EP02: Building an Island Paradise Dream Life with Karla Gustafson

Oct 12, 2017

Lot’s of people dream of unplugging from “the grind” and escaping to some far off exotic island paradise. Karla Gustafson, owner of Tropical Blessings, did just that. Frustrated with life as an English teacher in Dallas, Karla escaped to the Caribbean island of St. John where she became a “Moko Jumbie”, and then eventually found herself owning a vacation rental property with zero experience. In this episode, you’ll learn how Karla used her vacation rental to build her dream life, and how infusing your business with love and personality may be your biggest competitive advantage.

 

Show Notes

 

• How Karla discovered St. John (the Caribbean island)
• How Karla stumbled her way into her first vacation rental with no experience
• Why Karla believed she could out-compete the local competition
• Why she focuses so much on small details of her business
• The importance of putting yourself in the shoes of your guests
• Why having fun is critical to Karla’s vacation rental
• How Karla balances financial success and personal satisfaction
• Why being a little imperfect is okay
• Why Karla hates templates for communication
• The advantages of small business over large corporations

 

Resources

 

St. John

Rent Responsibly (Sponsor)

Tropical Blessings

De Coal Pot

Moko Jumbies

 

Lastly….

 

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Learn more about the host, visit https://mattlandau.com/

Get marketing strategies for vacation rentals, visit https://www.vrmb.com/

Collaborate with other professionals in https://community.vrmb.com/