Crazy Idea or Best Gig Ever? Destination Bootstrapping in Costa Rica.

I recently took a week long trip to Costa Rica, combining a bit of sightseeing with a bit of soul searching. The natural beauty everywhere is very inspiring, and I came home determined to make some changes in my life. At this point I am considering several different paths to follow & wanted to share one of the more ambitious ones in hopes that maybe some others might be interested in sharing my vision.

The Context

I have been an independent worker almost all my life. My last W2 gig was a week long stint at a ski resort working the lifts. I took the gig because I wanted something that would get me outside & also let me snowboard regularly. After a week they realized they were overstaffed at the lifts and wanted to put me in the rental shop so I left. Prior to that I parked cars for a Renaissance Festival one summer in High School.

So I’m very accustomed to the benefits of the independent life. I’m also closely acquainted with the downsides & have been considering seeking out full time employment each time a large gig finishes up. Each time however some other project ends up falling into my lap & I put off the career move for just one more project.

Another Alternative

All that being said, neither of those options represent what I really want. They are just potential paths to an ultimate goal of starting & running my own businesses. I’ve got more ideas than I know what to do with & lack the resources to execute on them, making them fairly worthless at this point. And the longer I wait, the more frequently I see others executing those same ideas without me.

So I want to start my own company, but I don’t want to be a CEO or look for funding or get brought out or any of those other things that companies do. I just want to turn my ideas into products/services that enhance lives & charge money for them. To do this I want to work with motivated people who are passionate about similar things as me. I want to work with people smarter & more experienced than me because I feel like I’ve hit a wall in how much I can learn on my own. I want to compensate these people well for their time & I want to share the benefits should any of these ideas take off thanks to their help.

Which brings me to the real reason for this post; compensation. Due to a combination of poor saving habits & a rampant addiction to travel & live music I’ve never really accumulated enough capital to feel comfortable hiring the help I need. So how I can entice the type of people I want to get behind my ideas?

The Hook

Back to Costa Rica. I find I am most inspired to create in beautiful places. This inspiration doesn’t always carry over into the daily grind upon return. Working off a laptop overlooking green mountains or clear blue oceans doesn’t sound like much of a grind. Maybe I gather together a group of programmers & designers & just set up shop down there?

I would cover lodging & transportation to the “office” & other essentials. A four day work week would allow ample time for weekend trips around the country. We would focus on projects which could be implemented quickly & earn revenue quickly. I’ve already got a first project idea which I think could be built in a week or so & earn revenue immediately upon launch with minimal marketing.

A creative & collaborative atmosphere would be encouraged. I’ve been talking about my ideas but I’m also excited about helping others execute their ideas. So long as the idea can be bootstrapped, it’s fair game. I don’t want this to be just work, I’d like it to be a unique experience for all involved. Should some profitable side businesses emerge out of this, I would count on our team to be able to come to mutually agreeable strategies for sharing profits.

Still not Interested? Here are some Pictures.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll leave you with a few taken by my sisters over our vacation. I would love to hear any thoughts on this idea, both positive or negative. Is this realistic at all? Is it something you would be interested in? Are you ready to sign up right now?