The RV Entrepreneur podcast host Rose Willard explains how as an entrepreneur you are your own most important competitor. Spoiler Alert: You have total control over who wins this race.
Who is your most important competitor?
- It’s not the store that sells the same product or service as you.
- It’s not the online consultant that offers the same service as you.
Actually, your most important competitor is you. Yes, you.
But there’s an upside to this.
The upside to dealing with your biggest competitor is:
Unlike many other business aspects, you have 100% control over this.
There are two “global” facets for which you have control that I want to focus on to keep you primed for entrepreneurial life in an RV.
The Mental State Of An Entrepreneur
The internet is overwhelmed with this topic, so I’ll be brief.
Clearing your headspace of distractions and “paralysis through analysis” allows you to zero in on what’s important.
Let’s be honest, there’s only one reason to go into business. That is to generate a livable income, which you’re in control of for your family and your staff.
So you need to maintain a mental state focusing only on the things in business that will “move the needle forward.” If it doesn’t generate revenue or cultivate a business relationship, it’s likely not worth a lot of your time. Especially if you’re a solopreneur.
There’s no luck or knight in shining armor coming to save your business. Only hard work will do that. Not to overuse a common cliche, but you really do “get out of it what you put into it!”
Again, you have full control over your mental state to work smart and hard. So get out of your own way. And get fit to defeat that important competitor in the mirror.
Your Entrepreneurial Physical Fitness
How do physical fitness and health fit into being a nomadic entrepreneur? I believe two vital components stand out and are worth discussing.
- First, the discipline to eat well and exercise regularly carries over to the discipline required to run a successful business.
- Second, the stamina that’s built up from regular exercise carries over to the stamina required to work hard in the initial phases of business ownership.
It may seem like a stretch to connect physical fitness to entrepreneurial success, but I assure you that it can play a positive role. This hits close to home for my husband and I. And, that’s because we owned a personal training and physical therapy facility for over twenty years.
Maintaining our own health and fitness enhanced our ability to run our business in the following ways:
- Improved sleep.
- Additional energy to adapt and power through heavy workloads.
- Cultivated a positive attitude (in us) that people wanted to be around.
- Maintained our functional strength, balance, and mobility.
Not only did our lifestyle help our own business, but many of our clientele over the years were CEOs, business owners, and politicians.
The top reason they gave us that always surfaced for training with us was:
“Their improved health and fitness helped them better manage their own discipline, business, and people.”
This stood out so much to us, that we adopted it as how we marketed our services.
How Do You Maintain Your Health & Fitness As An RV Nomad?
Is it as easy to maintain fitness living full-time or part-time in an RV? Yes. It’s different, but it’s not difficult.
The beauty of running your business from your RV means you can park it anywhere that’s conducive to outdoor exercise.
Here are just a few suggestions to maintain your health and fitness from an RV.
- Take a hike first thing in the morning before ingesting any calories. Drink water or black coffee/tea first. This is one of our favorite aspects of being on the road.
- Do bodyweight strength training three to four days a week outside your RV. There are thousands of examples on YouTube to follow. Forget about who’s watching. They’re likely thinking they should do the same thing anyway!
- RVs tend to force us into a seated position to work. So, make sure to stretch after your morning walks. Again, there are more than enough videos to help you master some full-body stretches. If there’s no room in the RV, do it outside.
- You don’t have to go crazy, but do your best to minimize your sugar and alcohol intake. Neither will do your health or business any favors.
- We’ve crossed paths with many full-time RVers who joined a gym chain, so they could workout and shower in a lot of different towns. We prefer to avoid the gym scene and vary our outdoor training on the road.
These steps are very easy to implement into your lifestyle. And honestly, you have full control of this on the road without excuse.
Making the effort to maintain your health, fitness, and entrepreneurial mindset will better prepare you to take your nomadic business to the next level. And, it will ensure your win over that important competitor in the mirror.
