DEALING WITH SETBACKS IN CANADIAN PRIVATE PRACTICE | EP 45 

Testing out my idea  

I had been mulling over the idea of taking my private practice out on the road and becoming a digital nomad counsellor for a couple of years. 

And so, I finally decided to try it out! 

‘The first thing that I knew I needed to do was to travel a little bit and see if I could work in different places besides my mom’s place in Ontario! … it was going to be a lovely trip of visiting friends and family in BC while working at the same time to see if I could do that.’ – Julia Smith 

I loved it! Mixing vacation time with work time made those weeks special, and helped to ground me in the days that I was working. I managed to find a rhythm, and I stuck to it, which allowed me to work during the week and relax on weekends. 

What I Realized

Of course, I learned a lot from this trip, and some of the things I came to know are crucial in deciding whether the digital nomad counsellor lifestyle is for me or not. 

One important thing that I realized was that I missed my personal space. I sometimes struggled to sleep well or didn’t have a lot of privacy, which could impact my work. 

‘It was still a little nerve-wracking and I was like, “Hmm, it would be nice to have my own space and be able to travel, too” … so, coming away from that trip, it was confirmed to me that I really love to travel and work … and that I also ideally would like my own space when I am travelling.’ – Julia Smith  

The dream!

So, from what I learned from my travels, I decided to pursue the tiny-living van lifestyle, because it combines both my love and desire for travel with independent living. 

However, I soon discovered that this dream would not be as possible as I had first imagined because of the financial aspect. 

I knew I wanted to hire a professional to construct the van – as after building a fully operational virtual counselling and consulting business, I’ve done my building dues! – so I had a meeting with a van building company, and unfortunately, the prices were beyond my scope. 

‘I’m realizing that this dream that I had is just not going to happen. I financially cannot do it … so I’m left back at zero.’ – Julia Smith 

Learn from my experience

If you have a dream that you want to do with your private practice or your life in general, it’s a good idea to start looking into it now! 

Time will pass either way, so the sooner you can take action to figure out what is truly possible with your time, money, and energy, the sooner you can get to working on your dreams and bringing them to fruition without too much redirection down the line. 

‘When one door closes, another one opens, and I am so looking forward to thinking about what that might be or what might come my way.’ – Julia Smith