@travellerbytrade

Carrying the markings of talented artists while they help me celebrate, honour and remember life moments + business milestones⠀ ⠀ Aside from being an insane thrift shopper/proud minimalist, I’m 111% pro skipping the chain stores and support small where I can. Happily wearing some of my favourites every single day (click for tags)⠀ ⠀ Have a fav small business you want to help support (product, service, or otherwise?) Drop their tag below!

“It’s only one year and then you get to move back and not have to commute. You can do it! Its only one year.”

I, in fact, cannot do it. ⠀ ⠀ Patience has never been my strong point. I couldn’t stay in Canada long enough to finish my degree. I didn’t wait until I was financially ready to launch my business. And I sure as hell can’t wait any longer to get out of the Gold Coast and back into the Shire. So I’m not. 🙃 ⠀ …Also didn’t want to wait to get back to the tiny living and so I’m not waiting for that either. 

Stay tuned, because everything is about to fall right into place and I am HERE FOR IT. 🙌🏾

⠀ ⠀ Get ready for a weekend of shenanigans with some of my fav people in some of my fav places ⠀ ⠀ Declaring this weekend stress free, drink filled, and sun kissed because come Monday we’ve got all types of shit coming when I drive back to Queensland for ... wait for it .... ANOTHER MOVE! ⠀ ⠀ Homelessness and I just have this love affair that I’ll never be able to explain 😂🤷🏼‍♀️🍻

Now that all the 'new' of the last few months is calming down; I'm unpacked, learning my way around SE Queensland and adjusting to my immigration lawyers 18 month plan, I'm finally ready to get back to some of my fav past times. ⠀ ⠀ Sundays were made for bed, a new book, and a green highlighter to mark in all the biggest takeaways with, who's with me? 🤓🤓🤓

If you could give yourself the biggest pep talk what would it entail? ⠀ ⠀ Time and time again I'm always being asked: “When you’re too tired to go on what do you do?” and “When you’ve had the worst day how do you get yourself motivated?”⠀ ⠀ 🍷Step 1: Music and dance party. I find headphones work best.⠀ 🍷Step 2: Water. Not too cold and def not hot. Get it, chug it, and dance party without choking on it.⠀ 🍷Step 3: Remember you WHY your PURPOSE or your GOALS. Write it if you need to, scream it in your head if that works best, or even out loud for that matter, while you dance party.⠀ 🍷Step 4: Slices of dark chocolate and wine or a cheeky Crown Royal Apple on ice if one of my legend mates sent me some from Canada and I haven’t downed it yet. (AKA Treat yourself along the way.)⠀ 🍷Step 5: Take time for yourself in between long workdays - chai latte dates, beach walk, dinner with the housemates, call with a bestie. Mix life and business, take moments to harness that inspiration, and remember to dance party.⠀ ⠀ What are your go-to’s?

Two years ago I claimed Byron Bay as my home. I lived an extremely unorthodox in ‘The Jungle.’ I started a business, I travelled, I stayed with that tent as my home for 10 months - the longest I had called one place home in 11 YEARS. Yea.. years. ⁠ ⁠ I moved into a house, I fell in love, I travelled some more, I moved house again, and again - landing in . ⁠ ⁠ COVID hit, I moved house again, my youngest brother ended up in hospital, I made the hard decision to stay in Australia, I felt the most intense heartbreak of my life, I moved house again - this time to . My business kept growing. ⁠ ⁠ The state borders locked down, due to my visa and legal rights to stay in Australia I got ‘stuck’ in Queensland. I bounced, as I do, and moved again. ⁠ ⁠ And now I’ve landed here, after yet another move - Nearly 7 weeks after I came into this state with nothing but a bag full of clothes and my laptop. ⁠ ⁠ Business is not easy. Life is not easy, in fact, it’s kicking my ass. BUT determination and perseverance are easy. Following your passion through thick and fucking thin is easy. I've had the two biggest sales months in my business, in the midst of the craziness going on around me. ⁠ ⁠ I love my business. I love my clients. I love showing up 111% for work, even when life isnt showing up for me.

✨ is it all worth it? The long days, the paint in my hair, every 5 am alarm, the Saturdays spent working, getting stuck in Brissy traffic on my way to a new job site, leaving my Byron Shire life behind, the shoulder pain (omg the shoulder pain😭) from long painting days followed by web designing nights and the thousands of dollars spent ... is it all worth it to stay in Australia? HELLLLSSSSSS YES! And I’d do it all over again if I had to. A nearly 2 hour appointment with my new immigration lawyer today (thank you to everyone who sent well wishes) and the light is there, at the end of a very long tunnel💡 What do I want most in life? To keep this country my home forever. So yea, I’m gonna work my butt off, but I’ve got a pathway to PR, an insane about of hope and I wonnnnttttt stoppppp believvvviiinnnnn’ 😂👏🏽🙏🏽 🇦🇺 🇦🇺 🇦🇺

Can we please normalise the grind?⠀ Those insane work weeks, ⠀ The goal crushing times,⠀ The massive push that comes when we have our eyes on the damn prize!⠀ ⠀ 😌✌🏾AKA my life right now. ⠀ ⠀ I know you all see this shit show of a life on IG stories and 98% of you would not fucks with the insanity, but just know that I’m happy, I’m thriving and even though I’m tired as all hell there is a big bright light at the end of my tunnel.⠀ ⠀ It’s Friday evening and I’m already past the 60-hour mark in terms of work hours this week but this isn’t forever. In 8 weeks I will be done my apprenticeship hours, which, for those who have missed it, lines me up another 18-month visa in Australia. 

Am I tried? Of course I am, I’m human. But I’m also determined as all hell and life is here supporting me. ⠀ ⠀ I’m in for my biggest sales month for the 2nd month in a row, have the most badass clients I have ever had in my 1.5 years of business ownership, and have a legend of a tradie boss that lets me work my apprenticeship hours around my business. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it. ⠀ ⠀ I'm a nomad through and through and I know it's hard to keep up, but I also know you all froth on it. This is me - and its interesting AF, so grab some popcorn and a wine and enjoy folks 🍷 🍿

Throwing back to the office because this beauty (and everything else that I own) will finally be shipped to Queensland in less than two weeks!!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 ⠀ Being 'stuck' in a different state is all fun and games until you're wearing the same 6 shirts over and over again for over a month, sleeping in a spare room to the noise of a freezer, and missing more than your home country. ⠀ ⠀ BUT THAT IS NO MORE MY PEOPLE ⠀ ⠀ While I may be giving up the tiny house renovated caravan life with my move up to Queensland I am sure as shit not giving up this van (aka the love of my damn life)⠀ ⠀ This beauty is going to get the last of her renovations, fresh QLD plates, a new dual battery system, and AWAY WE FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO 💃🏼 ⠀ ➡️Best spots to explore in Queensland? Also the name of anyone that can rewire a dual battery system?

SH*T I OUTSOURCE (so I can go for a helicopter ride in the middle of the arvo) 🚁😏 ⠀ For newbie business owners, and I’m speaking from experience here, outsourcing can be a daunting task at first. Your business is your baby, I get it, like really get it, but as the old saying goes ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and if you’re going to scale, you’re going to need a kick-ass team with you. I did an in-depth training in SSI on outsourcing but thought I’d share the biggest takeaways:⠀ ⠀ 🍷WHEN TO START OUTSOURCING⠀ Literally from day 1, and I’m not even exaggerating when I say this. At this point, it will be very little tasks and/or things you just don’t know how to do (i.e. skipping the ugly & thrown together DIY website) but as you grow, and as your product suite builds, you will need to outsource more and more. ⠀ ⠀ 🍷WHAT TO OUTSOURCE⠀ Rule of thumb: if you hate doing it or don’t know how to do it outsource it! Money management/accounting, design, back end structure, email marketing funnels… 
. Do not pull your energies away from your zone of genius ⠀ . Do not force yourself to do shit you really hate - we started businesses because we were doing shit we hated for bosses that were dumb dumbs, and that is a thing of the past! We’re the boss now, so be the boss and hire someone. ⠀ ⠀ 🍷WHY DO WE OUTSOURCE ⠀ A million and one reasons, aside from being able to ride a helicopter in the middle of the day (duh), that all come back to staying within your zone of genius, increasing your sales, growing your network, and creating the life that you were chasing when you started your biz in the first place!⠀ ⠀ Still have questions? Shoot me a DM! 👩🏼‍💻

A big smiley Chels back in the days of when I lived in an 18 foot long renovated caravan with no bathroom or running hot water. ⠀ 
Defo a step up from the 10 MONTHS I lived in a 6 man tent in a hostel campground in Byron while launching this business.⠀ 
And now here I am .. living in a Goldie apartment overlooking the ocean and weekending in Brisbane - having brunch, roaming through cafes for oak milk chai’s, sipping custom brewed beers and indulging in candle lit whiskey bars

WTF is life? An adventure, a ride, a rollercoaster, all of the above? Fuck it! Have fun and enjoy the ride ⠀ ⠀ (also can’t wait until my van is shipped up to Queensland but like, I’ll take the posh life for a bit)

Hold on to your sunnies mates, because change is in the air and it goes so much further then me forcibly swapping states thanks to rona’⠀ ⠀ 🍷First things first, you’ll have noticed a name swap, bio update, fresh story highlight covers + the SSI Mastermind highlight coming in 🔥 🍷There are also some massive changes to my offers & how I’m going to be working with clients from now on (reason below)⠀ 🍷… And with that, a kick-ass website update - launch date TBA and damn is it gonna be guuud!⠀ ⠀ BUT WHY ALL THIS? Well because I love this country so damn much and never wanna leave 🇦🇺 ⠀ So sleep a little extra and enjoy a glass of red for me over the next few months because I’m about to have zero life while getting things sorted for my next visa… should be quite entertaining for you lot 🤙🏾 ⠀ 🤦🏼‍♀️Photo of better days (last week) when I was rocking the 4-day work week life and hanging out on a boat watching whales on a Friday arvo