From Backpacker to Business Owner

I finally found my dream job! I caught the travel bug after my very first backpacking trip to Europe. Yes, the typical European backpacking trip that most travelers start off with.  Little did I know that trip would change my life.  I spent the last 2 out of my 4 years in university in a hospitality and tourism program which ignited my interest to really see the world. Despite not knowing how in the world I would ever afford to travel out of the state, let alone out of the country, I knew I’d figure it out somehow.  And I did. After working enough odd jobs and learning how to master a budget and build a savings, I was able to make my dreams come true.  Although I was living the ultimate dream of traveling the world, I had no clue what kind of career I wanted, despite having a degree.  What did I want to do for the rest of my life that would make me a living and I would be happy doing it? I had no idea. But that was okay.  I was young and had time to figure it out. I knew I’d learn what I was meant to do when the time was right.  In the meantime, I just kept on traveling. Learning. Growing. Experiencing the world.   As the years rolled by, I kept wondering when I would find a career that made me excited and thrilled to do.  After circling the globe multiple times as a solo female backpacker for over 10 years, traveling to 75 countries by the age of 30, I felt the internal (and external familial and societal) pressure coming on. I started to think, should I just settle for any job? Should I just work for a travel company of some sort? No. That’s not what I wanted for myself or my life. I was never one to just settle on anything and I wasn’t going to start with my career.

I wanted more options than the typical travel blogger, travel agent, or travel influencer, or working freelance jobs as a digital nomad or having a job that pays me to travel. Nothing about working in the corporate world resonated with me or my values. I didn’t want to work for someone who didn’t appreciate me or my worth. I didn’t want to have limited vacation time or never have time to do what made me happy.

During my years of traveling, I learned so much about the travel industry hands-on. From talking to other travelers, facing problems of my own, having a hard time finding certain information and answers, and my personal experiences, I knew that I had a unique and valuable perspective and grasp on the travel industry.  I knew what the common problems were, where people looked for answers, what problems were left unanswered, what struggles travelers had, what resources were used or wished for most, what roadblocks travelers faced, what travelers desired in their lives and careers, what commonalities and patterns existed, and so much more. I then spent over a year learning as much as I could about the travel industry and everything that it encompassed. I dove deep into as much research can I could find and I became a sponge. I remember sitting in my hostel in Northern Spain and I started studying every website, company, influencer, blogger, agency, and travel-related entity that I could find. I wanted to know what they did, who they are, what they offered, who they served, what problems they solved, and how they did it. I wanted to find what existed and what didn’t and what was popular and what wasn’t. As a result, I learned where the voids laid and what problems were left without solid solutions in the travel industry.  

Six months ago when I returned to the U.S from a five month trip in Asia and Europe, I started to dive deep into learning how to start an online business.  It was during this research that I discovered the online coaching industry.  It resonated with me because during my 10 years of traveling the globe, I was giving away all that I knew about traveling on a budget to those who asked. I loved it.  I love helping others be able to accomplish their travel goals in any way that I could.  I transformed the blog that I started during my very first trip to Europe, that I initially used as a personal journal, into an information-packed place for people to learn my travel tips, tricks, and hacks.  Once I learned about the online coaching industry, I knew that if I could mesh my love of travel with helping others as a coach, I’d put an end to trying to figure out what I was meant to do in life. So I did. I discovered the world of travel coaching and a shift in my life occurred that I never thought I’d see.  I finally knew what direction I wanted my life to go in. I finally knew how I could use all that I’ve learned and experience during my travels to help others and earn an honest living.  I finally realized what my calling was.  After all of those years traveling and doing what I loved, following my heart, listening to my gut, ignoring society and my family’s pressure to settle down and choose a career, and being confused on what career I could do that would make me happy, it all started to make sense. I’m meant to be a travel coach.

A travel coach uses their travel experiences, knowledge, and expertise to help people who want to incorporate more travel into their lifestyles in their desired ways.  A travel coach offers a solution to a common problem that exists within the travel industry somewhere, such as backpackers who want to use their passion and knowledge of travel and start a profitable online business, for example.  Travel coaches use the transformation that occurred in their lives through travel to help others achieve a transformation through in theirs.  For me, travel had transformed my life in so many ways such as helping to shape me into the person that I am, helping me find my passion and what I care about most in life, and helping me find my career path. Travel coaches can also use whatever skills or talents that they learned or mastered during their travels and teach it to others who want to learn how they did it.  For me, I mastered how to travel the world as a solo female backpacker on a budget with money management and overcoming my fears and anxieties.  Another example is with travel photographers who mastered the skill of finding the best nature shots and growing a social media following with them.  They can teach others who to achieve the same.

I used all that I learned to start my own online travel coaching business but, there was one problem.  There wasn’t a place where I could go and learn how to be a travel coach.  Unlike all of the other online coaching niches, there wasn’t anyone paving the path for online travel coaches.  The online coaching industry is skyrocketing with fitness, health, business, life, and spiritual coaches but, not for travel coaches, yet.  So, as a natural problem solver, I created the solution.  I founded The Travel Coach Network as a community for wanderlusters and lovers of travel to learn how to become a travel coach and start their own online coaching business.  The Travel Coach Network is based on a program that I’ve created called Backpacker to Business Owner that helps people turn their passion for travel into an online business as a travel coach.  I created what I wish that I had found years ago!

As a travel coach, you can work from anywhere in the world, or even your couch if you wanted to, you create your own schedule and work on your timeframe, you can make it a full-time career or a part-time job, you will be your boss, and you customize your business any way that you wish. Starting a business for anyone can be daunting for many reasons but luckily as a travel coach, you don’t have to have a huge following or a big email list, you don’t need to be super tech savvy, you don’t need any special certifications, and you don’t need to spend tons of money to get started.

Travel coaching combines the online travel industry with the online coaching industry.  It’s the ideal niche for those who want to use whatever that they love, know, and experienced with and about to make a living while helping others.  Travel coaching requires people to find their specific niche, know who their target audience is, build a trusting and loving following, being of value to those who I call their “seekers”, using their powerful and impactful personal story to build connection and to be relatable, create a buyable e-product such as an online course, program, or ebook, coach clients either one-on-one or in group programs, use strategy and social media marketing, and most importantly, stay true to who they are, what they know, and their values. As a travel coach, your business structure, your marketing strategy, what you teach and how you teach it, is all completely up to you and what aligns with your values.

The potential for the online travel coaching industry is limitless and solves the problem for so many people who are looking to turn their passion for travel into a profit as a business owner. If I never stumbled upon the career as a travel coach, I would still be stuck in my stressful cycle of undesirable job after undesirable job, working for someone who doesn’t value me or my time, not making the income that I desire, not achieving my highest potential and what I know that I’m capable of doing, and being clueless on what I’m meant to do for the rest of my life.  I’m so glad that I finally found my dream career and I aspire to help others go from backpacker to business owner, travel blogger to travel coach.

If you're curious to hear more about my story and to see if becoming a Travel Coach is the dream career that you've been searching for, click here.

Travel Coaching: The Travel World Meets the Online Coaching Industry

I went from backpacker to business owner when I finally found my dream job! I caught the travel bug after my very first backpacking trip to Europe. Yes, the typical European backpacking trip that most travelers start off with.  Little did I know that trip would change my life.  I spent the last 2 out of my 4 years in university in a hospitality and tourism program which ignited my interest to really see the world. Despite not knowing how in the world I would ever afford to travel out of the state, let alone out of the country, I knew I’d figure it out somehow.  And I did. After working enough odd jobs and learning how to master a budget and build a savings, I was able to make my dreams come true.  Although I was living the ultimate dream of traveling the world, I had no clue what kind of career I wanted, despite having a degree.  What did I want to do for the rest of my life that would make me a living and I would be happy doing it? I had no idea. But that was okay.  I was young and had time to figure it out. I knew I’d learn what I was meant to do when the time was right.  In the meantime, I just kept on traveling. Learning. Growing. Experiencing the world.   As the years rolled by, I kept wondering when I would find a career that made me excited and thrilled to do.  After circling the globe multiple times as a solo female backpacker for over 10 years, traveling to 75 countries by the age of 30, I felt the internal (and external familial and societal) pressure coming on. I started to think, should I just settle for any job? Should I just work for a travel company of some sort? No. That’s not what I wanted for myself or my life. I was never one to just settle on anything and I wasn’t going to start with my career.

I wanted more options than the typical travel blogger, travel agent, or travel influencer, or working freelance jobs as a digital nomad or having a job that pays me to travel. Nothing about working in the corporate world resonated with me or my values. I didn’t want to work for someone who didn’t appreciate me or my worth. I didn’t want to have limited vacation time or never have time to do what made me happy.

During my years of traveling, I learned so much about the travel industry hands-on. From talking to other travelers, facing problems of my own, having a hard time finding certain information and answers, and my personal experiences, I knew that I had a unique and valuable perspective and grasp on the travel industry.  I knew what the common problems were, where people looked for answers, what problems were left unanswered, what struggles travelers had, what resources were used or wished for most, what roadblocks travelers faced, what travelers desired in their lives and careers, what commonalities and patterns existed, and so much more. I then spent over a year learning as much as I could about the travel industry and everything that it encompassed. I dove deep into as much research can I could find and I became a sponge. I remember sitting in my hostel in Northern Spain and I started studying every website, company, influencer, blogger, agency, and travel-related entity that I could find. I wanted to know what they did, who they are, what they offered, who they served, what problems they solved, and how they did it. I wanted to find what existed and what didn’t and what was popular and what wasn’t. As a result, I learned where the voids laid and what problems were left without solid solutions in the travel industry.  Six months ago when I returned to the U.S from a five month trip in Asia and Europe, I started to dive deep into learning how to start an online business.  It was during this research that I discovered the online coaching industry.  It resonated with me because during my 10 years of traveling the globe, I was giving away all that I knew about traveling on a budget to those who asked. I loved it.  I love helping others be able to accomplish their travel goals in any way that I could.  I transformed the blog that I started during my very first trip to Europe, that I initially used as a personal journal, into an information-packed place for people to learn my travel tips, tricks, and hacks.  Once I learned about the online coaching industry, I knew that if I could mesh my love of travel with helping others as a coach, I’d put an end to trying to figure out what I was meant to do in life. So I did. I discovered the world of travel coaching and a shift in my life occurred that I never thought I’d see.  I finally knew what direction I wanted my life to go in. I finally knew how I could use all that I’ve learned and experience during my travels to help others and earn an honest living.  I finally realized what my calling was.  After all of those years traveling and doing what I loved, following my heart, listening to my gut, ignoring society and my family’s pressure to settle down and choose a career, and being confused on what career I could do that would make me happy, it all started to make sense. I’m meant to be a travel coach. A travel coach uses their travel experiences, knowledge, and expertise to help people who want to incorporate more travel into their lifestyles in their desired ways.  A travel coach offers a solution to a common problem that exists within the travel industry somewhere, such as backpackers who want to use their passion and knowledge of travel and start a profitable online business, for example.  Travel coaches use the transformation that occurred in their lives through travel to help others achieve a transformation through in theirs.  For me, travel had transformed my life in so many ways such as helping to shape me into the person that I am, helping me find my passion and what I care about most in life, and helping me find my career path. Travel coaches can also use whatever skills or talents that they learned or mastered during their travels and teach it to others who want to learn how they did it.  For me, I mastered how to travel the world as a solo female backpacker on a budget with money management and overcoming my fears and anxieties.  Another example is with travel photographers who mastered the skill of finding the best nature shots and growing a social media following with them.  They can teach others who to achieve the same.

I used all that I learned to start my own online travel coaching business but, there was one problem.  There wasn’t a place where I could go and learn how to be a travel coach.  Unlike all of the other online coaching niches, there wasn’t anyone paving the path for online travel coaches.  The online coaching industry is skyrocketing with fitness, health, business, life, and spiritual coaches but, not for travel coaches, yet.  So, as a natural problem solver, I created the solution.  I founded The Travel Coach Network as a community for wanderlusters and lovers of travel to learn how to become a travel coach and start their own online coaching business.  The Travel Coach Network is based on a program that I’ve created called Backpacker to Business Owner that helps people turn their passion for travel into an online business as a travel coach.  I created what I wish that I had found years ago!

As a travel coach, you can work from anywhere in the world, or even your couch if you wanted to, you create your own schedule and work on your timeframe, you can make it a full-time career or a part-time job, you will be your boss, and you customize your business any way that you wish. Starting a business for anyone can be daunting for many reasons but luckily as a travel coach, you don’t have to have a huge following or a big email list, you don’t need to be super tech savvy, you don’t need any special certifications, and you don’t need to spend tons of money to get started.

Travel coaching combines the online travel industry with the online coaching industry.  It’s the ideal niche for those who want to use whatever that they love, know, and experienced with and about to make a living while helping others.  Travel coaching requires people to find their specific niche, know who their target audience is, build a trusting and loving following, being of value to those who I call their “seekers”, using their powerful and impactful personal story to build connection and to be relatable, create a buyable e-product such as an online course, program, or ebook, coach clients either one-on-one or in group programs, use strategy and social media marketing, and most importantly, stay true to who they are, what they know, and their values. As a travel coach, your business structure, your marketing strategy, what you teach and how you teach it, is all completely up to you and what aligns with your values.

The potential for the online travel coaching industry is limitless and solves the problem for so many people who are looking to turn their passion for travel into a profit as a business owner. If I never stumbled upon the career as a travel coach, I would still be stuck in my stressful cycle of undesirable job after undesirable job, working for someone who doesn’t value me or my time, not making the income that I desire, not achieving my highest potential and what I know that I’m capable of doing, and being clueless on what I’m meant to do for the rest of my life.  I’m so glad that I finally found my dream career and I aspire to help others go from backpacker to business owner, travel blogger to travel coach.

Learn more here at The Travel Coach Network™
 

5 Reasons Why NOW is the Best Time to Become a Travel Coach

Here are the 5 reasons why there's no better time than now to become a Travel Coach!

1)      The online coaching and education industry is a billion dollar industry and is only on the rise.  There are millions of coaches that saturate the business, life, health, fitness, relationship, and spiritual coaching industries but, there aren’t heavy hitters and pioneers in the Travel Coaching world.

You can be a part of that!

2)      The Travel Blogging world is saturated with thousands, if not millions, of people trying to compete with one another to get recognized, become popular, and make money.  Becoming a Travel Blogger sounds ideal for wanderlusters who want to share their stories, experiences, and knowledge with others but, it’s not as easy as it seems.  Not at all.  What Travel Bloggers or aspiring bloggers usually face are long hours of content creating, spending the majority of time collecting info, writing, and editing rather than enjoying their travels, getting burned out and frustrated, trying to keep afloat among all of the competition, spending hours upon hours researching and pitching to sponsors and brands, generating small amounts of income for so many long hours of hard work and focus, and so much more.

There must be an easier, less stressful, more freeing, and alternative option for bloggers to share their experiences, stories, and knowledge!

3)      The Travel Agent industry is diminishing.  At least for the brick and mortar agencies that is. Travelers now turn to online travel portals and websites to research, plan, book, and track their travels.  People are also striving to travel more often and on smaller budgets than what travel agencies usually put together.  There are so many online resources that help and enable people to do it all “on their own”, the need for a travel agent is in the rear-view window. 

How can travel agents still have a career in the travel industry and use their expertise, skills, and knowledge while adapting their services to the new trends?

4)      People are turning to online coaches to help them in various aspects of their life, careers, and goals. As a Travel Coach, you can use your travel experience, expertise, knowledge, and advice to help others live their best and ideal life like you have created for yourself as a Travel Coach.  Be of service to others and layer purpose in life. 

You are meant to help others like you have done for yourself!

5)      Travel Coaching is a unique way to start and build your own online business so you can work from anywhere in the world and on your own time frame.   Be a part of the growing network of online Travel Coaches and establish your credibility and authority early on.  Grow a booming online business by living in your truth and passion!

Are you ready to live a life that’s Financially, Spiritually, and Time Free?!

Become a Travel Coach!

Learn more at The Travel Coach Network

6 Strategies to Go from Backpacker or Blogger to a Business Owner

Looking for the perfect way to mesh your love for travel with having your own online business and helping others?

These are the 6 strategies to go from a world traveling backpacker or a travel blogger to starting your own entrepreneurial journey as a business owner.

1.    Solve a common problem
2.    Speak to a specific audience
3.    Leverage your story
4.    Deliver value
5.    Stay true to yourself
6.    Be strategic

I will break the 6 strategic steps down for you in this post.

Solve a Common Problem

The most successful businesses are built on solving a common problem.  Just think about it.  Even if it’s a dumb or odd item but it solves a problem that many people have, it can generate millions in sales.  For instance, think of the Snuggie for staying warm and comfortable, the Scrub Daddy brush for doing the dishes, or Facebook which allows people to connect in a way unlike any other, or websites like Skyscanner that allows people to find flights that are more suitable for their budgets.

The common factor that all of these have, whether they’re a website, an app, a retail item, a program, a virtual item, a book, or anything else, is that they offer a solution to a common problem that many people have.

The solution that you offer is crucial to your business.  If it doesn’t answer a common problem that many people have, no one will care about it. 

Once you are clear on the solution that you offer you can build your online coaching business based on that.  Everything stems from your solution.  By knowing what solution you offer, you know who your audience is, who your ideal client is, what to focus your coaching sessions on, what to focus your products (programs, courses, ebooks, etc) on, who to market your products and services to, and more.

If you have no clue what solution you can offer, it’s totally ok. There are many ways to figure that out.

Some helpful ways to figure out what solution you can offer

What do people tend to come to you for answers on?

Is there a problem that you encountered that you wish there was a solution to?

Is there a problem that you heard or seen many people face?

Is there a common question that is often asked in Facebook groups or in online forums that you notice?

Is there something that puts you at a crossroad or complete uncertainty in your life that you wish there was an easier option for? (for example, I wished there were more options on ways to make money if you love to travel other than blogging, virtual assistant and other typical digital nomad work, being a travel agent, or working for a corporate that included business travel.  I stumbled upon being a Travel Coach and ran with the idea)

Spend time doing research on your niche (for example, I learned as much as I could about the travel industry and about budget travel)

Find a void in the industry (what is everyone else NOT doing or offering?)

What are your competitors NOT doing or offering?

Do market search yourself.  Post in relevant Facebook groups and online forums, as people in person, ask your friends and family…basically ask, ask, ask!

What is something that you struggled with and then found a unique solution to?

Do some soul-searching on your experiences and your desires

Has a big transformation occurred in your life? What was the “thing” or solution that was the turning point for you?

Speak to a Specific Audience

Once you have established the solution that you offer, you need to know who wants that solution.  I call these people your “Seekers”.  They are seeking what you offer.

Who is facing the problem that you offer a solution to?  Knowing who your audience is important for not only marketing purposes but also in mastering your offer (your product or service).  You’ll learn even more from your audience and sculpt your offer into their ideal solution.

If you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no one.  This is so true because being broad and general will water down the potential of your offer.  If you are not specific on whom your offer is for, you will not stand out to the right people, ultimately losing the potential for paying clients. 

Therefore, be as specific as you can.  Create an ideal client avatar.  Who does your content speak to most?  Who can you help best? Who can your solution help the most? Who is in the shoes that you were once in?

Knowing who your target audience is will also help when you write the copy and create content for your business. You’ll know what attracts and appeals to them best.  

Learn as much as you can about your target audience.  Study them.  Who do they follow? What podcast do they listen to?  What publications do they read? What social networks do they use most? What interests do they have? What do they care about most?  Be active in Facebook groups and online forums that your audience hangs out in.  Ask questions, create posts, and ask for feedback or opinions.

Leverage Your Story

Now that you know what solution you offer and who your target audience are, it’s time to hone in on your story.  What journey and transformation occurred in your life that inspired you to become a coach? What is your story? What are the struggles that you had which led you to your lowest point in life (your pit)? Then, what was it that changed in your life that lead you to where you are now (your breakthrough)? Your story is what will set you apart. It’s your truth.  It’s what will build connection with your seekers.  Your story will resonate with your seekers.  It will build trust and likability. Your story will build credibility and authority on what you teach and offer because it’s your truth, it’s what happened and worked for you.  When you know how to leverage your story, it will help in building your following, attracting ideal clients, attracting quality clients, building organic growth through word-of-mouth when people share your powerful story with others, posting on social media, marketing, promotions, scaling your business, and more.  Your story is the key to your business and it’s important to know how to use it.

Deliver Value

You can never deliver too much value! Delivering value is another way to establish your authority and credibility as a coach.  When you provide value to your seekers, they see you as the go-to person on that topic and a place for them to get helpful tips. You want to lead with your best information. Tell them what they won’t hear or read about elsewhere. Some coaches and people in business limit the amount of value that they give out because they feel like if they give away too much free information, no one will want to pay for it.  That’s not true though. It doesn’t matter how much free information you provide, people are always going to need more help and want even more information.  People may still need help in implementing and executing the free information that they received or be unsure on how to do it all on their own.  People may watch and read your content because they love what you teach and they trust you as an authority on that space but, they may never buy from you.  That’s totally okay though! Although they may never buy from you, they are crucial to growing your following and audience and are likely to tell others about you.  Those people who they tell may pay for your products and services! As a Travel Coach, deliver value on topics that helped you the most, your favorite travel resources and websites, or how you overcame certain hurdles throughout your travels.  You can also talk about how travel transformed your life, how it lead you to your career, how it helped you find your purpose and life direction, how it helped you learn more about yourself and what you wanted out of life, and how travel helped you learn new skills or master your favorite ones. You can deliver value in various ways including Facebook live, Instagram stories, video, social media posts, blog posts, commenting in Facebook groups or online forums, and freebies.

Stay True to Yourself

To be a coach in general, you need to be true to yourself.  This goes along with telling your story. The reason why staying true to yourself is one of my strategies to becoming a travel coach is because staying true to yourself is essential for your branding and marketing.  When you teach from within, from what you know best, and from where your heart lays, then you’ll attract who you’re meant to work with and help (your ideal clients) and you’ll feel good and confident about what you do.

Be Strategic

The last strategy is to be strategic! Everything that you do in your business should be with intent.  Don’t always throw noodles at a wall and just see what sticks.  That usually just results in a waste of time, energy, and money.  Throwing noodles at a wall and seeing what sticks is good when you are toying with ideas and getting feedback and seeing what type of responses and interaction you receive.  You want to be intentional with what content you post, what you spend money on, what you talk about in your videos, where you drive your traffic to, why you want more followers on Instagram, why you want to grow your Facebook page or group, why you want to grow your email list, and everything else.  Know why you do what you do.  This will benefit you and your business in the long run!

 

 

Download your own Beginner's Guide to Travel Coaching here