Wildpreneurs

1. Unleash Your Wild Daydreams: The Seed of Adventure

Daydreaming is an essential prerequisite to action.

Start with imagination. Every wild business begins as a seed of an idea, often born from daydreams and a craving for a different life. Tamara's vision for an eco-lodge sparked during a kayaking trip in Baja, a stark contrast to her environmental economics studies and potential corporate path. This initial phase is crucial for letting creativity flow without constraints.

Incubation period. The Baja expedition served as an unexpected incubation period, allowing the eco-lodge idea to evolve beyond a dry business plan. Surrounded by nature and disconnected from the conventional world, Tamara infused her personality and wild spirit into the concept, imagining unique elements like tree houses and adventure activities. This highlights the value of stepping away from the norm to let ideas marinate.

Listen to your heart. The pull towards the eco-lodge dream was a persistent inner whisper, a calling that felt more aligned with her true self than a traditional career. Despite the allure of a steady paycheck and societal expectations, she chose to surrender to the gravitational force pulling her towards the unknown. This emphasizes the importance of tuning into your intuition and pursuing what makes you come alive.

2. Get Dirty & Build Momentum: From Idea to Action

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Move beyond planning. Once the daydream takes shape, the next crucial step is to translate it into tangible action. For Tamara, this meant trading her graduation gown for work clothes and physically digging into the jungle land, hauling rocks and clearing trails alongside her parents. This hands-on approach, even in the most basic tasks, is essential for building momentum and understanding the realities of the project.

Learn by doing. The initial creation phase is a school of hard knocks, filled with trial and error. From battling ants and tejones to navigating building challenges with limited experience, Tamara learned invaluable lessons by getting her hands dirty. This period reveals the importance of persistence, resourcefulness, and a willingness to tackle problems head-on, even when you don't know exactly what you're doing.

Embrace imperfection. The first attempts won't be perfect. The initial guest experience at the lodge was a "belly flop," revealing flaws in the all-inclusive model and pricing. However, these mistakes were crucial learning opportunities that led to necessary refinements. Viewing "failure" as "artful mistake making" allows Wildpreneurs to learn, adapt, and grow stronger from setbacks.

3. Navigate the Financial Wilds: Creative Funding & Simplicity

There is an art to living on a shoestring.

Shared risk & commitment. Funding a wild business often requires creative solutions and personal sacrifice. Tamara and her parents invested their savings and took on a mortgage, demonstrating a shared commitment that fueled their determination. Putting your own money on the line, no matter how small the amount, increases your investment in the outcome.

Patience and reinvesting. Early financial success is rarely guaranteed. The Tailwind Jungle Lodge operated with little income initially, requiring all profits to be reinvested back into the property for expansion and improvements. This slow and steady approach, building capacity as finances allowed, reduced reliance on outside investors and aligned with their philosophy of smart simplicity.

Creative solutions. Living on a tight budget necessitates ingenuity. Tamara funded her summers by housesitting and working odd jobs, while strategically marketing the lodge in adventurer hotspots. Wildpreneurs find ways to stretch resources through:

• Bartering services or products
• Recycling and reusing materials
• Finding affordable living situations (vans, WWOOFing, etc.)
• Being smart about spending (happy hours, cooking at home)

4. Embrace Adaptation: Flowing with the Current

Adaptation is crucial for navigating the unknown.

Cultural immersion. Operating in a new cultural context, like Mexico's "mañana" culture, requires significant personal and professional adaptation. Tamara's initial frustration with the slower pace and different priorities eventually gave way to acceptance and appreciation, transforming her perspective on productivity and time. Resisting the surrounding culture is often a losing battle.

Learn from the environment. The natural world and local culture offer profound lessons in flexibility and resilience. The parable of the Mexican fisherman highlights the value of prioritizing quality of life over relentless accumulation. Embracing the unpredictable rhythms of nature and the local way of life teaches patience and the wisdom of working with the flow, not against it.

Perpetual evolution. Wild businesses must constantly adapt to changing circumstances, including customer needs, environmental challenges, competition, and personal goals. The Tailwind Jungle Lodge evolved from an eco-lodge to a retreat center, adjusting services based on guest feedback and market trends. A willingness to pivot and refine is essential for long-term survival and thriving.

5. Learn from Mother Nature: Biomimicry & Holistic Business

Doing it nature’s way has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.

Nature as a mentor. The natural world is a vast source of wisdom for designing sustainable and resilient systems. Biomimicry encourages looking to nature's time-tested patterns and strategies to solve human challenges, from energy efficiency to waste management. Tamara's "snake epiphany" marked a shift from fearing the jungle to learning from its intricate ecosystem.

Holistic approach. Wildpreneurs strive for businesses that are healthy not just economically, but also environmentally, socially, and personally. This means looking beyond traditional profit motives to consider the impact on the planet, the community, and one's own well-being. It's about creating genuinely good businesses that align with values.

Integrating principles. Applying biomimicry principles involves:

• Using only necessary energy (passive design, efficient appliances)
• Recycling everything (composting, reuse)
• Building resilience through diversity and cooperation
• Optimizing rather than maximizing growth
• Working locally and using abundant resources

This approach not only benefits the planet but can also lead to creative, cost-effective solutions and attract customers who value sustainability.

6. Invest in Your Wild Self: Prioritizing Well-being

Your business bottom line is meaningless without strong human capital.

Self-care is non-negotiable. Running a wild business is demanding and can easily lead to burnout if personal well-being is neglected. Tamara's anxiety attack highlighted the critical need to prioritize her physical and psychological health, realizing that professional success was unsustainable without investing in herself. Self-care is not a luxury, but a fundamental requirement for longevity.

Holistic nourishment. Investing in yourself goes beyond just food. It involves "primary food" – nourishment from areas like relationships, career fulfillment, exercise, and spirituality. Tuning into your body's signals, understanding your unique needs (bio-individuality), and cultivating healthy habits are essential for maintaining balance.

Practical wellness tools. Integrating simple practices into daily life can make a significant difference:

• Mindfulness and meditation to calm the mind
• Regular exercise that brings joy
• Prioritizing sleep and rest
• Eating whole, nutrient-rich foods (especially greens)
• Setting boundaries between work and personal life
• Seeking support when needed (coaches, friends)

7. Cultivate Your Tribe: Family, Relationships & Community

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Family as foundation. For many Wildpreneurs, family is integral to the business journey. Building a business with loved ones requires a strong foundation of trust, patience, respect, and a shared passion for the vision. The Jacobi family's adventures together cultivated the resilience and communication skills needed to navigate the complexities of working side-by-side.

Define roles and communicate. To maintain harmony in a family business, clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and expectations is crucial. Regular, open communication, even when difficult, helps prevent misunderstandings and build a stronger team. Learning to navigate disagreements constructively is key.

Relationships beyond family. Building a supportive network extends to partners, friends, employees, and the local community. Finding a romantic partner who understands and supports the Wildpreneur lifestyle is vital, though challenging. The "kayaking test" serves as a metaphor for navigating life's currents together. Engaging with the local community and fostering positive relationships enriches the business and personal life.

8. Master the Nuts & Bolts: Practical Tools for the Trail

Be prepared!

Essential planning. While Wildpreneurs embrace spontaneity, a solid plan provides direction and clarity. A simple business plan outlining the product/service, target audience, finances, and goals serves as a map for the journey. It doesn't need to be overly complex, but it should be clear and adaptable.

Research and specialization. Before launching, research the industry, competitors, and ideal customers. Specializing in a niche allows you to focus your efforts and become a master of your trade, rather than spreading yourself too thin. Start small and simple, focusing on quality.

Rogue marketing & networking. Effective marketing doesn't always require a large budget. Being authentic, telling your story, and leveraging personal connections are powerful tools.

• Use social media strategically
• Offer freebies or test runs
• Prioritize customer loyalty and word-of-mouth
• Seek synergies and collaborations with complementary businesses
• Network constantly – "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

9. Chase Inspiration: Redefining Success & Living Fully

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

Success is now. Wildpreneurs redefine success beyond traditional metrics of power and money. True richness lies in quality of life, freedom, inspiration, and purpose. The journey itself, with its challenges and triumphs, is the reward. This perspective fuels persistence when times are tough.

Earn your inspiration. Keeping inspiration alive requires conscious effort. It involves choosing work that aligns with your deepest calling, working hard and smart, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth. The "Awesomeness Factor" encourages making decisions based on what is most awesome for yourself, others, and the environment.

Balance and presence. Counterbalancing hard work with play and consciously slowing down are essential for sustained inspiration. Play reconnects you with joy and a beginner's mind, while slowing down allows intuition and creativity to flourish. Being present in each moment, embracing both the mud and the lotus, allows you to fully experience the richness of the Wildpreneur journey.

Last updated: May 4, 2025