I don't know how to package my experiences

Everyone wants to travel. And I have bucketloads of travel experience. I am on the verge of creating a juicy program, but I don't know how to package my wonderful experiences into a juicy business.

How would you package and position these 4 concepts all into one:

finding one's vocational calling /doing work that you love
travelling
leading workshops /teaching
writing?

I spent 15+ years trying to figure out what to be when I grow up. I finally figured it out last year February, which is to travel, write, and teach.

Over those 15+ years, I learned a ton of information on how to figure out your vocational calling, and so I wrote a book and drafted workshop content around it. I completed the book last year, created a website, and a radio show to promote it. My goal in 2008, when I wrote the first draft, was to travel the world giving workshops about my book.

But this is what happened. When I completed my book last year, I no longer felt compelled to promote the subject matter of finding one's vocational calling. Instead, I looked back at my very interesting travel experiences and decided to create a course on how to do what I did, which was travel and work. But I kept attracting people who wanted jobs overseas.

In a nutshell, I worked for a well-known international organization for 5 years and was stationed overseas. But I hated my 20-year-old career, so one day I quit, boarded a jet plane (not on the same day), with no plans or any idea of what I would do. I eventually moved to Europe some months later and lived there for a year before returning home.

When I came back home, everyone was in my face telling me that they wanted to do what I had done. In the meantime, I still wasn't sure what to do with my life, so I worked in a series of low-paying, brainless jobs up to last year. When I finally figured out what I really wanted to do, I got laid off from my job, just in the nick of time. I could now start my business full-time.

Because it would take so long to fine-tune and market my program, I started a web design business in the meantime to bring in the dough. But 3 weeks ago, I suddenly felt dried up. My whole life felt dried up. And I know it's because I am not living my passion. I am cooped up behind a computer and doing what's in my comfort zone.

I must give workshops. I must share what I know. But I just can't figure out how to package my experiences into something juicy. I had created a beta workshop on how to create an online business so that you can live anywhere, but it was hard to sell.

It would now make logical sense to travel the world and give workshops on the concept of finding one's vocational calling, as I have earned the right and that is what I am expert at. But the topic of finding one's vocational calling feels so "old" to me, yet I know it's not old as so many people on 48Days and around the world grapple with that issue. But it's old to me. Perhaps I just need motivation. Perhaps I just need to position it differently.

I somehow want to package my experience, and I'd like travel to be a part of it, as travel is an attractor factor.

But I am the one who wants to travel again, and I'm not sure if I should include the topic of travel in my program. I don't want to attract people who just want to travel to have a good time. I'd like the people who are travelling to do something worthy.

Here is a short list of things I know how to do.

discovering your vocational calling
creating, designing, and delivering a workshop
starting a service-based business
learning a foreign language
marketing online
writing a self-help book

What would you suggest? Do you think it's a good idea to include the topic of travel in the program I create? Or how would you suggest I incorporate my experiences into what I do?

Thanks.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brent Boutwell on May 27, 2012 at 10:30pm

Hi Karlene,

Sounds like you've had a lot of exciting experiences. You say you keep attracting people that want jobs overseas, and it appears that you know how to help them with that. What's your hesitation about building a service around that?

Maybe your time overseas wasn't in your ideal role, but if you view work as just one aspect of a fulfilling life, helping people do something adventurous while earning an income sounds like a solid plan since you already have a market. Your ability to help people identify their calling would allow you steer people closer to the end goal even if they decide to take something less than perfect in order to travel. Your other skills seem easy to roll in together as they all relate to travel and earning location independent income.

Best of Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Karlene Cameron on May 28, 2012 at 7:10am

I don't want to work with job seekers. I work with those who work for themselves or who want to work for themselves. I did create a course around starting a business online so you can work from anywhere, but it was hard to sell. I was told that working online is not everyone's cup of tea. So I have stepped back to see if there is another way to do this.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Charlotta on May 28, 2012 at 2:56am

Karlene, I echo what Brent said. From the inside it might look like a lot of different pieces and you feel confused about how to put them together, but from the outside it looks pretty clear. :)

You don't want to focus on "find your vocation" anymore--so don't!
You have repeated the word "travel" 12 times (yes, I couldn't help but count it :))--so it sounds like travel has to be a part of your plan. Part of what you teach.

All the things you mentioned in the bullet points above fit very nicely together. It sounds like your target market would be people who want to be location independent (for a shorter or longer time). People who "are traveling to do something worthy". (No one says that you have to choose people who "just want to travel to have a good time" as your target market!)

For the travelling-to-do-something-worthy-and-or-work audience it sounds like you have the passion and knowledge and experience that they need (your bullet points again). Additionally, as Brent said, they are already being attracted to you and they are already asking you how you did it and how they can do it! That's great!

I personally don't think that you need to narrow your niche or your market more than that. Start with what you have and the interested people you have and see where it leads you.

Perhaps one workshop would be called "how to follow your vocation while traveling," perhaps another one would be called "how to create a service-based business so you can become location independent." Again, from the outside looking in it all fits together neatly. :)

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Karlene Cameron on May 28, 2012 at 8:26am

Thanks for your responses! It's Monday, and I've gotten a great idea. I'm heading to the nearby café with a notepad and pen to create a simple and sweet plan to get this done, over milkshake. Simplicity is the name of the game.

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Permalink Reply by Peder Aadahl on May 28, 2012 at 2:01pm

Hey Karlene,

Great wisdom coming out here but I was just curious if you had ever thought about or are doing webinars incorporating the things above?

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Permalink Reply by Karlene Cameron on May 28, 2012 at 2:37pm

Yes, I presented 4 webinars last year.

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Bartow on May 28, 2012 at 8:35pm

Karlene,

I am not sure if you are familiar with Tim Ferriss's book, The Four Hour Workweek. His basic premise is how to outsource many businesspeople's mundane tasks so that they can work less, and most importantly, travel or live anywhere in the world.

If you like this concept, maybe you could partner with him on teaching seminars to promote the topic? Yes, we get into the whole question of permission and copyright. If he would not agree with this, you could certainly take one of the same concepts mixed with your background and create a cool seminar or webinars on the topic.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Karlene Cameron on May 29, 2012 at 4:57pm

Yes, I am familiar with Tim Ferriss' book. I had written about him in my first pink spoon back in 2009.

Getting in touch with Tim is next to impossible, however. But I like your suggestion. I'll take one concept and market that.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Huffey on May 29, 2012 at 5:22pm

Hi Karlene - The information already shared here I think is excellent. The one piece I would suggest is to make sure you value enough the things you have already achieved. You sound like someone who takes strong action when you are wanting to learn or conquer something in life. I would consider myself somewhat the same. A mistake I sometimes make is I undervalue the wisdom and information that I gained thru the process and then I am on to something else. That wisdom and knowledge that you possess is exactly the greatest way for you to leverage it and make significant income. It also sounds like that people really want what you have. One last thing, I have heard Dan Miller say time and again that he simply finds ways to repackage information he shares with people. Congrats on being someone that clearly knows their strengths and takes action on walking out what they want to do.

~ Jon

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Permalink Reply by janne wallace on September 9, 2012 at 5:04am

i'm appreciating your journey of working alongside of travelling, karlene:) the work i'm inventing now: education instruction to innovate with technology-i'm sure, will take me out/about the world with travel-especially to foreign countries: india, china, japan n possibly sweden.

it too, for me-has been challenging to know what i've wanted to be/do, when i grow up:)

(especially when i didn't even know it had a name/industry that it was called, and 'couldn't do such 20 or 30 yrs ago..

whew! this wayward has been long to co-figure from sense, though so-i'm finally underway:)

thank you for your post

janne

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Permalink Reply by Karlene Cameron on September 20, 2012 at 1:36pm

I have actually come close to what I am trying to achieve! It will involve a retreat in France for fabulous girls. I am in the process of creating an infographic that I will spread through social media, and take it from there. Wow, it takes so long to figure these things out, and I'm glad I am beginning to see the light of day!