An Easily Executable Business Idea Built On People Running Away
These are some of the boldest stories on the internet and they aren't being curated yet.
This article is published in The Money Room - a dedicated section here at Homebody(ish) Magazine. Consider it a home office where income ideas and opportunities are practical, creative, and often wildly amusing. They’re designed to fit real lives and real energy levels while skipping over the grindy nonsense that never worked anyway.
Every time I grace Facebook with my presence, I get white-glove-smacked in the face by this couple I know.
They’re big-city people who’ve lived in Toronto for as long as I’ve known them. They had fabulous careers, living the usual cycle of earn, spend, repeat. Then one day, they did the thing most people only talk about doing after multiple glasses of wine.
They sold almost everything, quit their jobs, loaded up their dogs and moved to Newfoundland.
For context, that would be the Canadian version of moving from NYC into a tent 😆
They bought an oceanfront home on the East Coast for a fraction of what their Toronto life cost them. When they arrived, they took on part-time jobs at a local brewery to help them get started.
Then, they got a third dog, bought a food truck, and continued to build a smaller, freer, more intentional life.
And here’s the part that sticks with me…they look SO much happier and unrushed. Especially for people who just bought a food truck as a first business in a new province.
Don’t think for a second that I haven’t thought about asking them to plop a tiny home on their property and let me and my dog come be permanent tenants 😁
Their adventure pulled me straight back to my own version of this story, when I walked away from a career and moved to Jamaica. Nothing about my stunt was strategic or tidy, and it certainly didn’t make sense to my friends and family watching from the sidelines.
But it changed my life, and in turn, sharing my story online for years changed the lives of many who followed it.
Which brings me to today’s business idea…
This one feels so obvious that I’m surprised it doesn’t already dominate a place like Substack. It would be very easy to start, grow, and monetize in multiple ways with minimal effort, since you wouldn’t have to be the one writing all the stories.
Start a publication devoted entirely to stories of people who left their old lives behind and built new ones somewhere else.
Picture a Substack publication where people submit essays about selling everything and moving to the coast. About changing countries at fifty. About packing up the dogs and choosing slower mornings over higher salaries. Or going full-blown Hallmark movie and leaving a big-city corporate cubicle to run a small-town bakery.
These stories are addictive. Everyone reads them, and more importantly, everyone secretly wonders whether they could do it too. Just ask the person who is currently binging the Everwood series from 2004 (🙋♀️)
The publication could start small and simple.
First, you publish your own story if you have one. Then you invite submissions from people you already know who have made bold geographic moves. If you don’t know of anyone, ask around, and you’ll definitely find some (*raises hand because I have a story*)
Once you’ve built momentum, you do what other magazines do and add a paid subscription feature (or not, if you’re willing to hold out for the broader picture).
Over time, your published posts become anthology collections in the way of beautiful, bite-sized books….think Chicken Soup for the Soul, but the “Club Runaway” version. 😁 And just like Chicken Soup, your anthology books are categorized by topic…in your case, geographical regions.
Club Runaway: Jamaica.
Club Runaway: Portugal.
Club Runaway: Costa Rica.
And so on.
Books like these are the kind of gift someone buys for a friend who’s quietly sitting on the edge of a life pivot and needs a kick in the pants.
Eventually, you expand from just a Substack publication. I’m thinking of a possible podcast featuring interviews with those who have contributed stories. Or a YouTube channel featuring their new surroundings. Both are fantastically monetizable, by the way. Especially travel content on YouTube.
Another money hub for this idea could be a private community where subscribers can network and chat openly about the idea of leaving before they actually do it.
Bold life moves always sell.
There’s something deeply human about seeing proof that someone else took the leap and survived. Took a pay cut and gained a life, or maybe chose ocean air over subway noise (literally my story).
Half the internet is already searching for this kind of content. I know for a fact that thousands are searching for these stories because I used to write them, and I never lacked an audience. Cost-of-living comparisons, stories about starting over, international escapes, etc.
People crave reassurance that their script can be rewritten.
What you’re really monetizing here are dreams and possibilities, both of which are magnetic to the average person still shlepping away at a mundane life they wish to leave. Again, ask me how I know…because I used to read everyone else’s stories of jumping ship before I had the balls to do it myself.
The best part is that this idea can either stay small and soulful, or it can grow into a larger publishing brand. Again, think Chicken Soup. Either way, the overall concept offers tons of room to evolve while still staying as simple as A,B,C:
A. Collect brave stories.
B. Package them beautifully.
C. Build a community around the courage to change.
Now…if you know me, you know I never leave you hanging. Yes, I’ve come up with several name options. I even checked domain availability for one of my favorites. 😁
ClubRunaway.com is available at the time of this writing, which feels like the universe giving a little nod and wink. Some runners-up are:
No Forwarding Address
Burn the Blueprint
Open Road Letters
The Pivot Project
Next Address
Where We Landed
To be honest, I originally dreamed up this idea for myself because it is so in line with the life I used to live. The part that interests me the most about this one is that starting over is not reserved for the reckless or the rich. It’s available to regular people with a little courage and a different tolerance for comfort.
I’m curious what this stirs up for you. Do you know anyone who has joined the runaway club? And, are you going to steal this idea and be the CEO of Club Runaway?
I am just finishing my story of selling up in the city and buying an old farm because I thought Climate Collapse was nigh. 20 years ago we sold our two businesses , left family, friends and our corporate life styles to become a woodsman and gardener. This dramatic change and the ones that followed have prepared us well for these uncertain times.
I will be publishing next week and I look forward to seeing if this does resonate and inspire people !
Thanks for the inspiration and your generosity to even suggest names.
Great concept. A few decades ago, I was in a very stressful job in Chicago and just wanted to get off the merry-go-round. My first husband and I had seriously considered going into the long-haul trucking business and just drive around the country. The job seemed to have so much freedom. Never did it. I also realized that we probably would tire of it too.