Book Review – Wildprenuers: A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Passion as a Business by Tamara Jacobi

The moonlight illuminated the gently rustling palm fronds, swaying in the warm night breeze on the hillside in front of us. The lapping sounds of waves landing on the sand echoed their way up the few hundred feet between our palapa’s open-air porch and the ocean below. We swung lazily in the hammoca, the sweet Mexican lager working miracles, relaxing our tired shoulder and back muscles, worn out from an afternoon spent paddling sea kayaks to isolated beaches along the Pacific with our fellow lodge guests and newfound friends. 

This was my first introduction to Tailwind Jungle Lodge and the magical world that Tamara Jacobi and her family have created in San Pancho, Mexico. In 2007, fueled by a family passion for outdoor adventures, an interest in environmental economics and a business plan she crafted in an “Entreprenuers 101” class she took at Middlebury College in Vermont, Tamara and her parents literally dug in to the hillside and started building the foundation for their future jungle life. Thirteen years later and the business is thriving. A mix of bungalows, palapas and casitas, the lodge can accommodate up to 16 guests and they regularly host workshops and retreats as well as families and solo adventure travellers alike.

While being able to guide sea kayaking gringos and recommend the best margaritas in town are indeed important things for adventure lodge owners in Mexico to know, running a small business, especially one in another country, takes much more than a simple love of surf and sand. It takes a great deal of diligence and patience, it takes practice and the ability to pivot away from the original plan when things go awry. The lessons Tamara has learned throughout the years have been hard fought, but the rewards they afford her have been so sweet, they have inspired her to help others follow their dreams too. “Wildprenuers” is part road map, part memoir, part inspirational guide for anyone wanting to do more with their passions and to live according to their own dreams. As Tamara says, “Being a Wildpreneur is about living consciously and designing your life path.”

Throughout the book, she expertly weaves together stories of her family’s journey with business advice from fellow “wildprenuers, couplepreneurs and familypreneurs.” (I am absolutely honored that there are even a few quotes from yours truly on page 117…) The stories and advice from others are funny, poignant and practical. As a small business owner I often feel alone and uncertain about my decisions, but this book has helped remind me that we all go about running our businesses in the ways that speak to our strengths – and that we can always hire out for our weaknesses.

Whether or not you are starting a business from scratch or are feeling a need to reinvent or recharge the one you’re working on, there is no one way to start and there is always room for growth. Quotes from some of the best-known business and personal development gurus of today like Tim Ferriss, Arianna Huffington and Pema Chödrön inspire and the exercises and worksheets throughout help the reader work out their goals in a tangible way. 

It was ten years ago that I visited Tailwind Jungle Lodge, but my memories (minus that one night of drinking margaritas the size of my head…) are still so visceral, it feels like I was there yesterday. Partly because vacations are always more exciting than real life, but primarily because the energy and excitement Tamara and her parents exuded was so palpable. They were learning and growing their business together, finding new ways to share their love of the jungle with their guests. Their enthusiasm for creating a hospitality and adventure business alongside the people they loved was infectious. Looking back at it now, I wonder if Girl Gotta Hike would have ever come to fruition if the seeds of a passion plan weren’t planted right there in San Pancho.

Pre-order your copy of “Wildpreneurs” now! (On sale everywhere February 11th, 2020)

and / or

Book a stay at Tailwind Jungle Lodge (highly recommended by yours truly)

A break from sea kayaking on the Mexican Pacific near Tailwind Jungle Lodge, January 2010. Tamara Jacobi is in the middle. See the palest person to her right? That’s me, lol! 😂

Photo by Lori Matthews