Meet Roxanne Labat | Travel Content Creator & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roxanne Labat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roxanne, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is a healthy mix of faith and grit. Without grit, there is no consistency in anything I do. Anything I’ve ever succeeded at was something I worked on consistently. And without faith in myself and what I’m able to do in this life, there is no hope or meaning behind any of it. Our thoughts become our beliefs, and those beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies. When you know, understand, and claim your “why” – your reason for struggling your way to success – you become unstoppable.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a travel content creator and business owner who juggles social media, e-commerce, affiliate marketing, and more. I love the freedom that being able to work whenever and wherever I want brings me.

I was a very anxious kid, and after seeing the ways that money influenced so much pain in the world (including the Great Recession and my parents’ divorce), I stopped pursuing my creative dreams of becoming a full-time author. Around the time I started high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, only that I needed to work for someone else if I wanted to avoid the same fate as my parents and so many others whose lives revolved around worrying about money. I wanted to become a journalist, and I was decent at writing, but after being discouraged over and over again in AP English my sophomore year of high school, I lost hope and pivoted to what I was told I was better at: STEM. Fast forward two years, and I started my bachelors degree in civil engineering. Two years into studying civil engineering, I realized I was pursuing it not because I was passionate about it, but because I was scared into doing it. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life is that it is always better to lead with your passions, not your fears.

I had started traveling because I always secretly dreamed of living romantically, traveling the world and experiencing life at its fullest, not by the invisible constraints of my hometown’s status quo. I made excuses in my mind for those who traveled often: “They’re probably trust fund babies. They don’t have REAL jobs. They’re probably wasting their money and won’t have any when they’re done traveling.” It took me years to realize that those were learned beliefs; I learned them from others who were so disappointed with how their lives panned out, that they made excuses to make themselves feel better about the lack of freedom and excitement in their lives. I had fallen into that trap.

It wasn’t until I admitted that I was jealous because I secretly wanted that life for myself that I began taking steps towards living a life and building a career that I was proud of.

There was a time when I would have been scared to admit out loud that two weeks of vacation time per year was not enough for me. I would have expected to hear, “Be lucky you even have two weeks at all! Why do you think you’re owed time to travel?” I eventually realized that I was not, in fact, owed travel time by anyone. I owed it to myself. And that meant I had to find a way to become my own boss and sign my own paychecks, to live on my own schedule by my own rules.

It’s easier said than done, but it HAS been done. I sought mentorship by following creatives and entrepreneurs such as @christinagalbato, @mariefeandjakesnow, @lostleblanc, @ofleatherandlace, and more to see how it was possible to document my travels for a living and build a full-fledged business from it. From there, I started learning more about content creation, working online, and making passive income. It has taken years of consistency before I started seeing results, but it goes to show that it’s possible. If an introverted engineering grad/self-taught photographer like myself can get 4-figure content creation brand deals with under 10k followers and start an online business from scratch, I don’t know who can’t!

To anyone wanting to do something they like but are too scared or embarrassed to start: Realize that this life you’re currently living is 100% yours. At the end of it, you’ll be thinking a lot more about what you did with your life than what people thought of you. You’ll think more about how it felt to listen to your gut than how it felt to be down a few hundred bucks enrolling in that course that would eventually change your life forever. Money comes back around. Time doesn’t. Always remember that if you are passionate, curious, consistent, and honest with yourself, the money will inevitably follow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you’re visiting LA, I would recommend spending time in Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina Del Rey. Here, you’re sure to find plenty of restaurants, bars, and cafes you’ll like. Some popular spots are The Window on the Venice Boardwalk, Ospi (Italian food), and basically anywhere along Santa Monica Boulevard west of 7th Street. Oh, and DK’s Donuts!

Spend time at the beach and visit the Santa Monica Pier, cruise PCH up to Malibu if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, and maybe even learn to surf. Be sure to spend a day or two at Universal Studios and/or Disneyland (in nearby Orange County).

There’s so much to do in LA… just be sure to figure out your transportation; it’s a sprawling city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are too many to name! I’m dedicating my shoutout to the people who taught me early on that I get to decide how my life plays out, and I don’t ever have to feel sorry for being myself and doing the things I love. As someone who spent a majority of her life as a people-pleaser, this set me free. I learned this from many entrepreneurs, creatives, and others who inspired me to see life as a blessing and not a burden. Here’s to you.

Website: roamingroxanne.com

Instagram: @roamingroxanne