Globetrotting Entrepreneurs

The globetrotting lifestyle is typically exclusive to jet-set, elite billionaires. But as offices go virtual and technology evolves, small-business owners are discovering they too can live out their globe-trekking dreams.

Entrepreneurs already have the flexibility to conduct business when and where they want to. And as organizational psychologist Dr. Billie Blair points out, they also have the key components shared by adventurers across the globe.

"For both entrepreneurs and travelers, the same spirit is there," she says. "Just like travelers, entrepreneurs are always taking risks."

Blair, president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Leading and Learning Inc., says that travel is second nature to entrepreneurs because they take a different path than their corporate peers.

"Entrepreneurs are free to follow a non-traditional path. Though they still need to be able to work every day, they do it in their own time frame," Blair says.

After retiring in 1999, exploration was the only thing on the minds of Carol and Phil White. Already avid travelers, Carol, 60, and Phil, 66, decided to leave behind their children, grandchildren, and Wilsonville, Oregon, home in 2000 to travel the U.S. via RV for one year.

A globetrotting lifestyle sounds glamorous. But it's not always easy to balance, especially at certain stages of life.

According to Freeman, constant travel forces you to filter your relationships.

"When your in-town time is limited, you only want to spend time with good friends," she says. "Some friends unfortunately get weeded out in the process."

Freeman maintains a relationship with her live-in boyfriend, who she describes as more of a homebody. Freeman says when he does travel with her, they're on the same page, sharing a love for beaches and luxurious hotels.

In the future, Freeman says, she may have to modify her travel-filled schedule.

"I think it will become more difficult to maintain this pace of travel when I do decide to start a family," she says. "I'll just have to modify it in a way that works with my life."

The Jensens have taken on the challenge of modifying their lifestyle since their recent adoption of a 4-year-old girl, Gellila, from an orphanage in Ethiopia.

"We will have to organize our travel better now with our daughter--it does become a bit more complicated," Garry says. "Right now we plan on taking her with us since she's not missing school yet."

Have Business, Will Travel
Blair predicts all entrepreneurs will need to be well-suited to travel.

"Entrepreneurs need to understand that travel will be a [necessary] component in order to have a successful business in the 21st century," Blair says.

For the Jensens, Whites and Freeman, that shouldn't be a problem.

"Our 'bucket list' for travel is never-ending," Carol says. "We'll travel until we can't do it any longer."

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