The Traveling Entrepreneur: Jennifer Mayers
Welcome to The Traveling Entrepreneur! Each Monday, we'll feature a different entrepreneur who spends at least part of their working hours on the road. Learn their tips for working from anywhere, what they'd do differently if they had to start their business over again, and their favorite place to travel (so far). Enjoy!
Meet Jennifer Mayers
Q. Can you tell me a bit about your business?
A. Sure! My company is called Copy For Coaches. We provide world-class copywriting training and marketing services for coaches, consultants, and healers. It’s actually a pretty cool story how it all started. Right now we are running a program that helps coaches sell out their products and programs by showing them how to write incredibly enticing marketing materials that move people to action to buy up their programs.
Q. What is your favorite thing about being self-employed?
A. My favorite thing about being self-employed is that my entire office is on my laptop and phone. One day I decided I wanted to travel the world and in one blink I started planning and setting up for it. I didn’t have to leave my job or figure out what I was going to do to make money. I didn’t have to stress over a laundry list of logistics or anything like that. All I did was decide, plan, and voila! I’m traveling the world.
Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
A. I’m always coming up with new ideas for programs, promotions, and ways to surprise and delight my clients and customers. It's a good challenge to have, really. What’s cool is that it actually plays a big role in my business moving forward so quickly. It keeps me taking massive action because I want to deliver and give more to the community.
Q. What originally inspired you to work for yourself?
A. I’ve pretty much always been an independent contractor - as a personal trainer, fitness instructor, coach… I was even an actor and hair dresser at a haunted house for 6 years. When I think back to when I was going to college to be a school teacher, I remember feeling so confined and limited by all the rules and regulations. I knew I wanted to teach and help better the world, but I realized the school system just isn’t for me. So, I’d say having that realization was a big catalyst for me going into business for myself.
Jennifer in Seattle, WA
Q. What was the best piece of advice you received when you were first getting started?
A. Oh man, there are so many good ones. But, if I had to narrow it down, what’s coming to me now is something my mentor said during one of our first calls together. He said “done is better than perfect.” See, I love making things pretty so, that really helped me just get my stuff out there and then tweak it along the way.
Q. If you had to start your business over from scratch today, what would be your top three priorities?
A. Nice! This is such a great question. 1) Learn Copywriting & Marketing even sooner. 2) Hire a bookkeeper ASAP. 3) Get into a community of people who also recognize the importance of copywriting & marketing and want to grow the best version of their business possible.
Q. Do you travel frequently while maintaining your business?
A. I just recently donated 80% of my possessions, put the rest in storage, and am on what I’m calling “The Trip Of A Lifetime… of 2016." I started in Seattle before heading to San Diego. After that I flew to Oakland and now I’m hanging out between Lake Tahoe and Reno for a couple of weeks before heading back to San Diego. I’ve got a few other places on my radar until later this year when I’ll be heading over to Europe. My plan is Croatia, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and a few other places I haven’t decided on yet. :-)
Q. Are there any tools or resources that allow you to work from anywhere that you would recommend to other entrepreneurs?
A. Absolutely. GoogleDrive, for sure. It makes sharing docs and projects with my team super, super easy. As long as I have an internet connection, I can work like I would have normally worked when I was still living in my house. If you’re flying a lot, I recommend signing up for frequent flyer miles for sure. I’m racking up points for just about every major airline, which is cool. Plus, I like sites like www.momondo.com for finding great deals on flights. Also, the WhatsApp app is great (and free!). You can make foreign calls, use messaging, and send images and videos to anyone who has the app. That saves a ton on long distance service charges from your phone carrier.
Q. What has been your favorite destination so far?
A. So far, Seattle. It’s so beautiful. And the people are amazing. However, I just came back from a day trip to Reno and it has me super intrigued. It was a complete surprise how artistic and groovy the whole place was. I definitely want to get to know Reno more.
Q. How does traveling enhance your current business?
A. Awesome question. There are so many things I want to go explore that it gets me laser focused for the few hours a day I am working. I play games with myself like… “Once you finish this email, you can go paddle boarding. Or, if you finish this month’s Heartcopy Newsletter today, you can take the whole day off tomorrow to go explore downtown.”
Q. What advice do you have for people who want to travel while they work?
A. Decide to do it now. Not later. Not when the weather is better. Not when the conditions are clearer. Be clear now and do it. The entire Universe will conspire in your favor.
Jennifer Mayers is a heart-centered copywriting expert and leading authority in helping coaches, consultants, and healers sell out their products and programs. She travels the world meeting amazing people and eating as much pizza as possible. She is the editor and creator of HEARTCOPY: Marketing Copy Training Letter. She believes that marketing should be two things: driven by and in pursuit of the truth. You can learn more about Jennifer on her website or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
If you're a globe trotting entrepreneur, and you'd like to be featured (or if you know someone who might), please email me at nicole@nicolehunteditingandwriting.com.
