Amanda Gedney begins by explaining her love of hula hooping and fire-spinning, how to do it, how she learned it, and how she manages the fire-spinning performances at the Jai Thep festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She then takes us on her journey, starting with growing up in New York, going to college at the Fashion Institute of Technology, studying abroad in Paris, falling in love with travel, and then totally pivoting and moving to Chiang Mai to teach English right out of college. She then explains her entrepreneurial trajectory and her experience building her company, Settle in Abroad, which helps digital nomads and teachers re-locate to Chiang Mai. She explains what is included in her turn-key relocation package, as well as her other shorter-term offerings for tours and experiences in Thailand. She then goes on to talk about “ethical tourism”, how travelers should think about it as they explore the world, and how she ethically vets all of her tours and experiences. Amanda then goes on to talk about building and scaling her business, the biggest challenges, and why she over-pays her staff and supports them in building their own businesses. She also talks about her partnership with One Tree Planted, Warm Heart and explains how and why Settle in Abroad gives back to social causes for every program sold. Amanda then gives her advice to high school and college students who desire remote work options and want to integrate travel experiences into their lives. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE at www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #54: Fire-Spinning, Ethical Tourism, and Relocating Digital Nomads to Chiang Mai with Amanda Gedney
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Amanda Gedney
Amanda Gedney is the 25-year-old CEO and founder of Settle in Abroad, a relocation service that help digital nomads and teachers move to Chiang Mai, Thailand. She founded Settle in Abroad in Chiang Mai at age 22 and has since partnered with a local Thai legal services company so she can help digital nomads navigate the legal and visa processes required to live long term in Thailand and legally start their own businesses as foreign nationals.
Settle in Abroad also offers short term travel programs, tours and experiences in Thailand all of which are carefully vetted to ensure they are ethical and helping the Thai community prosper. Amanda primarily employs Thai women and supports them in improving their businesses and personal brands.
As a socially conscious business, Settle in Abroad plants 12 trees per program purchased, through its partnership with One Tree Planted, and also works closely to support Warm Heart, which sponsors orphans and hill tribe children just outside of Chiang Mai.
Amanda is also a hula-hooper and fire-spinner. She teaches hula hoop dance workshops, manages the fire spinning performers at the Jai Thep festival in Chiang Mai, and produces a YouTube Series called Hooping Around the World and she has been to 35 countries.
What You'll Learn
- How and why to consider re-locating to Chiang Mai, Thailand as a base
- How to think about ethical tourism while traveling the world
- How to build a business around expertise you have already developed in your life
Links From the Episode
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LEARN MORE ABOUT RELOCATING TO CHAING MAI WITH “SETTLE IN ABROAD”
(Use code “Maverick Show” for $200 discount)
NOMAD PROGRAMS AND EVENTS MENTIONED
- Nomad Summit (Get 10% OFF Tickets to the Next Nomad Summit By Using the Code “FRIENDS”)
- Remote Year (Get a $100 Discount off Remote Year By Using This Link)
THE #1 BOOK AMANDA RECOMMENDS
THE PERSON WITH WHOM AMANDA WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER
CHARITIES THAT “SETTLE IN ABROAD” SUPPORTS
AMANDA HULA HOOPING AROUND THE WORLD
FIRE-SPINNING AT THE JAI THEP FESTIVAL
INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKET LIST TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
CONTACT AMANDA
- Website (Use code “Maverick Show” for $200 discount)
- Settle In Abroad Instagram
- Amanda’s Personal Instagram
- Email: info@settleinabroad.com
Time Stamped Show Notes
[3:30] How Matt and Amanda met at the Nomad Summit in Chiang Mai
- Matt and Amanda’s first impressions of each other
- The best pizza place in Chiang Mai
[5:40] Fire-Spinning and Hula Hooping Around the World
- Mastering flow arts
- Learning to be a fire-spinner
- Safety precautions for fire-spinning
- Managing the fire spinning performance at the Jai Thep Festival
- What hula hooping means to Amanda
- Starting the hula hoop club in College
- Amanda’s “Hula Hooping Around the World” series
[15:29] Amanda’s Journey Through the Fashion Industry and Falling in Love with Travel
- Growing up in New York
- Her Interest in the History and Business of Fashion
- Studying Abroad in Paris
- Traveling through Europe
- Learning about the Options to Teach English in Thailand
- Deciding to leave fashion and move to Chiang Mai
- What travel means to Amanda
- Amanda’s current lifestyle design and travel cadence
[29:03] Amanda’s Experience Moving to Chiang Mai as a Long Term Base
- Re-Locating to Chiang Mai While Broke
- Amanda’s Serendipitous Experience Settling Into Thailand
[34:06] Amanda’s Entrepreneurial Journey
- The inspiration for “Settle in Abroad”
- From re-locating teachers to re-locating digital nomads to Chiang Mai
- The value proposition of “Settle in Abroad”
- What’s Included in the “Settle In Abroad” Chiang Mai Re-Location Package
- Offering shorter-term tours of Thailand
[49:23] Ethical Tourism
- Explaining the aspects of ethical tourism
- Examples of un-ethical tourism regarding both humans and animals
- Ethically vetting all “Settle in Abroad” tours
[54:07] Organizing Local “Experiences”
- The “Settle in Abroad” event around the Lantern Festival
[58:28 ] Building and Scaling “Settle in Abroad”
- Join “The Hatchery” business accelerator program in Chiang Mai
- Figuring out how to make her business legal and get a business visa at age 21
- Hiring and scaling Settle in Abroad slowly
- Hustling and bootstrapping her business
- Managing staff and creating quality control
- Amanda’s choice to significantly over-pay her staff
- Hiring Thai women and supporting them in building their own businesses
[1:05:23] Building a Socially Conscious Business
- Integrating a charitable contribution to her business
- Partnering with Warm Heart
- Partnering with One Tree Planted
- Why Amanda is so passionate about education
[1:11:31] Amanda’s Advice for Young People in High School and College
[1:18:05] The Lightning Round
- The #1 Book Amanda recommends
- The person with whom Amanda would most like to have dinner
- The advice Amanda would give to her 18-year-old self
- Amanda’s top 3 favorite travel destinations
- Amanda’s top 3 bucket list destinations
[1:24:14] $200 Discount Offer on the Chiang Mai Relocation Package (And Recap of What’s Included)
[1:26:04] Contact Amanda
