What It's About
A travel blogger helps families learn how to fly free.
Words of Wisdom
Lyn share's important advice about where to spend your energy: “Focus on one thing and keep tweaking it until it works. It turns out there's a way to make almost anything work! I would try one thing, give up, try something else, etc. And be persistent. It's those of us who don't give up who are ultimately successful.”
Fun Fact
Families Fly Free isn’t Lyn’s first side hustle. In fact, she’s had a company doing social media research for law firms, travel writing, travel public relations, paid blogging and more!
Notes from Chris
Episode 1949
In 2015, Lyn Mettler was working as a travel writer for outlets like U.S. News & World Report and The TODAY Show. One day, she received a pitch about a couple who were flying around the world using miles and points they’d collected in ways other than flying. As a self-described spendthrift and frugal couponer, she was intrigued. Lyn investigated the couple’s techniques for herself, experimenting with them on her family of four. She tried different strategies and eventually patched together her own process that allowed them to fly six times a year using miles and points. It was life-changing. The family went from road trips to flying around the U.S., Caribbean and Europe, all within a year. Inspired, Lyn decided to show other families exactly how to do it. Inspired by membership programs she followed in other spaces, Lyn created the Families Fly Free membership program. It gives members access to all of the content she’d created in one place. She also works with members 1-on-1 on Zoom to show them her process and craft a plan specifically for their family. But the membership didn’t take off right away. Why not? As she explains it, she wasn’t being disruptive enough and didn’t have full confidence in what she was selling. In other words, Families Fly Free was flying under the radar. During the pandemic, Lyn got an SBA loan and hired a business coach she’d worked with in a group setting. The coach affirmed that her product had value and helped hone her marketing and raise her prices. In fact, the price went from $199/year to $1,295, and that’s when the program finally caught some tailwinds! Lyn says raising the price is the best thing she could have done. People finally valued the membership, and because they invested in it, they actually took the time to follow her advice. Members can save $3,000-$5,000 in just a few months following Lyn’s process and recommendations. That benefit led to powerful testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing. These steps solved the crucial problem of monetization. In 2021, Lyn’s side hustle grew into a full-time hustle generating $300,000. In the future, she aims to grow the membership to $1 million and help as many families as she possibly can. She’s also adding more features to the membership and continuing to grow her team. The sky’s the limit!
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Learn more about Lyn and find out how your family can fly for free at her website, familiesflyfree.com.
- Food and Travel Writer Creates Food Tours in Marrakech, Earns $60k Annually: In the North African city of Marrakech, an American expat starts a project that she hopes will earn $200/month in spending money. It ends up earning more than $5,000 a month.
- Father and Son Duo Produce Traveling Play: A father and son team up to create a traveling play that helps families heal relationships damaged by separation due to incarceration.
- Project Manager Helps Cubicle Workers See the World: When a corporate employee is told she can’t take a big trip because of her daughter, she starts a company to make travel more accessible.
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