Trisha Punit (Partner at Punit & Associates Professional Corporation) was a participant of Project Getaway in 2017, in Bali.
When we reached out to her she was on a big trip through Australia and we were very happy to see that she still takes travelling seriously and can’t wait for her to visit us again.
Let’s see what she’s been up and find out what Project Getaway meant for her and for her business,
How and why did you join Project Getaway?
Being an avid traveller always looking for a new adventure and an owner of a small business still in its growing stages, Project Getaway was the perfect fit for me.
After 3 years into building my accounting practice with my best friend, I was at a point where I could start affording to feed my travel addiction again but at the same time, was still required to put in significant hours into growing my business. So when I stumbled across Project Getaway on Google, calling upon young, aspiring entrepreneurs to come together and learn together in exotic Bali, I was immediately intrigued. They were promising a complete experience to connect with other entrepreneurs, to facilitate workshops and opportunities to build our businesses together, and to immerse us in local Balinese life and culture, all while working from an exotic destination (can I say “work-life balance?”) – I applied that very same day!
How was your experience at PG?
Having been selected to be a participant in PG’s 2017 Bali event, I had the privilege to experience everything Project Getaway and Bali had to offer – it was what I thought it would be and much more. Aside from the stunning paradise that is Bali, Project Getaway had me in a rapture from the very start.
From day one we were introduced to other passionate, like-minded individuals such as ourselves, ready to share our stories of life back home, the various places we’d been leading us all to Bali and basking in the wanderlust we all share; eager to do so while getting a jump on our entrepreneurial careers.
Project Getaway also strategically connected us with successful business leaders and provided us a rare opportunity to pick their brains and learn from their expertise in an intimate, one-on-one environment. Not to mention the epic sights, sunsets and surroundings that they exposed us to while we were there.
What was the impact PG had on you and your business?
While at Project Getaway I acquired an in-depth knowledge that would allow me to improve on successfully growing my business. They provided us access to established business leaders and owners who offered tailored advice, tools and resources to small business owners such as myself, and I learned important digital marketing concepts that would later propel my business forward upon returning home (i.e. how to implement and use Search Engine Optimization to our advantage). Furthermore, Project Getaway provided a platform for me to connect with all the other participants, past and present, to optimize their various skills – we had an IT specialist, a marketing guru, an author and digital marketer as part of my group to name just a few. This provided me with a reliable network of individuals to touch base with upon returning home, that were always willing and eager to provide suggestions on how to better improve my business, offer advice and different perspectives and answer any questions that I had.
One of the biggest challenges I faced going into Project Getaway was how to better utilize social media and make our business website work for us in an industry that is still very heavily dominated by word-of-mouth referrals.
Referrals are a great source to acquire new clients but have natural restrictions with the breadth of people you are able to reach. In today’s business world, digital marketing is the key to success. Being able to call up a good friend I met through Project Getaway to engage her expertise in Search Engine Optimization, the importance of blogging and staying better connected to clients through digital means, and most importantly, utilizing her to rebrand our website helped us immensely. We went from meeting potential new clients just through referrals to receiving up to 4-5 calls a week from people who viewed our website and were interested in our services. These were local callers as well as people overseas!
Who do you recommend it to?
Had I not been able to meet valuable resources like this in Bali and acquire the knowledge that I did while I was there, this would not have been the turning point we needed to grow our business at this now much faster rate. Today, we continue to acquire great new clients and have been selected out of many other competing firms for amazing contract opportunities. To say that I am grateful for my experience is an understatement and I would recommend Project Getaway to any nomads out there looking to learn more about themselves and find themselves within their careers, whether they are just starting out or looking for a new adventure.
On a personal level, having lived together under one roof with 15+ strangers, each of us with a different story, upbringing and mindset, and all while experiencing together everything Bali and Project Getaway had to offer, it brought about a cultural awareness and a one-of-a-kind experience I will always appreciate.
But most of all, the lifelong friendships that came out of this entire experience is something I will be most grateful for. I am excited to see where we all end up in 10, 20, even 30 years down the road, remembering where we all started in our special little villas in beautiful Bali.