By planning effectively, being upfront with expectations, and staying organised, you can enjoy your travels while running a successful business.
Emma Lovell
Emma Lovell is a dynamic author, speaker, master of ceremonies, and business coach, dedicated to helping others seamlessly merge business, travel, and self-care—what she calls the “bleisure lifestyle.”
With 15 years of experience as a personal branding and remote business expert, Emma has traveled to 75 countries while successfully running her consulting and coaching business. Her bold goal? To visit all 195 United Nations Member States by 2037. When she’s not jet-setting, Emma enjoys life on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia with her husband Mathew, their toddler Finn, and their cat T’Challa.
In this week’s Founder Friday, Dynamic Business caught up with Emma to discuss how she balances it all.
“Why did I start a business?
If you’re anything like me, it was for freedom.
To be your own boss.
To design a life on your terms.
“But what often happens? You end up working not 9-5, but 24-7. The mind never switches off and your business is always on. You work harder than you’ve ever worked for any employer and sometimes not even reaping the benefits of the income you’re bringing in.
I no longer subscribe to the work-work-work-then-play model of living. That’s the model I learned growing up, and it is the model most of us take for granted.
“This is not what I signed up for and I’m pretty sure you’re looking for something different too. Let me introduce you to bleisure – combining business and leisure. But to me it’s the ability to integrate travel and leisure into my working life, and it means I can travel the world while running a business and finding flow and harmony in my work model. I no longer subscribe to the work-work-work-then-play model of living.
“That’s the model I learned growing up, and it is the model most of us take for granted. That model says, “I deserve leisure only when I’ve earned it. Then I can switch off.” There is another model. Relax first, then work. You will find it easier to focus, do your best and show up undistracted. That’s what bleisure allows you to do.
“You might think, “Oh that’s lucky for you.” Or “If she can travel that’s great for her, but not everyone can.” But I’m no different from you. Living a life you love is possible for everyone. You may not want to visit 76 countries; you may not even have a business.
“It might be something you want to do on the side, or a desire to work from anywhere and not just the place that you live. You might even just want to include a few extra trips a year around a part time or full time role or contract. Great, the bleisure life allows you to decide what works for you. What does living a life I love look like for me? Right now, it looks like:
- Running my business from wherever my phone and my laptop are.
- Taking trips of one day, five days, 30 days, or 90 days or more at any time I choose.
- Having my husband and son along for the ride.
- Being with my family when they need me most, and not having my business fall apart.
- Building an amazing team who can also work from anywhere in the world for my business and create a life that they love of their own.
- Visiting new countries and having new experiences.
- Soaking up the life in the beautiful Gold Coast location that I’ve chosen to live in and base myself 60% of the time.
“Ultimately, it means freedom. So here’s some of my tips for how to start activating your bleisure life, now!
Believe that you can. It’s possible to travel and work at the same time if you plan. But you have to believe it and start to apply it now.
Planning. The secret to successful bleisure travel is planning. You need structure and a solid plan. I use my calendar religiously. Before leaving, I allocate 3-4 hours daily for focused work and communicate this schedule with clients and loved ones. Setting expectations helps avoid confusion and allows everyone to enjoy the trip.
Create a detailed budget before you go. Knowing your costs—including opportunity costs—and tracking expenses ensures you can travel without stress. Use tools like Airtable to map out accommodation, transportation, and spending.
Time zones are another critical aspect. I use a clock app to keep track of client and local times. Being clear about when you’re available for calls or meetings is key.
Good internet is crucial. Always check the quality of your internet connection. Identify Wi-Fi black spots ahead of time and use offline tools like Google Docs for when connections are unreliable.
Communication is key. Communicate openly with your travel companions. Let them know when you’ll be working so they can plan their own activities. It’s also okay to admit when things go wrong—like missing a podcast interview because of a time zone mix-up. Mistakes happen, but with the right planning, they become learning experiences rather than major setbacks.
“By planning effectively, being upfront with expectations, and staying organised, you can enjoy your travels while running a successful business. It’s not always perfect, but with flexibility and structure, you can make it work. And finally, Embrace the traveler mindset, even when you’re at home. You don’t always have to be working as you go to live a bleisure life. Self care is a really important aspect in finding harmony to sustainably engage in your bleisure lifestyle. By looking at the world with a traveler’s mind, even when at home, you’ll be able to find more leisure, joy, inspiration and awe in the everyday.
- Act like a tourist at home and celebrate your local area. Explore what’s on offer as if you were a visitor.
- Ask a visitor what they love about where you live.
- Find adventure in the everyday. Have a curious mind and be as excited about your own country as you are abroad.
- Create a life list. Unlike a bucket list, which is focused on the end of your days, a life list is about doing what you love now while you are young enough to enjoy it.
- Walk a new path. It can be as simple as taking a new route home to see and experience new things.
“Employ just one of these tips and I’m sure you’ll be having more leisure and joy in your life today. Here’s to the bleisure life.”
“The Art of Bleisure: Travel the world, make money and live a life you love now” is Emma’s first book. Get your copy at emmalovell.au/book
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