A few days ago, I was sitting at the dinette in our RV in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, doing exactly what I normally do on a workday.
I was checking email, reviewing social media, and taking care of whatever client work needed my attention. Outside my window was a heavily wooded forest. My kitten was playing nearby, and my husband was sitting across from me at his laptop, doing his own thing.
Nothing about the work was particularly unusual. The location was.
Just a few days earlier, I had been home in South Carolina, where the heat and humidity were pushing toward 110 degrees. Now I was sitting in the mountains, enjoying cool weather and knowing I had five weeks ahead of me in a completely different environment.
And I remember thinking, this is exactly why I built this business.
Not because I wanted to work from an RV.
Not because I wanted to travel.
Because I wanted choices.
It Started With Family, Not Freedom
Twenty-two years ago, I had a very different idea of what success looked like. Before starting my business, I thought success meant working 8 to 5, making enough money to pay the bills, and being able to give my boys whatever they wanted.
I certainly never imagined that one day I’d be spending five weeks in another state while continuing to work with my clients.
But the decision to build my own business wasn’t really about travel. It came from a much more personal place.
At the time, I was working a traditional 9-to-5 job while raising my family. Then my then-husband became extremely ill and ended up in the hospital. His doctors gave him about a 30 percent chance of surviving.
My priorities became very clear very quickly.
I was spending days and nights at the hospital while friends helped take care of my young boys. When my husband was stable enough for me to return to work, I did. And when I returned, my employer changed my employment agreement and essentially demoted me.
That was my turning point.
I knew I needed to build something where I could put my family first and still support my family financially.
I didn’t know then what my business would eventually become. I certainly didn’t know it would lead to summers in the mountains.
But I knew I wanted more control over my life.
Twenty-Two Years Later, I Have It
Over the past 22 years, my business has gone through a lot of changes. So has my life.
My children grew up. Technology changed dramatically. My business evolved. Life brought unexpected challenges and different seasons, just as it does for everyone.
Through all of those changes, I’ve continued to work with clients and build a business that supports the life I’m living now.
That’s something I’m particularly proud of.
Because I don’t think we’re just building businesses. We’re building lives around those businesses. And if the business you’ve created only works when everything in your personal life is cooperating perfectly, it may be time to rethink what you’re building.
Today, I can spend five weeks away from home without stepping away from my business. I still work. My clients still get the same support they would get if I were sitting in my home office.
The difference is that my office happens to have wheels.
So What Makes It Possible?
It isn’t magic, and I’m not on vacation.
Systems are a big part of it. I use project management and established routines to keep client work organized and make sure nothing gets missed. After 22 years, I also have the experience to know what needs to happen and how I work best.
Technology helps, too. Reliable internet means I can work from an RV without my clients needing to know or care where I happen to be sitting.
And then there are my long-term clients. Many of the people I work with have been with me for years. They know me, they know how I work, and they trust me to get things done. I know their businesses and their expectations. That kind of relationship creates stability.
I don’t have to spend all my time worrying about where my next client is coming from. Instead, I can focus on the clients I already have and the work I’m doing.
But perhaps the biggest factor is discipline.
I know the difference between work time and personal time. I get my work done, and then I go enjoy where I am.
A typical day might start with tea and checking email and social media, followed by client work. After lunch, we might go hiking, visit a local farmers market, or explore somewhere new. Later, I’ll check email again, take care of anything urgent, and then we’re back to dinner and relaxing at the RV.
It’s not always exactly like that, because one of the things I love about this lifestyle is that no two days are exactly the same.
But the work gets done.
People Think I'm on Vacation
This makes me laugh because when people see the pictures I post, they often assume I’m on vacation.
What they see are the hikes, the mountains, the farmers markets, and the places we’re exploring.
What they don’t see is the laptop open at the RV dinette.
They don’t see the emails I answer in the morning or the client work I complete before we head out for the day.
The truth is, I’m doing much of the same work I would be doing at home. I’m just doing it somewhere I enjoy being.
That’s the difference.
Over the past 22 years, I’ve developed the systems, routines, experience, and self-discipline that allow me to balance work and life. And because my business has been built to adapt, the different stages of my life haven’t required me to completely reinvent it.
Designing a Business Around Your Life
When people talk about building a business, the conversation often centers around revenue, growth, and success.
Those things matter.
But I think there’s another question worth asking:
What kind of life do you want your business to give you?
For me, freedom means having the flexibility to work where I want, having some control over when I work, and being able to choose who I work with.
That last one has become especially important to me. Not everyone is a good fit, and I’ve learned that working with someone who isn’t a fit can be draining and stressful. Building a business that supports your life also means being intentional about the people you allow into it.
If you want to build a business that gives you choices, start with the foundation. Create systems that keep you organized. Set boundaries between your business and your personal life. Make sure the people closest to you understand what your business actually requires.
And be patient.
It doesn’t happen overnight.
Your business will evolve. Your life will evolve. Sometimes your boundaries will need to be flexible. That’s okay. The goal isn’t to create a perfectly structured life where nothing ever changes.
The goal is to build a business that can change with you without taking over your life.
The Life Is the Point
When I sit outside the RV after a day of work, surrounded by the mountains and enjoying the cool air, I’m grateful for a lot of things.
My children are always at the top of that list.
I’m also grateful for the business I’ve built and for the choices it has given me.
I didn’t start my business 22 years ago because I dreamed of working from an RV. I started it because I wanted to be able to support my family while having the freedom to be there for them.
The RV came later.
The mountains came later.
The freedom came from years of building something that could support both my work and my life.
And that’s really the lesson I’ve learned.
The greatest thing my business has given me isn’t money. It’s freedom.
Freedom to choose where I work.
Freedom to choose who I work with.
Freedom to spend an afternoon hiking instead of sitting in an office.
Freedom to leave the South Carolina heat behind for five weeks and head to the mountains.
Having a business isn’t always about making more money.
Sometimes it’s about designing a life that gives you the ability to do what you want and live authentically.
For me, right now, that looks like working from an RV in the Pocono Mountains, with a kitten playing nearby and a forest outside my window.
And honestly, that’s a pretty good definition of success.
