We double tap insta pics, pin destinations, and daydream about escaping the realities of life. Though often, our dreams of getting out into the unfamiliar are abandoned because "It's unrealistic". For 26-year old, Perri Godsk, she's done the exact opposite. Founder, Head Writer and Content Creator for princeandthepear.com, she is currently living in Vienna with her husband, Martin (who also happens to be the chef behind her amazing food pics and reviews). She aligned her passions and now is making a name for herself as a business woman. Having traveled to 30 cities and over 16 countries, they "living for a living". As with every incredible story, there is history behind the genesis. This feature article gives deeper insight into Perri's background, perspective, and her path toward creative entrepreneurship.
Share a little bit about yourself and your background?
"I started dancing when I was 3 years old and for a very long time I had no idea how I would ever be able to do anything else because nothing else spoke to me as much as performing. I sometimes still feel like that, but I also know that there are so many ways to perform, there are so many different ways to be seen and there are so many different ways to be heard. At the end of the day that is what I hold closest to me, the fact that I want to be seen and I want to be heard.
When I was in college all I wanted to do was BE DONE. I have a bad habit of living for the future. Whatever moment I am in, I am looking forward to the next moment, instead of enjoying the moments passing by. When I was at UNLV, I picked my major because my best friend had picked the same major the year before. Once I entered the classes, I wasn’t necessarily inspired with what I was learning, but mores inspired because I knew I could really do anything with this knowledge. The ability to write, the ability to move people with words, the ability to create imagery, the ability to make people feel something. Whether that was with rhetoric or journalism or just really amazing writing, it was very empowering to me."
I left the world of public relations and journalism that I was only briefly even apart of to pursue my passion of dancing professionally. It was everything and more that I could have ever asked for, but still somehow in moments I felt a little empty because I wanted to let my creative wings fly even more… A move to Europe truly sparked my urge to start something new… so I did.
What are some of your passions in life?
"Dance, modern art, creating, reading, music."
What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? How did the idea for your business come about?
"I wanted to start a blog for a very long time. I always loved to write and I really felt like what I said mattered. With the over saturation of blogs, I also thought that I could definitely create content that had more oomph than what I was reading. However, the idea of writing down my ideas and actually sharing them with other people completely freaked me out. I didn’t want to be judged, I was very self-conscious of my writing, so I never went through with it. I was living in Southern Sweden during the cold cold winter, cooking more than I ever have in my life, and I thought it would be a great idea to start a blog with my boyfriend where we created recipes.. and talked about our favorite restaurants during our travels. This definitely was a safety net for me, food was fun and very non threatening.
This blog slowly started to shift to a full on travel blog, where I really put my heart and voice into the places that I was experiencing. Truly diving into local cultures and really making sense of my travel excursions. From there, I started writing for tourism companies from around the world. It has been amazing and it really feels like the sky is the limit now as long as I keep on pushing forward… So I guess you can say that I somehow started my business out of necessity, but it was much more to me than that…"
What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
"I have had to sacrifice my security. It is much more secure to have a full time job, clock in, clock out, and know that you have a paycheck coming at the end of the week. Being an entrepreneur and seeing your vision, but hoping that someone else sees it so you can pay bills is stressful. Its all very stressful, but if you have the vision then you have to persevere.."
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful business entrepreneur?
"Creativity, creativity & time management!!!!! What motivates you? Sometimes when I get stressed or mentally and physically exhausted… I look around. I look at the beautiful countries I’m in.. I look at the fact that I am writing with a view overlooking the countryside of Laos.. and it forces me to push harder. I am so fortunate that I have a skill that other people actually want to use. I don’t want to ever take my gifts for granted… that is what motivates me. There are so many people who only know how to take orders or only know how to follow a conventional life plan and I have the ability to create- not something many people on this Earth can say they can do.. create something from nothing."
What three pieces of advice would you give to others who want to engage in starting up a new business?
"Take in as much information as you can, keep learning. If you have already researched something, look over it again.. ask your peers, ask people more successful than you, ask questions lots of questions! Toughen Up Network! Talk! To everyone and anyone! You never know who you will meet and you never know what you will learn."
How do you define success?
"I define my success as freedom. Do I have the freedom to do what I want creatively? Do I have the freedom to live the kind of life I want to live because of my business? This is success to me. To what do you most attribute your success? I would attribute my success to my fear of mediocrity.. Every time I want to quit or question what I am doing I think about what I truly want out of my life… and then I think.. what will it take to get there!? Its going to take a lot, its going to take being uncomfortable and that's okay but you'll never get there unless you push!"
Prince and The Pear, is a phenomenal resource to visit for all things travel! Stay connected and follow along on the couples' adventures.
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