Since I was a kid, I have had this deep-set yearning for travel. My first trip away from home was to Galveston, Texas when I was 5 years old, where I fell in love with the ocean, and all the sounds and life within it. I still even have the very first shell I got on that trip. I flew across the country alone when I was 7 to visit my grandparents in North Carolina, where I fell in love with fireflies and colorful gardens. I took long road trips in a motor home with said grandparents, who took me to every state along the mid and lower east coast, and let me enjoy beaches at each stop. I learned to cross-stitch during a thunderstorm on the Florida coast when I was 7, my grandpa taught me to play Checkers during another thunderstorm in Florida, and after that summer, I knew that someday I wanted to live near an ocean. It took another 22 years, but it finally happened last year. My 2 kids and I packed up and moved to Cozumel Mexico for 6 months, and my world travel adventures began.
What About Work?! Ah, I get this question a lot. How does a single mom of 2 kids just pack up and move to paradise when you have bills to pay and groceries to buy? The short answer is- I prioritize what I wanted most, and knew that if I wanted it bad enough, I would find a way. The long answer is- I spent a year and a half after my divorce crafting a business that allowed me to be mobile. While I had worked as a part-time copywriter/editor for GLIDE for a few years, I needed more income to support my kids and myself. So I started up a social media management/copywriting business that took of light a bolt of lightning. Seriously, it was hard to keep up with! I built up my clientele, saved money for emergencies, sold our belongings, stored the rest, and just hoped and prayed we would survive financially!
Customers REALLY Matter One of the first thing I learned while living abroad is how much I depended on clients back home. I was open with each of my clients, informing them that I would be traveling, and that I would be in Cozumel for at least 6 months. They all seemed perfectly ok with it- that is, until I got there, and half of my clients discontinued services within my first month of being gone. At first, I was devastated. I felt like I was failing. I must have been crazy to think this would work! What kind of mother am I?! What will we DO?! There was a lot of crying, and a lot of anxiety until I realized that unless I came up with a plan, my crying and anxiety would only lead to an empty bank account and a failed attempt to make my dreams come true. And for most successful entrepreneurs, failure is not an end. It’s a stepping stone.
Global Mind Shift I had been in Cozumel for 3 or 4 months, when I began to take the free time I had, while my clientele was so small, to create a new plan. Actually, I created several plans, wadded them up and threw them away, crossed them out, re-wrote them, hit my head against my computer table, and planned some more. I felt that I could use my experiences with traveling abroad to my advantage, I wanted to spend more time working with companies who were more globally-conscious, and I wanted to spend more time “writing” and not as much time on social media. But how would I do that without starting a new business or putting a lot of money and time into something new? I decided in the end to re-focus my current social media management/copywriting business to work with clients who were globally-minded and eco-friendly. By re-designing my website and creating new copy, I opened the door for much more than I expected. Not only was I happier working with clients who had the same goals as I did, but it also helped me to become more mindful in areas of my own life, which then inspired me to write a book that I finished a couple of months ago while living in Costa Rica.
Now What? I spent last month back home in Texas. And of course I had a nice “welcome back” dinner with my GLIDE family, who have been a constant source of support, inspiration, and lessons. Business has grown again, finances are stable (phew), and I have even begun a new venture that I’m super excited about! Being re-introduced to the US after being gone for 9 months helped me to see things very differently, and I feel I can apply my new perspective to my professional and business life. The kids and I flew off to Mexico again last week, and I am writing this in the warm Caribbean sun next to my lizard-filled garden. I have a deeper appreciation for things that really matter, for the lives I share, not just my home state with, but the whole planet with. I feel honored and privileged to have the ability to make our world a better, safer place to raise our families in. And I feel lucky as heck to be a part of the GLIDE team, who is built by strong, driven, supportive people from all over the world.
