Is it trite to use Thanksgiving as fodder for a blog post? Almost definitely… but I couldn’t let the opportunity pass to say thank you for making this entrepreneur’s journey so fulfilling. Whether you are a family member, Instagram follower, client, friend, investor in one of my other endeavors, former colleague, or just a fan of my blog – you’ve played a part and I can’t thank you enough.

Leaving The Corporate World

All of you supported me in one way or another as I left the corporate world. Some of you offered me other jobs, some of you gave me high fives, some of you talked to me for hours while I cried about spilled milk. I have worked as an investment banker, investor, marketer… I even worked at Uber! All of these roles were exciting, but something was always missing. When I left Uber to focus on starting my own business, I had a preconceived notion that I could never support myself building a career in travel – so I looked elsewhere.

I spent a lot of time working on other business ideas. I looked at companies to buy, thought about doing a search fund, explored franchise deals. The works. Nothing fit and most of the things that did failed.

Focusing in on Travel

Travel is my passion not only because I love it, but because I truly believe it makes people more tolerant. Inspiring and enabling others to travel more widely is my small way of making the world a better place. I was attempting to do this on the side through social media, but knew I wanted to do more.

My family, and especially my husband, finally encouraged me to check my assumptions (and my ego) and give travel a shot. I have been planning travel for friends forever but I finally “went pro” in August of this year. I was nervous what my former colleagues would think about this path but I went out on a limb, invested in my business, and put myself out there.

Building My Business

Since then, my friends, classmates from Stanford, and colleagues have been nothing but supportive (who doesn’t like to talk travel?). But even more amazing is that many have actually hired me and helped to grow my business at a record pace.

Because of you, I literally get to spend my day dreaming about and planning travel. I’ve helped couples, families, solo-travelers, “too busy to plan” executives, and startup founders, plan time for themselves, have enriching experiences with their families, and see parts of the world they may never have seen otherwise.

Thank you all so much for helping make this entrepreneur’s journey so fulfilling! I wish you a wonderful holiday season and hope you’re spending quality time with the ones you love, wherever in the world you may be.