Welcome to the new column, Feature Friday, where every week, I’ll introduce you to a Roadpreneur who is building a business that lets them RV more often (maybe even full-time). Through these stories, you’ll see sparks of inspiration that can be woven into your own journey and go behind the scenes of other people’s businesses that are successfully growing from the road.
It’s week 2 of this special Feature Friday, where I help you tap into what’s happening behind the scenes of nomadic entrepreneurs. This week, you’ll hear from Jim Nelson of Tripawds and Live Work Dream. Our paths crossed because he’s also a co-host on the RV Entrepreneur podcast.
On a recent co-host Ask Us Anything recording, Rose and I were almost blinded by the beautiful snowfall he had on his backdrop during our conversation. He has such a fun story and unique business journey. I know you’ll love hearing about his adventures and feel inspired after reading all he’s up to while living the RV life (an intentional nod to his partner in proverbial crime, Rene Agredano, who you’ll indirectly meet here, too).
What is your name, and what do you do?
My name is Jim Nelson, and I do lots of things. I never quite know how to answer this question. It’s usually some sort of snarky response like, “I do my best to make the most of every day while living life to the fullest.” But I understand most people want to know what I do for work. Or, what do I do to make a living? And the answer to that is lots of things.
I am the Jim part of Jim and Rene at Live Work Dream. We hit the road 16+ years ago and are by no means retired. So, I usually answer the question, “What do we do?” Rene is a writer and content manager for RV LIFE, the leading network of RVing related websites. She’s also a metalsmith who loves to make jewelry. I build websites and provide support for a wide variety of clients. I’m also a writer, and joined the RV LIFE team in 2023 as a podcast host and website manager for The RV Entrepreneur.
Together, we manage Tripawds, the largest support community for amputee pets and their people. I maintain over 2,000 three-legged dog and cat blogs as a network administrator. As president of the 501c3 Tripawds Foundation, I help administer assistance programs to help people cope with amputation for their beloved dogs and cats.
How do you seek adventure on the open road?
Adventure always seems to find us wherever we go. So, we seek adventure by going outside our comfort zone. For years, we have traveled throughout the southwest desert during winter months. Here, I would fuel my lust for adventure on long runs through what I thought was a rugged, remote territory. While training for marathons, I’d find myself in the middle of an active bombing range in the Chocolate Mountains, twelve miles from home.
This year, we discovered what it means to be truly adventurous by venturing to Alaska for the winter. Now I know what it means to be rugged. And it doesn’t get any more remote than this. I may start my day by running ten miles through ten inches of fresh snow in the dark while keeping a keen eye out for moose. And, I recently checked one more adventure off my list by mushing a 10-dog sled team on ancient trapper trails across the most remote and most beautiful tundra I have ever experienced.
What inspired you to start this business?
Officially, our “business” is Agreda Communications. Rene and I fled the default life in 1997 to start our full-service marketing communications and graphic design firm in Eureka, California. I had a lucrative career going in Silicon Valley during the dotcom heyday. We were living in San Francisco when we decided to escape the rat race and stop working for the man. We went into business for ourselves but kept living that fast-paced life by continuing to serve the high-tech industry we were trying to escape.
All that changed ten years later when our dog lost a leg to cancer. Jerry was our Chief Fun Officer. He kept us sane while working so hard. And we enjoyed many long hikes and adventures together. In 2006, after Jerry’s amputation due to bone cancer, Rene sat me down and said, “I got an idea…” Within six months, we sold the business, our home, and nearly everything we owned. We bought a new truck and a fifth-wheel trailer. And we promised Jerry the road trip of a lifetime to reward him for all the good dimes he gave us.
Jerry ended up loving life on three legs for two years. By then, we had grown his blog into our new full-time labor of love. We tell the whole story about finding our purpose and how the Tripawds community came to be in our memoir, Be More Dog: Learning to Live in the Now.
What do you like most about your business?
We make a lot less money than we did in our previous life. But I’ve learned that success is about much more than monetary gain. What I enjoy most about doing what we do is the heartwarming sense that we are fulfilling our purpose. We never want anyone to feel as lost and alone as we did when receiving Jerry’s diagnosis. There is a true joy to be had by helping others. The day-to-day grind can be taxing at times. But the gratitude we receive from new members and the acclaim from leading veterinary institutions makes it all worthwhile.
What’s going through your audience’s mind when they ask you for help?
Our typical “customer” is upset and distraught, often in a panic. They usually have just been told their dog or cat needs an amputation. Or, they’ve just arrived home after surgery with a bag of pain meds and little hope. They often feel lost and alone. They turn to Google in search of answers when they might not even know what questions to ask.
Coping with amputation for your best friend can be overwhelming. That’s why we provide many resources and assistance programs. Yet, even that can be overwhelming, too. The biggest complaint we get is that we offer too much information. But that is why we do what we do. It is our mission to deliver vetted information from qualified sources. This provides much more helpful support than the hugs and well-wishes people tend to receive on social media.
How have you designed your business to run while you roam?
Automation is key to running a successful business on the road. And when it comes to e-commerce, drop-ship arrangements are a must. We operate our Tripawds-related business with the “freemium” business model. Through our websites, Youtube channel, and podcast we offer everything anyone might need when helping their dog or cat recover from amputation surgery. Anyone can start a free blog to share their story and document their pet’s progress. It’s all free. For a small premium, they can unlock special member benefits. Or, if seeking fast answers, they can download our pet amputation recovery and care e-books. The onboarding process for all new Tripawds members is automated, whether they create a website or choose to join without one. Everyone receives a welcoming email sequence and is encouraged to support the community.
For our Tripawds Gear store, we have developed drop ship relationships with several manufacturers. We sell a variety of harnesses and assistive devices for three-legged dogs. We make purchase decisions simple for our customers by personally testing the items we sell with our own amputee dogs.
What challenges have you faced by running a business from the road?
Reliable internet connectivity everywhere is always an issue for any nomadic entrepreneur. You simply cannot run a remote business while relying solely on RV park wifi. Redundancy is the only real solution. That’s why, for 16+ years, we had satellite internet on the roof of our rig. Now that we’ve downsized to a truck camper, we still have multiple cellular broadband devices and a cellular signal booster.
One of the greatest challenges, however, is finding balance. Getting to that sweet spot of enjoying life to the fullest while working so hard to pay the bills can be difficult. But it is most rewarding once you do. We may want to run trails daily and soak up every sunset. But life is give and take. You gotta put in the work to enjoy the freedom.
If you had to start over again, what would you do differently?
Simplify. I’ve created a monster with what we do at Tripawds. Managing the network of 2000+ blogs with so many different resources often feels like juggling cats. This all grew organically, though. And most of the automation tools and simplified platforms did not exist when we first started out.
What’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever received?
“I love what you do.” I’ve heard those words from some of the most renowned veterinary orthopedic surgeons and pain management experts in the country. And, more and more new Tripawds members tell us, “My vet told me about you.” In addition, our nonprofit foundation has received some very generous donations over the years honoring our efforts. These are the greatest compliments that make everything we do worthwhile.
What are you getting excited about right now?
Aside from surviving the Alaskan winter and getting out on the mushing trails again, I’m excited about our efforts to recalibrate our business. Since we have so much on our plates, we are currently taking inventory of everything we do. We’ll then categorize all these tasks into those that bring us joy and those we could do without. The results will help us create a new vision for whatever is coming next.
Where can we connect with you?
To learn all about the work we’re doing at Tripawds, visit https://tripawds.com
or follow @Tripawds everywhere. Please tell everyone you know with a three-legged dog or cat about the many assistance programs available at
https://tripawds.org .
For 16+ years of nomadic adventures and advice visit https://liveworkdream.com
and follow us @LiveWorkDream or check out our full-time RVing handbook and workamping guide, Income Anywhere!
