When starting my journey into the RV lifestyle, it didn’t take long to realize that route planning wasn’t as simple as plugging in an address to the ol’ Apple Maps app. There were other factors to consider well beyond the typical approach to trip planning:
What are the roads like, and are they rig-friendly?
Will we be able to stop at the gas stations available, or will we need to find others along the route to fill up because the gas stations aren’t rig-friendly?
What’s the incline/decline like, and can we safely navigate the roads to our destination?
It’s interesting, isn’t it? Navigating your way to a lifestyle that’s all about ease, simplicity, and living minimally requires a little extra thinking and care. While we hope to reach our final destination where we can breathe in the fresh air, have everything we need at our fingertips (and nothing extra), and settle into a simpler lifestyle, the journey there requires intentionality.
And boy, if that isn’t the case in entrepreneurship.
Almost daily, I see questions in Facebook groups from people wanting to live a simpler RV lifestyle and earn money with ease but aren’t sure where to start. The questions usually go something like this:
What does everyone do for work that lets you live the RV life?
The responses are a mixed bag. Many promote remote work, while others promote workkamping. I often promote starting your own business (not the MLM style, although I see nothing wrong with that approach). That raises a few eyebrows.ﾠ
Isn’t the road to entrepreneurship paved with bumps, hills, and the need to store inventory?
Won’t I need a steady internet connection and reliable bandwidth to upload videos, podcasts, and other content?
What about the many hurdles I’ll face along the way — how can I face those alone?
Yep, just like the RV trip planning journey, starting a business that lets you RV requires intentionality.
Intentionality around how you decide what to sell so that you don’t always have to be on or going live and don’t have to stress about sketchy connections at campgrounds.
Intentionality around how you set your working hours so that you have the freedom to take longer hikes without having to sprint back for Zoom calls or can travel and explore on off-peak middle-of-the-week days.ﾠ
Intentionality around how you show up and serve while maintaining your boundaries and conserving the space you need to do your business (product-based business owners, I’m looking at you).
Intentional entrepreneurship, like intentional travel, requires thinking outside the box.
I recently made the very hard decision to close down my group coaching program. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly because I love the people I worked with inside the program. I got to witness new businesses launching, celebrate huge wins, and appreciate when people were quiet in the group for a few weeks because I knew they were intentionally disconnecting on vacation.
But something was off. While I loved the program, its structure was out of alignment. What I was teaching was spot on, but the pull I felt to always be on, managing the group, hosting the calls, pouring in more, more, was weighing on me. I was encouraging my students to take a vacation but didn’t feel I could take a vacation myself.
It became clear after wearing out the pages of my journal while working through this decision. I could take two alternative routes from the normal approach to entrepreneurship (the one any ‘ol car that wasn’t towing this lifestyle with them).
I could hire some help to come in and manage the launches and community and host Zoom calls.
I could lead by example, closing the doors to the program (without closing the community for the alumni to continue to mastermind) and restructuring how I help.
The former felt like I was removing myself from what I’d created. So, I chose the latter.
What you see here is the first step in that iterative move away from traditional entrepreneurship and group training programs.
Moving forward, you’ll get inspiration here for free. Buy me a cup of coffee each month by subscribing to this newsletter, and you’ll also get guidance/how-to exercises shared several times a month, PLUS discounts on future courses.
The future courses will be self-guided, action-oriented, and there when you need them without inspiring FOMO for you, the student.
That last part is key and what led me to make this shift in how I show up. When hosting my group program, I found that people were super bummed when they couldn’t make the live coaching calls due to a hike they didn’t want to cut short, spotty WiFi at campgrounds, or LIFE. This choice wasn’t all about my desire to live this lifestyle. It’s about my passion for helping others do the same, and requiring someone to show up at a certain date/time wasn’t aligned.
Next week, I’m releasing an exercise to help you decide. I will help you discern what type of business to start that will align with your lifestyle and personality. But, this will only be available to the private, paid subscriber community. Will you join me on this journey and get that support in finding the right route for you?