The Biggest Lesson My Travels Have Taught Me About My Business

Traveling is one of my passions and I consider it to be my biggest hobby. People who follow my worldwide jaunts on Twitter and Instagram often ask me how I manage to run a company in between all those trips. 

Sure, a decent chunk of these trips are for my business. And I’m lucky to work in a role where regular travel is part of the package. But I also make sure to tack on extra excursions during my work trips—and plan separate vacations for me and my family. 

Why do I make travel such a priority? First of all, I love it. My life wouldn’t feel whole without it. But I also think traveling makes me a better person, a better leader and helps me build a better business. 

There are countless lessons I’ve learned from people around the world, but the biggest takeaway has been this: You can learn something valuable from anyone, anywhere. Maybe it’s someone in another country who’s sharing their culture with you, the person you’re sitting next to on the plane, or even an intern at the office who got back from her first backpacking trip—they all have something to teach you, if you listen. Travel has expanded my mind, and being on the road keeps me in that open-to-anything mindset.

Below are just a few examples of how travel can inform your business. Whether it’s to a different city or across the world, I hope this inspires you to plan your next adventure. 

1. Travel gives you fresh ideas at every turn.

At its most basic, travel exposes you to so many new ideas, perspectives and ways of working. It’s impossible to take in all these new experiences and not be forever changed. I find inspiration in every single trip I take. For example, hearing the way Europeans approach work-life balance helped me prioritize devoting enough time to my family. Experiencing a Tibetan Bells meditation session gave me ideas for how to promote wellness within my team. 

Once I get over the jet lag, I find myself bursting with new ideas at the end of every journey. And I usually find a way to incorporate these ahamoments into my business. 

2. Travel actually makes your brain work better.

Studies have shown that the simple act of traveling and immersing yourself in novel experiences increases your creativity. How? By increasing your cognitive flexibility and ability to make connections between seemingly disparate things. The neural pathways in your brain are sensitive to change: New sounds, smells, language, tastes, sensations, and sights spark different synapses in the brain and may have the potential to revitalize the mind. 

So it’s not just that I just pick up some new ideas while I’m out and about. I actually find myself returning from trips full of creative energy to solve my biggest challenges.  

3. Travel ups your everyday curiosity.

You know that wide-eyed feeling you get when you walk into a new country or undiscovered U.S. state? That mindset where you feel like everything is fresh and exciting, and around every corner there’s something new to learn? 

If you can bring that way of thinking into your daily life, you’ll be more open to ideas from surprising sources. Pay attention and approach things without judgement: Maybe your colleague on the engineering team actually has a great marketing idea, or perhaps you can apply learnings from a completely different industry to your own company.  

One study referenced in the Harvard Business Review showed that curious employees sought out the most information from coworkers. And numerous studies have suggested that curiosity has huge business value, including better work performance and more creative solutions to difficult problems. I’ve found some of my best ideas from surprising sources—but I had to be open to hearing them and seeing their value. Travel helps me work that muscle, keeping my mind constantly open to new concepts and looking for inspiration everywhere. 

Of course, you can practice this type of enthusiastic curiosity and creative openness even if you don’t fly around the world. But for me, travel accelerates that process. If you don’t have the time or the funds, you’ll get a similar jolt by exploring a new neighborhood, attending a cultural festival, or even grabbing coffee with a coworker outside of your department.  

Have you found that travel makes you better at business? I’d love to hear how in the comments!

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Let’s Connect! Find me on Twitter (@KaraGoldin), and DM me your burning business questions and/or comments.

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–based hint?, a healthy lifestyle brand that produces the leading unsweetened flavored water and a scented sunscreen spray that’s oxybenzone and paraben-free. Listen to her podcast, Unstoppable, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and disruptors across various industries and keep up with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.