A WORLD OF STORIES
When I saw Great Escape Publishing offering a program to create travel videos that sell the feeling of being on vacation, I couldn’t pass it up. I envisioned combining this skill with my existing business (promoting wellness travel at exotic destinations) and using it to supplement my photography and travel writing. It was the perfect fit. Before I finished the program, I already had my first place in mind where I wanted to film. I approached a vacation rental owner at an upscale resort in Mexico. I used the exact words and benefits featured in the program to sell video services. “Have you ever thought of using video to promote your vacation destination?” Then I followed with all the stats that emphasize why video works. He jumped on the opportunity in a heartbeat in exchange for a complimentary stay!
– Dede Sindelar
Two years ago, I went to the Ultimate Money Making Photography Workshop in Miami and then followed up with the Ultimate Travel Writing Workshop in Boston the same year. This April, EXACTLY two years since the photography workshop (same dates even !!! ), I will be in Georgia, on St. Simons Island, enjoying my very first FAM trip. Unreal. These workshops certainly propelled me forward, into the two loves of my creative life photography and travel writing. Happy camper. Can’t wait to go exploring!
– Theresa St. John
Leading Tours for Fun and Profit played a huge role in my decision to take on traveling with groups of ladies around the world. I had been travelling as a travel photographer and writer for several years. It became very apparent as I shared my photographs and stories with people that there were many ladies out there that also wanted to travel with me. So I started “Ladies Only Group Travel.” I purchased Leading Tours for Fun and Profit and watched all of Cynthia Morris’s clips over and over until I had it all down pat. I find it very easy to put these adventures together and love every minute of it!
– Jacqueline Douglas
Life happens, and I’ve been a slow starter in applying all that Great Escape has taught, but the past few months have been amazing, and I wanted to thank you for all that you offer and the way it’s enhanced my life. My husband and I just returned from a month long trip to Alaska that began with a 9day cruise on a small ship sailing from Juneau to Sitka – fully complimentary for both of us a $10,000 value! Based on your online blog writing course, we added a blog to the basic website my husband had designed. The blog gave the cruise ship owner immediate exposure since other passengers began sharing the site with friends and family. This can be a winwin situation, giving the vendor exposure and building his confidence in me, and also increasing readership on my web page. We’ve now added a ‘Small Ship Cruise Alaska’ tab on our home page for even easier access for potential passengers reviewing the information.
– Colleen Cowles
My blog is http://sixlegswilltravel.com. I am legally blind, and write about traveling with a guide dog. Although some of my stories feature my dogs, past and present, the focus is on travel experiences in all their aspects. The blogging has been fun, but more important, it has strengthened my writing by making me stick to a schedule. The blog has led to published work for a local newspaper where I have written a sevenpart series on my travels in England and Israel and a threepart series featuring some of the bestknown foods of Montreal.
– Penny Zibula
After my employer downsized and let me go, I started looking for income opportunities. That’s when I learned about a freelance opportunity called microgigs through Great Escape Publishing where you could do all these fun things for cash. People started paying me to draw their comic book character ideas! I have only been creating microgigs for a short time, but I’m excited about the income possibilities. The money I earn is helping to top up my bank account and keep me interested in the freelance world.
Soon, I’ll combine a few things together (like blogging) with microgigs to generate a fulltime living. That’s what I’m working toward. As long as I keep following the advice I’ve learned through Great Escape Publishing, I know I can make it happen.
– Matt O’Keefe
My contacts from the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in San Diego are still coming through. I confirmed my two night complimentary stay in Ensenada, which includes a wine tasting trip, in March. I have been invited to a free aerial tramway trip on my next visit to Palm Springs and my email was forwarded to the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism’s new Public Relations Manager by the Tramway Public Affairs Officer who responded to my “thank you” email with “Of course I remember you, Noreen” in which I requested to be placed on the email list for a future FAM tour. This all feels good. So, once again, is it worth it to attend the travel workshop? Yes, it is.
– Noreen Kompanik
To get started creating my own tours, I read Cynthia Morris’s Leading Tours for Fun and Profit. Cynthia suggests using her eguide like a minicoaching session, which I did, and it paid off for me. In fact, all of her tips were extremely valuable in planning my Italian Sampler. Now I may never have to pay for a trip to Italy again!
– Kathy Scopin
I came across microgigs when my wife, Lisa, and I needed to develop a new income source. We can’t believe how much you can make when you charge just $5 at a time. Our most popular gigs are writing related: book or product reviews, proofreading and editing. But we also offer some other things that are easy for me to do, like offering to send a tweet to my 9,000 followers. We love that you can do these gigs from anywhere. We’re U.S. expats living in Ecuador, and if we can do it, anyone can!
– Richard Lloyd Evans
Up until about a year ago, I took family holiday snapshots with no composition, no thought, just point and shoot which once back home from the trip, are rarely seen again. However, after finding Great Escape’s Photography course, I followed one of your many tips and took some of my photographs of my local area to nearby public houses, three of which allowed me to display some photos on the walls of their restaurants as fine art. From this I had a number of sales. How good was that? Thrilling! I thought I would follow your programs to become a better “picture taker,” but it has gone beyond that and it may well lead to a new career and in fact I was building for the future without even knowing it.
– Ian Coulthard
I have always believed in this “Italian Pasta” method of vocational experimentation; throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks. Over the years, I’ve bought and used many courses from Great Escape Publishing. In my case though, nearly all of them have proven successful for me.
After using their Ultimate Travel Writers course and their Breaking Into In-Flight Magazines course, I had a couple dozen articles published in magazines and on websites. I’ve even gotten a couple of free trips out of it.
I learned the ins and outs of stock photography from Breakfast Stock club and now have nearly 150 photos at several online stock agencies generating passive income for me. And my portfolio keeps growing.
After completing their Guided Tours for Fun and Profit course, I put together two of my own guided tours.
My big “problem” is that Great Escape Publishing’s courses are so good I’ve managed to find some measure of success with every one of them that I’ve tried so far. So what do you do when you throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and nearly all of it sticks?
As any success guru will tell you, that’s a high-quality problem to have! I mean, just imagine the alternative where you try a bunch of stuff and nothing works out. You can waste a lot of time and money and have nothing to show for it.
Luckily, the amazing people at Great Escape Publishing produce great courses that are easy to follow. They also offer some really innovative ways for you to try out several different interests until you find your own passion; throw a bunch of stuff against the wall, so to speak.
– Jeff Kontur
In February 2012, I embarked on a new journey by enrolling in your Ultimate Travel Writer’s course. The course was very informative, and since completion I have been published in newspapers, magazines, various blogs and web pages. I selfpublished three books and now my biggest project (a travel book on Japan) will be published in the next few weeks. When I read my first works I wonder how I managed to get this far. A maturing process started and continues to this day. Thank you for a good course that gave me the tools and motivation to make this a fun time in my life.
– Rey Waters