This morning I had a consultation with an American living in Mexico who is itching to add self-employment to his portfolio. Not surprisingly, his next step was hiding in plain sight and incorporated several of his passions and skills while giving him the opportunity to exercise his curiosity.<\/p>\n
It was perfect.<\/p>\n
By the time we finished talking on Skype (a favorite tool of expats), I was contemplating \u00a0a trip to Mexico. His enthusiasm was quite contagious.<\/p>\n
It seems to me that\u2014more often than not\u2014entrepreneurs are explorers. Those explorations take many different forms, of course, but keeping their wanderlust well fed is a high priority for many.<\/p>\n
As an intrepid traveler myself, I’m always gathering ideas and travel tips. Over the weekend, I came across a few old favorites that I’ve shared in Winning Ways<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>newsletter and decided to pass them along here.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re traveling to a country where a different language is spoken, it makes sense to learn a few key phrases in your host\u2019s language.<\/p>\n Travel writer Catherine Watson says, \u201cLearn how to say \u2018please\u2019 and \u2018thank you\u2019 in a dozen languages. And then use them at every opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a real payoff memorize how to say, \u2018I am sorry but I don\u2019t speak your beautiful language,\u2019 in the tongue of every country you\u2019re going to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n I wondered how you\u2019d say Joyfully Jobless in another tongue so I paid a visit to a couple of online translators. (If you actually speak any of these languages, you might translate differently.)<\/p>\n Should someone ask you, \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d here\u2019s how you might reply.<\/p>\n Afrikaans\u2014blydskap werklose<\/p>\n Czech\u2014radosti bez pracae<\/p>\n Danish\u2014glaede arbejdslose<\/p>\n French\u2014joyeusement le chomeur<\/p>\n German\u2014Freudig arbeitslos<\/p>\n Italian\u2014gioia senza lavoro<\/p>\n Norwegian\u2014gledelig jobblos<\/p>\n Spanish\u2014alegria por desempleo<\/p>\n Swedish\u2014gladje arbetslosa<\/p>\n Your travel also can be enriched by having a project to explore. When I was visiting London several times every year, I always gave each trip a theme. One time I would visit gardens; another time bookshops were my focus.<\/p>\n Catherine Watson puts it this way: \u201cFor added pleasure, have a quest. It\u2019s a lot more interesting to search for the Holy Grail than just sightsee.<\/p>\n \u201cStart with something that means something to you at home. Say you collect antiques, pursue genealogy, love horses of just plain have a smart dog. Use that as a way to get inside the culture you\u2019re visiting.<\/p>\n \u201cAbroad, you could go to local auctions; end up in Alpine villages connected to your family; seek out country horse trials in England; talk to sheepdog trainers in Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, entrepreneurial gypsies are on the lookout for business ideas.\u00a0That\u2019s what Howard Schultz did when he decided during a European visit that what the US needed was a neighborhood coffeehouse.<\/p>\n As a result, thousands of neighborhoods now have their very own Starbucks.<\/p>\n When you travel, read local newspapers and magazines, visit small businesses, keep your eyes and ears open. You never know when an idea that charms you in a faraway place might be ready to come to life in your part of the world.<\/p>\n