You did it! You finally left the corporate world, school or your old job to start out on your own.
You’ve hustled, spent long hours and lots of money and time on learning new things and growing your business. It is all a labor of love (we hope) and worth it to be doing what you love and calling the shots. No more boss to report too, no more unsatisfied or passionless days spent dreaming of your ‘one day’. No, because you are an entrepreneur.
Whether you’ve just started out on your own or have been doing it for decades, you started for a purpose. You started a company for more freedom, autonomy and to do something you truly believe it. So why are so many entrepreneurs burnt out?!
Overworked, too much coffee, too little sleep – entrepreneur life is often seen as less than glamorous. Yet so many people want to become them! In search of the hustle, that high from seeing something you’ve poured your heart into take off. But at the same time, the work and hours you put in are just plain crazy.
Oftentimes, people become entrepreneurs to give themselves more freedom. You seldom do that though, never taking advantage of the flexibility of running a company and determining your own schedule.
We’ve felt it ourselves and learned a thing or two from our teams 20+ years in entrepreneurship. We’ve also learned the incredible importance of travel for entrepreneurs. So we shared why it’s important to prioritize travel, no matter how busy you are, to help you grow and learn.
1) Meet New People
Growing your network is one of the most important thing you can do throughout your career. When you travel you meet incredible people that you otherwise never would have. Our cofounders met while traveling in Southeast Asia and without their individual desires to explore the world, Behere would never exist. We’ve also had a number of our members meet life long friends, business and life partners while traveling.
2) Learn New Things
Through meeting new people and experiencing new places you will learn incredibly valuable life, and business, skills. Whether you take a new course abroad, end up in a workshop taught by someone super interesting or just ask a question to someone you meet, you will learn something new. Some trips might by about learning to surf, others could be about refining your people skills and others, teach you how to juggle your team from a new time zone.
3) Communicate Better
Travel tests your communication skills, and patience, often. You have to learn to slow down, juggle learning and conversing in new languages and share your language with others. You can also fine tune your negotiation skills by bartering with street vendors. Wherever you go, travel will help with your communication and people skills.
4) Gain a Global Understanding
If scaling your company to new countries is something you want to do, having a better sense of the world is key. By going to new countries, you experience their way of life and customs, learn about their needs and determine if your product/service could help there. Plus, you learn about new problems and might come up with unique solutions for them.
5) Connect with Remote Team Members
In todays day and age, many companies are remote. With that, many teams have never met face to face. If you employ any remote employees, traveling to see them can be a wonderful bonding experience for you and them. Plus, you’ll have a better understanding of the way they work, where they live and more, so you can work together even better.
6) Inspiration, Motivation & Relaxation
There’s a reason companies hold team retreats – they really do help with employee morale. As an entrepreneur, you often put taking care of yourself and your own needs on the back burner while trying to grow your company. However, it’s crucial you take time off to relax, and find new inspiration and motivation. You’ll be amazed what a month in Europe can do for your creativity, your business, and yourself.
Despite this, we know for many entrepreneurs it’s incredibly challenging to leave your business, even just for a few days. For those that can’t get away for long, we recommend taking a more local trip for a long weekend and starting out small. Try unplugging and doing something you love, like hiking or going the spa, to get away from work and technology for a day or two.
For those that have started online businesses, we can’t stress how amazing spending a month or more traveling is for you and your business. Joyce shared the transformational impact spending a month in Spain had on her, after one year of running her startup and Angela shared how it helped her take a leap and grow her business.
Starting a company doesn’t come without sacrifice, much of which is necessary to get it off the ground. But, we believe it’s time you start putting yourself first more and taking advantage of the flexibility it offers. Being an entrepreneur isn’t about all work all the time, it’s about balance, growth and doing what you love. So, it’s time to travel!
Written by Meesen Brown, Cofounder & CEO of Behere.
Now, feeling inspired to do some traveling while running your business? Pick a location below or send us a note [email protected] and we’ll help connect you to the spaces and people that will make your time abroad amazing!
