Couple’s travel experience sparks ‘career gap’ venture
After deciding to take a career break to go travelling, a jet-setting couple are now showing others how they can follow suit.
Alex Trembath and Lisa Pool have launched a new blogging business called Career Gappers to help people take career breaks to go travelling.
Alex, who is originally from Balderton, and Lisa, were both working in communications in London and, having both travelled in the past, decided they wanted to do more travelling, together this time.
The couple then spent five years saving to be able to travel in comfort and to afford the activities they wanted to do, and in June 2017 set off on the trip of a lifetime for 11 months, taking in 20 countries across four continents.
The idea for Career Gappers came once the couple returned home from their trip in May 2018.
Alex said: “Through our experiences in travelling and communications, we thought we could create a blog about how we have taken a break from our careers and our lives to go travelling.
“We noticed it seems to be a growing trend that more people are taking time out to travel as adults and this blog seemed to be a perfect fit for us.
"There will always be a reason to say that now is not the right time to go travelling, but the moment you decide to do it everything falls into place quite quickly"
“We spent a great deal of time working on the business plan and doing our research, and so Career Gappers was born.”
Alex is now working full-time on Career Gappers, while Lisa is working full-time in marketing to pay the bills.
Lisa and Alex, who now live near Lincoln, are now very proud of their efforts.
“It’s been such a transforming experience for us and we wanted to help people to do the same and to dispel the myths surrounding travelling,” Alex said.
“Despite what people think, taking time off doesn’t have to damage your career, and a lot of work places are quite open to it.
“Lisa, for example, has gone into a better job since we came back. No one we have spoken to has any regrets; you may even find a new calling in life.”
Career Gappers not only offers plenty of advice for people thinking about taking a break from their jobs and going travelling, but features stories from those who have done so themselves to share their experiences.
For those who are thinking about heading off on a career gap, Alex said that the key was to make sure to plan properly.
“One of the things we always say is that if you decide to do this, you have to properly commit to it,” Alex said.
“There will always be a reason to say now is not the right time to go travelling, but the moment you decide to do it everything falls into place quite quickly.
“Do the planning and saving properly and it’ll be much less stressful.”
To find out more visit www.careergappers.com
