If you want to mess up more things faster, start a business.
What if starting a business changes you faster than travel ever could? Here, I share the unexpected ways building Gluten Free Will Travel has stretched, humbled, and shaped me into someone stronger, softer, and more deeply connected to the people I serve.
Amanda Kos
6/29/20262 min read
If you want to mess up more things faster, start a business.
No really. Hear me out.
If you want every insecurity, weakness, blind spot, and fear to rise to the surface like driftwood after a storm, build something from the ground up and tie your heart to it. It will find you.
Starting my own travel business has changed me faster than travel ever did. And that’s saying something.
Travel taught me how to be brave. Business taught me how to stay brave. Travel taught me how to adapt when plans shifted or weather changed. Business taught me how to pivot when everything felt like it was unraveling. Travel gave me wonder. Business gave me responsibility.
People often see the shiny side of what I do. They see the cruise ships, the mountain hikes, the rivers, the castles, and the photos of people living their dreams. What they don’t always see is that behind every trip is a person, a family, or a group trusting me with something deeply important to them.
It might be a mother planning one more big trip with her grown children. A couple finally taking the honeymoon they never got. A retiree staring down a bucket list and wondering if now is the time. A family trying to make memories while they still can. Or a traveler with food allergies, quietly wondering if they will be safe far from home.
I know that feeling. I live that feeling.
Maybe that’s why this work matters so much to me.
When someone comes to me with a trip idea, it usually starts small. A spark. A dream. A “what if?” And I get to help breathe life into it. I get to shape it, protect it, smooth the rough edges, calm the fears, and solve the problems before they ever become part of the story. I get to stand beside people as they step into moments that may become some of the most treasured memories of their lives.
That is not small work.
And it is never lost on me when someone trusts me with that.
This business has stretched me in ways I never expected. It has sharpened me, softened me, and humbled me. It has shown me where I am strong and where I still need to grow. It has taught me that helping people is rarely neat and tidy. Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it is emotional. Sometimes it means carrying someone else’s worries so they can carry only the excitement.
That is a privilege.
Gluten Free Will Travel was never just about booking trips. It was about building a path. A path for people who feel overwhelmed. A path for travelers who need someone in their corner. A path for those who want to see the world but are not sure where to begin.
And to the people who have trusted me, referred me, followed along, shared my work, or sent encouragement along the way, thank you.
More than you know.
You have helped build this.
And for everyone else dreaming of their next adventure, keep dreaming. When the time comes, I will be here, ready to help you turn “someday” into a departure date.