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 who are successfully growing from the road.
When Rose Willard and I first started as cohosts of the RV Entrepreneur podcast a little over a year ago, I loved hearing her story. Her and her family have built a living full of adventure, and they’ve done so through a variety of business endeavors. I knew she had to be one of the first to be featured on this new column. Get ready to meet Rose and her husband, Glynn, creators of Reset Your Journey.
What is your name, and what do you do?
Rose & Glynn Willard. We are the founders of the Reset Your Journey blog and YouTube channel.
How do you seek adventure on the open road?
We look to stay off the beaten path and spend as much time in nature as possible. We also try to see our adventures from the perspective of our two boys, mixing their interests into our journey. Road schooling is a big driver in the decisions we make.
What inspired you to start this business?
We owned a very successful personal training and physical therapy facility for twenty years. When Covid forced us to shut down, it was eye-opening how much we craved a location-independent income. Such a lifestyle would allow us to better raise our boys and show them how much good there is in this country/world. Much like starting our last business, we took a risk, sold everything, began traveling full-time, and documented our trials and tribulations as a base for our growing blog and YouTube channel.
What do you like most about your business?
Location independence and the ability to focus on our work during our peak productivity times. This allows us to participate in experiences whenever we like, avoiding popular times like weekends.
What’s going through your audience’s mind when they come to you for help?
They’re exploring the potential to undertake either a long-term or full-time RV adventure or how to boondock in an RV. This includes where to begin, what type of RV, tips and tricks, finding boondocking locations, and the financial aspects of RV life. We would like to eventually segue into other other aspects that incorporate resetting one’s journey from a dissatisfied life by shaking this up and adding some “off the beaten path” adventure to their life.
How have you designed your business to run while you roam?
Yes. Like many other blogs, we build traffic and followers first, produce some income with ads and affiliate sales, and finally finish writing our book about going full-time to sell online. Again, all possible from any location.
What challenges have you faced by running a business from the road?
The discipline to execute the necessary work is always there, but not the internet. Initially, mobile internet was more challenging, but it’s getting a lot easier. A strong internet connection means we buckle down and get as much work done as possible. Little to no connections means we do more adventure activities. Keeping a good work/life balance is always a work in progress too.
If you had to start over again, what would you do differently?
Put more effort into blogging than the YouTube channel in the beginning.
What’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever received?
There are several highlights/compliments we’ve received that have meant a lot.
One of our YouTube subscribers (who is a pilot) met up with us for lunch in Arizona.
Another YouTube subscriber mentioned that we were their inspiration for making a big change in their lives by going full-time.
Walking into a random RV park in Michigan to dump our tanks and having the work campers look up and say, “Hey, you’re a YouTuber!” was fun.
We eventually mooch docked in the pilot and his wife’s driveway right in the beautiful town of Ouray, CO. It was a great time with new friends and an amazing location!
What are you getting excited about right now?
After selling our Outdoors RV travel trailer, we’ve been shopping for our next (more agile) RV to do part-time out-and-back RV adventures. Our popularity in the boondocking world is growing, and we’ve made some amazing connections. We hope to continue down that path since we find boondocking so rewarding!
Rose is also very excited about her co-hosting role on The RV Entrepreneur Podcast. Engaging in conversations with fellow RV Entrepreneurs and delving into their unique stories of origin and success is something she genuinely relishes. These interactions serve as a source of inspiration, motivating us to persist in the journey we embarked upon.
Where can we connect with you?
Website: resetyourjourney.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resetyourjourney/
