from 2008 to now:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBack in 2008, we quit our jobs in Canada, sold our condominium, our vehicle, and basically everything we owned. We swapped a 9-5 at a corporate office and graveyard shifts at a packaging plant, for one-way tickets to Southeast Asia and a life of total freedom on the road.<\/p>\n
After that first taste of travel, we were hooked<\/strong>. We knew we wanted to build a life around travel\u2026we just had to figure out\u00a0how<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n
Taking a break on our hike to enjoy the view in Colombia (2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nNow, here we are 17 years later\u2026more than 80 countries visited, and residents of Bulgaria. Along the way, we\u2019ve built 4 businesses, and created 4 online courses.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve taught over 1,000 people how to launch their own personal brands\u2026and 50 people have personally been coached by us.<\/p>\n
This is the story of how we went from budget backpackers to personal brand coaches, and how Goats On The Road grew, shifted, and reinvented itself over more than a decade online.<\/p>\n
The Backpacker Era (2008 \u2013 2012)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nLet\u2019s rewind a bit here. All the way back to 2008.<\/p>\n
Like I said, we had quit our jobs and we were backpacking around the world \u2013 living on $30 a day at one point. <\/p>\n
We\u2019d sleep in bamboo huts, ride on the roofs of buses (not recommended!), and document our journey on a free blog platform and Facebook for our family and friends back home.<\/p>\n
During those years, we backpacked all around Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and couple of places in Europe. The longer we stayed on the road, the more we fell in love with the lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\n
An incredible sunset on the island of Palawan in the Philippines (2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBut, we had one slight <\/em>problem\u2026our money was running out!<\/p>\nWe didn\u2019t want to return home. We were terrified <\/em>that one day we\u2019d have to go back to our normal jobs.<\/p>\nAnd so when the money did start running out\u2026 I actually ended up having a meltdown on the beach in the Philippines. <\/p>\n
Being on the road had become our lifestyle and I couldn\u2019t envision myself working back in Canada in an office, under florescent lighting all day.<\/p>\n
We needed to figure something out. And fast. <\/p>\n
So, we regrouped and dove head-first into figuring out a way to make money on the road doing something we loved.<\/p>\n
The Remote Era (2012 \u2013 2015)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nDuring that time on the road, we realized we didn\u2019t want to just <\/em>travel. We wanted to earn an income\u00a0abroad\u00a0and build a lifestyle around freedom \u2013 to become digital nomads \u2026 keep in mind\u2026 this was before the term \u201cDigital Nomad\u201d was even a thing!<\/p>\nI remember it like it was yesterday, we stopped in at dark internet cafe in Delhi, India. The kind of place we\u2019d go to get a wired internet connection (this was back before hotels and hostels even had wifi, and we didn\u2019t have a smartphone). <\/p>\n
It cost around $1 per hour of (very slow) internet.<\/p>\n
\n
Us at the Red Fort in Delhi, 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nI searched \u201chow to make money for travel\u201d and up popped a blog post by, Johnny Ward of OneStep4Ward. He said he was making $1,500 a month from his blog!<\/p>\n
I turned to Nick: \u201cCan you figure out how to build a website?!\u201d<\/p>\n
And so it began!<\/p>\n
We ended up teaching ourselves WordPress and basic coding so we could build our website and brand \u201cGoats On The Road\u201d \u2013 which we started in February, 2012 from a beach hut on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand.<\/p>\n
\n
The hut in Koh Phangan where we started Goats On The Road in 2012!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWe shared our travel stories, how-to\u2019s, photos, and videos on our blog, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t know it then, but this was the beginning of our personal brand.<\/p>\n
While we were building up Goats On The Road, we taught English in China for a year to supplement our income. And while we enjoyed that era of our lives, teaching English was only a stepping stone for us \u2013 we knew we weren\u2019t going to work for someone else after that.<\/p>\n
\n
Our year of teaching English in China was great, but we knew it would be temporary (2012 \u2013 2013) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOnce we started creating our website, writing content and networking with other bloggers (there were only a handful of us!), we realized we really enjoyed it. We had a feeling this could have potential and we knew <\/em>this would be our way to make money on the road. <\/p>\nWe\u2019d be our own boss, make our own schedule, and continue our dream of travel and the unconventional lifestyle we\u2019d been leading. <\/p>\n
\n
After networking with brands and bloggers, we received our first in-print publication \u2013 SE Asia Backpacker Magazine! in 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe Growth Era (2016 \u2013 2018)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nSharing online is one thing, but to turn our personal stories into an actual business, we needed real skills. So, we expanded our skillset and spent a lot <\/em>of time researching and investing in courses & elearning.<\/p>\nWe learned SEO (search engine optimization) and were even asked to speak about it on podcasts, and at virtual events\u2026and eventually, we created a course around it. <\/p>\n
We also learned email marketing and the power of social media, and of course, we continued with storytelling \u2013 something we\u2019d been doing since 2008.<\/p>\n
\n
Chatting with Travis and Jason from Location Indie about our story, and how to use SEO for growth & affiliate marketing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWe kept showing up online, networking, learning and sharing. And slowly\u2026momentum happened and it was like a snowball rolling down a hill, gathering speed and growing as it went! <\/p>\n
Our brand started earning real money through advertising and affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n
And, since Goats On The Road was well-known, with a loyal audience, and lots of visitors coming to our website each month (500,000 people\/month \ud83e\udd2f)\u2026tourism boards and companies flew us around the world to tell stories about their destinations and services.<\/p>\n
It was surreal!<\/p>\n
\n
One of our favourite press trips was to Staniel Cay in the Bahamas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOur vision for creating a lifestyle of freedom through our own business, while sharing with others and doing something we loved was coming true. <\/p>\n
The little blog we built from a rickety beach hut had turned into our full-time income.<\/p>\n
The Education Era (2018 \u2013 2019)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWith the business growing, we felt the next pull: teach others how to do what we do<\/strong>. This is what we\u2019ve always done \u2013 we do, we master (or try to), then we teach it.<\/p>\nSo, we evolved again.<\/strong><\/p>\nWe became so passionate about blogging, SEO and building a personal brand, that we wanted to share it with the world. We couldn\u2019t believe more people weren\u2019t doing it!<\/p>\n
\n
Working from a gorgeous house we rented in Ecuador (2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSo we started to share about how to start blogs, grow with SEO, and build personal brands. We shared about how to teach English abroad, get freelance jobs, and build online income streams.<\/p>\n
If we\u2019d learned it and lived it\u2026we shared it and taught it.<\/p>\n
Our SEO course was our first real paid course and the goal was to help others start and grow online brands of their own. More than 1,000 people joined our courses, and the feedback was incredible.<\/p>\n
(In case you\u2019re curious: Unfortunately, we stopped selling the SEO course at the end of 2023. We feel that SEO has been taken over by AI and doesn\u2019t have a future, so we don\u2019t want to teach it if it\u2019s not a viable business anymore<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n
Nick recording our Blogging course<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLittle by little, our students started emailing us and telling us they were earning enough money to quit jobs they didn\u2019t love.<\/p>\n
They were making a side-income so they had extra money while at home, and\/or, they were travelling full-time from the earnings of their brands!<\/p>\n
Receiving those messages was the moment it really sank in for us\u2026 that something we created could actually help someone else\u2019s life in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n
It shifted everything. It wasn\u2019t about us anymore, and that realization genuinely humbled us.<\/p>\n
Seeing numbers on a screen is one thing\u2026like pageviews, followers, and analytics.<\/p>\n
But then, when people start emailing and saying they\u2019d taken our courses and made enough money to quit jobs they\u2019d been wanting to leave for years\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u2026 that meant the world to us. <\/p>\n
\n
Working from a hotel with a view in Argentina (2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThose years were a whirlwind. Our website was growing, our courses were doing well, and our little corner of the internet was helping people build new lives. <\/p>\n
It felt bigger than anything we expected when we first started out with backpacks and a dream.<\/p>\n
But then, the world shifted<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\nThe Industry Shift (2020 \u2013 2022)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nThese couple of years were a challenge for everyone. But, I\u2019m focusing on our travel industry in particular.<\/p>\n
A global pandemic paused all travel\u2026and businesses related to travel really suffered during this time. With that, many of our affiliate partnerships dropped off \u2013 meaning our income took a nosedive.<\/p>\n
\n
We spent 7 months in Portugal during 2020 \u2013 part of which was spent on an amazing campervan trip around the country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOn top of that, Google rolled out devastating updates which meant that our website wasn\u2019t showing up online like before. <\/p>\n
New short-form video platforms became popular (TikTok), which meant that attention was moving from blogs to quick videos. Then came ChatGPT and a flood of AI tools.<\/p>\n
Everything changed overnight!<\/p>\n
We quickly realized that this wasn\u2019t just another trend\u2026 things were changing and we had to pivot if we wanted to keep doing this job we love.<\/p>\n
We had to evolve again.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Working in Lagos, Portugal at our apartment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nMost people panicked, and so did we for a bit, but our panic didn\u2019t last long. We had built numerous skills over the years and could pivot. We just didn\u2019t know how at first \u2013 then it hit us.<\/p>\n
Diversifying our Income<\/h3>\n With travel at a standstill, and no one searching for travel related things, we decided to create two new brands<\/strong> around two topics that weren\u2019t related to travel. <\/p>\nThe topics were two of Nick\u2019s passions: fly fishing and guitars<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n
Nick turned his passion for fly-fishing into a business. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWe were nervous to start something new, but let\u2019s be honest, we had a lot of time on our hands!<\/p>\n
We built up a website, Instagram, YouTube channel and email list for the fly fishing website, and for the guitar\/string instrument website, that was mostly just a review site and didn\u2019t have a social media presence. <\/p>\n
Within just a couple of months, we saw growth with the fly fishing brand. This was definitely exciting and gave us the push to keep going. <\/p>\n
During this time, we also pivoted Goats On The Road to focus more on the remote work and ways to make money online side of things, rather than focusing on the travel aspect of our brand. <\/p>\n
And it started growing again.<\/p>\n
We also started spending more on social media, email, and YouTube. Effectively diversifying our business across more platforms than just the blog.<\/p>\n
\n
Nick working on building up his new online brand during lockdown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDuring this period, we learned the hard way that platforms can collapse. Algorithms can change. Affiliates can come and go. World events can effect everything. Entire business models can disappear.<\/p>\n
But there was an upside and positive takeaway to our experience: we remembered that our personal brand, our story, our skills, and our knowledge are things that no platform or pandemic can touch.<\/p>\n
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