Kate Mason (00:00):
Have you ever felt like it's time for a really big shift in your career, but something's holding you back? What could be the first step you might need to make that change? Would you look at further study, a promotion, a totally new career, or maybe a more drastic move? Now, if you were to leave behind your current job or routine, what kind of new direction would you explore? Is there a passion or a dream that you're wanting to pursue? And have you ever thought about shaking up your professional life by starting something new? For example, launching your own business or maybe switching industries? Totally. What would make it feel like the right time for you to take that leap? Can you push past that fear that you have for exploring new possibilities, really, whether it's a career change, a new job, or even a completely new lifestyle? What is that first thing that you will need to feel confident about taking that next step? Hi, I am Kate Mason, and welcome to Parenting and Personalities. This is the podcast that connects you to the ones you care about the most.
(01:15):
Today I'm thrilled to be joined by Erin Carey, the founder of Roam Generation, and an adventurer who traded a life in suburbia for a life at sea with some really brave decisions that have given her and her family. Many unforgettable experiences, Erin and her family made a life-changing move to sail around the world on a yacht, a decision that not only transformed their lifestyle, but it also led Erin to completely shift her career path. Erin's story today is full of valuable lessons and motivation, and in her conversation we'll explore how her ocean journey sparked big shifts in her life work, how she embraced a career change and a new direction in business after her travels. So whether your dreaming of a career change or you're just really curious about a leap into the unknown and how it can lead to personal professional growth, this episode will motivate and inspire you. Hi, Erin. It's great to have you back here with us on Parenting and Personalities.
Erin Carey (02:09):
Hi, Kate. Thank you for having me again.
Kate Mason (02:12):
Now, last week we had the pleasure of listening to your incredible sailing journey with your family, and if anyone missed out on that, please take a moment to catch up with it because it is truly an incredible, incredible story. So today we're going to keep talking about that, but what I want to do is I want to talk about the changes that happened for you in your career and your life through making such a huge change in your life. So can you give us an idea of the job that you were in and perhaps the jobs that you had been in before you went on your trip? And can you also tell us where you working in any way, or had you just got leave and you had no money coming in at all? That was another thing that I thought, oh, I wonder how you managed all your money while you're away? So if we could just start off with what kind of job you were in initially when you left, that'd be great.
Erin Carey (03:08):
Yeah, so I worked for the Australian government from a couple of years after school. I did a bit of study, then I got a job with Department of Defense, and I worked for them for 17 years, far too long, and I dunno why I didn't try different things. I of course had different roles within that time and kind of moved up the ladder. But yeah, I was working for Department of Defense for the majority of that time, and then we went on the boat and like I said, in the last one, we both took leave without pay from our jobs, but after about 12 months of living on the boat, which was amazing, but there's only so many white sandy beaches you can lie on before you start wanting to use your brain again. And so I racked my brain, what can I do? What skills do I have?
(03:57):
I didn't have a career as such. I guess I was a career public servant, but how does that translate into your own business? I always knew I wanted to have my own business. I thought I'd be good at it, but I'd never had the courage to do it because I had this safe, an inverted, safe public service job that paid well. And my parents would always say, don't leave. It's such a good job. And that just kept me frozen for so long. But when I was finally away from it, I had time to think and to really ask myself what do I want to do? What do I like? What feels nice and what am I good at? And we were meeting these really incredible people along the way. And one in particular, I think I mentioned last time about how there were so many little co coincidences that would happen along the way, but one of the channels that we had watched was called Sailing SV Delos, sailing Vessel Delos, and they have a YouTube channel, and there's actually a whole niche of sailing YouTubers out there.
(05:06):
It's really huge as some of them have over a million subscribers. And so this particular channel was number two in the world, and we watched them religiously. Every single video they had hundreds. We watched every single one. Every night when we had a chance, we'd sit down and watch SV de. And so they were like movie stars to us. And then they just happened to be on this same island. They were also sailing around the whole world in the Caribbean, on the island at Grenada when we arrived. And I knew that from their social media that they were around the area, but you never know if it's maybe delayed. Maybe they posted, maybe they were here weeks ago and they're only just posting now. So every time we went to the supermarket or went anywhere, I'd always keep my eyes peeled for them. And sure enough, one day in the supermarket we bumped into SV D and they were so nice.
(05:56):
I was like, oh my God, can we have a photo? And I said to them, we're launching our boat in a few days. I would love it if you guys could come. Didn't think they would. But sure enough, on the day that we were launching our boat into the water for the very first time, they rocked up and were cheering us on and supporting us. So we kind of made friends with them and we would bump into them as we were kind of sailing around up and down the island chain because it's big, but it's not that big. And you do bump into people from time to time. And after a little while of not working, one of the skills I had was interviewing. So I would interview people for Department of Defense just to decide whether or not they'd get their security clearance. And so I thought, well, that's a skill that I could potentially use in whatever my new job is.
(06:49):
And I was keeping a Facebook page at the time, and I had a lot of people give me feedback that they really enjoyed reading about what we were doing and the way that I wrote, they liked that. So I thought, I'll combine the two together and I'll interview people and write articles. So when we were on one of the islands that I knew SV Delos was going to be at, I asked if we could come aboard and interview them, which was still a big deal for us. It was very exciting to be able to go on their boat and sit with 'em for a couple hours and interview them. And I wrote that article and it got published in various magazines because I just figured out how to be a freelance writer. And then one day I got an email from SVD saying, Hey Erin, we love what you did with that article. Do you reckon you could work for us? Just do that. Just keep doing that. And it was a real pinch myself moment. They want me to work for them, I would literally pay to work for them.
(07:45):
And so yeah, I overcame the marketing person, which at the time I was just like, how is this happening? I have no idea what marketing even is, but I made it work. And so I started pitching them out to different publications and having different articles accepted. And after a little while, I remember wanting to create a signature block because I was very proud to be working for SV Ellis, and I was googling, what Can I Call myself? And I somehow stumbled across PR as a publicist, and I read about it and I was like, that's essentially what I'm doing. Maybe I'm a publicist. That sounds very cool. And yeah, I just learned all about PR and went, you know what? That sounds like something that I'd be really good at because I'm tenacious and determined and a dog with a bone, and I don't take no for an answer.
(08:40):
So I decided that I was going to become a publicist, and it all kind of just happened. From there, I found a coach again, I think I mentioned the last one about how I believe in coaches. I found a coach who taught me absolutely everything that I needed to know to start my own PR agency. I already had the second biggest YouTube sailing channel in the world, so I had a really great first client, and then I was able to leverage that to get more sailing YouTube channels, and it just kind of grew from there. And now I run a PR agency for travel, adventure and lifestyle clients around the world. We no longer do YouTubers. Yeah, they got a little bit, it was a conflict of interest, having too many sailing YouTube channels. So I decided I need to broaden my client base, and now we just work with really cool travel and lifestyle related brands from around the world.
Kate Mason (09:39):
Fantastic. That's all I can say. So were you writing for other people while you were actually on the boat, or was it just the YouTubers that you were working for while you were away?
Erin Carey (09:53):
No, before I started working for the YouTubers, I thought I'd try my hand at being a writer. I thought,
(10:00):
I'm out here. I'm seeing amazing things. I always dreamt of working for Lonely Planet or being on getaway or something. So I was like, let's just try and see where I can get. And I ended up getting into a lot of sailing magazines because there's probably less competition maybe. So I had quite a few articles published on whole range of different articles, someone homeschools sailing to particular destinations, and I'd just try my hand at writing articles about the islands we were visiting or a hike that we went on. So I learned how the media worked from that. And I wasn't a writer. I am not good at English. I still couldn't tell you what a verb and a noun is, but everything that we're told in school is actually not necessarily true. If you just want really have determination and grit, you can figure a lot of it out and still do a really good job. And this was even before chat GTP. So I had to write every single word myself.
(11:14):
And then from knowing how to work with the media and how to pitch the media, I was then able to change that into pr. So I was kind of putting on a different hat, still a very similar kind of role. I just no longer had to write the articles myself. I compelled journalists to write the articles for me, which I much preferred because I was not a very fast writer, and it took me a long time to write articles. So I knew that being a freelance writer was never going to make me a lot of money.
Kate Mason (11:42):
So when you say compelled journalists to write it, does that mean you twisted their arm and said, no. So how do you compel a journalist has that phrase work?
Erin Carey (11:54):
That's the whole point of what we do. So we get these cool clients who come to us. They say, I've got a cycling tour company in Italy right now. I learn all about their background and their company and their tours, and then I see different story angles. It's just like a natural talent now that I guess a publicist has. And okay, well, it's national cycling month next month, and it's also mental health awareness month. I don't think it is, but I'm just saying for example,
(12:27):
And then I know that one of the founders of the cycling company is very passionate about mental health and cycling. All right, let's put together a story idea. We'll write an email to multiple journalists suggesting that they do a story on the mental health benefits of cycling, and I'll offer my client as a source for the story. So Damien is an expert in cycling, but he's also got a lot of experience in mental health and he worked on this board and he's got such and such qualifications. So we kind of package up a story idea and we send it to journalists. And journalists are always looking for story ideas. So they don't just pluck story ideas from the clear blue sky. Journalists like us come to them multiple times a week or a month. They're getting hundreds of emails a day and they read through all the emails, and then they look through the emails and decide what stories will my audience find value in?
(13:30):
So they're not doing it as a favor for us. They're doing it to be able to write a story that the audience of Forbes or the audience of Travel and Leisure is going to love. And then in turn, they get paid for being a freelance writer. I get paid from my client on retainer, and the audience of Travel and Leisure gets to read a really cool story with a source who's credible. So then my client gets featured in Travel and Leisure with a link to their company. It improves their domain authority, it improves their SEO, but it also positions them as an expert in what it is they're trying to promote. And more people raises their brand awareness, more people know about their cycling tours in Italy. So yeah, it's a roundabout way, but essentially what we do is compel journalists to share our client's story.
Kate Mason (14:22):
So this all came from interviewing people for jobs.
Erin Carey (14:26):
This is interviewing them for their security clearance and then realizing, okay, well I'm pretty good at interviewing. How can I transfer that into a job? But honestly, I would never have done that if I didn't go to live on the boat. I would probably still be in the public service.
Kate Mason (14:44):
So it says a lot, doesn't it for what change can do for us
Erin Carey (14:47):
A hundred
Kate Mason (14:48):
Percent, but like you say, you would never have known. So this has really brought out a talent in you. And like you say, often people are busy looking for, they don't realize that they usually have the set of skills for a job, and it's not necessarily a job, it's just a set of skills that you can use in any area. If you can find the area of work that you love to use that because really hard, a lot of time people say, oh, follow your passion now. You didn't follow a passion. Well, you did. You went out on a boat, which was your passion. You didn't follow a job passion, but you ended up with a job you're passionate about using a set of skills that you had prior to this. So it just shows our listener that if you're unhappy and where you're at, you often need to maybe explore what it is that you're loving doing or what it is that is a great skillset for you.
Erin Carey (15:45):
Yes, what you're good at.
Kate Mason (15:47):
And
Erin Carey (15:47):
Can you, I think for me that it's the tie to travel. So if I was doing PR for makeup, I don't think I'd be as passionate, but because it's for travel related companies, then I've somehow come up with this career that pays well, I'm good at, and I get to talk about travel all day long, and I get to travel quite regularly as well. So yeah, I just feel like I've won the lottery. I've just stumbled upon the perfect career for me,
Kate Mason (16:19):
A win-win situation. So can you tell us about your PR also is that you didn't actually go to university to get a PR degree. So for me, this shows also that sometimes you are passionate and good about something you actually don't need a degree behind you to make something work for you. So tell us how that went.
Erin Carey (16:39):
Yeah, I mean, I went to tafe, which certainly doesn't have a very great reputation, but I went to TAFE and I studied retail travel. So I originally thought I would be a travel consultant. I was always a bit hesitant whether that would earn me enough money, but I didn't have any role models as such. Of course, I have mom and dad, but mom was a stay at home mom for a lot of the time, and we were low income earners, and that was about as high as I
(17:14):
Thought I would to reach. And so luckily, I think getting the job in the public service straight up was great because public service back in the day was a very good job. And I was earning more money than most of my friends over the years. They probably caught up or overtook me a bit. But I have friends that went to university and done masters and have been going to university for years, and I make probably more money than them now. So I don't regret not going to university. I wouldn't met my husband if I had have, and I'm probably not the right person to speak to about this because I also don't believe that my sons need to go to university. I think be an entrepreneur and figure out what you love and then you're going to be successful unless you want to be a doctor or a lawyer or something that requires you to have a university degree. Other than that, get some experience, but then start your own business because then there's really the sky's limit. There's no levels or I'm a CEO and I can pay myself or I'm actually a director. I can pay myself as much as I'm prepared to make. Do you know what I mean? There's no, in the public service, I was an APS five and then I was an APS six. I don't have to climb ladders or apply for jobs anymore. I just have to work smarter.
Kate Mason (18:47):
And you and I also looked at your personality type and you are an intuitive thinker and a person that is very creative in your mindset as well. And I'm not, I'm quite, I'm sensing fearless or I'm entrepreneurial. If I really wanted to do it, it would take a lot more energy from me to do so than it possibly does for you as a personality type.
(19:14):
And I don't have as big a picture or a dream as you. I'm quite happy. I am quite happy in my normal life as such, and I love people like you. They help drive people like me. I think that you are also a great person for inspiring other people and helping them take a first step and a move to something different. Not everybody is like you. It's we talk about entrepreneurial type people get that right. And there are people who are like myself, who can do that, but there are also people who come up with very new creative ideas that are quite different to myself and have no fear around it. So for me, there's often a lot of fear sitting in around it. And so coaching in that area would be a really great job for you as well, I think because you have no fear.
(20:08):
There is no fear. And I also believe that not every child should go to university anyway. I do think here in Australia, we've tried to keep people in school too long. We've lost our trades, we've lost the jobs that kids would really like to go to. That's another story altogether. But I agree with you, and I don't think that you can't make a business. In fact, most people that we know from I'm in an older age group, most of the people that didn't finish school, other people that made it in big business and used all of their other capabilities and were the wealthiest that we knew. Exactly. So it is. Yep. So it is a really interesting look at life and the fact that you don't need a degree, you can make it by yourself. You really can. And you are living proof sitting here of it, which is a wonderful thing to see.
Erin Carey (21:02):
I end up being contacted by a lady, I can't remember how it happened, but she wrote a book on this very subject about whether you need to go to university. And I was in her book. Oh really? Yeah, she used me. She didn't send you a copy. She did. Yeah. I've got a copy somewhere. It's probably in my drawers behind me and it's great.
(21:22):
Sorry, I can't remember what I was going to say now. When you say you have no fear. And the thing is, and we've spoken outside of these podcasts before, and you know that I don't think I'm anything special. I actually don't have a huge amount of confidence sometimes. And there's definitely imposter syndrome sometimes. And I often think if I can do it, gosh, so many people could do this because I'm not highly intelligent. I think what all I have that sets me apart is that I don't give up. I am determined that I just keep trying, keep working. And I do think that a lot of it is intuition. Somehow I can't even tell you how I got my business to this stage. I get a feeling about what I should do and then I do it.
Kate Mason (22:16):
And I've been listening to podcasts lately that it was talking about intuition. They were saying that a lot of us don't listen to our intuition and we're not actually really aware of it. Whereas some people are very aware of their intuition and they listen to it and pay attention to it. I think intuitives do that. I think people more like me have to really sit there and listen to what and take chances.
(22:38):
And not everybody is like you. And believe me, intelligence has come in all forms and highly intelligent people that go to university don't necessarily like you say, do the things that you do. And is there a really difference in all of that? I'm very nonjudgmental about all of that. And I think that this type of you achieving what you've achieved is a really great role model for your kids to do the best. And they sound like from what we spoke about previously, they sound like they're awesome, mature grownup children from your previous adventure. Now, what I do want to talk about too is that when we last spoke, you and I went out for a coffee and we spoke and you were talking about doing your trip again. So can you fill us in on what's going to be taking place in your life crying?
Erin Carey (23:35):
People listening. Dunno this yet, because we haven't told everyone. Oh,
Kate Mason (23:38):
Okay. Well let's not talk about it now, shall we?
Erin Carey (23:41):
It's fine. It's
Kate Mason (23:41):
Fine. Just give me a gloss over.
Erin Carey (23:43):
Yes. So look, it's like a drug. I just have to admit that once you've lived on a boat, it gets under your skin. And even by the time you leave, because we've done this twice, we went the first time for almost two years. We came back and got stuck back here for 18 months for Covid. Then we went again for about two years. We seemed to have this shelf life that we can't get past the two year mark. And then came back, we sold the boat, we thought we were done. We've got jobs. We bought a house. Sorry, my husband got a job. We bought a house. And here we are almost three years later, I think we're at about the two and a half year mark. And yeah, we want to go back on the boat.
(24:32):
We had this conversation as well. I think when I spoke to you, I was saying, what's wrong with me? Why can't I just be grateful? Why can't I be content living this life? We have a nice house. We live in the Adelaide Hills. It's beautiful. I have my fulfilling company, great kids, blah, blah, blah. I should on paper be very content and just deal with it, suck it up. So what you got itchy feet. That's not life. It's not real life. You just have to put up with it. But that kept eating away at me and then eventually kind of went to my husband and said, I just don't think I'm happy here. I need adventure. I want to, can we go and do something else? And he was just like, oh God, here we go. I'm the ideas person. And then he brings me down to earth and then we figure out what we can actually do. He normally comes up to my level where it takes a little bit longer.
(25:32):
And at the start, and we went about on this for ages, we were just like, we can't got teenage kids. They're in high school. One's in year 10, he'll need to go to year 11 and 12. And they just felt like so many obstacles. And it would go, yeah, you're right. And then I'd go back to my desk and I'd keep working, and then maybe a month later I'd bring it up again. And this went on for about six months. And then eventually we'd just kind of chip away at all the little obstacles until we went, you know what? Maybe we can do this. And then I remember it so clearly one day I was really curious where our old boat was, because your boat becomes a child or a pet, and you do actually love it. And I hadn't seen anything on social media, and I really wanted to know how the trip was going for the people that had bought it from us. And so Dave's like, why don't you just email him? And I hadn't even thought about that. So I sent him an email and he literally wrote back within five minutes and said, trip was amazing. Boat was great. Thank you so much. She's in Malta, she's for sale. And I was just like,
Kate Mason (26:33):
Oh,
Erin Carey (26:34):
Oh my God. And I think I knew in that second that we were going to buy the boat back and we were going to go again. I'm getting like, Ooh, I'm getting fist bumps. Oh, am I? Yeah. And so that was December last year. And here we are now in May, and we've had our offer accepted and going through the contract and we're going to be buying our old boat back. So yeah, we're going to go again next year.
Kate Mason (27:03):
And how does that feel for you from going from sitting in, I've got everything life can offer me, but it doesn't feel right. It's not right. So how did it feel for you when you made that decision?
Erin Carey (27:17):
I mean, it's so weird because I remember this last time as well, when I know that that is a possibility and it's happening all of a sudden I'm loving life here. What's up with that? You know what I mean? I remember that last time. By the time we went, I remember saying to my husband, I actually really happy here. I could probably stay and I feel the same again. Everything just feels better. What does that say about me? I don't
Kate Mason (27:43):
Know. No, that just says that you've got a goal and a challenge ahead of you. And when you've got something ahead of you that's exciting, life does become good where you're at. But if you didn't have that goal and you didn't have that purpose, that's your purpose. I think when you're, obviously you are an ENTJ, and I think that you love to be out amongst people. You love to be out discovering things. And when you've got everything sitting there and because there's no, you've achieved most of the things that are sitting there right now, probably for you
(28:16):
And
(28:16):
The excitement and the thought and the prospect of change and doing something different and possibly learning, don't apologize for it, Debra. I think it's wonderful that now what can make your life happy? And you're probably going to go through these phases for the rest of your life. And does it matter?
Erin Carey (28:36):
I don't know though, because then it makes it very hard. How do you settle? I mean, obviously the answer is you don't have to settle, I suppose, but then it makes it very hard to have relationships. My friendships have definitely suffered because I go away all the time. And how do you go away for two years and then expect your friendships to be the same? They're just not really. But assuming I have,
Kate Mason (29:01):
I have that conversation with my son often says to me, oh, so you haven't seen so-and-so for quite a long time. He and I say to him, you know what? True friends are people that you can walk back into two, three years later, five years later, and they're still going to be a friend for me, some of my best friends I might not have seen for three years, but when we catch up, it's like we are really together. And I think that really in life, this is your happiness, and I'm sure you make friends when you're away. Do you make a lot of friends when you travel? So if people are really your friends and they're really going to be there, they'll be there.
(29:42):
But I wouldn't give up. I think that you're going to be a person, sorry, here we doing a bit of counseling. But I think that in order to stay happy and fulfilled, and that's the best way for you to be for your kids and your family, because I always say, if you're not feeling good in yourself, you're not going to make anyone else feel good. So if this is a way for you to feel fulfilled and happiness, sometimes you might not need to go for a year or two years. You might go for a year. It might not be as long as it has
Erin Carey (30:14):
Done.
Kate Mason (30:15):
But I just think that you've found your true, and your husband sounds like a wonderful supporter, and it sounds like he loves it. And your kids sound like they benefit incredibly from what you're doing. So for me,
Erin Carey (30:30):
It's a win-win,
Kate Mason (30:31):
Sit in it. It's a win-win. And I think it's wonderful. And I'm really looking forward to interviewing you when you return from the next trip that you do because we're definitely going to stay in contact. And I just think for our listener, it is really, and I hate using this word over and over again, but it's really an inspirational story. Even though you don't feel like you are an inspiration, I want you to know that you actually are
(30:59):
And
(30:59):
Your story is, and the fact that you're going on and you are going to keep yourself feeling really happy. That's what I think that most of us should be looking at is what keeps us happy is the most important thing. And your family obviously benefits. So I just wish you all the very best. But before we go, can you just give us a bit of a heads up around where we can find you travel as a business, and if anyone wants to use a PR person in a travel business, where can they find you?
Erin Carey (31:34):
Yeah, so my company's called Roam Generation and it's ROAM. Roam is actually the name of our boat. And then it got renamed, but we'll be naming it back to Roam again when we buy her. And my website is Roam generation.com. And all of my social media is Roam generation. So yeah, pretty easy, but ROAM.
Kate Mason (31:56):
Okay, beautiful. And we'll have it in the show notes.
Erin Carey (31:59):
And
Kate Mason (31:59):
Thank you again for sharing with us your journey and all the very, very best for the next couple of years. Thank you
Erin Carey (32:08):
So much. Okay, it's been a pleasure.
Kate Mason (32:11):
Thank
Erin Carey (32:11):
You. Bye.
Kate Mason (32:22):
If you know someone, a friend, a family member who really needs a sea change, please send them this podcast and share how one step can actually change your whole life. Thank you for listening to Parenting and Personalities. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love it if you could leave a rating and a review that would help others learn about this podcast. If you're interested in more about you and your family's personality types, you'll find my book, who is this Monster or Treasure, my House on Booktopia or Amazon. If you have an episode idea, please send a note to the personality coach@gmail.com. Many thanks to our producers at Stories and Strategies, and we'll see you next time.