Today’s episode is all about travel coaching. Geneva is an open book on her journey into becoming a travel coach. We discuss what it means to be a travel coach? What services exactly do you provide as a travel coach and how does that differ from a travel planner or a travel agent, or maybe just a travel influencer?
We also touch on how hard it can be to show up authentically on social media when your instinct is to not want to show up at all. And lastly, we also talk about how she found her first clients as a travel coach and what her big plans for the business are going forward.
A Solution to a ProblemÂ
When speaking about her inspiration for becoming a travel coach, Geneva reflects on the lack of resources available to her when she first considered moving abroad. “There weren’t a whole lot of options and it wasn’t easy to figure out what you could do and how to go about it,” she recalls.
Today, Geneva admits, there is much more information out there for anyone interested in taking a gap year or working abroad. However, the huge volume of content poses its own problems. “It’s spread out across many points of view. Different people have written blog posts and there’s companies now that provide visa services. There’s so many different places you can go to get information and it’s all. disjointed.”
Geneva recognised that this was a pain point for many young people who were feeling overwhelmed by all these different resources. She also saw how American society actively discouraged young people from pursuing a life abroad. So, she decided to step in as a travel coach to help others plan their
What does a travel coach actually DO?
Geneva primarily specialises in helping young people who are interested in a gap year or working holiday visas abroad. She notes that there are really 2 sides to being a travel coach within this niche. First, you are there to help your clients with the practical side of things — figuring out which visa route is right for them, what websites to use to find housing abroad, what to pack for long-term travel, etc.
Additionally, a travel coach also helps clients with their mindset. She explains, “a lot of people tend to struggle when it comes to that confidence part of things. They feel like — ‘I’m not really capable of this, I’ve never done this before, I don’t really feel that I’m going to be comfortable or able to do this.’ So we talk about what is it that you’ve done in the past that you’ve been proud of. What’s what’s made you feel like a moment that you’ve surprised yourself or something. And so we’ll use those kinds of experiences to build on the confidence side of things and make them feel ready and prepared to go off and do that.”
Plans to scale her travel coaching business
Geneva reveals the genius idea she’s come up with to scale her travel coaching business in the future. That is — to partner with universities around the country and host seminars in which she can speak to groups of students about living abroad. This way she can help a wider audience at a more affordable rate for the individuals, whilst also connecting with and promoting her private services to more people.
More from this episode
Want to learn more about how Geneva plans to scale her travel coaching business through speaking engagements on college campuses? How Geneva found her first clients? What is the biggest obstacle individuals come up against when deciding whether to move abroad? Tune in to learn more from this inspirational entrepreneur!
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