveled the country booking shows and tour managing a local South Carolina band and eventually began my career in management with Applebees restaurants for many years. Most parents would have thought “my son is nuts!” Truthfully, they probably had that thought for a moment, but they always encouraged me no matter what my path was. They showed support in so many ways. They kept me focused and were always there when I needed to discuss career changes and my big dreams. But I never lost focus of what my Dad said. Work for yourself. This business was created from the work ethic they instilled in me by giving me the support I needed at every turn in my career, regardless of whether they agreed with anything I chose to do. They made me look at the bigger picture, showed me how to analyze pros and cons and taught me to trust in myself. For all of this, I am eternally grateful for them. I am the man I am today because of the values they taught me.

Website: www.hoponadventures.com

Instagram: @hoponadv

Twitter: @hoponadv

Facebook: @hoponadv