Unconventional Career Idea 💡Become a Local Relocation Consultant

In today’s world, you can work from anywhere.

(And thank god, or else I would have never experienced the joy that is the squat toilet in Italy.)

But, guess what that also means?

People are going to be *moving* everywhere. 🏡

Your small town in Kansas. That suburb in Omaha. That quiet neighborhood in Vancouver. That tiny town in the Cotswolds.

Nobody has to stay close to the office anymore, taking weird little lunch breaks at Panera, wishing their pantyhose weren’t ripped up the side, trying to eat a bowl of lukewarm broccoli soup in the car, then rushing back to the office before Ernie the dickhead parks in your spot.

I remember the banality of all of that, back when I did magazine advertising sales. The fluorescent lighting. The brown carpet. The beige filing cabinet. The cheap suit. I remember buying fake glasses at Forever 21 (or something?!) to TRY AND LOOK OLDER. Imagine if you tried to make yourself look older now? All that’s missing is a pair of orthopaedic walking shoes and a Jazzy.

Fortunately, now I can wear those things from my front porch! Right now I’m sitting here at the farmhouse with a brown knitted blanket on my knees and frankly I’m not sure how this happened. But, the point is, I am at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere—and before that, I was in the jungles of Central America, and before that, I was drinking wine all over Chile, and in between all of that, I’ve been galloping all over Europe for a decade (yes, I am a galloper)—and I haven’t missed a beat in my career. I’ve been able to grow professionally wherever I want to be…while still growing personally.

Which is all to say:

Creeps like me need help.

Do you know what it’s like to show up in Barcelona without any idea where you are going? Or how to take the subway? Or how to eat the eyeballs of a teeny, tiny fish?

Do you know what it’s like to show up in a tiny little town in the midwest and not know a soul? Or how to meet people? Or what the local culture is around politics?

When I lived in Costa Rica, I used to beg C to start a relocation company, because *soooooo many peopleeeee* were moving to Costa Rica and wanted our advice on literally everything. It’s intimidating when you don’t have a grasp on basic things, like how to set up a bank account or where to find a decently-priced apartment to rent or how to go to the grocery store and actually…know what you are buying (???) and what things should cost (??????) and can you also come to the mechanic with me to make sure I don’t get taken for a ride?!?!?

And yet, it’s not just tourist-friendly places like Costa Rica that need this.

Now, all sorts of places are going to need this—especially the quiet little unexpected ones that haven’t been on anyone’s radar. (Until now.)

A few of the hotspots popping up right now just across the United States???

• Boise, Idaho (rapidly growing tech scene!)
• Tulsa, Oklahoma (surprisingly robust arts scene!)
• Bentonville, Arkansas (bike trails, art museums, and great food!)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee (one of the first U.S. cities to offer gigabit internet with a great start-up scene!)
• Buffalo, New York (affordable real estate not far from Toronto!)
• Greenville, South Carolina (co-working, coffee shops, craft breweries!)
• Duluth, Minnesota (freakin’ gorgeous Lake Superior and major affordability!)
• Lancaster, Pennsylvania (a surprisingly progressive vibe and the CUTEST colonial architecture!) (I spent a lot of time there during my ad sales days, ha)

And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Maybe you’ll remember when I visited Galena, Illinois — in the middle of nowhere — and had a mini love affair?!

Anyway, if you are someone who happens to be from one of these places? (Which you are, because everyone is from somewhere???)

This spells big opportunity for a fun new career.

Relocation consultants are typically found in big cities, but now there’s going to be a place for small-town relocation consultants, too.

Imagine taking a new friend to show them your favorite coffee shops? And introduce them to the town locals? And show them how to get firewood, and where to go shopping, and who to call for their plumbing? (Newbies always have the hardest time finding contractors—it’s an epidemic.)

There are sooooooo many things a newbie to town needs to figure out that you definitely take for granted—especially when it comes to meeting people. How cute would it be to organize a weekend barbecue and introduce your client to the neighborhood? Like, isn’t that the most adorable job?! Or take them to a school event and introduce them to the other parents? Or show them the ropes when it comes to getting their trash takeaway set up, and their internet provider, and the best in the area for getting mulch or gravel or just finding the best steaks in town?

I LOVE this as a fresh, fun new career for anyone who’s looking for a change, and loves where they live.

Curious how to execute?!

Here’s how I’d get started doing this work & making a name for myself!

(Note: Detailed Career Plans are a lovely perk for paid subscribers. Upgrade now for instant access, and learn how to make this career your new reality. 🪄)

Next Up: The Relocation Consultant Career Plan

Career Title:
Modern Relocation Consultant

Career Overview:
Helping newcomers get established in the local area

Services I’d Offer:
Most firms might be tempted to offer a variety of à la carte services to appeal to the needs of anyone and everyone (think: this package versus this other package versus this other package versus the OTHER package) but this makes things messy and is complicated and confusing for both you and your customers. Simplicity is beauty! Streamline whatever you can, especially in the beginning. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself offering a bunch of random things before you even understand the true needs of your customers.

What I would do instead?

Create a productized offer.

A productized offer is one that takes your consulting services, and turns them into a standard, repeatable process you go through with everyone. You’re not creating a unique solution for every client, by design.

As a result?

You become way more profitable because you remove a ton of unknowns and you’re able to better scale your services, i.e. you can take on more clients without it costing you more money and time, because the process is the same for everyone.

DesignJoy is the PERFECT example of this.

Instead of creating custom proposals for every client, DesignJoy has created a standard monthly subscription—and it’s the only way to engage. You either subscribe, or you don’t.

Once clients subscribe, here’s how it works:

1. Submit a request anytime.
2. Get the deliverable back within 48 hours.
3. If you have more than one request, you can submit an entire list, but DesignJoy only works on one at a time. (Genius.)
4. You can pause your subscription anytime.

The reason why I love this is because it simplifies everything SO much. You remove the friction to the sale, you get more sales.

And get this: DesignJoy is actually just one guy.

In the context of relocation consulting, instead of offering a myriad of different random packages, you would instead create a streamlined monthly subscription like this.

It’s a flat monthly fee, and includes all of the things you want it to include. (Or don’t want it to include.) Clients can schedule themselves right on your Calendly when they want to engage (subject to the availability you set) and for what purpose. (e.g. “Help me figure out different school options for my kids.”)

And then? When they feel established?

They can cancel their subscription anytime.

Doesn’t that feel like ease? Doesn’t that feel simple and straightforward? More businesses need simple and straightforward!

How I’d Market & Sell It

Fun fact nobody realizes is a thing: books and courses aren’t products, they’re marketing.

I MEAN, THEY ARE ALSO PRODUCTS. :)

But—they fulfill a much greater purpose than just earning a few bucks here and there on a self-published book and a workshop.

These things help market your bigger thing.

Which is counterintuitive to most! Most people are like “but if I give away all my secrets in a book or in a workshop or in a course, why would anyone need to hire me?!” and to that I say: ohhhhh, young grasshopper. (Sidenote: why is there not a grasshopper emoji?!)

Instead, the opposite ends up happening: buying your book or your course is a low-commitment way of engaging with you. It’s a way of gauging your helpfulness. It’s a way of seeing if you have what they need. And, by the time they’re done reading it or going through the course?

THEY REALIZE THEY REALLY DO NEED TO HIRE YOU.

Does that make sense?

Picture the garden designer who sells awesome books and courses on garden design. You might go through them all, but in the end? Realize that it’s way over your head and you would be way better off if you just hired them to help you do the thing, because they are the expert and you are…clearly not.

Books and courses offer clarity that can help you then sell your services.

You do not make yourself redundant.

SOOOO, with that in mind, here’s what I would do:

1. I’d self-publish a book for newcomers to the area. 📖 (And make damn sure it’s professionally designed and looks legit. ✅)

2. Then, I’d create a paid workshop for newcomers to the area that would go into even more detail and be more dynamic. ▶️ This would be something that they might want to take on a slow ‘n lovely Saturday morning, and would go over everything they need to know to have a successful first year in the mountains (or wherever you are). Believe it or not? These are VERY appealing to people, because people don’t always want to engage with other people! I am 100% one of them. I love courses, because they let me feel out the content and see what I can learn without having to - haha- talk to people. Until, of course, I am convinced that I absolutely cannot live without them, at which point I am first in line to say TAKE MY MONEYYYY.

3. And, to get someone there in the first place? I’d create a free newsletter for newcomers to the area. 📝 Long live the free newsletter! It’s a wonderful way to get in front of the perfect client, because your newsletter will be so clear that it’s perfect for them, any newcomers to the area would *have* to subscribe.

4. Thennnn, I would start a free Facebook page for newcomers to the area. Facebook is, weirdly, still the place if you’re trying to reach the local market. A caveat: I don’t want you to have to manage a Facebook group. Managing a group like that should be a paid service - and would be a *great* part of your standard productized offer. (Every client gets access to a special VIP group of newcomers.) So, I’d start a Facebook page for newcomers that would allow me to publish and push info to the page—and, most importantly….advertise my newsletter. You need to get people subscribed to the newsletter. This is the de facto truth for *every* business, but it bears repeating here. You can’t do jack if you don’t have anyone on your email list. (Even if you have a Facebook page, or some other social channel. Think of that as purely a marketing source for your newsletter.)

5. Then, I would advertise my newsletter and slap that opt-in everywhere I can think of—wherever my target client is hanging out. So, where would newcomers hang out?

   1. They’d be looking for local Facebook groups (hence why you have a page presence).

   2. You would also take out Facebook ads explicitly to people who have recently moved to the area.

   3. They would be Googling a shit ton. Everyone Googles “what’s it like to live in X.” Everyone is constantly Googling the place they’re going, looking for blogs about it, articles about it, any information they can get about it. (Especially if they’re excited! Like, wouldn’t you be freaking out if you were moving to The Cotswolds?!?!) This means one thing: you need to be on Google. You can do this two ways: (a) Take out Google ads based on keywords, and (b) Create content on your website that’s going to answer the most commonly-asked questions about your area (so your content starts showing up organically on Google without you paying!) This is still a very, very, very effective strategy. (Don’t believe the hype that social is everything.)

   4. You know where else they’re looking?! Zillow. Right Move. Realty offices. They’re looking for houses! So in this respect, I would do two things: take out ads wherever I can, advertising my sweet local newsletter, and I would also see if I could team up with any local realtors. Realtors are looking for clients too, right? So if you can send them leads (because they’re reading your newsletter), then they will also be happy to send YOU leads. Work out some kind of deal with local realtors. See if you can get featured on their website or, at the very least, put an old school brochure in the office. (This seems overkill for a newsletter, but if you think of every potential client as a $5,000/month lead, the perspective changes.)

   5. Ads in any other local publications! This is a bigggggie. The obvious ones are the newspapers: take out an ad. Make it awesome and fun and big. Put a QR code there. Even Substack gives you a QR code where people can scan it to sign up for your newsletter. (Geniussss.) But also, if there are any other local publications, like the Penny Saver or something else, absolutely get in on that.

   6. You might also want to form some kind of local meet-up group or committee that puts itself in charge of something community-oriented, like the beautification of town. This will put you in a natural position as community leader, and good things come when that happens: people talk! You show up as a force in the area, and when you’re a force in the area, people can’t help but talk about you.

Once someone finds you, then it’s just a game of getting them to love you 🥰 (and want to buy everything you sell!)

So the funnel here is:

Publicity and Content and Ads > Free newsletter > Buy Book > Buy Workshop > Subscribe to Service > Tell Other People (so they can then enter the funnel from the top!)

The #1 thing you need to focus on is getting the newcomers onto your email list—and then everything can flow from there. Even better if you enter all new subscribers into an automated email sequence that will advertise your products and subscription service in timed intervals, so you don’t have to be the bottleneck in your business. (You set technology up to remember it for you!) (By the way, if you want more info on how to do this, you definitely need to watch my workshop.)

Pros of This Remote Career:

1. Your product is your local knowledge (and you already have plenty of it!)
2. Knowledge-as-product is super duper scalable, i.e. you can create books and courses and sell them as digital products
3. You’d get to show up as a leader in your community (this is fantastic and leads to tons of benefits)
4. You’d get to meet ALL THE COOL NEW PEOPLE
5. You’d be suchhhh a connector and networker (you could maybe even parlay this into a service)
6. It’s a super easy sale: people need to know what you know. It’s a need, rather than a want. It’s not like you’re selling hair bows. You’re selling “make sure I’m not lost at sea in this new place that could be very lonely.”
7. Bonus! If you wanted to, you could also target people who are relocating for business, which opens up some other cool opportunities to even offer language conversational training, cultural training, etiquette training, etc.

Cons of This Remote Career:

1. This is proooobably going to be a local business that limits your ability to work from anywhere. (Though not impossible! You’d be the lead consultant and you’d hire a local staff member or two to carry out any in-person activities.)
2. If you tire easily from interaction, this is a high-interaction career.
3. Your client pool may be limited, depending on where you live. How many newcomers come to your area every year? Can you find these stats? Get any idea if this would be viable for you?

Doesn’t this sound like a fun, useful, exciting way to contribute?

Overall, this is a remote work slam dunk—so long as the positives outweigh the negatives in your world. 🌎

Do you know of anyone who does this???? Would love to hear how they do it! Say hi and leave a comment. Any insight could really help a person who’s playing with this idea. 🎉