We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Burtoni Kathryn Rowan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph Burtoni, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After 20 years (combined) of working traditional corporate careers in advertising and media production, we were tired of working long hours and building businesses for someone else. If we were going to put in this much work, we wanted to create and grow something that we completely owned.

We knew we had the hard and soft skills needed to succeed in launching a few business around our experiences in marketing, travel, and content creation so it was the obvious next step for us.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We’ve launched a few different businesses over the past two years but they all latter up to our core comptneacies in marketing, content creation, and travel.

Company 1 – Katie and Joe On The Go (https://katieandjoeonthego.com/)

We are travel content creators based in Colorado but are usually traveling the US in Clifford the big red van. With a combined 20+ years of global advertising agency experience, paired with an award winning photography background, we bring a unique, professional, and wholistic approach to content creation.

On our social channels and through our content, we hope to inspire other’s to experience something new through inspirational, informative, and entertaining content with targeted and strategic direction. Katie and Joe On The Go is our way of serving others through an authentic look into our lives and our adventures, which allows us to build strong connections and trust with our online community.

You can find us online at @KatieAndJoeOneTheGo on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Threads

Company 2 – Global Adventure Media (https://katieandjoeonthego.com/globaladventuremedia/)

Is a nimble, social-first media production and creative boutique that combines 20+ years of global advertising agency experience with an award winning photography background. We bring a unique, professional, and wholistic approach to content creation.

As content creators ourselves (100k+ Total Social Media Following), what sets us apart is our extensive first-hand experience experience and knowledge of the platforms. Our content is rooted in strategy, informed by industry knowledge, and created with true passion for our craft.

Overview:

While these two companies are different (travel influencer content and content creation) they work hand-in-hand with our dreams of being able to travel the world, documenting interesting stories, and working with brands.

We are still quite early in the build-up phase of these companies and there is so much to be done. Honestly, our to do list grows by the day.

We’ve had to learn how to do so much just to get to the point where we are now. If we don’t know how to do something, we’ve got to learn how to do it.

Did we know how to build out a camper van when we left our careers? Nope, but we spent a few months watching everything that we can on YouTube and reaching out to other resources and now we have a fantastic van that has taken us from Colorado to Alaska and back over the last 7-months without a single issue.

Did we know how to build a website? Nope. But we learned and now it brings us daily income through affiliate, ad networks, and sponsors.

Did we know how to pitch ourselves as influencers? Nope. But we learned how and we are actively working with small and large brands around the USA.

When we look back over the last 18-months, it’s wild how much we’ve learned and how much our businesses have grown. Do we wish they were growing quicker? Sure, but we feel like we’ve got a tremendous base right now that can easily adapt to any new brand partnership that comes our way.

All this to say, if you’ve got a dream. Chase it. Don’t worry about what skills you don’t have, you’ll learn them along the way!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While we grew up in Colorado (Joey in Durango and Katie in Colorado Springs) we left after school to explore the world. We’ve been lucky enough to call New York City, Berlin, and Detroit home until we’ve recently relocated back to Colorado to be closer to our families.

After we built out our van, we were out traveling so have not spent too much time finding favorite spots in the city but I guess we do have a few.

Breakfast:
– Bonfire Burritos in Golden

Lunch:
– Tacos Y Mariscos El Guti in Arvada
– Golden Mill in Golden

Dinner:
– Safta in Denver
– Ash’Kara in Denver

Arvada and Golden both have fantastic “Old Towns” that worth walking around

Denver’s RiNo is full of great coffee shops

Sports! Katie is much more into sports than Joey but Joey loves a good sports game hot dog & beer

Museums: Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science are worth a visit

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
When we told our families that we were going to leave our traditional 9-5 jobs (which were definitely more like (7-7s), sell our home, and downsize everything that we owned to live in a van and travel around the US while building up our own social media channels and working with companies that needed marketing imagery; they thought we were absolutely insane.

We kept with that idea for months, we explained our plan of attack for each step along the way, and more importantly where the money will be coming from, they slowly started to understand that this was not just a feasible change of life but something worth the risk.

They have been extremely supportive during the past 18-months and without their support we’d be stuck in those career roles that we were so ready to leave.

Website: https://www.KatieAndJoeOnThego.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KatieAndJoeOnTheGo

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbburtoni2/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-rowan-a823731a/

Twitter: https://x.com/KatieAndJoe_OTG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatieAndJoeOnTheGo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katieandjoeonthego

Other: Global Adventure Media: https://katieandjoeonthego.com/globaladventuremedia/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@katieandjoeonthego
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@katieandjoeonthego

Image Credits
All images taken by us of us

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