So, about me and The Superhost Blueprint in a nutshell:
I got interested in "lifestyle design" way back in 2007 (before it was cool).
Anyway, I read the 4-Hour Workweek and got fired up about the idea of having time + location freedom (aka NOT trading hours for dollars).
My big goal was to have enough side income to take exotic trips all over the world and not have to worry about bills. ( I know right : ) )
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing (starting from complete scratch with no experience and no plan) and spent years trying to “figure-out a side-hustle”.
The one thing I did know was I didn't want to race rats for the next 30 years.
So I decided to do something about it and opened a business.
This is me in the summer of 2007 outside my first store. I had no idea what I was in for...Ughh.

Small business is hard, and I struggled for years...
Until, by total accident, I heard about Airbnb.
I was talking to some Germans in a Seattle coffee shop and they told me about renting out their flat in Berlin, and using the money to travel the world?!?
My ears perked up, I asked them a million questions, then rushed home, went on Airbnb and was immediately HOOKED.
Why?
1. They had an incredibly successful little business generating tons of revenue
(Hell yea for revenue!)
2. They were seeing the world for free.
They weren't "rich" in the traditional sense but they got to do what they wanted every day and go where they please. That's my definition of rich
(Total time + location freedom)
3. They had incredible freedom-based lifestyles.
I had talked with a few other "successful entrepreneurs" in other industries who were “successful” in terms of revenue…but their entire lives were spent working and they had no time for anything else (one even bragged that he missed his niece's birth). What’s the fun in that?
I decided a proper side-hustle should allow for FREEDOM and FLEXIBILITY.
I knew I HAD to get involved.
Less than two months later I started Airbnb-ing (err...is that even a word?) my 1-bedroom apartment in Seattle with big plans to travel the world.
When my first booking came in I was super excited (shout out to my girl Ame Tan from San Francisco!).
I made $119 in one night; which was way more than I was making at the time.

I was so stoked, I grabbed my friend and drove down to Portland. We blew all the money in 12 hours, and I remember feeling like the king of the world...
What happened next?
Crickets.
I didn't get another booking for almost 3 months.
Was I disappointed?? Heck no. I had seen what was possible and I was hooked!
I wanted to be a successful host like the Germans. But I had a lot to learn (at the time there wasn't a great central resource (shameless plug).
So, like a crazy person…I became obsessed.
I emailed dozens of successful, early Airbnb hosts, did hundreds of hours of research and looked everywhere for ways get ahead.
I tapped into their secrets and methods.
Took the best of what I learned and implemented, tweaked, tested and put my own spin on it.
Sort of like a mad scientist (of Airbnb).
Finally, it was time to re-launch my listing as a "Premium Property" for $303/night...
