104) How Jessica Stopped Feeling Like a Black Sheep and Became a Digital Nomad in Bali

EPISODE WARNING: Discussion of religion, suicide and abortions are discussed in this episode if you are sensitive to those topics. 

Today is an episode for any listeners out there that feel like their are "black sheep" in their hometowns, society and career. This episode is here for you to realize it is okay if you do not fit in with your surroundings and if you want a different life than those around you. 

We have on one of my clients from the Digital Nomad Life Jessica from the Business Domme, who didn't always feel like she was aligned in her career, love life or society.  Jessica went from conservative Christian wife in the U.S. with no passport, to fully remote entrepreneur living her best life in Bali.

Jessica shares how she burned down the version of herself that no longer fit, navigated divorce, religious deconstruction, and a “float in the abyss” season of life and completely rebuilt from scratch. 

We dive into:

• What it feels like to realize you’re a black sheep and step outside the matrix
• The painful yet powerful turning points that sparked Jessica’s awakening
• How she went from customer service jobs to becoming a paid-to-travel entrepreneur
• The messy pivots and failures that shaped her business path
• How she helps coaches transition from 1:1 to group programs with live webinar launches

DM me on Instagram @christabellatravels with the keyword Jessica podcast and let’s chat about your next step.

Curious about the Digital Nomad Life Academy (DNLA)? DM me “brochure” on Instagram and I’ll send you all the details.

 Connect with Jessica:

• IG + TikTok: @businessdomme 
• Personal IG: @notesandnomads

Scale Your Coaching Business: Business Domme Website 

Take the Business Domme Quiz 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Jessica Drake
• 5:25 From Conservative Christian to Spiritual Nomad
• 9:18 The Ground Pulled Out: Life's Turning Point
• 17:42 Finding Remote Work and Career Direction
• 27:08 Discovering Her Business Niche
• 38:00 The Power of Community and Friendship
• 47:40 Advice for Those Feeling Stuck
• 56:40 Creating Connections and Moving Forward

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey there and welcome to the Digital Nomad Life podcast. I'm your host, krista, also known as KristaBellaTravels on social media, and today I am recording this episode with a very special guest. She is one of my clients and members in the Digital Nomad Life Academy. I feel so honored that we have gotten an opportunity to work together for, I think, a couple of years at this point. Her name is Jessica Drake. She is also known as the business dom, so what she does as her digital nomad career running her completely remote online business she helps coaches scale from one-on-one into a group format by launching live webinars Sounds super specific, right, but I think you might be curious how she got to this point, how she ended up here in Bali, and she actually has a really fascinating journey of well, I won't give it away too much, but yeah, I would love in this episode for us to cover.

Speaker 1: 0:53

You know, feeling like a black sheep kind of feeling like you don't necessarily belong or fit in with your surroundings that maybe you once fit in with. Maybe there was once a time when you know all the systems around you felt really comfortable and then suddenly there was a wake-up moment. So I can't wait to discuss what that felt like for you, jessica, and also just like what your journey has been like going from your I think. Well, you know what? I don't want to put any words into your mouth into where you were previously, into where you are now living your best life in Bali as a completely remote business owner. So welcome, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:34

That was a great introduction. I feel really, really honored having it put that way. I'm like, oh, that's so nice. It's true, no, it is. It's just it's interesting hearing it come from someone else. I'm like that's a thing now.

Speaker 1: 1:48

Yeah, you're like, wow, this is really the life that I'm living.

Speaker 2: 1:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:51

Was there ever a moment in your life where you could have never imagined that you'd be here?

Speaker 2: 1:55

There was a moment in my life that I can pinpoint where I was like this is the life that I do want to have, and it did not feel like a reality to me. It felt like a different timeline, like a different version of me. I'm like, well, if I had made different decisions in my past I might have gotten that kind of life, but I guess that ship has sailed. So this kind of life that I'm living now was what I wanted for myself when I was a teenager. Really Interesting.

Speaker 1: 2:24

Okay, so I would love to just put your story into context for the audience. Maybe you could just do a little snapshot of what your life is like now. I know I just introduced you, but in your own words, if you were to, you know, meet somebody and say, oh yeah, this is who I am Like, who are you now and what are you doing and how are you living?

Speaker 2: 2:44

So who I am now is. I guess I'm one of those like weird woo-woo people in Bali to start out with. I mean, I know that needs context. It's all about like astrology and how you see yourself spiritually and shadow work and self-improvement, self-development and so many of these other things and it's very spiritual in that context and I'm building my business and I'm meeting people who maybe a decade ago I would have just looked at with like a face that was completely judgmental and I'm like what are you saying? And now I'm one of those people.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Why do you think you would have judged someone like you?

Speaker 2: 3:30

previously Because over a decade well, not even God how long, it was, not even a decade ago I was married. I didn't even have a passport that had my name on it, the way that it was supposed to be. At that point I hadn't really gone anywhere, hadn't traveled, traveled outside of the states except for like a cruise, and I was very set in my conservatism and christianity. So anytime someone would say like the universe, or spirituality, or astrology, or tarot cards, I'd be like okay, sweetie, okay yeah, okay.

Speaker 1: 4:25

So you really have come a super long way, not just in your, not just in your career journey, but it sounds like actually your, your personality and your identity has made a complete change. Yes, so, okay. So, just to make this clear for the audience so you're now a business owner in Bali, just like, fully owning all of the things that you're interested in, no matter how quote weird it might seem to like an average person that's living in the United States, because now you don't give a damn, because you were one of them and you're over it. Yes, okay. So let's go back in time and I would love for you to give us maybe a snapshot of, yeah, that time a decade ago. So I, okay. So you said you hadn't traveled really at all. You were a conservative Christian, married. So how did you go from where you were? Like, how did you start the process of unbecoming that normal type person?

Speaker 2: 5:31

It was a very painful experience. I'm not going to sugarcoat that whatsoever. So I had to walk a mile in somebody else's shoes to understand. The way that I had been living was incredibly judgmental, and I didn't see it until the pivoting point for me was when I was still married, I had an abortion and that abortion led to my divorce, and before that I had given up on a different career that I had wanted for myself. So basically, I had to face every fear that I had had at that time within a seven month period. So it was a very um, it was my like burn, like burning season, if you will. It was the time where everything completely disintegrated in my life that represented what I knew and who I was, and it all just completely fell to the ground. The way that I describe it to people is that it felt as if the ground got pulled out from under me. The world got turned upside down and then gravity got turned off.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Damn, that's hectic, okay. So in this visual, you are just literally floating in the abyss.

Speaker 2: 6:53

Yes, with no tether, nothing, oh, damn yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Okay, so it all started with the abortion, which I assume was probably created a lot of cognitive dissonance with you around your values and your lifestyle and everything, and it sounds like your husband at the time was in deep disagreement with that.

Speaker 2: 7:14

He wasn't actually it was. He was actually there with me at the clinic when I did have the abortion and he, like he, knew that I didn't want children, but he did. It wasn't until after the abortion that things started to change in our marriage. Got it? Yeah, Okay.

Speaker 1: 7:33

So you're floating in the abyss? Then what?

Speaker 2: 7:37

After that I had to completely reinvent myself and it was a long, arduous process that's still ongoing. But, honestly, like the first year after the abortion, after the divorce, I turned into the person that I always thought I would become if I had gone to college and was in a dorm room. So the way that I wanted to live, as this, like early 20s is what was going on in my late 20s. So I went wild in all the ways that you can imagine a person would go wild.

Speaker 1: 8:22

So yeah, feels, yeah, like I guess, when you live like I don't know, I'm just imagining kids in high school that are really under the thumb of their parents and then they go to at least in the United States, right, they go to an American university and then they just suddenly are binge drinking and going wild. So you had that experience in your late 20s. Okay, so you did the whole good girl Christian thing, decided you were done, had a sounds like a wild time. I did yes.

Speaker 2: 8:50

I did.

Speaker 1: 8:52

Were you? What were you doing for work like during all of this?

Speaker 2: 8:57

So I had only ever done customer service up until that point. So I, during that like wild year, I was working as a customer service representative for a dental insurance company. So it was all of the angry phone calls of people saying like my insurance didn't cover this or how can I make sure that this does cover it. And I'll never forget there was a woman who called and said that she had super glued her tooth back into her own mouth and I was like I don't even know what to do with you.

Speaker 1: 9:34

Oh my God, what did you do with her? That's crazy. I was a bitch about it.

Speaker 2: 9:39

I was like ma'am, if you super glued something into your mouth, you may want to go to the hospital.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Oh my God, okay, was that a moment for you where you were like I got to get out of here?

Speaker 2: 9:54

No, it wasn't an. I got to get out of here. It was just one of those moments where I was like Jesus Christ. I'm like I had more hope for humanity, but it's going away with this job.

Speaker 1: 10:03

I can only imagine. Okay, so you're working in insurance, you're having a wild time. Catch us up to the moment when you decided that you wanted to build a business.

Speaker 2: 10:15

Oh my God, so that is a long story. So when I was working at this dental insurance company, it was 2019. And so within a few months, the pandemic happened and I had quit that job to try to become an airline stewardess, and it didn't work out. And then I started working in events, and because events, you can't do anything in there with COVID. That's when I realized, like, okay, time to learn a new skill, and so I wanted to find something where I didn't have to work with any physical products, I didn't have to, like, build anything, and I found high ticket sales. So I learned high ticket sales. So I learned high ticket sales. I got my certification for high ticket sales and got my first job for sales rep for, like, not even health insurance, it was for safety devices for the elderly. Okay, and that was soul sucking.

Speaker 2: 11:25

So then I moved on to an appointment-setting job and then I used my certification to get my first job inside of a coaching program. So this was a coaching program that taught entrepreneurs how to market themselves. So with that job, I was practicing sales calls and then I learned about marketing. I was there for a little over a year and I got to learn a lot about everything that goes into sales funnels. That was the best job I had ever had, and during that time was when I started to become a digital nomad. So I packed all my bags At the time. I packed a really large check bag, a carry-on and a backpack because I was thinking like I don't plan on coming back on, and a backpack because I was thinking like I don't plan on coming back. I don't know about you, but when I didn't have a home base, I ended up leaving things in every single country I went to oh my God, yes, no, I definitely did that.

Speaker 1: 12:37

I did that I had a one-in-one-out policy. If I bought something, I had to get rid of something because I was always at max capacity and I also had the big checked the carry-on and the backpack. It was ridiculous.

Speaker 2: 12:49

I left an entire suitcase in Mexico and the funny part that I always tell people I'm like this suitcase included some really cute clothes, my favorite pair of wedges, a vibrator and my Bible, oh dear.

Speaker 1: 13:03

You were still reading the Bible at that time. I was Do you still read the Bible now?

Speaker 2: 13:07

No.

Speaker 1: 13:09

Okay, anyway, we kind of, before this episode, talked a little bit about overcoming religious trauma as well so would actually love to talk about that too, but for now I just want to hear the rest of the career story.

Speaker 2: 13:21

Since I think a lot of people listening.

Speaker 1: 13:22

I just want to actually point out and pause the story here anyway, because I know so many people that listen to this podcast have a similar experience, like you did in corporate or I don't know, just like professionally, where their quote only experience is in something like customer service or something that doesn't feel like it's fully transferable or something where they just feel like, how could I ever work for myself, how could I ever start a business? What do I have to offer when this is all of my experience? So what I want to point out is what you did was you were like I need to learn some skills then, and that's what you did, and you got a job that got you skills, and it sounds like we're at the point of the story now where you're actually really acquiring a lot of skills like sales, appointment setting, marketing funnels yes, okay. So you're racking up a skill set at this job, which is epic, okay. And you're a digital nomad and you're in Mexico and you're traveling the world yes, okay, love it.

Speaker 2: 14:23

Yes, so I was during this job. I was there for a little over a year and in that time I had gone from Mexico to Peru, to England, and so it was in England. I was on my six-month visa. I was a month away from having to leave England and I got fired. And I'm like England and I got fired and I'm like, oh my God.

Speaker 2: 14:44

And I started to like panic. I was like I'm in a really expensive place right now and I need to figure out how to make money. And I was like I can't go back to the US, I can't go back to living with my parents, I can't go back to this. And I remember at that time the first business coach I ever hired. I called him and I'm like I was like panic calling him. I'm like I don't know what to do, I'm going to have to go home. And he's like Jessica, you're worried about what you'll have to pay, like having to pay for rent. But the thing is, you've had to pay for something like this before and it wasn't in like money, you had to pay in your mental health. And it was so relieving to get that information from him because he, like he, was with me from the not quite from the start of my journey, but when I was in like the worst place I had ever been, that I like I don't know if I can share this, but like I had suicidal thoughts. And so he was the very first coach that I had ever hired who was one-on-one with me and I was like really raw and open with him and he knew what I had been through. So when I called him, he reminded me like don't go back to the US. So when I called him, he reminded me like don't go back to the US. He was like you have your freedom right now. He's like go someplace as a vacation.

Speaker 2: 16:12

And I had been wanting to go to Bali for the last three years. I was like hang on With the job that I just got fired from. I couldn't go anywhere in Asia because it the time zone. Time zone Couldn't do it because I was constantly on sales calls with people from the US or Canada, and I'm like I'm going to Bali.

Speaker 2: 16:34

So before I had even been fired from the job, I had started listening to your podcast and what had really resonated with me was your catamaran story. We were like, yeah, I'm working remotely, but like wait a minute. Don't you guys have jobs? Don't you have to like clock in, clock out at a certain time? Because that's what I had to do when I was living in England. And so when I got fired, I was still listening to your podcast. And I'm like wait a minute, that woman I listened to is in Bali. And so I think I started listening to your podcast even more and you're like I'm going to host a live webinar. I'm like perfect. I attended that live webinar and the thing that really got me, along with all of your like CTAs in your podcast, was saying that you can help people find what they should do based on their history. And I'm like I need that. Sign me up because I don't know what to fucking do. So that's what got me into the DNLA. And then the career assessment. You said conversion, copywriting.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Okay, I want to put a little bit of the story into context, because sometimes people find this episode and this is the first one that they listen to so they might not know me, they might not know what I do.

Speaker 1: 17:46

They probably don't know the catamaran story, so I'm just going to talk for a minute and summarize basically what you just said. So basically my story, real quick, is that I used to have a digital nomad job where I was working remotely for a US company and there was one time that I was in Greece and a bunch of my digital nomad friends like 50 of them were all like we're getting on a catamaran on a Wednesday afternoon and I was like don't you guys have to work? Like this doesn't make sense. And they were like why do you have to work? You're a digital nomad. And that was when I realized that most people that do the digital nomad thing, that work remotely and travel, are actually owning their own businesses.

Speaker 1: 18:23

And that was a moment for me when I was like, oh, I thought that I had freedom, but I still am under the thumb of my employer. I still can't. I couldn't go to Bali either. At the time. I really wanted to spend time in Asia and I couldn't. I would have loved to have worked in the morning that catamaran day, but I couldn't. I had to work on their schedule. So yeah, today I'm really passionate about helping people find freedom with their own businesses. And so yeah, jessica, what you just referenced, this career assessment process, is. I don't know anybody else that offers any service even remotely like this. Actually, I guess you could go to a career coach, but like I'm not really a normal career coach, no, I'm not really a normal career coach.

Speaker 1: 19:05

I'm definitely not a normal career coach.

Speaker 1: 19:07

So what I do in my career coaching is I take basically on that career assessment call. I would have gotten like this whole story that you are just sharing now, like I would have known about all the struggles, the trauma, the life stories, plus all of your career history, plus the things that you liked and didn, plus all of your career history, plus the things that you liked and didn't like about your previous jobs, plus the things that you learned about in school, the things that you studied on your own, the different endeavors. Like I take a full, full, full, full, full inventory and then, once I have all of that information, then we get on, because you give me all that information on a form that you fill out the career assessment homework.

Speaker 1: 19:46

And then, once I have that homework sheet in front of me, then I can say oh, based on all of these different factors that I'm reading in this like 10-minute window, we can have a quick little conversation and then I'm able to suggest something to you based on the full spectrum information that you gave me. And so what you're saying is at the time I read your career assessment, we talked about it and I said how about copywriting?

Speaker 2: 20:09

Yeah, I didn't like that answer.

Speaker 1: 20:11

You didn't like it. I know I was like.

Speaker 2: 20:13

I don't want to, because you had specifically said conversion copywriting and I'm like that's sales. I just left sales. I don't want to go back to sales, but I had put in my career assessment that I wanted to write, because I think I had listened to something else of yours or I forget where I first heard about it, but Ikigai. I did do that homework about Ikigai and I came up with writing. I was like this is something that I've always done. This is something that I've always just been naturally good at. Like, when it came to any kind of essay or writing assignment in school, I just always scored really high and for me it was easy. So I thought like okay, yeah, something to do with like creative writing, maybe like writing blogs or whatever. And you're like no conversion copywriting.

Speaker 1: 21:04

I'm like I don't want to. And how do you define conversion? Copywriting, just in case somebody doesn't know what that means.

Speaker 2: 21:10

So conversion, copywriting is basically like you write to make a sale. So, whether it be a sales page or an advert or something, you are encouraging somebody to purchase something Based on whatever company you're working for or for yourself. Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1: 21:30

So I suggested that to you. You were not about it in the moment. No, I wasn't. And just why is that little story relevant to this moment today?

Speaker 2: 21:39

Because I worked against it for months. I was like, no, you know what I want to have creative writing. I don't want to do conversion copywriting. So I tried to go off on my own and try to write like smutty stories, because that's what I was into and I did pretty well with it on blogs and I'm like I wonder if I'd be able to partner with, able to partner with therapists or coaches who help couples, like you know, have the spark back in their relationship. I can help make them like sexy stories.

Speaker 2: 22:19

And that that happened with only like one person. And then I realized, like because I had been fired, I had like traveled the globe for a little while before I ran out of money. I did have to go back to my parents. I did have to live with them again. I did have to get a remote job again, had an interview with this company where I spoke to the CEO.

Speaker 2: 22:54

He was interviewing me for a sales position and everything he was telling me about his company I fell in love with, because they helped therapists market themselves and I'm like this is right up my alley. This is what I want to do, this is who I want to help, because we didn't talk about my why, but I want to help therapists and coaches because they help me, and so when I was on this interview with this guy and he was telling me about the company and who they help, I had your voice in my head saying like copywriting. I'm like. I asked him look, even if you don't hire me as your closer, is there any other position available in the company, such as copywriting maybe? And he goes yeah, I can ask my manager about that and I'll get back to you over the weekend. And he did. I had another interview with his manager within a couple of days and I had the job within like eight minutes of talking to her.

Speaker 1: 24:00

So you ended up doing what I had originally suggested.

Speaker 1: 24:03

Yes, I did it's actually so funny like the number of times something like that has happened, because on the career assessment call, like I'm not in the thick of the emotional experience that the person is having, right, so like it sounds like at the moment when we did the career assessment process you were just feeling burnt out, like you know, maybe a little bit wounded from your experience of getting fired from that job, so like emotionally you were not about it, but like it actually did make sense with who you were as a person and what your skills were, which is something that I'm able to see because I'm an objective person. That's just like literally looking at the facts, and so that happens a lot actually with people, like they have some reason why they don't want to accept or receive my suggestion and then they go off and they do something else and then, a year or two later, they're like Krista remember in your career assessment call you said the thing that I should do.

Speaker 2: 25:00

Well, I'm doing it now.

Speaker 1: 25:01

Yeah, but it's great. You know what. There's this concept that I talk about on some other episodes of your business bridge and I just think it's so relevant. When I'm looking at the career assessment, I am trying to help the person find what's really authentic to them. But sometimes you need to get out of your own way in order to do what is authentic, because you need to heal something or you need to get a little bit more experience or confidence to do the thing.

Speaker 1: 25:34

So, yeah, I just always think that like I mean when I say this about like oh, people usually come back to my idea eventually, like a year or two later, I'm not like oh, told you so.

Speaker 1: 25:44

Or like oh, like you should have listened to me in the first place Because it's a journey.

Speaker 1: 25:49

Like entrepreneurship is such a journey and you do need to go through these valleys.

Speaker 1: 25:54

You need to take a bridge over to the ultimate destination. So I think the you know the smut writing and the working with therapists and stuff, all of it, the job that you ended up getting, like you needed all of those things to happen in order for you to come back and actually feel good and confident about now this being the direction. And you know, after working with you for a while, I've seen you kind of go through like, oh, maybe try this, maybe I'll try that like pivoting quite a bit, and it's just been really amazing to see you be so all in on this idea, not idea on this business now, like you are so confident in what it is that you offer. You know that you can help people, you do help people and there are people that you care about helping and it's because you're good. You're good at it. So, yeah, anyway, I'm so happy that you have arrived at the destination and now you just get to double down and build this thing, like go all in on it.

Speaker 1: 26:55

Yes, it's exciting, yeah, so, okay. So rewind now back to your story. Okay, so you got this job where you were working for someone that you felt like they had. Oh, you got the copywriting job, sorry, okay. So now you're doing copywriting and it was remote. Is that correct? Yes, right, yeah, okay.

Speaker 2: 27:14

Mind you, I had never been paid to do copywriting before, this was the first time ever. And so I was with that company for about a year, and because of that job, because I started getting income again I was in the DNLA by this time and I had met someone through the networking event, and Lucy. She was in England, which where I was desperately wanting to go back to Before I left to go to Bali. And when I got fired and I was in England, I was crying, not just because I lost the job, but I was crying because I was like I don't want to leave England, I don't want to go. You love England, I love England, I love London.

Speaker 1: 28:00

So funny the different places. For me London is like, so not it, I know.

Speaker 2: 28:05

So, whatever floats your boat, no, trust me, I am the only one Well, maybe, yeah, I'm the only one that I've met in Bali who absolutely loves London.

Speaker 1: 28:15

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 28:15

Everyone here. They're like you're weird. I'm like I know, fine, I'm in paradise and I want to be in England Because there's all these like bitter English people that are like we lived our whole lives with the like overcast weather and whatever.

Speaker 1: 28:29

And now they're here and like they're in the sunshine and they're so happy, but I grew up in the desert. Oh, because you're from Las. Vegas, las Vegas, yes, oh, yeah I can see London being very refreshing, yes, fabulous.

Speaker 1: 28:42

Cool yes, but so okay, so you're in the DNLA Digital Nomad Life Academy, by the way, in case anybody is listening and doesn't know what that stands for, digital Nomad Life Academy where I teach you how to, yes, choose a remote business that makes sense for your personality and then build and market that business alongside other entrepreneurs. Yes, so, and I often I'm not just your coach and your teacher, I'm also a community manager and there's a great community in the DNLA and you get to meet lots of people through networking events and just there's a lot of ways to meet people in the DNLA. Yes, so you met Lucy.

Speaker 2: 29:19

Yes, and before I even go on with that story, I want to say, like saying that it's a great community is putting it lightly. Aw, Like the community and Brandon and I have both said this. It's that, and Brandon is another person in the DLNA obviously.

Speaker 1: 29:37

By the way, both Brandon and Lucy have podcast episodes on this Honey what's happening. Okay, she hears someone outside. Yeah, brandon and Lucy have both done episodes on this podcast too, so if you're listening and you're curious about who these people are, you can go. They're real, they're real, yes. Anyway, so you met Lucy. You talked to Brandon, yes, oh, what was Brandon saying?

Speaker 2: 29:59

Both Brandon and I have said that the Digital Nomad Life Academy community is a lifeline for us, because when you're in the United States and you want to create your own business, you start saying, like I don't want to work for anyone ever again. I don't want to have to be part of the nine to five, I don't want to have to work to afford a place I don't want to live in, to drive a car that I don't need, to go places that I don't even want to go to. You're like I don't want this. And then people just start saying, like well, that's reality, babe. I'm like no, it's not. So like um, when I joined the DNLA, you get to be part of the people who say that too. It's like I don't accept this as reality. I accept this as like our brainwashing. So the DNLA has always been chock-full with people who are incredibly supportive and they help you with so much.

Speaker 2: 31:02

So when a networking call was held in the DNLA, I met Lucy and as soon as I heard her lovely British accent, I'm like hi, how are you doing? I miss it there so much. And she started talking to me about pet sitting. So I remember I had heard about this before. I even signed up for it before, but I never did anything with it. So when I started talking to her more, I realized like this, this could be like my way out. So I had. My plan was find a remote job again that I didn't have to do sales calls.

Speaker 1: 31:41

No calls got the copywriting schedule yes.

Speaker 2: 31:44

Cause of the schedule and I was like copywriting I just have to edit stuff and then send it off. They're just tasks that I need to do. No one talks to me. And then I started looking at pet sits around England and one of these they had considered me but had chosen somebody else. And then sometime later this woman got back to me and she said, hey, the woman that I originally had chosen she bailed on me last minute. I need someone immediately and I need an answer from you within 24 hours. And I'm like, okay, and so I quickly started um, looking into flights. I contacted Lucy and I was like Lucy, I need your help, I need to make this happen. I'm like I need to know about train schedules, I need to know about this. And she looked into certain things for me and another friend of mine in England. I contacted both of them. I was able to stay with a friend overnight before I had to be in this place called Waterlooville and I'm like where the fuck is Waterlooville?

Speaker 2: 32:43

It sounds like Whoville yeah, whoville yeah. And so I quickly found everything. I found the flights in less than six hours, booked the flight and found where I was going to stay and I'm like I got back to the lady and I'm like I'll take it and that was last summer. Wow, cool yeah, nice yeah.

Speaker 1: 33:07

I remember like blinking and suddenly you were in the UK. Yeah, I remember like blinking and suddenly you were in the UK. Yeah, yeah, okay. So you had your job and you got a free ride, basically to go live in your favorite country, and then you ended up working with Lucy didn't you?

Speaker 2: 33:21

Yes, lucy and I had been communicating for a while where she was still in the branding business and everyone was assuming that she was a VA coach and all of us were saying, like Lucy, become a VA coach? Yeah, so we were talking about that and she was helping me with my branding at the time and then this year, because she had pivoted to coaching and I was pivoting to sales funnels because I took the copywriting that I learned along with the marketing and sales that I learned, and I was like, wait a minute, I can help coaches with their sales funnels. So I started doing that and I practically had to be smacked in the head with the information of Lucy saying like help me, because she wanted to do a launch and I'm like I don't do launches. And then everything she needed help with, I was like I do that, I do that, I do that. Oh, I guess I can, I guess I am a webinar launch specialist. Let's work together launch specialist.

Speaker 1: 34:32

Let's work together, love it, love it. So you helped her with her launch and now you're like, oh cool, I like this. This is actually what I'm doing now and this is what your business now today is. Yes, wow, it's crazy to hear about all the different turns. I just made a story about this today, about how, when you have your own business, you get to pivot it as you change and evolve and as new opportunities come in. Because this whole time, right, you had your copywriting job, but you also were like building a business on the side and you've kind of like I don't know it hasn't been a straight line of going from where you were to like what business you started with to where you are now, but it's all been relevant and it's kind of all come together into this ultimate moment and it's grown and changed with you. Yes, so, yeah, how does it feel now to be clear on your direction?

Speaker 2: 35:25

To be clear on the direction. It's so like it feels like a lot of this stress has ebbed and I can breathe, but at the same time, now that I've picked it's so like it feels like a lot of this stress has ebbed and I can breathe, but at the same time, now that I've picked it, I'm like there's so much to get done. Oh my God. So I've just been working on that for the last several weeks to a couple months where I'm like, let me get this Just like a laundry list of things to do. But it's just so nice to know where I'm headed, know what I need to get done, and just be stressed only about like okay, these are things that do need to get done, instead of asking like, what do I do?

Speaker 1: 36:02

Yeah, yeah. So tell me a little bit more about your business. Like if there's somebody out there listening I don't know if there's many coaches in my audience, but like maybe someone out there knows the coach. Yeah, so do you want to give a little pitch on what your business?

Speaker 2: 36:19

is yeah. So I am a webinar launch specialist for coaches who are looking to pivot from one-on-one coaching to group coaching, and I do that with a live webinar. So I help coaches with a plug and play system to create the webinar, the email sequences that go into the warming sequence, and then the sales emails, the copy and the scripting for social media and everything after that to do with the launch. And I will be there for you when you're stressed out and crying because it probably will happen, because launches are stressful.

Speaker 1: 36:55

Launches are stressful. Yeah, what you mentioned earlier on in this episode I meant to come back to this you were like, oh yeah, krista, when I was listening to your podcast and then you announced a live webinar. I actually don't do that many live webinars anymore because I find them stressful, but I do have the replays of the ones that I've done that are, just, you know, really insightful and educational. So if you're listening and you are ready to take one small step, it's free. It's literally free. The only thing that it costs you is 90 minutes of your time. Okay, so it's like literally 90 minutes to kickstart your new life. So go to the show notes and you can either watch how to get started as a digital nomad or five steps to work from wherever. Both of these trainings the first one is a little bit more of like a lifestyle-y kind of training and the other one's a bit more business and marketing focused but both of them, both of them are great. So go check that out. And yeah, it was interestingly like. You know what it's like to go through a funnel and you also obviously helped other people and I've helped Lucy and now you're helping other coaches and yeah, so cool, so proud of you.

Speaker 1: 38:03

It's just kind of hear about, maybe, the emotional experience of your awakening, if you will. Like I know we kind of talked about what happened, like there was your abortion and then, you know, your marriage changing and then just getting fired, like all these things happened. But there is something inside of the DNLA it's kind of like a bit of like the DNLA subculture, if you will, where we use this phrase a lot, and it's about being a black sheep. Yes, so actually, interestingly, when you, when you join the DNLA, the first thing that I ask you to do is go to this post called Hello, black she Sheep and you answer all these questions and one of them is like, why do you feel like a black sheep? And it's wild the answers that people have, like they're all so similar. So maybe there's somebody listening who feels like a black sheep. Maybe they don't know that they're a black sheep, or maybe they know, I don't know. I'm curious to hear from you.

Speaker 2: 39:13

I think people who are black sheep are well aware that they're black sheep. Like they're, they probably feel ostracized in some way, shape or form. So I do you want to focus on, like what made me a black sheep, or like the transition of, like the spiritual awakening kind of thing?

Speaker 1: 39:34

Both the first one, though, I think what made you feel like a black sheep, because I think it's just. Whoever is listening right now is probably in the moment where they have not yet made a decision, that they're ready to make a change, but like and maybe they haven't made the decision because they haven't ever heard someone that feels the way that they feel, um, and can validate that the way that they feel is like not, I don't know, but just to validate it, I guess so I felt like a black sheep, primarily with my family, because I just I, I always thought differently than they did.

Speaker 2: 40:14

Um, they were. It was very judgmental that they would think, and they very much are still in the mindset of um, money is the root of all evil and you know, people who have money are probably evil. They are selfish and terrible people. And you know, I started to read Jen Sincero's books like even before I joined the DNLA, and the stuff that she had to say really changed my mindset, not just about money but about myself, changed my mindset not just about money but about myself. And the way that I grew up with Christianity is that you know you are nothing without this or you know you were born as a terrible person and I hung on to that for the longest time and I always thought like I'm a bad person and I always had a different personality than most others.

Speaker 1: 41:16

Is that because of original sin? Or, like I'm not, I don't know if that is what I believe, being raised Catholic, so I'm just. What denomination of Christian are we talking about?

Speaker 2: 41:25

here, so I was evangelical Christian. Oh, okay, yeah, so you believed you were a bad person.

Speaker 1: 41:32

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 41:33

You're born into sin because of original sin and you're raised to believe that people can't know right from wrong without the Bible or without God. And you know, I just I started thinking differently from everyone else and things just started to not add up to me. The things that I had been taught were just starting to unravel for me and people didn't have answers for me. So the other things that made me feel like I was a black sheep was just that like like I had friends and family members who would consistently say like Jessica, you're so smart, you're one of the smartest people I know, which, in my mind, I'm like well, you are very smart, but maybe you just didn't believe that is that what you're saying.

Speaker 1: 42:23

It wasn't that I didn't you believe that you're smart now like I?

Speaker 2: 42:25

I know that I'm smart, but to hear anyone say like you're one of the smartest people, I know that I'm smart, but to hear anyone say like you're one of the smartest people I know, I'm like that's concerning. Oh, okay, I'm like. Yes, I am smart and people find me intimidating all the time. That's part of what makes me feel like a black sheep is because that was the word people always used for me. They're like wow, you're really intimidating. I even went to my high school reunion and one of the guys who was popular during high school he was a little tipsy, but he was talking to me and saying like, yeah, I was intimidated by you. I went what he said that.

Speaker 1: 43:01

Yeah, wow, yeah, thank him for admitting that. Yeah, interestingly. So it's almost like you know your branding now of your business being the business dom. It's super intimidating to probably most people, you're just like fucking owning it. Yeah Like, yeah, I am intimidated. I will intimidate you into you having a better business.

Speaker 2: 43:20

Yes.

Speaker 1: 43:22

Is that what tell me about the branding behind this actually?

Speaker 2: 43:26

This actually came from my very first beta client, so this was actually a call that I was on with you. I told you about this woman that I was helping and you're like, wait a minute pause, what is this something that you want to do for your business? And that was like my click moment. I'm like, yes, fuck, yes, I want to help coaches with the business side of what they're doing, because they're not great at marketing. They get stressed out very easily and that's how I knew I wanted to do it. So this woman that I was helping out she was helping me with like relationship issues Cause like oh duh, divorce. And then I was helping her with the backend of her business. I'm like you need to do this. This isn't this. Cause she was telling me all of the problems that she was having in her business and I'm like easy. And so when I said all of this, point by point, she's like, yes, business, dom me. And I'm like, click, there it is. I'm using that and I have branded it so fun.

Speaker 1: 44:30

Yes, well, if anybody listening needs to be domed dominated in your business, contact Jessica, she will just tell you what to do. And, to be honest, as an entrepreneur myself, I was just telling someone that I'm working with now. I was like I love being told what to do. Honestly, it's like when you're an entrepreneur, you have so many decisions to make. Yes, um, and, which is amazing, like when you're an, when you're an employee, you are just being completely told what to do and it can feel kind of, um, you don't have full autonomy. Yeah, you can just feel like a complete sub and then it doesn't feel good at least not for me anyway.

Speaker 1: 45:14

But then you know, becoming an entrepreneur, you like swing completely in the other direction, and sometimes it's just nice to be, to have someone else be like this is what you need to do. Yes, which is really where the value of coaching comes in, of like having a coach, just like someone, reflecting back to you like this is what needs to be done, yeah, or hiring somebody like Jessica to be your business dom. So I'm just going to describe who I think is the listener of this podcast.

Speaker 2: 45:41

Okay.

Speaker 1: 45:41

So I'm assuming this may or may not be true for you listener. I'm so sorry if I get it wrong, but I think the majority of my listeners are people who are, you know, working in corporate, or at least they have worked in corporate for some period of time, and they are feeling burnt out, somehow, uninspired. Maybe they used to like what they do or they used to be okay with what they do, but suddenly they've realized that they're not happy, maybe because they realize that the job that they chose or the career path that they chose, they chose it because their parents wanted them to do it or because they were just. Their teacher said oh, you're good at this, just do this. And so they were kind of just like flowing with what society, with what their parents, with what external influence has encouraged them to do. And they've done it for a little while.

Speaker 1: 46:33

And now they're like commuting to work, sitting under fluorescent lighting every single day, having to ask to take a vacation, have to ask for taking a mental health day, make sure that their pee break doesn't take too long, getting to the office exactly at 9 am or whatever time you're required to be there, having lunch like in a 12-minute or in a one-hour window or maybe you're eating at your desk. So that person might be in a moment where they would love to work for themselves, they would love to have more autonomy, but they're not really sure what to do next and they might not know what business to create because maybe they were just like you, where they only have customer rep experience or something or something quote, irrelevant like that. So that person, if you met that person, what would you say to them?

Speaker 2: 47:29

Take messy action, like what I constantly hear from other people is that they're afraid of taking the wrong route, they're afraid of getting it. Is that they're afraid of taking the wrong route? They're afraid of getting it wrong, they're afraid of failure. But to quote Will Smith I don't know if he got it from somebody else, but I heard it first from Will Smith like, fail early fail, often fail forward, like whatever.

Speaker 2: 47:50

If you're unhappy, don't be afraid. This probably sounds a little extreme, but don't be afraid to just burn it down. You are allowed to restart. You are allowed to not just have everything figured out, but just be like fuck it, I'm going to do something crazy and dive head first. So, even though it's like, of course it's super fucking scary, especially if you don't have some kind of financial cushion underneath you but just take some kind of messy action as in, like you know, start researching certain things like start with Ikigai, you know, finding what it is you like and what you can get paid for what the world needs. And what's the fourth one? What you love, what you love paid for what the world needs and what's the fourth one? What you love, what you love, yes, so this is hilarious. I can't tell if she's just looking at herself or you.

Speaker 1: 48:44

There's a mirror in this room and Honey just walked over to and is like staring.

Speaker 2: 48:48

Staring into this mirror.

Speaker 1: 48:49

She's looking at me but like she's having an existential crisis right now.

Speaker 2: 48:54

I'm sorry, I just watched it.

Speaker 1: 48:55

I'm like okay, I mean I'm having an external moment listening to what you're saying as well Like it's honestly such good advice. And when you were saying that I was getting all these memories from my own life experience of like when I moved to Thailand, oh my God, I had no money, I was scared to lose, I had no fucking idea what I was doing and it was just the best thing that I literally ever did. And I actually really love your examples as well of what messy action could look like. It doesn't have to be as extreme as moving to Thailand or taking a pet sitting role or like just getting any job you know or whatever. It could be doing a little exercise, asking chat, gpt, researching something, listening to a specific podcast or sending me a message on Instagram.

Speaker 1: 49:43

You could totally do that too. I would say, that's not even messy action, that's like a strategic, that's very strategic In a way.

Speaker 2: 49:50

I can tell you. One of the things that I did when I hit one of my points was I literally took the day off from work because I was having an existential crisis. Yeah, I, I couldn't help but start crying at work. And so I took the day off and I got myself like a hamburger and milkshake and I just like after that I was like, okay, what do you need right now? And like whatever part of me I my inner child was like I want to go to Barnes and Noble. I'm like okay.

Speaker 2: 50:24

And so I went to Barnes and Noble and started looking at like travel books because I was like what do I want to do? Where do I want to go? And you know, a bookstore or a library is just literally filled with people's knowledge of random shit and good things and you're like just wander around a bookstore and just find what piques your interest, even if you don't like reading. Just travel around the bookstore and wander, like stay there for hours. So what if you're a weirdo? Just wander around and see what piques your interest and go from there.

Speaker 1: 51:01

I love that so much you don't even know. That is such a tangible thing, I hope, whoever you are listening to this right now, if you feel stuck like, if you resonate with that, if you feel stuck, go to a bookstore. Amazing, amazing, amazing advice. I absolutely love that.

Speaker 1: 51:19

Yes just see, because, yeah, I think a lot of the time, people that are in the quote matrix they're stuck in the nine to five. Maybe they did choose a career path because their parents told them to do this thing, or their teachers told them whatever, or people just like are going with the flow. I think people do that because they are disconnected from their actual desires, because maybe someone told them that their desire was weird or taboo or that it wasn't developed enough or something, or that they weren't talented enough about it. Anyway, I think, yeah, the idea of a bookstore is like you just have all of these things, like all of these topics, and you're just going to see which one catches your interest. I think that's a great, great, great way to start getting in touch with what you really desire or what you like, and super easy to do.

Speaker 2: 52:10

It's like just go to a bookstore and wander around. It's free, it's free, it's nice.

Speaker 1: 52:14

It's a great way to get out of the house. You can go on a rainy day Something to do Yep, usually bookstores have like coffee there, exactly. Wow, that is so great. I'm going to take that with me and share that. I'll make sure I quote you. Okay, thank you, jessica Drake, on how to discover your interests. There you go. Yeah, thank you so much for that.

Speaker 1: 52:34

And I just want to go back to a minute ago, when I said you can message me on Instagram as well, which you can, by the way. So Christabella Travels is my main Instagram account and I love hearing from my listeners. I can't even tell you it brings me, first of all, so much joy just to hear that you listen to the podcast. So, even if you're just like, hey, I liked the episode, I would just appreciate that so much. And also when I appreciate you because you have messaged me and you asked me a genuine question about how you can move forward, I probably one have an episode about the exact topic, because I'm over 100 episodes now and, oh my God, some of the topics are so niche. So, yeah, I can send you a specific resource where I'm talking about whatever your challenge is, for like an hour, or I can even give you customized advice, because we're actually talking in the DMs and I love voice notes.

Speaker 1: 53:23

So, yeah, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram at Christabella Travels with the keyword Jessica Podcast J-E-S-S-I-C-A podcast and then I'll know that you listened to this specific episode and I'm happy to have a conversation with you. I will say a tip if you do want to message me on Instagram and ask anything is like, try to make it a good question and you don't need to say can I ask you a question, just ask the question. I'm giving you permission, literally right now. I have dedicated my career to supporting people, break free, live a more authentic life, have freedom, live a more beautiful life, and it makes me really happy to talk to you. So I would love, love, love to hear from you on Instagram again at Christabella Travels and I hope that I do. And, jessica, if somebody would like to get in touch with you, maybe about the business Dom, or just maybe to you know, say they resonated with your story, or if they want to ask you for a specific advice, are you open to that?

Speaker 2: 54:29

Absolutely so. If you want to, if you're a coach and you want help, you want to launch a live webinar? All of my socials across the board. It's business dom. So B U S I N E S S D O M M E. So it's the French version. So business dom. That's on Instagram and on Tik TOK. And then if you just resonated with me and that like people are intimidated by you or like you're going through religious deconstruction and you want it on a more personal level, you can DM me at notesandnomads. So it's literally just that entire phrase spelled out. Yeah, love it.

Speaker 1: 55:08

Love it, love it, love it. Okay, dnla, people are just open-minded and supportive, as you said. And oh yeah, and also, if you're interested in the Digital Nomad Life Academy, you can message me the word brochure on Instagram and then I'll just automatically send you the brochure with all the information about the DNLA. And yeah, we can take from there. So thank you so much for listening and, jessica, thank you so much for being here. It's been an honor and a privilege to work with you and to have you on the show. It's been amazing.

Speaker 2: 55:37

Thank you for having me, and it's been amazing just to be in the D&LA. I'm so glad you created it. Thank you, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 55:45

I'm going to cry.

Speaker 2: 55:46

Thank you so much, thank you Trust me, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have any of this and I wouldn't have like the friendships that I do now, if you hadn't like, created it.

Speaker 1: 55:55

Oh wait, tell me about that, Tell me about the friendships.

Speaker 2: 56:00

What do you mean? Like Lucy, brandon, ola Stelis, like Lucy has been like such a pivotal person in my life, not just because she told me about like Trusted House Sitter, but also, like Lucy was the person that, like, helped me through the times when I was doubting myself and I, like, wasn't doing very well. And the guests that you've had for workshops in the DNLA they have been incredible because, marlene, she did the TRE thing and when you had her do a workshop for the DNLA, I did start working with her and it was the first time that, like, because I used to have panic attacks and they used to last for a long time and I used to like freeze up and I couldn't speak and I would just cry. But then, when I worked with Marlene, like it was the first time that I was able to get out of that panic attack pretty easily. Um, so that was like personal level, like friendship with Lucy and then friendship with Brandon.

Speaker 2: 57:11

Like, meeting Brandon, like he was one of the first people. I'm like, wait a minute, meeting Brandon, like he was one of the first people. I'm like, wait a minute, you're talking about cryptocurrency and astrology. Huh, you, this does not compute. Loading Brandon is cool.

Speaker 1: 57:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 57:28

Yeah. So it's those friendships and I actually had a call with Ramona recently, yeah, and she and I have gotten pretty close and I remember like she was going through something and she's like I don't know what I'm doing, I'm like none of us do. I'm like none of us know what we are doing. We are all just like learning as we go, and one of the main things that one of the first coaches that I ever worked with she was actually the one who I followed to the Amazon to take ayahuasca, Like her main phrase to everybody is like we're all just walking each other home.

Speaker 1: 58:11

Yes, beautiful.

Speaker 2: 58:12

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 58:31

Yes, beautiful. Yeah, you form these friendships inside of DNLA and you speak to people who either resonate things, but it's so cool hearing about what happens when I'm not even there, you know, like the friendships that happen. And then I'm like, oh, you guys are best friends, like I didn't know that. And then I see people meeting up in random countries and it's just the best. It makes me so happy.

Speaker 2: 58:49

I know we're almost out of time, but I wanted to tell you this one last thing when you saw the five of us at the same pool place, yeah, I ran into you guys at that place in Bali.

Speaker 2: 59:00

Yeah, when you walked away, all of us were talking. We were all talking about it and I'm like, imagine, all of us are here because Krista took a leap of faith to spend 10K on a coach that she was afraid to work with. And if she hadn't taken the leap of faith, none of us would be here, none of us would know each other, none of us would have our own businesses, none of us would be in Bali and none of this would have happened at all. Wow, goosebumps, full body goosebumps.

Speaker 1: 59:31

Talk about the butterfly effect.

Speaker 2: 59:34

Yeah, because I was thinking about it. I'm like it's literally because she said yes to something that was scary, she took a leap of faith and it's because of that that all of us were there at the same time in Bali, and that's why I have like the new business that I have now. That's how we all met each other. None of us would have known each other if you hadn't said yes to like something scary. Wow.

Speaker 1: 59:57

And just want to point out that every single one of you also said yes to something scary. Like it's not like a quick and easy decision, I think, to join a program like the DNLA, like it's a real commitment, yes, and you know you're kind of signing up, being like, oh, my God, okay, like I'm saying yes to changing my life. So, and what I also want to point out to the listeners is every single person that's in the DLN I think pretty much everybody has been a listener of the podcast at first. So if you are listening, I'm talking to you now, you, listener, you belong here. Okay, you belong here. Your besties are waiting for you, your future life is calling you and I can't wait to welcome you inside. So, yeah, okay, the light turned off and now we really got to get out of here.

Speaker 2: 1:00:49

Time to go.

Speaker 1: 1:00:49

Podcast people are going to be mad and honey needs to go to the beach. You want to go to the beach, honey. Let's go. Okay, thank you so much for listening.