The space where a creator works can be one of the most personal spaces they have at their disposal. Whether you create from home or you have a studio somewhere else, where you create has a direct impact on what you create. Our column “Where I create” will take you where Teachable creators do their most important work. We’ll feature a new creator’s space each month to inspire others.
On any given day Gwenydd Jones, the creator of the Teachable school The Translator’s Studio, could be anywhere in the world. When we spoke with her, she happened to be in the Swiss Alps. She and her husband are digital nomads, making their way around the globe while running their business online.
They’re in the process of building a new house in Spain, but while waiting for it to be done, they needed a place to stay. “We were like, well we could just rent an apartment here in Seville. Or we can become house sitters and go travel around and see where we land. And so that is how I come to be here today,” Gwenydd said.
Helping others reach their goals
Gwenydd and her husband run The Translator’s Studio on Teachable, a school that helps students learn to become translators and pass the professional exams required. Their courses can help students who are just starting out all the way to those becoming professional translators.
Gwenydd has been a translator since 2009 when she passed the DipTrans exams she now teaches others to pass. “I did two master’s degrees in translation, one in translation and one in legal translation, and I sat the exam, the DipTrans, and I failed it,” she said. “And then I came back and passed it. And that’s kind of what inspired me to start writing these courses because I thought that I could offer more vocational-focused training or practical training for translators,” Gweyndd said.
She released her first course in 2014 as a large PDF file. And she was initially just sending it out as a large zip file. Which she admits, wasn’t the most professional or sustainable way to run her business. Luckily, she later found Teachable.
Adding Teachable to her course
As Gwenydd’s online business grew she decided to invest in some business mentoring. Which led her to make the decision to invest in an education platform to help her share her courses better. “I’m very glad I did, I did it actually before just before the pandemic,” she said. “I was well set up and was able to sell quite a lot of courses during that time because people suddenly found themselves with time and looking for online courses,” she said.
And the success hasn’t stopped there. She said her business has continued to grow along with Teachable over the last three years. Which in turn allows her and her husband to live their lives as digital nomads.
Her remote creator essentials
Due to the fact that she’s always on the go and changing locations, Gwenydd doesn’t have one home office. Her office is whatever home she happens to be in that day. Sometimes that means she has a view of mountains, other times, it’s a view of the beach or a city street. And sometimes she has co-workers in the form of pets that belong to the owner of the home she’s house-sitting.
What she does take with her to every location? Her rituals. “I can’t take my space with me, so it’s really important to me that I follow rituals,” she said. It’s important for her to write every day, so she structures her day so that she can wake up, write, and then have breakfast. Then she prioritizes whatever else she’s focusing on that day. “By thinking like that, I’m able to focus on the work I want to get done and not get distracted by things like gorgeous cats (she’s pet sitting,) and just being in a nice new city,” she said.
But there are some technical items that help her get settled in too. She’s narrowed them down to the minimum of what she needs in order to travel light. She brings her laptop, a stand for it, and a mouse that she can pack up. But one thing sets the tone and makes whatever space she’s in feel like her office: a coaster.
“As long as I’ve kind of got this ritual in place, then I’m able to sit and focus. And I have this little coaster that always goes in my suitcase. And so I lay out my computer, and I put my coaster down so I can put my cup of tea there. And then I’m like, ‘Okay, yeah, it’s just a coaster but it creates my working space,'” she said.
Do you want to share your workspace? Reach out to nina@teachable.com
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