Travel With Confidence
By Lisa Francesca Nand
Designing a Life of Travel, Wealth & Freedom
Hi, I’m Lisa, travel journalist, entrepreneur and single mum. A huge welcome to my new column
in which we’ll be talking about something we all love. Travel! Not only where to go and how to
go there but always how important travel is for the heart and soul and increasingly for business.
In my 20 years as a travel expert, interviewing over 200 celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs,
and people excelling in their fields about their life stories through travel, I’ve become
fascinated by the psychology of travel. Why we’re drawn to it, why it changes us. That instinct to
look beyond the next horizon is deeply human, it’s what kept us alive for millennia. Today, for
those of us fortunate enough to live in a non-conflict world and safe world, that same curiosity
has evolved into something more: a desire for expansion, for perspective, for reconnecting with
who we are beyond our everyday roles.
“Travel is no longer just about where we go. It is becoming a way women expand their lives, their businesses and their sense of possibility.”
Solo-female travel, time away with the family, with friends or partners, business travel, attending
retreats, creating our own retreats… all of these have become such significant parts of our lives.
And really, who doesn’t absolutely love a holiday?!
Following the Pull of Adventure
My own personal need to look over the next horizon started young, terrifying my parents by
disappearing on my bike age just 5 for hours on all sorts of adventures around my suburban
Northern English neighbourhood. My Dad, himself having arrived from Fiji in1960, and my
Wirral-born mum also felt the urge, and when I was just 7 years old we moved to Malaga in
Spain. It was a different place back in those days, a little wild, free, and my brother and I very much had a magical childhood, running around on beaches and dunes and attending what was, on reflection, a laid-back school with over 20 different nationalities of children all learning in
English and Spanish.
That curiosity also drew me to move to Brighton age just 16 in 1990, wide-eyed and open to
adventure, at a time when the town had a slightly edgier vibe. I remember being thrilled by my
first winter there, badly dressed for the cold in my 1960s sheepskin jacket and cowboy boots,
under-aged drinking in back-street pubs with characters who were straight out of a Krays movie.
England excited me and still does; the fact that popular music, popular culture, cool fashion is
made here. I love that!
When Travel Isn’t Enough on Its Own
My love for travel and adventure has taken me across continents, onto television screens and
radio shows and into stories I never could have imagined. I’ve been incredibly lucky to make
travel such a huge part of what I do. I haven’t had a conventional job since 2003 when I gave up a role in corporate events and films to train as a journalist. Effectively I have been an
entrepreneur since way back then, but it wasn’t until I got divorced when I realised I really
needed to focus on the money.
Travel industry professionals get treated really well. After all, we have an element power with
our words and our reviews. They want us to have the best of times! But like in many industries
the pay has been steadily declining and you can’t pay the mortgage with luxury perks, nice as
they are, so like many of us I had a mid-life pivot and in 2024 added the business side of travel to my repertoire.
I have also now shared the business with over 120 people, some of them using the product
(travel agency software) for their own travel benefits, some for booking for other people, some
for organising retreats and events and others to sell the business to others and make referral fees.
What Time-Freedom and Financial Freedom Really Give Us
As well as more freedom and money what I love most about the mid-life entrepreneurial pivot is
the women who become our new network. Women who are not afraid to say that yes we are
making our careers and businesses about helping other women succeed (because we really are), however we are also not afraid to say YES I also want to earn f*ck loads of money!
Because financial freedom, for a woman, perhaps most powerfully gives us the ability to walk
away from situations that don’t serve us, whether in work, relationships, or life.
“Financial freedom gives a woman choices, the choice to leave what no longer serves her, build on her own terms and live with more independence.”
It gives us those all-important choices. And when we as women step into that kind of independence, it creates a ripple effect, expanding what feels possible not just for us, but for our family and for other women watching us rise. And if it also gives us the freedom to work from anywhere, whether that’s so we can still be at the
school gates or whether that’s working from the beach in Costa Rica, that’s a very powerful
thing.
A New Way to Think About Travel
This column is about more than just beautiful destinations, it’s about how women are redefining
travel as a tool for wealth, independence and time freedom. From learning how to earn from your own holidays, to integrating travel into your business, booking for others, or even creating your own retreats and experiences, we’ll explore both the mindset and the practicalities behind
travelling smarter. Alongside the inspiration, I’ll be sharing real-world insights, strategies, and
opportunities that are emerging in this space right now.
If you’re curious about how travel could work harder for you financially, professionally, or personally come and be part of the conversation. Reach out, connect, and let’s explore what’s possible together. I can’t wait to be on this journey with you.
Bio: Travel expert on TV and radio, journalist since 2004, and single mum to two boys. Lisa’s deep industry knowledge and passion for freedom led her to create Travel With Confidence. Scan the code for more information
IG @lisafrancesca_nand
