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As you might know, if you've been following me a bit, I’m an absolute travel nutter. I need to get away from my hometown or even my home country at regular intervals. I know that not everyone works that way, but I’d like to share a couple of reasons why I think traveling is so beneficial for your business.
Why is traveling important for business?
1) Get out of your comfort zone and go into a different climate
Something we can't forget is that if we run our own business, we wear so many different hats, and we are switched on all the time because we carry responsibility for everything. It's really hard to actually switch off and to get those stress levels down, even if the business is working well. One or two emails can just throw you off. I find that a digital detox can help, but what helps so much more is to get out of your zone and into a different climate, into a different culture, because it will help you to gain perspective.
When I went to India for the first time it literally made me realize that the world is round, big and that I haven't seen it all! It showed me that there are so many different ways of living on our globe. That realization was really healthy for me in order to get some perspective, to have gratitude, but also to realize this world is a really big place. When I am away from home, I tend to ask myself what my position is in this world and it really helps me switch off from business. (During my entire time in India, I didn't look at my email once.) I had my team taking care of everything.
“Getting a completely different view of life, through different people,
different smells, different foods, helps you so much more,
as you allow your brain to go somewhere else.”
2) Let creativity take over
You will be so much more creative as a result of it. Whenever I decide not to work, I take time off and travel.
That's when I have the best ideas. Why? Because I'm not forcing it. Suddenly my brain gets inspired by new things and it's like, “Oh my God, I could do this with my business too!”, and then I start writing things down.
Travel shows you how people do business in different formats. Even if you look at the hotel industry, their customer service, all their processes, you can apply a lot of it to your own business. As a business owner:
- You will look at marketing differently
- You will look at client relations differently
- You will look at how restaurants are serving you differently
- You will look at how airlines or train lines are working differently.
All your travel exposures will help you make your business better.
Get out of your bubble, and become creative again! When I go on holiday I always go without a goal, but always return with a mile-long list of ideas. I never expect it but am always grateful when it happens.
3) Human connections
Traveling is really important for human connections. Even if you travel alone, you will meet people. I find that because you are out of your zone, the most magical conversations somehow happen during travel experiences. Might it be at an airport or on the plane. It doesn’t really matter where. I’ve had some of the best conversations on plane rides (ok I admit, that’s in business class rather than coach)!
Also, when you travel in a group with friends, everything you experience is so much more intense, which is why I love to combine both.
I love to combine getting out of my bubble, seeing new cultures, opening and broadening my horizons, and having these magical connections that help me with business, which is why I created travel experiences for Christine Means Business.
Travel Experiences for Entrepreneurs 2.0
I curate small groups of people, usually around eight, and we travel the world together. We do around four to six travel experiences a year. For 2021 we have Namibia and Bali scheduled so far.
It’s not about being on a retreat where you’re in a conference room, followed by the “let's have a photo shoot at the swimming pool” kind of experience. It's about cooking with the locals, going on a safari, quenching that wanderlust thirst, and at the same time, talking business when you feel like it. Obviously, we also give input on some business topics, but it's just getting all of those magical ingredients together!
If you want to know more about Travel Experiences for Entrepreneurs 2.0, then feel free to email me. I hope this was inspiring to you, and I'll talk to you soon.
