Top 5 Things I've Learned Trying to Run a Business on the Road

Soundtrack: Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter 

Out with the sad, old cubicle, in with a snazzy hot spot. To say I’ve learned a crap ton as a trying-to-make-it business owner on the road is an understatement. I could be here all day. 

But let’s start with the top 5 standouts.

1. You are borderline nocturnal. 

Adios routine and a normal sleep schedule. My meeting hours are now between 9pm-6am. Power naps are my new best friend.

This is especially hilarious coming from the person who notoriously couldn’t make it through a whole movie if it started a minute after 9pm in my past life.

2. Anywhere and everywhere is now your office. Literally.

When you’re on the road, you give MacGyver a run for his money with how resourceful you end up. You have to make do with what you got. The honorable mention of a few of my favorites:

Campsite Bathrooms - I got lost at 5am trying to find my way back to our campervan in a pitch black campsite in Northern Territory, Australia after taking a call from the bathroom. After three failed attempts to find my temporary home on wheels, I spent a solid 10 minutes contemplating posting up in a camp shower until sunrise. Can confirm there’s nothing scarier than combating the black abyss of Australian wilderness alone. Ya know… Still not sure why I ever thought this one was a good idea in the first place. 

Hotel Lobbies - RIP Hilton Darwin. Their eerie 80s lobby music and painfully slow WiFi was the spark of a good ol’ meltdown that sent my travel partner and I straight to EasyJet’s website and out of Australia. 

Dance Floors - Did I design a graphic from the back of a dance floor one Saturday? I plead the 5th. When an urgent deadline pops up, you make dreams happen.

Coffee Shops - If I didn’t think I should have stock in local shops or a coffee addiction before… RIP. I definitely do now. Australian coffee doesn’t help the issue, but has made me a local regular pretty quick. I don’t want to brag, but my loyalty cards are pretty dang full…

3. Time zone math is the bane of my existence.

Digital nomading is a different way of life, but the one thing that keeps me up at night - time zone math. 99% of my current Google search history is, ‘What time is it?’. 

I’ve learned I'm a creative for a reason. 

4. Screw your spouse. Your business partner is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

The amount of hours I’ve spent listening to entrepreneurial / business podcasts over the years is ungodly. One consistent sentiment from successful entrepreneurs is that who you choose to marry is the most important decision you’ll ever make. I challenge this. My vote is it’s who you go into business with. 

I will never forget the moment when I originally came to Ari with the prospect to backpack for what was at the time a month. Her immediate response, ‘You have to go. This is your time to do this. We’ll figure it out.’ To launch a business and then move to the opposite side of the globe takes a wild amount of support and teamwork when 10pm check-in calls are the new standard. I couldn’t be doing this without her.

Disclaimer: The closest I’ve gotten to marriage has been with my relationship to my Delta Amex. Take this as you will.

5. Your support system is life.

Moving abroad is hard. Starting a business is even harder. 

Who are you gonna call when you have a rough day and question all of your life choices?

YOUR FRIENDS.

Shoutout to all of the homies (you know who you are!) that have kept me grounded and fueled with pep talks. Someone grab me a Kleenex. My love for them brings tears to my eyes.