5 Ways Adventurous Traveling Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, you will find that some years will be better than others. From success’ perspective, you will find that there will be aspects outside the business itself that contribute to it. Aspects that present you with a chance to truly tap into the entrepreneur in yourself. I'm Sidd Pagidipati, an avid traveler, CEO & Founder of Inventcorp, a successful entrepreneur, and I made it to the Inc. 500 list in 2009.

You will meet all types of businessmen but those that have a knack for adventure tend to be a little more special. You may think that scaling a mountain or going surfing in Hawaii won’t really impact how you do business, but the adventurous experiences actually build character. Which leads us to 5 ways that adventurous traveling can make you a better entrepreneur.

Provide the inspiration you need

You’ve probably heard about the need for individuals to think outside the box in route to innovation. Well, how you do you expect to do that with the same daily routine and interactions every day? You just can’t. By visiting foreign countries, we take ourselves outside our everyday environment and experience a foreign culture which enables us to see the world from another’s perspective. This allows you to see your own life, business, and problems from another perspective. It basically widens your horizon.

Now, many businessmen will think that business trips should do the same. However, when on a business trip, your subconscious is more concerned about work-related things which hinder it from truly experiencing a different culture and so on. To trigger those “eureka” moments, you need to travel freely and more adventurously.

Become resilient

The ability to handle mistakes and learn from it is one every entrepreneur should have. While traveling, we are completely out of our element which makes us even more prone to mistakes. Think about trekking up to the basecamp of Mt. Everest, you don’t have a lot of room for error and any mistake you make needs to be rectified immediately. What adventure traveling does is it helps you adapt to mistakes you make and take immediate action to rectify them.

At the same time, adventure traveling presents you with a chance to take on challenges you would otherwise not. For example, bungee jumping 300 feet over a Costa Rican forest isn’t something you can do every day. The thrill it presents will make you want to go through with the experience. Which all translates well into the business world as you will be willing to take more risks and also sustain rejections that come with being an entrepreneur.

Learn to read people

Communication is a skill and element of business that can be undervalued. After all, a business can lose a ton of money due to miscommunication. Traveling in foreign in countries exposes you to different languages and communication styles. While you travel, you learn to communicate with more than just words. You learn to read people better and relay more on body language when traveling to a country where you are not familiar with the language. In these situations, you expose yourself to situations where you need to ensure you communicate well. Otherwise, you might end up eating something you would never dream of.

Become more decisive

The process of traveling requires a lot of decision-making. It doesn’t matter if you travel alone or within a group. You will be required to make decisions whether it is where to go or what to eat. These decisions at the time may not seem earth-shattering, but it does help in building a better leader. You learn to value opinions and consider other things that help you make an informed decision. It essentially makes you less indecisive.

Become better at managing time

Traveling is all about managing time. From reaching the airport on time to following items on the itinerary 'to a t'. You will find that if you are late by even a few minutes, your whole trip can unravel. You will have to push back your whole itinerary and possible even miss some activities due to being late to one. You learn the importance of both your time and others. The experience will translate to business as it will give you a better sense when it comes to time management.