Meet Doris the Roadtripper
Ever do something that you said – and openly told others – that you would NEVER do?
Yep – me too. And it recently happened again. Meet Doris, The Roadtripper! This new-to-us RV motorcoach is something that I said I would never own. My spouse and I said never would we ever own an RV. We were quite proud of our judgement, with our list of things that didn’t make it right, and frankly couldn’t understand why someone would choose an RV as a method of travel.
When we began to shift our lives away from the corporate world 4 years ago, we had visions of extended travel, having adventures while continuing to work with clients remotely. However, our vision included the comforts of car or airplane, hotels, and occasional trips outside of our country.
Welcome to 2020, a year we will always remember as being chock-full of disruption. Oh yes – and pandemic-related terms like pivot, new normal and social distancing. Right now, those hotels, airplanes and international travel are outside of our comfort zone, but the idea of self-contained travel, seeing friends and family across our beautiful country of Canada – this strikes a chord.
When telling family and friends of this new journey we are embarking on, my go to explanation is that this is our pandemic response. Just as we’ve had to develop our business response, we’ve also created our pandemic response for how we want to show up in our everyday life.
So here we are starting a new journey. With all that we’ve done to prepare for this unexpected venture, here are 5 lessons I’ve learned so far.
1. Never say never: Stay open minded. Sometimes life shifts and something that you had never considered becomes the solution. When we started to discuss this idea, I checked the decision against my core desired feelings – did this idea resonate with how I want to feel? This is the same strategy that we should use when we are considering a new business, or a new direction in our existing business.
2. Research: As the idea started to unfold, I researched RVs to become educated about products that were on the market - what features and benefits each product offered. I developed a list of important needs and priorities, similar to the market research that is necessary when developing a business plan, branding guide or signature program.
3. Preparation: In order to learn from the experts, I have watched hours of YouTube videos from the Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid to RV Storage Hacks - and yes, even the research that I wish I didn’t have to do. Such as all you need to know about black tanks (white tanks are your fresh water, grey tanks are your shower and sink). Black tanks are – well, I’m sure you can figure it out! Educating yourself on the skills you need to run a business, pursuing further qualifications, and learning from mentors in your field are important parts of launching, growing, and evolving your business.
4. Confidence: I leaned into the confidence that I can learn to organize all that I need to successfully live in, and operate a vehicle measuring 31 feet bumper to bumper. I am counting on the fact that the first vehicle I learned to drive was a grain truck – with standard transmission and stick-shift on the floor. Hey, as a Saskatchewan farm girl everyone was called into action at harvest time! My father was an exceedingly patient man, as evidenced by his tolerance while I ground the gears, trying to master shifting. Eventually, under my father’s calm mentorship, I learned to change gears and see out the window at the same time. (Don’t ask how many extra cushions I sat on though! You might realize how underage I was.) Tapping into the confidence I had back then and the wisdom of that mentorship, I am certain that I can drive Doris. It’s like riding a bike – right? When you are an entrepreneur, confidence might be the most important thing that you need to thrive – confidence that you are enough, and that what you have to offer is of value of others.
5. Faith: Not much needs to be said here – sometimes you just have to have faith and jump in! This is true in business and in life. As road trips and music are synonymous, I have taken a new mantra from the chorus of George Michael’s song Faith.
Cause I gotta have faith
I gotta' have faith
Because I gotta have faith, faith, faith
I got to have faith, faith, faith
I will be belting this out as I pull onto the road for the first time. I am confident that Doris and I will having many adventures. Stay tuned!
