It's the 100th episode of the Travel Creator Podcast!! We are two years old officially!!

Today is a bit of a special episode as I have my boyfriend Matt interview ME about our past year travelling out west in a rootftop tent and some of my spiciest travel opinions.

This episode is basically a collection of my most unfiltered travel stories, weird “how is this my job?” moments, and personal opinions I usually keep to myself. Consider this a thank-you gift to everyone who’s been here listening, DM’ing me, and building this community with me over the last two years! 💛

✈️ What We Talk About in This Episode:

• Why recording a podcast episode from a Walmart parking lot in 100-degree heat felt completely normal at the time
• The reality of van life and working from anywhere (libraries, cars, laundromats… you name it)
• The most chaotic travel moment of my life
• My biggest non-negotiables when traveling
• The strangest client requests I’ve ever gotten as a travel creator
• What I think are the most overrated travel destinations

💌 A Huge Thank You

If you’ve ever listened to a single episode, sent me a DM, shared the show, or told a friend about it, thank you! Truly. This podcast is my favorite thing I’ve ever created, and it exists because of you.

📣 Call to Actions

• If you loved this episode, take 30 seconds to leave a review — it helps more travel creators find the show
• Share this episode with a friend who loves travel stories or dreams of van life
• DM me on Instagram and tell me your most chaotic travel moment
• Got ideas for future episodes? My DMs are always open

Thank you for being here for 100 episodes. I’ll see you next week 💛✈️

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The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

Today I’m sharing my 2026 booklist for travel creators and content creators—the exact business books, mindset books, and creativity books I’m reading (or rereading!) to scale my creator business without burning out.

Whether you’re listening from a plane, a hostel bunk, or the world’s loudest café, these books will shape how you think, create, and build your business in 2026.

I’m pulling back the curtain on the physical books sitting on my desk and the digital ones on my to-read list. These are the titles I believe every travel creator, content creator, or creative business owner needs to read in 2026.

1. Mindset — Carol Dweck

2. Clear Thinking — Shane Parrish

3. Essentialism — Greg McKeown

4. Effortless — Greg McKeown

5. The Art of Persuasion — Bob Burg

6. Do Nothing — Celeste Headlee

7. Alchemy — Rory Sutherland

8. Slow Productivity — Cal Newport

9. 10x Is Easier Than 2x — Dan Sullivan

10. The 12-Week Year Field Guide — Brian P. Moran & Michelle Lewington

11. Never Not Working — Melissa Clark

12. A Healthy State of Panic — Farnoosh Torabi

13. Please Unsubscribe, Thanks — Julio Vincent Gambuto

14. Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity — David Whyte

15. The Great Stewardess Rebellion — Nell McShane Wulfhart

• Why creators need business books, not just “creator inspiration”
• How reading fits into my business planning for 2026
• The books I reread every year (and why)
• What fiction I’m reading behind the scenes (DM me if you want the list!)
• My nerdy love for surveillance capitalism and attention economy
• Why creators must learn business skills if they want sustainability
• How these books align with the systems we’re building inside my community

Travel creators weren’t meant to spend 12 hours hunched over a laptop in Croatia stressing about the algorithm. You became a travel creator to travel.

Inside The Travel Creator Business Plan, we focus on building an actual business—not just content.

You’ll get:
✨ One new monthly business system
✨ Co-working sessions
✨ Live Q&As
✨ A private community of creators building sustainable businesses
✨ And

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

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Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE

In today’s episode, I pull back the curtain on how tourism boards really choose creators—plus the step-by-step system I use to pitch, follow up, and land deals.

I’m breaking down the pitch mistakes that are tanking your chances, the exact process I use as a travel creator and UGC creator, and how you can confidently pitch—without needing a massive following.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why tourism boards love working with UGC creators
• How to build a pitch-ready portfolio in one afternoon
• The correct way to find decision-makers at tourism boards
• The 4 elements every winning pitch needs
• The truth about email volume (it’s a numbers game)
• The follow-up strategy that gets me responses on my 4th, 5th, and even 7th email
• Mistakes killing your pitching

💌 Tools + Links Mentioned

✨ Bento – My favorite pitching tool (400–600 automated emails/month)

I use Bento to send hundreds of pitches on autopilot for just $50/month. The ROI is actually wild. Grab my Bento discount code in the show notes to get 10% off anything you choose.

The affiliate code is: LAURA1
The affiliate link is: https://app.onbento.com/?acode=laura1

✨ Email-finding tools

• apollo.io
• hunter.io

Follow Me On:
Sign up for my newsletter, the Content Compass to receive free tips and tricks to beat the content creation overwhelm and get back to traveling.

Website

Instagram

Join Us 👉 The Travel Creator Business Plan Community!

The only business-building community designed specifically for travel creators.
You’ll get:
✔ monthly business systems
✔ coworking + Q&A calls
✔ a private community of creators building real businesses
✔ guidance to help you move from “content machine” to “CEO energy”

Sign Up HERE