Sahara Rose De Vore is a Wellness Travel Coach and the Founder of The Travel Coach Network. As a Wellness Travel Coach, Sahara helps companies integrate more meaningful and transformative travel into their employee experiences or marketing. Within The Travel Coach Network, Sahara coaches and guides other travel professionals to incorporate travel coaching into their businesses through her signature Travel Coach Certification Program. She is a pioneer in both the travel coaching world and the wellness travel industry. Sahara is a global speaker, a published author, and has been seen in over 100 media outlets including Fodor's Travel, Forbes, USA Today, Travel Weekly, and Business Insider.
What is your professional background?
I am a Wellness Travel Coach and I am also the Founder of The Travel Coach Network. As a Wellness Travel Coach, I help companies provide more meaningful and holistic wellness-based experiences for their business travelers and employees. As for The Travel Coach Network, I run the world’s first and only ICF accredited program for travel coaches globally. I teach and guide other passionate travelers to build travel-related businesses that are unique to them.
How did you end up with this career?
After graduating with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in 2010, I was having a really difficult time figuring out what kind of travel-related job that I wanted. Nothing was interesting to me. I wanted to explore the world and do something with more meaning so I decided to start backpacking solo for the next ten years. I struggled for almost a decade trying to find what kind of career I wanted though. I knew what existed such as being a travel agent, travel blogging, becoming a flight attendant, working for a hotel chain, or becoming a travel “influencer”. But none of those resonated with me either. I knew that my knowledge and expertise in travel held a lot more purpose than those jobs. I wanted something other than booking trips or writing about them. That’s when I decided to start my own Travel Coaching business with a focus on helping people in the corporate world use travel as a way to help boost their overall wellbeing and work performance. At the same time, I started The Travel Coach Network because I wanted to help other passionate travelers with an entrepreneurial spirit become a travel coach and do more with their unique expertise in travel because we all know something different.
How did you begin your remote work journey?
I just took the leap. Working for someone else or having a schedule that didn’t allow for travel or flexibility were not what I wanted for myself. That is a huge reason for why I became an entrepreneur. Having the ability to work remotely from anywhere that I wanted is ideal.
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Where do you see yourself in the next year?
I see big things happening for both of my travel-related businesses because things are already taking off. In the next year, I see myself doing more collaborations and partnerships for both my Wellness Travel Coaching business and The Travel Coach Network.
What tips do you have for others who are working remotely?
You have to remember to make time for yourself and know when it’s time to do work. It’s easy to stay glued to your laptop, especially if you’re a passionate entrepreneur who absolutely loves what they do like myself, but find things that allow for a breather. The same goes for the opposite. Working remotely can come with a wide range of new struggles and distractions that could take you away from being productive. It’s important to establish a healthy schedule for yourself between work and leisure time.
What is your self-care routine and how do you find time to integrate it into your daily life?
I make sure to go for a walk with my dog several times throughout the day. This gets me away from my laptop and allows for fresh air and sunshine. I also am a huge fan of taking baths to relax. Doing little things like painting my nails, making a green smoothie, going for a massage, and doing an at-home facial are other ways that I integrate self-care into my every day. When I really need time for myself, I book a flight to someplace warm with a beach such as Mexico. It’s an easy way for me to get a boost of self-care and inspiration for my businesses.
Putting yourself first is important to your overall wellness. Given this, what are your best holistic wellness tips?
Providing holistic wellness tips is what I do best as a Wellness Travel Coach. Some of my favorite tips are to take a stroll near a body of water such as a seaside, lake, or even a pond in a park. I also recommend grabbing a journal and finding a quite space outdoors that has a beautiful view such as a park, garden, viewpoint, or a balcony with a view. Giving back to others is a healthy way to boost your self-esteem and self-worth which is why I recommend integrating a volunteer opportunity into your schedule or choosing something every day to do that helps others. This can be as simple as giving a helping hand or a smile to a stranger. Human connection is essential for your social and mental wellbeing as a remote worker. I recommend staying in a hostel or an accommodation that makes it easy to meet other people or sparking conversation with a local or the person next to you on a plane or a train.
What was the toughest challenge you faced during your career?
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy and it isn’t for everyone. There are many lonely times that you will experience. It’s also difficult when you are the sole decision-maker who needs to figure everything out. Sometimes I feel like it would be nice just to have someone tell me what I need to do instead of always being the one who needs to make decisions but that is a huge part of being a business owner.
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How did you get through that period? What advice for people dealing with similar difficulties?
Mentors have helped me through this tremendously. It is really important to find mentors and advisors who you can turn to when you need to bounce ideas off of someone or get feedback and guidance. I recommend finding at least five people who inspire you, that you admire, or who have done something similar to what you aspire to do.
Mental health and feeling good are crucial to maximizing performance. How do you prioritize your mental health?
I have always struggled with a pretty ugly anxiety disorder so my mental health has always been something that I needed to work on. Working on and prioritizing my mental health have also been extremely important since starting both of my businesses. I am constantly seeking new ways that help me with my mental wellbeing. Some of my favorite things that have helped me are to be kinder to myself and to accept my journey as it is. When you can come to peace with the place and progress that you are in with your business and believe that you are exactly where you need to be, it makes it a lot easier to navigate the highs and lows. Another way that I prioritize my mental health by giving myself time away from my business when I need it. I close my computer when at a certain hour most days and I don’t check my emails until I do my morning routine of listening to a mindset podcast, stretching, having breakfast, and taking care of myself first.
Before the pandemic hit, you may have worked in an office or corporate setting, but what do you foresee happening now? How do you see companies allowing employees to work post-pandemic?
The pandemic has fast-forward what was bound to happen in the workplace. People were seeking more work flexibility and a more “freedom-based lifestyle” which is why there was a growing trend of people quitting their corporate job to travel. Now that people had over two years to rethink what matters most to them such as their mental health, passions, and self-care, many are interested in working remotely. There are also people who prefer to go into an office because working remotely isn’t easy for everyone’s productivity levels. I believe that there will be a hybrid workplace for years to come.
If you could have lunch with one person in the world, who would it be and why?
Someone who I admire as a businesswoman is Bethenny Frankel with the brand SkinnyGirl. I admire her hustle and how she was able to grow her business in such a short time while scaling it and owning 100 percent of her brand.
If you could inspire a movement, what would it be and why?
I have a Thrive Through Travel™ initiative that represents travel being seen and used as a means to help people thrive in your wellbeing, personal life, businesses, relationships, and more. I aspire to turn this into a movement that believes in the true value that travel has on us as human beings.
Please list your social media handles so we can tag you.
https://www.instagram.com/sahararosethetravelcoach/
https://www.instagram.com/thetravelcoachnetwork/
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