Making a living traveling the world (part 1)
This post was first published on the excellent blog of La Cordée stores.
The world has never been so small and has never offered so many possibilities for those who want to break out of traditional career models. In this first part, discover two women who have turned a passion into work.
Jennifer Dore Dallas
Jennifer in Iceland (Photo: Lucie Bataille).
Jennifer Doré Dallas started her popular travel blog Me, my shoes, in 2010, at a time when influencers and instastars did not yet exist. In fact, the Montrealer has always been driven by the desire to create content.
In parallel to her blog, the young woman climbs the ranks in consulting firms in information technology (IT). His writing skills lead him to call for tenders and writing, in addition to implementing work methods. Then, in 2012, her blog gained in popularity, and she wanted to travel more (and especially to go further than downtown every day). In early 2013, she took a sabbatical… and never returned to office work.
Since then, Jennifer has continued to create content, a lot of content. His blog has allowed him, over the years, to make contact with tourist offices, with other websites, and with publishers of travel guides such as Ulysse and Lonely Planet.
She has also written about San Diego and several other destinations, in addition to collaborating on the popular book Tested and approved: Quebec with more than 100 extraordinary experiences.
With all of that, Jennifer today makes almost 100% of her living from her writing, and she travels about half the year. She continues to maintain her blog regularly (at a rate that impresses me greatly!) By writing new posts on unusual destinations, practical tips or gourmet suggestions. Her publications do not really bring her an interesting income, but they make her known by feeding a virtual portfolio. "Without my blog, I think I would not have any of the contracts I have, because it is he who gave me my credibility and who helps me to keep it", she writes to me ... live from Puerto Rico!
To complete all of her writings, the blogger tells me to add to her schedule a few contracts for social media management, writing, translation and revision, or even sometimes still act as a consultant in IT tenders. She also founded and manages Voyage numériQC, a network that connects brands, destinations and influencers. “We create campaigns and we [the influencers] help them work better together so that both parties benefit from them,” she explains.
Finally, she even found the time to make and present a film on the Magdalen Islands at the Travelers adventurers.
“I like to work, I like to do things, and I don't count my hours,” Jennifer concludes. And she starts her mornings with a liveliness that she never had in the subway, on the way to the city center.
Sarah-Emilie Nault
Sarah-Émilie in Machu Picchu, Peru.
Sarah-Émilie Nault was a teacher for several years before branching out into independent journalism and specializing in travel and culture. Today, it can be read in particular in HuffPost Québec, in Vélo Mag, in the Journal de Montréal, the Journal de Québec and on voyagevoyage.ca.
This travel trajectory was taken a bit by chance, and a lot by choice. It was when she saw the lesson plan of a teacher friend who had just registered for the journalism certificate that Sarah-Émilie decided to do the same. Then, at a certificate networking evening, the prolific future writer learned that it was possible to specialize in tourism and travel. A perfect plan for those who already traveled a lot for pleasure. "I started in pitiful to various travel media, she explains, and it worked right away! "
Today a freelance journalist, the young woman has a network of clients to whom she offers topics. While she could go 2 or 3 times a month not so long ago, for press trips, she now chooses to cover more arts and entertainment in Quebec and to leave only one week per month. Its trips are organized by clients who want to promote their destinations, for example a tourist office, a hotel or an agency working with an airline or having a new package to offer. His salary then comes from the newspaper or other media that buys the article about the destination in question. It is by dint of writing that her name circulates and that she can now choose more the contracts that she likes.
Caffeine: local places and artisans, by Sarah-Émilie Nault.
Sarah-Émilie also tells me that she works a lot on planes, either writing her texts on destinations that are still fresh in her head, or making a selection of photos. “A difficult task! She laughs. From all over the world, she nevertheless manages to produce an average of one article per day.
Like many self-employed workers, the author also fills her schedule with many other projects. Just like Jennifer, she collaborated on the guide Tested and approved: Quebec with more than 100 extraordinary experiences, a volume 2 of which is also in preparation. She has also collaborated on certain Ulysses guides and on a collective of tales of women who have traveled alone and which will soon see the light of day (They conquered the world solo, published by Éditions de l'Homme and edited by Ariane Arpin-Delorme.) Above all, she wrote and published last year the superb book Caffeine: local places and artisans, which focuses on the fascinating world of independent cafes.
With such an atypical and busy schedule, and so many varied projects, Sarah-Émilie can certainly afford a few coffees, here or while traveling!
The continuation in part 2.
Rivers of plastic in South Korea, mountains of bottled water in the Argentinian pampas and long strips of toilet paper littering my way all over the world. We take sadly bad care of our beautiful planet.