If you feel stuck in your work, I believe one of the most transformational experience you can give yourself is through travel.

Mindy Hu shares how she was inspired to launch her own business after a fairly impromptu trip to Antarctica. Now she wants to teach you how to find a business idea by traveling.

Mindy is the founder of a truly natural skincare company, Alma Botanicals. Currently, it’s her side hustle. By day she’s the director of operations and strategy for Epicodus, a coding academy.

Lot of insight lessons in our chat including:

Learning the value of downtime and introspection through traveling.
How Mindy teaching herself through trial and error to develop her products and her business.
Testing advertising messages by using different hashtags on Instagram.
How she juggles a full-time job and a side hustle.

Life Skills That Matter In This Episode

Build community
Practice self-awareness
Purge your life
Self-direct your learning

How Mindy Works and Thinks

Wake up time: 6:00am
Ideal work environment: In the mornings, with a clear goal, but also with flexibility in how she achieves that goal.
Superpower: The ability to understand someone by just talking to them briefly.
Definition of success: Being able to turn her passion into a business and share her story every day with individuals.
Book recommendation: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Regains focus by: Taking some alone time to recharge her batteries.
90-day goal: Get into more brick and mortar locations in Seattle and get out into the community more.

Inspirational Quotes

“Why do we need a face cream, a hand cream, a body cream, and a foot cream? I just want the best cream for everything.”

“If you love what you do, it never feels like working. You’re just constantly learning, improving, and being your best self.”

“Books are your friend when you’re traveling solo.”

Coaching Advice

If you’re feeling stuck and want to go on a big travel adventure like Mindy did, she offers the following tips to get started and to make the most of your experience:

1) Don’t plan every detail. Go with an open mind so that you can take the opportunities that come up.

2) Keep it flexible and embrace the journey.

3) Take time to reflect on your experience and understand your achievement.