3 years, 6 months, and 11 days.
That’s how long I’ve been traveling full time. At the ripe old age of 32, I decided to sell all my stuff, buy an RV, and travel the U.S. for an undetermined amount of time.
Am I rich? Not even close.
Is my partner rich? Nope.
We’re also not retired.
My partner (Andy) and I live, work, and travel together while running our resume writing and career services business completely remotely. And, we’re not alone.
According to a 2019 Forbes article, 7.3 million Americans identify as being a Digital Nomad. And, that number is getting bigger every year.
A growing distaste for work cultures of the past have pushed many working-age people to find alternative ways to be happy and have a more fulfilling work life. With the help of technology, a significant number of those folks are choosing to be nomadic, and from first-hand experience, being a digital nomad is pretty cool.
My journey from roots to rootless began at an intersection of two roads in my life. One road was my work as a resume writer, and the other, my desire to get the hell out of Texas. When we realized we could run the resume writing business from anywhere, it was time to plot our escape.
So, in early 2016 we started following other travelers on social media, joining blogs and mailing lists of RVers, and soaking up as much content as we could. A couple of garage sales, a few runs to the donation center, and 18 months of research later, we bought our travel trailer and hit the road.
Since then, we’ve stayed in 32 states, visited all four coasts, met friends from all over, and have had more adventures than we can count.
To be fair, nomadic life isn’t all roses and champagne, and we’re not always on vacation. We can change our office view whenever we want, but we still have to deal with regular life issues like making money, paying bills, work-life balance, cooking and cleaning, repairs and maintenance, etc. There are also extra details to consider like your domicile state, mail-forwarding, voting, travel planning, and tons more.
If you’re interested in the less glamorous side of traveling in an RV, check out the 19 things that went wrong in our first month.
Even since our first month, we continue to have our share of problems, but we’re still happy to continue traveling for the foreseeable future. Honestly, in some instances of nomadic life, I’ve found I have to work a little harder than if I were stationary, but sometimes a little extra effort makes the reward a little sweeter.
When we’re not driving, exploring or sleeping, we’re working. Our main source of income is a resume writing and career services business named ResumeLezlie.com.
I’ve come to consider myself an ‘accidental entrepreneur’ – which really embodies the completely non-linear and unintentional way I found myself in this position. (more about that in my recent appearance on the Career Builder’s Podcast)
Long story short, I started the resume writing business after being laid off in 2015 from my job in the career services department at a local college.
For 3 years leading up to that, Career Services had been a fantastic area for me because it combined my education background, home-grown HR knowledge, sales and customer service skills, and – most importantly – my passion for helping others.
But starting my own business was never in the plans, and when I was laid off I had exactly zero business know-how and had to learn everything the hard way.
In the beginning, I was fortunate to be put in touch with an experienced resume writer with a background in executive search, who has generously shared her knowledge and expertise with me over the years.
Beyond that, I dove deep into as many online resources about resume writing as I could and also began developing a network of brilliant career coaches, resume writers, and recruiters that I could connect with and learn from.
And I’ve built the business from there, with a little sweat, elbow grease, and a lot of blind hope! 🙃
Now, I’ve helped more than 600 clients skyrocket their job search success, and I work fully remotely with each and every one.
The way I see it, there are 5 top considerations when exploring how to travel full time as a resume writer:
The Logistics:
The truth is, not everyone is cut out for a life of full-time travel, and not everyone is cut out to be a resume writer.
Logistically, it’s important to determine if you are cut out and ready for doing this from a personal, RVing, and resume writing perspective.
From a personal standpoint, your priorities, preferences, and personal background will all come into play in making this decision, so it’s not one to take lightly.
As an RVer, it will be important for you to understand your space, power, and internet needs for running a business on the road.
And from a resume writing perspective, you’ll need to have the right combination of skills and knowledge, plus get the right training and certifications to build your authority, and stay up-to-date on the current trends and best practices within the industry.
Brand Building:
Even if you’re the best resume writer in the world, no one will ever know about you (and thus will never pay you for it) if they don’t know who you are, what you do, or who you help.
Branding is more than your business name, logo, and colors. It’s your opportunity to communicate and connect with the exact right clients for you.
Without a solid understanding of this piece of the puzzle, everything else will be a struggle.
Website Creation:
Once your brand is decided on, you have to have a place where people can visit you to learn more. Sure, social media is a fine starting point, but (1) it’s not fully yours, and (2) it’s not robust enough to give you the engagement you need.
So you have a decision to make: Do-it-Yourself or Hire it Out?
The DIY method is a nice break for your bank account, but can be super time consuming (not to mention frustrating and confusing – I would know, because I’m a DIY-er!)
And hiring it out is basically the opposite – saves you time, but increases your start-up costs (by more than a little).
I recommend really spending some time researching the various options for hosting, web building, and web design before making any final decisions.
Marketing Strategy:
With your brand established and your website up and running – how do you drive interested people to your services?
It’s not an ‘if you build it, they will come’ situation. You really have to create a strategy that gets the right eyes on your services.
Between the bajillion social media platforms out there, Google ads, YouTube, and a number of other marketing opportunities, this is something that’s taken me years to hone – and I’m still working on it every day!
Systems & Tech:
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give you in starting a resume writing business (especially as a full-time RVer!) is to set up systems and technology for yourself that help you work smarter, not harder.
There are a lot – and I mean a LOT – of moving pieces involved in running your own business from the road, and it can get frustrating and overwhelming real fast.
So even in the very beginning, it’s important to take time to notice the steps you take, the processes you have, and figure out the best way to make those work for you and not against you.