In this episode we interview Caroline (Caz) Makepeace. We had a few sound quality issues in the episode, with less than fabulous internet connections. Please bear with us!

Caroline Makepeace

Caroline (Caz) Makepeace wants to live in a world where people fearlessly follow their heart to embrace travel more.

She's the co-founder of ytravelblog.com, one of the world's biggest travel blogs and has been featured by notable brands such as Virgin Australia, Expedia and Lonely Planet. In 2014 Caz and her husband Craig were invited to attend the first travel summit at the White House as top digital travel influencers.

When not travelling and writing about it, you can find Caz swinging in a beach hammock at sunset to the tunes of Jack Johnson, or buying another crystal to meditate with at a local market.

You can find Caz at www.ytravelblog.com.

You can follow Caz on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

In this episode we discuss:

•Caz and Craig's visit to the White House

•How they fit everything into their day

•Layering vs multitasking

•Caz's morning routine and why meditation is important to her

•Caz and Craig's 18 month road trip around Australia

•Travelling and running an online business with dodgy internet connections

•Distance education

•A love of writing and blogging

•How Y Travel Blog started

•Keeping on top of everything blogging entails - social media, SEO, managing email, writing content

•Making money from blogging

•Tools to save time

•Tips for working with brands

•Business failures

•Saving money so you can travel more

•Morning rituals

•Caz's top tip to get stuff done.

Resources discussed in the show:

•Dr Wayne Dyer

•Marianne Williamson

•World Tourism Forum, Istanbul, February 2016

•Tailwind app

•Latergram

•Hootsuite

•The 30 day Money Cleanse free webinar

Mel Kettle is a communication and social media strategist, speaker, blogger, educator, board member and now podcaster.

She has worked in marketing communications for over 20 years and 9 years ago started consulting. During that time she also completed a Master of Business in Marketing and a Master of Public Health.

Mel is also an enthusiastic but very amateur photographer, a very keen eatie - as opposed to a foodie! And she loves to travel, which is all showcased in her food and travel blog, The cook's notebook.

In her spare time, Mel also sits on the board of the International Association of Business Communicators (Qld), writes a marketing and social media blog at www.melkettle.com and is now adding podcaster to her list of accomplishments.

She lives in Brisbane with her partner Shaun and her 4 crazy chickens, Harriet, Moneypenny, Thelma and Louise.

You can find Mel at www.melkettle.com and www.cooks-notebook.com.au

You can follow Mel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

During Annette's conversation with Mel they discussed:

•Mel's daily "routine"

•Writing morning pages

•Flexibility of working from home

•Starting her business in 2006

•Making the leap from being an employee to being a consultant

•Networking tips when starting a new business

•Juggling work and study

•Dealing with grief

•Writing two blogs and how they came about

•Why Mel started a podcast

•Getting away and recharging

•Staying focused on a relationship

•Meeting her partner on RSVP and then seeing a life coach together after only three months!

•Short term and long term goal setting

•Finding a melanoma and dealing with having skin cancer

In this episode Mel interviews Annette Jones.

Annette has 25+ years experience in multiple businesses, management & training roles, holds Bachelor Adult Education and NLP Masters qualifications, is a published author & loves assisting and encouraging others.

Annette lives in Brisbane, where she's worked from home during the past 7 years as a student of the Internet, developing her current travel site, World Travel Tribe, plus learning how to master social media and run two brick and mortar businesses, and start a Podcast.

Annette's passion for travel began at 8 years old when she and her family emigrated from Manchester, U.K. to Sydney, Australia. 

A self-confessed travel addict, lover of people, their cultures, food and personal growth, Annette has lived in Zimbabwe, Africa and Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, has travelled through various parts of the U.K., Europe, Africa, Mauritius, North America, Asia and her home country Australia. 

You can follow Annette on Facebook, twitter and Instagram and find her at www.worldtraveltribe.com.

During Mel's conversation with Annette they discuss:

•Annette's bricks and mortar and online businesses

•How and why Annette wrote her book, The Separated Woman's Guide to a Bright Future

•How Annette coped when her two businesses were flooded in the 2011 Brisbane floods

•Building an online culture and community

•The challenges around being a franchisee

•Travelling and writing about travel

•Things to consider before ending a long term relationship, particularly from a financial perspective

•Tips for managing your money so you pay your bills first

•The importance of coaches and being in a mastermind group

•The importance of asking for help and asking questions

•Weekly accountability catch ups

•Celebrating wins

•Future travel plans

•A priority list vs a to do list

Julie Goodwin is arguably Australia's favourite home cook. She is also a busy business owner, running Gosford cooking school Julie's Place, author of four cookbooks with her fifth book, Homemade Takeaway, due out at the end of October, a columnist for Australian Women's Weekly, an ambassador for the McGrath Foundation, Oxfam and ChildFund. She is married to Mick, and has three sons.

Julie's family-focused style of cooking and 'mum next door' persona made has turned her passion into a hugely successful career, when, in 2009, 4 million Australians watched her win the first season of Masterchef. In 2012, Julie appeared on on 'MasterChef All Stars', and in 2015 she became a regular guest breakfast host on the Central Coasts Star 104.5FM. Julie also made the gutsy move to head into the South African Jungle on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' to compete for her chosen charity, Cure for MND Foundation.

Julie currently supports several charities and is a proud ambassador for the McGrath Foundation, Oxfam and ChildFund. She lives on the NSW Central Coast with her husband and three sons.

You can follow Julie on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

In this episode we discuss:

•What prompted Julie to apply for Masterchef Australia and how she stayed focused to win Season 1

•Tips or tricks to help overcome nerves

•How her life changed after winning Masterchef, and how she coped with the media attention

•How to stay focused while writing a cookbook

•Why Julie opened a cooking school and not a restaurant

•The best business advice Julie has ever received

•The trend of eating out more and cooking at home less and how we can encourage our kids to learn to cook

•Tips for busy parents

•Julie's top tip to get stuff done.

 

This episode is sponsored by Duosista www.duosista.com.au

Do you struggle to get stuff done? Do you wonder where time goes? Do you have goals and plans and dreams that need a bit of a boost to be achieved?

Let's just say you're not the only one!

The Activity Pod is a podcast where Annette Jones, Mel Kettle and their guests will talk about accountability, focus and helping you to get stuff done. They will provide tools, tips and tricks to help you take action so you can gain greater freedom to choose what you want from life.

In this first episode you will meet your hosts, Annette and Mel, and hear some of their stories.