Business, Baby, and A New Chapter

Tune in or read the blog version below!

Hello from Cornwall!

Welcome back to the podcast. I am recording this episode from Cornwall, England. It is currently Wednesday afternoon. The baby is asleep after a super fun morning. We went to go explore one of my favorite coastal towns here, and then we had an amazing lunch.

And after we got back I spent some time journaling, really internalizing how thankful I am for this freedom-based life and business that I have. I’ve gotten so many comments recently about how cool it is that Baby Leven has already traveled to three continents before the age of four months. How amazing it is that my husband and I both get to stay home with the baby while also having the time to run incredibly successful businesses and travel and design our days how we see fit.

Re-introducing…Me!

After years of recording this podcast (the first episode aired in 2020), I thought it was finally time for a reintroduction episode. So much has changed since I started this podcast and my business from being a full-time influencer to running a business through a global pandemic, to becoming a multiple six-figure entrepreneur. Now stepping into this next incredible chapter as a new mom.

For those of you who have been around since the beginning, thank you so much for being here. And for those of you who are new, I would love to share what got me to where I am today, if you are tuning into this episode and something about my story resonates with you, know that you can do anything you set your mind to. I am giving you a roadmap and I am giving you a permission slip. 

This is ‘Baby, Business and a New Chapter’, a heartfelt update on who I am today and how my business has evolved, and let’s wind it back to the beginning.

My Entrepreneurial Journey

Side-hustling while working in corporate 

I did not start from where I am today. I started the Wanderlover. In a New York City cubicle as a travel page and blog, I was working in finance. I hated working for a giant corporation. I felt like a cog in the wheel and so on. My lunch breaks after work and on weekends I would be trying out different ways to make money online. I know so many of you are in situations that you feel so drained by, and I am here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be like that forever.

As my audience grew, I started working with hotels and travel brands around the world. I quit my job in 2017 and started traveling full-time in 2018. 

Full Time Travel Influencer

I was single, taking my own content and meeting the most incredible creatives and entrepreneurs. I was surrounding myself with people who really saw the big vision that I had for my life. The people who didn’t try to talk me out of anything, didn’t try to, you know, bring me back down to reality. They pushed me and really helped me become who I am today. Like I always say, who you hang out with is who you become. So in the beginning it was all about the time and location freedom to be able to travel to wherever I wanted. I had limited vacation days working in corporate finance, and I knew out there, there was an alternate reality. For me, I was just so fixated on the goal.

Business Coaching

During the pandemic, I pivoted into digital products and coaching in order to help hundreds of creatives build profitable online businesses. Having multiple income streams and diversifying my income was the reason why the Wanderlover was so profitable. Even throughout the pandemic, even when my stream of income tied to travel was no longer monetizing. All while this was happening, I met my now husband in Bali and after the pandemic we traveled and surfed around the world together. We grew our online businesses together. I was honestly just living the dream.

I had always envisioned for myself staying in luxury villas, surfing, being with a person that supported me and loved me, helping others do the same and just. Never settling. I eventually launched masterminds, courses, memberships to help other people travel the world, become digital nomads, and run insanely profitable online businesses.

Becoming A Wife

I then got married in 2023 and continued traveling the world with my husband. Travel was always the end goal. Travel was the reason I set out to do. What I am doing, this freedom from meeting people, from experiencing so many different cultures and languages and trying yummy foods around the world, living an endless summer life, chasing waves, living life the way that I had always wanted.

Motherhood and Identity Shifts

But then last year I experienced a huge shift. I experienced a miscarriage, and after asking myself some really tough questions, when I was at a low about what I wanted next in life, I realized that I was ready to step into motherhood. I knew I had wanted children, and if you tune into my last episode, you can hear about my decision and why it was fitting for me. But I saw myself with a family 10, 20, 30 years down the line. And because I knew this, all events had led me to my current situation, I had manifested my perfect partner (learn exactly how I did it here) who I wanted to father my children. I had built an online business that would enable me to spend all the time I needed to with my kids. 

And so earlier this year, we welcomed our beautiful baby boy Leven Thompson into the world (and gave birth in Brazil!). They say motherhood changes you in ways you can’t imagine until you experience it for yourself. And now I fully understand what they mean if you are also a mother. Please say hi. I love connecting with other mothers around the world and sharing ideas and encouraging each other to be the best version of ourselves that we can be for our kids.

Questioning EVERYTHING

But it also made me question everything I had built and the past few months I’ve asked myself so many more questions than I usually do. Questions like, ‘Can I still travel the world with a baby? Can I still run a successful business as a new mom without letting my community down or letting my family down, can I still show up authentically when I’m changing and evolving so much into a person that I’ve never known before into the complete unknown after giving myself? Time to internalize this and digest all that was needed.

I realized that although this chapter is new to me, the concept of shifting identities and changing myself to match the future that I wanted – this concept was never new to me. I completely left my nine to five to pursue entrepreneurship. It also brought me back to the pandemic where instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I made way for all the possibilities and opportunities and growth and focused on what I can do.

So now I can give a full body yes. The answer is yes. I can still travel the world with a baby. I can still run a successful business as a new mom. And yes, I can show up authentically when I am changing. When I am evolving, there is. No perfect time to start showing up. The best time is now. Now my life is about the time freedom to be able to spend time with my little family, the location freedom to give him as many opportunities as possible. You guys know we had him in Brazil and he was born with three passports. None of this would’ve been possible if we didn’t have the time and location freedom, and ultimately, obviously, the financial freedom to navigate postpartum with help and grace and to give my family. The best opportunities to have the best experiences, and of course, give my community the help they need to also call in massive amounts of financial freedom.

My Future Goals for Growth

So now I’m not just a traveler, I’m not just a business coach, but I am a woman in my thirties navigating. Motherhood, entrepreneurship, freedom, identity, travel, surfing all at once. If you are also navigating a transition, maybe you’ve just become a parent or you’re thinking about it, maybe you are shifting your business or your lifestyle. I want this new season of the wanderlover Podcast to be a space where we grow together. Not only will I continue teaching you how to build a freedom-based business where you can travel the world or stay home with your family, I will also be sharing what that actually looks like as an international family with multiple citizenships and optimizing our business and life – how I’m making space for both ambition and presence.

So you can expect more episodes about online business, mindset and manifesting, but also about identity shifts, travel with a baby, relationships, money, and navigating a freedom-based lifestyle that might look different than it used to. And that’s okay. Freedom doesn’t have to mean boarding flights every week. It can also mean being financially free, emotionally free, and choosing where to raise your family with intention and choosing what your next chapters of life get to be. That is where I am right now.

Welcoming My Next Chapter

I hope this reintroduction reminds you that it is okay to evolve. It is okay to shift gears, and the amazing thing about having a personal brand is that. You get to evolve with it. You don’t have to be tied to one identity. It really allows you to embrace every messy, beautiful part of your story. 

So here’s to a new chapter to babies and business and passive income and a freedom based lifestyle. To creating a life that supports every version of you. Thank you all so much again for being here. Thank you for growing with me and allowing me to reintroduce myself.

Once again, if this episode resonated with you, I would love to hear from you. Just send me a DM on Instagram at @thewanderlover, or if you could please take a moment to rate us on Spotify or leave a review on Apple Podcasts so we can get this message out to those who need to hear it the most.

See you in the next episode my loves. Have an amazing week.

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