Welcome to the Virtual Antics Podcast, where we help entrepreneurs streamline their business to six figures and beyond. These short, sweet and info-packed episodes will inspire, educate and leave you feeling motivated to take one more step forward in your business. So put down your never-ending to-do list, because in this podcast, we are interviewing the best of the best in the entrepreneurial world as they spill their secrets to success. This podcast is sponsored by Nendora, the all-in-one software for entrepreneurs to grow their business, with unlimited landing pages, automations, emails and text campaigns, and so much more. I'm your host, natalie Guzman. Now let's get into it.
Speaker 1Welcome to another episode of Virtual Antics, a podcast where we dive into the dynamic world of business automation, virtual assistants and the adventures of remote work. I'm your host, Natalie Guzman, and today we have a truly inspiring couple joining us Austin and Monica. They are travel enthusiasts whose journey together began in college and took flight during a humanitarian trip abroad. Although their dreams of joining the Peace Corps were interrupted by COVID, they didn't let that stop them. Instead, they channeled their passion for exploration into building an online business that allows them to live a life of freedom and travel on their own terms, and now they are dedicated to helping others achieve the same freedom, teaching them how to build a remote business that allows for full-time travel. Get ready to be inspired by their story of resilience, innovation and the pursuit of adventure. Hey guys, how are you doing?
Speaker 2today. Hi, natalie, we're doing great. Thanks so much for having us on to chat with you today.
Speaker 1I'm so excited you guys are here, especially because I built a remote business myself and I think it's so cool that you guys are not only doing that, you're teaching other people how to do it, and with a couple of traveling right, because traveling while working is, I think, a big dream for a lot of people, right?
Speaker 2Absolutely yes, and we know like we kind of joke about this a lot, but starting an online business, running an online business, is very challenging. Doing any sort of work while you're traveling and on the road is very challenging, and so putting those two things together, we know is difficult, and so, like, we just love being in the space where we are connecting with other people doing the same thing, supporting each other, helping them figure out how to do it. We're always learning new ways of how to how to improve it as well. It's just a fun space.
Speaker 1Oh, that's awesome. Now, where have you guys traveled to?
Speaker 2Um, so we've done a lot of traveling in the Western half of the United States. Um, so we've done a lot of traveling in the western half of the united states, um, basically all those states we've we've gone all throughout, you know, oregon, idaho, washington, utah, nevada, california, um, and then outside of the states, we've gone to a couple countries in southeast asia, um cambodia, thailand and vietnam. A couple places in latin America we've done Puerto Rico and Peru and Guatemala, mexico. We've done Canada a little bit. So we have a lot on our list that we haven't been able to get to yet, that we are slowly chipping away at.
Speaker 1Yeah, I can feel that you know we always have that list of places we want to go to, but it's so cool that you guys are actually actively going to it and you guys have a plan and you're going to these places. So how would you balance traveling with working? Because I feel like when I'm traveling, I'm like so overwhelmed with, like, the new culture, new cultures, you know, the different customs they have, maybe a language and all these different things, and then I have work. So what are some things that you guys do to kind of balance both?
Speaker 2Yes, that's a really good question, and we struggled with that for a little bit ourselves. We would get to a new country and we'd be, like you know, so excited to go explore this new place. But then we're out exploring, we're like, man, we should be working because we need to be paying for all these fun things we're doing. So we go back and we, you know, spend a few solid days working and then we're like but why are we even here if we're not going to go out and explore? So we always have this back and forth of feeling guilty, no matter what we were doing, and we felt like that was a problem that just we were having. But then the more conversations we've been in, just like you were saying, like, I feel like that's a really common thing for a lot of people, a lot of online business owners, to experience like how do you strike that balance? And so probably our biggest tip on this would be to schedule your big priority things first.
Speaker 2There's this analogy. I think it's really popular. I've heard it several times, so maybe you've already heard it before. Maybe your listeners are familiar with it. If you're trying to fit like rocks and pebbles and sand into a jar, you have to put the big rocks in first and then the pebbles and then pour the sand in and everything will fit. But if you do the sand first and then the pebbles and then try and fit the big rocks in, it's not all going to fit in that jar. So you have to put in your big priority things first, and so whenever we get to a new place, we have normally a handful of things that we're really excited to try.
Speaker 2You know whether it's a certain restaurant or an activity, you know, maybe a temple that we want to go explore, and so we will schedule those things out on our calendar. We normally do like one big thing a week, maybe every other week. We put those big things in the calendar and we also schedule out what we call planned spontaneity. It's like you know what Saturday afternoon we're not sure what we're going to go do, but we're just going to wander and find something fun. So we actually put that in our calendar and then around that we start planning our work things. So we make sure we get the adventure things in and done, but it's scheduled and planned so that it doesn't feel chaotic and we have an order to it, so that we still make sure that the work things get done on their time, play things get done on their time.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you know, I think this even applies to like we're we're in summer right here in Florida, and so my kids are home, and so I feel like, even though I'm not traveling, it's kind of like the same thing. Right, I'm trying to balance having them home with working, and so it's kind of cool that it kind of applies to both scenarios. So, even if you guys aren't traveling, anyone listening and this does apply even just to everyday life. I also have a stepfather with Alzheimer's, and so, you know, having a remote business has allowed me to spend time with him.
Speaker 1Um, so I love that you guys kind of specialize in helping people kind of create this like life of freedom, right To be able to do all the things that they want to do, have their priorities and be able to accomplish them. Cause I feel like in this day and age, like an eight to five just like it doesn't, it doesn't work for the families that have. There's always gotta be someone that stays at home and deals with the family priorities and then the other person can have that eight to five job, um, so it doesn't really allow for any like give which remote work does. So how do you guys help people start these remote businesses?
Speaker 3That's a really good question and just really quick to touch on what you said. I one of my favorite things about remote business is that we can cater to the different seasons that we have in life. Like we might have seasons where our family needs us more and our business needs us less and we can totally cater that and change our business to accommodate for that. And then we have seasons of just magnificent growth and we're just super inspired and we just want to put everything into our business and we can. We can do that as well and I just love that lifestyle it affords us to have because it's much more balanced and we as people, as humans, humans are so dynamic and in a traditional eight to five, nine to five kind of job it doesn't allow for that, uh, those dynamics to come into play and for the different account for the different things happening in your personal life or, you know, your own personal growth, because you're kind of stuck in this one job position. So I absolutely love that, that you touched on that and just that that.
Speaker 3This is that's the dream right Is to be able to to cater to the different seasons that you have and your different needs, that you have both personally and family needs. As far as helping people start their own business, the biggest thing that we do, and one of my favorite things to do, is to help people figure out what skills they already have that can translate into the online space, and the reason for this is there's a ton of people who are willing to tell you exactly how to grow a business, but, at the end of the day, you are the person who knows best what's going to be best for you, and so we really want to help people tap into what they want, what they have like skills that they already have, what kind of business they want to design, and so we go through all of that with them to help them plan out the perfect launch point for them.
Speaker 1Yeah, and that's what I learned in the world of virtual assistants. Right, we always say you know, look at what you have. So if you worked at a customer service job, you know you're probably really good with maybe computers or scheduling or you know those type of assistant tasks and then you can kind of like conform yourself as a executive assistant or just an admin assistant. And or if you're really good with the graphic design, maybe you're going to go into the world of social media, marketing and things like that. So I think that's so cool that you guys basically create this like customized plan. It sounds like so correct me if I'm wrong but to really help them so it works for them, and it's not the thing like where they're listening to a coach who's trying to teach thousands of people and it's not going to apply to everyone and they're going to end up wasting time and money.
Yeah, A hundred percent. I think a lot of times we're so in the weeds with what we're doing and and our work experience, our backgrounds, that it's really hard sometimes to see the things that we are good at until someone outside of you points it out. So we always encourage our clients, like go talk to your family members and your spouse, go talk to your friends, talk to your parents, talk to your coworkers and ask them like what do you see that I'm really good at? And like help, help point out what I don't see, because chances are there's something there that you just it's second nature to you. It comes so easily. You don't think about other people being willing to pay you to help you with that or to help them with that, and so I think that's a really good place to start.
Speaker 1Yeah, I agree, and you know, I think it's. Sometimes it's like a really big scary leap for some people, right, they're like man, I don't know if I can do it, I don't know if I can invest the time, I don't know if I can invest the money, but you're really not going to go anywhere unless you invest something you know, whether it is time or whether it's money, but you do get like this when you hire like someone, like you guys.
Speaker 1You know, actually my story was actually started with these kids that keep coming in during this call. But it started with, um, my job told me I had two days to give birth and then I'd have to go back to work.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1Isn't that insane, and so yeah, it was a high-risk pregnancy and everything, and so it was. That was one of the things. I was like man, I need to create this life where I can, you know, work at home and take care of a child that might have a lot of medical needs and also not give someone that much control over my life. But I went down the route where I invested my time and I really wished I invested my money and finding people like you guys to really create that customized plan, because I had so much that I was juggling whether it was personal life or work life. Um, when I did become really successful really quickly, and it I made a lot of mistakes I don't think I would have if I had people like you guys. And it's like it does take a village. Whether you're raising a child or you're raising a business, it takes a village, and so finding those people to help support you along your journey is super important.
Speaker 2Yeah, and your business is like an extra child, like it does need a lot of time, and attention and focus.
Speaker 1So yeah, it has a lot of the same skills. Like you have to delegate right, you have to learn how to delegate with your children. You can't clean their room for them. You have to teach them how to delegate tasks and communication. You have to learn even like sales. How many times have I wanted my kids to do something they don't want to do?
Speaker 2I have to sell it. You know it really is.
Speaker 1It's. It's so much they're very big similarities. I absolutely love that.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, I'm really convinced, too, that time and money are the same currency. So you can either spend more time and less money, or you can spend more money and less time, and it's all the same. So you need to decide where you're at in your life. What is valuable to you right now? Are you in to decide where you're at in your life, what is valuable to you right now? Are you in a place where time is really valuable and you want to spend time with your kids and you want to go exploring and you want to go or are you in a place where your time is less valuable and your money is more valuable? It's a little bit tight, your budget is a little bit well, your bank account is a little bit nervous for you, you know. So that you've really got to evaluate what side of the spectrum you're falling on and what side you are valuing more right now in your life.
Speaker 1Yeah, and I feel like that's something you really learn once you're like in the throes of having a business. I don't think I really understood that until I was running a business. That like time and money are kind of the same thing. It's you either. It's a give and take between both. And one of the things I was thinking about was that not just people who've never had a business, but maybe you've had a business and you're at that turning point right.
Speaker 1A lot of times we get like that where cause they always say, like it takes most successful businesses, they had like seven to 10 businesses before that one that really took off and that they stuck with. And so I would say, even if you're someone that has had a remote business, you know, hi, maybe you did it on your own, you took the time but you had. Maybe you kind of lost your way or didn't really know where to go, so still hiring that. Maybe that support, hiring people like you guys, would be one of the things that could actually really help. Have you helped people that have had businesses?
Speaker 3we mostly work with people who are starting for the first time, but we do have a couple of clients who started a business and then stopped it, and then started and then stopped it and they're like I just don't know how to make this work. And so then they come to us and we're like, okay, like let's, let's figure out a way to make this align with you so that you're excited about it and it's easier for you to continue with it instead of starting and stopping all the time.
Speaker 1Yeah, cause I see that a lot. We get a lot of clients ourselves, you know, who just started a business and they want help, and you know, on the VA side of stuff, and so we noticed that a lot of times it's always start, stop, start or they'll come back with a new business. And it's always really exciting because I feel like it's kind of like that honeymoon period. You're like oh, I have this amazing idea, I'm ready to go get it. What do I do, you know? You just kind of stop and you're like what's next? What are the steps? What is actually going to make this successful? Maybe what wasn't successful in the past or what do I know? Maybe I've had a friend that had a business and they weren't successful. How do I not, you know, go down that route? So I think that's awesome. What are some tools and things that you use to kind of help your client?
Speaker 3As far as like actual software kind of things.
Speaker 1Maybe more like techniques or things, maybe like a roadmap or that you guys teach them.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 3So the very first thing we do, kind of going back to what we were talking about, like assessing your skills is we have them brain dump literally everything they've ever done in their life, so anything that they've done, that they've enjoyed. We have them write it down, even if it's like knitting socks or you know whatever it is. And then we take that from there and we go okay, like what are the things that you're really passionate about? So maybe they're they're really passionate about traveling and writing and art, and those are the things that they absolutely love to do. And so then we kind of start to cross-reference them and kind of start to work them and say, okay, like here's a potential option for you or here's a different potential option for you, which one is resonating with you the most?
Speaker 3And then we kind of take that and we start to shape it and figure out, okay, like who would you want to be serving in this, in this industry? Like, let's say, um, it ends up being that they want to be graphic design and then maybe websites is what they're super excited about. So we're like, okay, like, let's say, you're really good at graphic design, you want to do websites and you're really passionate about dogs, so maybe we look at doing like pet providers, like, um, like veterinarians or dog walkers or things like that. And so then we start to go and look and say, okay, so now we know we want to do websites, we think we want to work with people who are dog people, who work with animals. So let's go find somebody who's already doing that and let's go do some market research.
Speaker 3Let's go see, like, how viable this market is, how much of a need there is. Is it super oversaturated? What can we do to move forward there, based on what we see in the competition, what we see in the market? And that's kind of the foundation of where we recommend that everybody start, because it's so important to find something that you are actually interested in. When we started our business, we did not start with something we were interested in. We started with something that we were told would make us money online so we could travel, and it was really hard. It was really hard to stay inside and to work when we were traveling, and so if you find something that you actually thoroughly enjoy, that you feel confident in, feel that you're good and you enjoy the people that you're serving, it is so much easier to spend that time working, growing your on growing your business Um, especially in those beginning phases.
Speaker 1Yeah, I love that too, that, and I love that you guys kind of went on that journey and view yourselves Like it was something you didn't love and then you found something absolutely love. And it's so much easier to run a business when it's something you're passionate about and something that gives you that confidence. It's like putting on a perfect outfit and you get that boost of confidence. You know you're like, oh, this feels great and that's kind of what it is with business and you're just able to keep that energy. Cause I feel like when you have really really good energy or your business just does like 10 times better too and like just gets a little bit easier, so, um, but yeah, I've absolutely loved having you guys on the call today. Where can we find out more about you?
Speaker 2and your services. Yeah, thanks so much. We've also really enjoyed chatting with you, natalie. Probably the best place to get in touch with us is our online, our free online Facebook group. It's called the Digital Nomad Startup Circle. We have a ton of resources inside of their previous trainings that we've done to help you get started. Some more in-depth um exercises of what Monica was just talking about to help you figure out what path to go down and take the first steps to get things going. Um. Apart from that, I would say our Instagram um at Austin and Monica is the handle. Um. Both of those places were pretty active. You can definitely like, dm us or just, you know, creep around our stuff and see what's going on.
Speaker 1Awesome. I'll make sure I put that in the show notes. But thank you so much, guys for coming on the show. It's been awesome having you.
Speaker 2Thanks, Natalie.
Speaker 1Thanks for the conversation All right, and we'll talk to you guys next time on the Virtual Index Podcast.