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Meet Kim & Isaac
LocalFi Marketing
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Kim’s Origin Story
Let’s rewind a bit. Before Isaac and I (Kim) became that couple you see living their best lives traveling to all the National Parks, hiking to the top of mountains, traveling 6 months out of the year, living in Europe for 3 months, and talking about couples travel on our travel podcast, Full Time to Travel Time, I was knee-deep in pet hair and exhaustion. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I left work covered in fur, drool, and stains on my scrubs, I’d have… well, still not enough to cover my student loans.
For eight years, I dedicated my life to working as a veterinary technician. My love for animals ran deep (and still does!!), but let’s be real—long hours working 12-14 hour shifts, emotionally draining days putting down 5-10 animals per day, and barely enough money to cover rent and still go out with friends weren’t exactly what I had envisioned for my future. The burnout was getting real after waking up, working for hours, coming home to my 2 kitties Kevin & Scarlett, I’d eat dinner, pass out, repeat, repeat, repeat…and my bank account? Let’s just say it wasn’t growing and I still didn’t have any financial intelligence on what to do about it.
Kim’s Introduction To This Magical Thing Called ‘Entrepreneurship’
Then, in 2016, life threw me a pretty big curveball: a life-saving surgery. After moving to Arizona in 2015 from Indiana, I was finally gifted with a REAL diagnosis for why I was always so exercise intolerant, tired, and why I’d completely fall asleep while driving, have full out dreams then wake up (somehow still on the road) and be like OMG!!!!
That life-saving surgery resulted in having two steel bars put in my chest to hold up my rib cage (that was initially flattening my heart like a pancake). Because of this, I found myself unable to continue my work as a vet tech because..well..getting donkey-kicked in the chest by a dog really didn’t feel the best. Suddenly, the career I had poured my heart & soul into wasn’t an option anymore. Enter Isaac—aka my favorite human, aka my favorite weirdo, aka the guy who changed the entire trajectory of my life.
One day, I came home after work, and Isaac had built me a pet sitting website. Just like that. Casual. “Hey babe, I made you a business today. No big deal.” And let me tell you, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!! THAT was my first taste of entrepreneurship. Turns out, my love for animals AND my newfound ability to run a business were a match made in heaven. Soon enough, I was making more money pet-sitting than I ever did as a licensed vet tech with a degree. That was my lightbulb moment—maybe I didn’t have to choose between passion and financial stability. Maybe, just maybe, I could build a life where I had both.
How This Travel Couple Built Their Own Business
Fast forward to 2018. Isaac and I sat down and asked ourselves a game-changing question: “What kind of life do we actually want?” Not just the “what do we want to do for work” question—but the big one. The lifestyle question. The “what do we want to get out of life?” question. We mapped out our couples goals and created a blueprint for the dream life we wanted to build together which, of course, involved being able to travel, work for ourselves, and really make a positive impact helping others because that’s something we’ve always been passionate about.
Then, we reverse-engineered our way there. We looked at our skills, our strengths, and what industries could give us the freedom to live life on our terms. That’s how LocalFi: SEO Digital Marketing Agency was born—a business built on SEO, digital marketing, and the ability to work from anywhere in the world.
ALERT: Building A Business Is NOT Easy
Since building LocalFi, we’ve been able to help hundreds of businesses increase their revenue, rank higher in search results, look great online, AND, (most importantly), positively impact more people than they were ever able to reach before.
Here’s the part where I’m not going to sugarcoat it. The first 3 months of trying to start a business was totally rough. There’s so much we didn’t know what we didn’t know. Thankfully, Isaac had a background in SEO (search engine optimization) AND he happens to have a beautiful brain that thinks very differently than most humans so he can see and understand different perspectives and really just think creatively outside of the box about certain things.
After reading some really important, impactful, life-changing books, (and after figuring out Kim should have been in the operations seat, not the sales seat), we finally started to see some real traction and started making real money and it felt absolutely incredible!!!
PS If you want to see what the top 10 books are that we recommend you read when starting your own business, click here to check out this blog we wrote!
Systems Save Lives
It’s a bold title, I know, but think about it: If your surgeon didn’t have a checklist or system on how to make sure his team prepped the surgery suite, the anesthesia, the medications, the double checks to make sure they didn’t leave gauze inside of you before they stitched you up, there’d be real issues!
Systems = Freedom.
This is a statement and phrase Isaac and I live by and this is what helped us accelerate our business growth and our couples’ goals!
Once I was able to pull all these beautiful systems out of Isaac’s brain (and my own!) and put them down on paper and into word documents and make how-to videos out of them, that’s when LocalFi really started to grow. We were able to hire people and give them the systems and they knew exactly what they needed to do to get the result we were looking for.
Fast forward, we have a tight-knit, awesome LocalFi Team who manages the operations of the business and now Isaac and I are saving more time and making more money and are continuously increasing our capacity to be able to take on more new business.
This means more time for travel! Now, we work about 10 hours per week while we can travel anytime, anywhere, which is an incredible sense of freedom I never imagined was possible.
Romantic Vacation or Nonstop Adventure?
When we’re traveling full time, we honestly don’t view it as a romantic getaway, but we absolutely find ways to incorporate a romantic trip into our full time travels. One of the ways we come up with what some would call romantic vacation ideas is by going to visit hot springs or staying at Airbnbs with hot tubs! Some of the most romantic getaway type places we’ve been to has been:
Riverbend Hot Springs
On one of our trips, we decided to take a romantic trip to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (yes the town name is actually Truth or Consequences lol) to spend quality time together at this romantic destination! Riverbend Hot Springs feels like a secret oasis in the middle of nowhere. Unlike your typical crowded, overly commercialized hot springs, Riverbend keeps things intimate with soothing, mineral-rich waters overlooking the Rio Grande—yes, you can literally soak while watching the river flow past. The vibe? Think serene desert escape meets boutique retreat, where the pools are geothermal-heated by the earth itself—so you’re basically getting a spa day, courtesy of Mother Nature. Whether you’re soaking under the stars, basking in the warm desert sun, or just taking a much-needed pause from road life, this place is a must for couples who travel, adventure seekers, and anyone who just really loves a good soak with a view.
We chose a VIP soaking experience which really did have a real romantic setting with an absolutely beautiful romantic backdrop! We had our own cabin-like private room, with our own private hot spring overlooking the stunning landscapes of New Mexico, mountains, greenery, and the flowing Rio Grande River. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!
Romantic Trip to Tuscany
So, we already had a plan to spend 3 months in Europe. We spent 1 month in France, 1 month in Italy, and 1 month in Switzerland. One thing I really love about our relationship style and setup is that if Isaac has a plan in mind, I’ve learned it’s more exciting to just ‘go with the flow.’ I totally trust him and, in fact, I LOVE to be surprised by some of the places we go!
One of these places was a romantic getaway to the popular destination of Tuscany after living in Florence for a little while. It was an Airbnb house tucked into the charming streets (dirt streets lol) and the romantic atmosphere of Tuscany. No, this wasn’t a luxury resort with on site restaurants, but this was a multi-story historical home with a large balcony overlooking the Tuscan Hills AND….it had a HOT TUB!! Good job Isaac! What a beautiful place for a relaxing stay after months of adventuring. We could simply cook up a romantic dinner, sit on our balcony, and simply enjoy each other’s company and the beautiful views.
How Do Isaac & Kim Still Love Each Other?
Funny you should ask. This is actually a phrase I hear a lot from others who are seeking a full-time travel lifestyle or honestly even friends and family ask this haha:
How do you live together, work together, travel together, and STILL get along???
Here are some tips on how to keep your relationship strong, healthy, and still loving each other full on! These tips have helped us manage to love each other day in and day out, bring out the best in each other, and continuously support each other through life. Keep in mind we have spent YEARS working on our selves, reading self-help books, and creating healthy habits that continue to fuel our desires and our happiness. When we can love ourselves, we can have the capacity to love others too 🙂
        Tegridy…Integrity (some of you will get that joke)
Of course, you’re going to hear communication is key to any relationship whether it’s a significant other, mom, business partner, etc. If you find yourself bickering with your partner more than usual or find yourself more frustrated than usual or you’re triggering each other, simply ask yourself.
Am I out of integrity anywhere?
Did I say I was going to do something and I haven’t done it?  If you’re feeling a certain way, don’t bottle it up, talk about it. Learn each other’s style of communication so you can communicate in a way that you know will be received and understood. For example, I like it when Isaac uses tact like ‘hey I want to talk about something with you’ instead of being blunt and saying ‘here’s the issue.’ By using tact, he helps my brain prepare for a talk, which I find helpful. We don’t attack each other or play the blame game; We speak to each other with the purpose of ‘this is what we both want to get out of this conversation together.’ So, before you even start a difficult conversation, ask yourself:
What is the purpose or what outcome do I want to get out of this conversation?
Gratitude
This is a fun game to play with your partner everyday, or at the very least, once a week: gratefuls! Nearly everyday, Isaac and I take turns saying 1 thing we’re grateful for. We each do 3 gratefuls typically. It can be as simple as ‘I’m so grateful for trees!’ or ‘I’m so grateful I took action and scheduled my myofunctional therapy appointment.’
By having gratitude on a consistent basis, you’re bringing in more positivity. When you’re more positive, you vibrate at a higher frequency meaning you are SO HIGH ON LIFE that you ain’t got time for any negative energy to come at you. I’ll admit this is one of the reasons Isaac loves me so much is because I can’t help but feel so happy and positive about pretty much everything. No joke. Throw me a challenge, I bet I can find something positive in that challenging situation.
Try it out and see what happens!
Responsibility
Responsibility is a weird one because I always grew up hearing that relationships had to be ‘fair.’ Isaac and I are very unique in that we play to our strengths. For example: some people may see it as ‘unfair’ that I drive 98% of the time. In reality, this is absolutely ideal for us because:
I really enjoy driving and have been told a countless number of times that I’m a good driver
I am TERRIBLE at navigation and directions
Please don’t give me a map and put Isaac in the driver seat. Our couples’ travel goals would go right down the drain because we’d never make it anywhere with me and a map hahahah. Put me in the driver’s seat and I’ll expertly take us on any dirt road, winding road, single lane road, etc with full confidence I will get us there! …Isaac just has to tell me where to turn lol!
Find out what each others’ strengths and weaknesses are and then make sure you know who has responsibility for what. For example, I love doing laundry which means I don’t want Isaac to ever touch that because that’s my ‘zen mode’ thing and it gives me happiness and pleasure. Whereas, Isaac cooks super deliciously healthy meals for us and I know he puts a lot of love and focus into it so I know to just let him do his thing and I’m happy to help out if he asks for it.
Take The First Step Toward Your Dream Life Together!
Ready to start designing your dream lifestyle with your partner? Whether you’re looking to transition into entrepreneurship, travel full-time, or just want to take the first step toward financial and personal freedom, we’ve got the tools to help! Subscribe to our travel podcast, Full Time to Travel Time, and join our awesome weekly newsletter for more stories, tips, and insights on couples travel and building a life on your own terms!
