Recently, we released a blog post about running a successful business while traveling and how having simple strategies in place can allow you to see the world while watching your business thrive simultaneously. However, it’s still the case that many entrepreneurs feel their best work is done at home and that travel has little to offer them.
The truth is that travel really is an essential aspect of life. It fuels divergent thinking by enabling you to engage with new cultures, experience a different climate, and get out of your comfort zone.. In fact, experts say exposing children to travel from an early age has a positive impact on emotional, mental, social and many other development areas in their lives l While travel has measurable benefits for just about any human being, it can have particularly positive outcomes for on entrepreneurs on multiple levels.
Entrepreneurs often have a hard time finding the balance between work and play. Fortunately, travelling is one of the most fulfilling ways to do both at once. Whether you’re on your own or with friends, there are countless benefits for entrepreneurs who travel. By embracing new cultures and experiences, we can develop our skillsets in diverse areas such as entrepreneurship, marketing, salesmanship and innovation while exploring new business opportunities that might not exist back home.
If you’re an entrepreneur or a busy professional who prefers a staycation over exploration, consider the following three ways traveling beyond your front door can yield great results.
1. Creates New Connections
Travel gives you the opportunity to build connections with an array of individuals you’re otherwise unlikely to meet at home. These connections could lead to life-long friendships, lovers, or mutually beneficial partnerships. We all know how critical networking is when it comes to building a successful business. Travelling can facilitate the ultimate space for networking, which allows you to form business alliances that can help expand your business to markets overseas. While there’s certainly no guarantee every person you meet will be a game-changer for your life and your business, cultivating new connections is likely to benefit you in one way or another. We’d recommend perfecting your elevator pitch just in case.
2. Enhances Problem-Solving Skills
It’s no secret that, as human beings, we love to stay inside our cozy comfort zones. And why wouldn’t we? Keeping ourselves within a familiar environment is what our minds equate to safety. The issue here is that playing it safe is often what stunts our growth. Getting out in the world and exploring unfamiliar territory forces us to sharpen our problem-solving skills as we experience a more heightened sense of awareness – and this can do wonders for entrepreneurial mindsets! From getting around a city where you don’t speak the language to adjusting to cultural norms, being somewhere new automatically requires us to flex stagnant parts of our brain and get a little more creative than we’re used to. Once you’re back home, you’ll be sure to notice a shift in your ability to problem-solve and inspire new ideas.
3. Shifts Perspective by Revealing Different Lifestyle and Cultural Contexts
When you travel to new places, you’ll have no choice but see how the other side lives. The way we live here in Canada may not align with the lifestyles you’ll encounter in countries of other continents. And with different lifestyles come different needs. As you travel, you’ll begin to see how consumer behaviour differs from place to place. Eventually, you’ll notice the gears turning as you figure out how your business can address the needs of these consumers in ways you might not be able to at home. This further facilitates a means of expansion as you tap into market segments you otherwise might not have realized existed. Moreover, if you’re already interested in expanding your business, traveling around is probably a good thing to do before you get too ahead of yourself. You may find out various things about economies and markets that can help you better strategize for the future.
Travel breaks down the division we see between people, enhancing our ability identify and overcome stereotypical thinking. In the process, we become better humans and co-creators. If you’re a busy professional or entrepreneur, traveling will take your business mindset to the next level.
There’s no better way to take advantage of these benefits than by planning your next vacation!
For more information on balancing your busy schedule while traveling or how to get the most out of your vacation, contact us at Modern Concierge to see how we can help!
