The life-style of a digital nomad isn’t all it’s cracked as much as be.
Rachel Pregunta and her companion, Ruben Arribas, began touring collectively in 2013 with no matter they may stick with it their backs. They couch-hopped and stayed in hostels, all the time on the lookout for the following alternative to leap on a aircraft to a brand new vacation spot.
Pregunta, who nonetheless labored her 9-to-5 job in digital advertising, inspired Arribas to begin a weblog to share his earlier adventures—like a five-month biking journey from Spain to Finland—and their present nomadic travels.
In tandem with the weblog, Pregunta began an Instagram account (@Gamintraveler) and grew it from zero to 130,000 followers. The pictures and tales from their travels have introduced them to Indonesia, France, Argentina, Greece, Iceland, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and extra. They’ve additionally developed partnerships with hospitality companies and began a social media company for solopreneurs and content material creators.
“Individuals will see perhaps 5 % by way of Instagram pictures and the whole lot, however there’s quite a lot of work behind it,” Pregunta says.
The work that made their life-style and enterprise attainable comes from Pregunta’s unrelenting need to be taught—a trait she didn’t develop on an unique journey however at a desk in entrance of a keyboard.
One thing Larger
Pregunta wasn’t a lot of a traveler earlier than she met Arribas. Really, she loved exploring the web greater than a metropolis hundreds of miles away.
“I’m extra the web marketer particular person, and he’s the traveler,” Pregunta says. “So at one level, I simply thought, ‘Let’s combine our two passions collectively, and perhaps we are able to do one thing greater.’”
She needed to proceed working remotely in digital advertising, so between sketchy wifi indicators and remodeling her schedule round flight instances, Pregunta made her nomadic imaginative and prescient a actuality.
Listening to Arribas’s 10 years of journey tales impressed Pregunta to begin a weblog. After they joined the web journey area, there was already a strong neighborhood of bloggers, however Instagram was beginning out and much from the polished platform it’s right now.
“We positively simply posted selfies or random photos [with] no styling,” Pregunta says.
“Then I found foundr, and this complete new world opened up.”
In 2016, Pregunta grew to become one of many earliest college students of the Instagram Domination course taught by foundr CEO Nathan Chan. She found the course after being kicked out of a special entrepreneurial course as a result of journey bloggers weren’t their perfect college students.
“The large shifts in my life are all the time once I put money into one thing I’m actually afraid to do,” Pregunta says. “Instagram, as a substitute of simply being a manner of driving new visitors to the location, truly grew to become a special channel and medium all by itself.”
Leaping In With Each Ft
Geared up with the methods from Instagram Domination, Pregunta obsessively grew their account.
“The web is only a massive factor. It’s simply an enormous place, and you’ll simply get bombarded by quite a lot of data,” Pregunta says. “Now, right here’s somebody who has a course and who has laid out the method for you.”
One of many first items of recommendation supplied within the course is to create a tone, particularly with the primary 9 items of content material in your profile.
“I’m the type of particular person [who] once I strive one thing, I do know I’ve to leap in with each toes […] The enjoyable half is when you’ve established that, you’ll simply proceed sharing your story.”
After reaching 5,000 followers, Pregunta and Arribas began receiving inbound messages from accommodations, resorts, and journey companies seeking to companion. Their first unsolicited reward was a world cell lens startup that gave them a lens to make use of on their travels. Again then, Pregunta says phrases like “influencer,” “microinfluencer,” and “noninfluencer” didn’t even exist.
“They had been so comfortable to work with lots of people, which is an effective factor within the influencer area and accommodations,” Pregunta says. “So so long as it’s an alternate of vitality, and naturally, in case you are actually prepared to provide what you’ll be able to to them, then they are going to be very comfortable to host you.”
Pregunta says that these days, folks coming into the social media journey trade assume they want a big following or portfolio to achieve out to companies, however the way you contact them is extra necessary than your resume.
“Consider your first electronic mail virtually as an elevator speech,” Pregunta says.
“You must be concise, however on the similar time, let the corporate know in two to a few sentences what you’re able to ship to them so concisely that they know precisely who you’re.”
Identical to creating a distinctive promoting proposition for a product, Pregunta advises leveraging what makes you distinctive and connecting with a enterprise that matches that area of interest. She says that being a multicultural couple—Pregunta is from the Philippines; Arribas from Spain—is the principle motive companions have chosen them as a result of they join with their audience.
Pregunta says that the primary message will set the tone for the connection however to be prepared for fast follow-up.
“You must assume how many individuals could possibly be reaching out to that property,” Pregunta says. “Be sure you have your hyperlinks prepared within the electronic mail, after which simply allow them to resolve in the event that they need to work with you or not.”
Pregunta’s systematic formulation continued to snowball. They stopped getting free invitations to unique places and began getting paid to journey. Their company partnerships expanded, together with an airline and worldwide cost switch facility.
However Pregunta needed greater than new locations. She was seeking to faucet into her past love—digital advertising.
A Combating Likelihood
Pregunta says that the majority of her pals have conventional company jobs, however she’s stayed in social media and digital advertising due to its fast-paced nature.
“What I like about social media and digital advertising is that one thing new is occurring each day. And even in the event you had been doing nicely final week, one thing is launched this week, after which everybody may be on the similar degree once more,” Pregunta says. “So that you all the time have a combating probability.”
As @Gamintraveler’s followership climbed to 6 digits, Pregunta began leveraging the social media expertise she continually realized for influencers like her. So she began an company specializing in Instagram development for solopreneurs.
“Rising an Instagram is an virtually full-time job, particularly in the event you’re one particular person,” Pregunta says.
“The larger the Instagram account, you’ll must take your expertise to the following degree.”
She rapidly added 20 to 30 purchasers, working tirelessly between journey stops. However the load of managing purchasers’ accounts whereas holding @Gamintravler related was exhausting.
“I might all the time have this concept that an entrepreneur has an incredible life, particularly whenever you watch social media,” Pregunta says. “You’ll all the time see wonderful entrepreneurs having an incredible residence life after which an incredible enterprise life. And you then take a look at your life. My residence life is loopy.”
So she acquired a mentor, Daniel DiPiazza, a startup advisor and foundr teacher (see video beneath).
“He was the primary particular person to essentially inform me you’re working with too many individuals as a result of your value is low,” Pregunta says.
By charging charges on the appropriate worth and matching purchasers to her ability set, Pregunta may stability her company and unlock time to expertise the locations she was touring to as a substitute of staying on her laptop computer all day.
“I might all the time inform them that if the vitality is matching, in the event that they really feel like they need to work with me and vice versa, then if it’s a very good match, we are able to work collectively,” Pregunta says. The matching vitality has ensured that Pregunta’s core purchasers not solely commit financially however have stayed together with her year-over-year. “In case your mindset and angle will not be prepared, you will be unable to deal with [growth].”
Loving the Platform
The previous three years have been troublesome for the journey trade. In 2020, Pregunta stayed residence and targeted on the company. Since then, she’s slowly constructed their journey muscle groups again, nevertheless it’s clear that the habits she’s developed are why she’s nonetheless in enterprise after the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I believe it’s following the method, and this isn’t just for Instagram however in quite a lot of issues that you simply do in life,” Pregunta says. “However the factor about following a course of and being affected person with it’s you’re creating that behavior and mindset on the similar time.”
Pregunta encourages fellow social media entrepreneurs to not fear about having hundreds of followers within the first few weeks of a brand new account or marketing campaign.
“Simply develop the behavior of loving the platform—loving who you’re, the way you seem, and the way you give worth.”
She says it’s not too late for the journey weblog trade or any trade that makes use of visible instruments like social media for development.
“If you concentrate on companies, there are all the time new clothes manufacturers,” Pregunta says. “And now the nice factor is you’ll be able to simply begin being you and begin constructing from there, and you’ll positively discover your folks.”
So is the digital nomad life-style all it’s cracked as much as be?
Nicely, in some methods, it’s.
Like Pregunta, you have to be prepared to be taught habitually, all whereas reserving flights, traversing mountains, and having unforgettable adventures.
Hold Studying: How A lot Do Consultants Make?
How one can Pitch a Enterprise Companion, per Rachel Pregunta
- Hold it brief and candy—not more than two or three sentences.
- Ask what they’re making an attempt to resolve (attain a brand new viewers, launch a brand new product, capitalize on a development).
- Share your distinctive worth proposition (UVP). What makes you totally different as an influencer, content material creator, or entrepreneur?
- Join the dots between your UVP and their viewers.
- Lay out what you’re capable of ship for them. Be particular.
- Be prepared with a follow-up electronic mail with hyperlinks to your work, charges, and the rest they could ask for.
- Be you. Your electronic mail messages ought to replicate your model as a lot as an Instagram caption.
Get the identical course that helped Pregunta launch her enterprise.
