Hello and thanks for stopping by! Here’s a little bit about how we live and work from wherever we want. We hope it inspires you to live your dream life too!
Jim, Rene and Wyatt in Colorado
We stopped punching a clock for someone else in 1998, when we founded a small business called Agreda Communications from our home in Eureka, California. Over the next ten years we delivered premiere marketing communications, print and publishing solutions to clients ranging from mom and pop retailers to Fortune 500 companies.
When our only dog Jerry was diagnosed with bone cancer and given only a few months to live in late 2006, we quickly made plans that changed our lives forever. By June, 2007 we had sold our business, home and nearly everything we owned. We hit the road in an RV to explore the country with Jerry – leaving the corporate world behind – and never looked back.
The unique story of our travels with Jerry was featured in the documentary episode of Nature, Why We Love Cats and Dogs which first aired on PBS in 2009.
Over the next three years we traveled the country in search of the next big thing.
After building a couple of online communities and considering various business opportunities, we realized we could never return to typical day jobs but needed a way to support our rambling lifestyle without being forced to rely on one source of income that would leave us vulnerable during hard economic times. It’s been eight years since we hit the road, we believe we’ve found the way!
During the summer months, we might work in various fun workamping jobs, including work at a dude ranch in Western Colorado. Or we might just roam wherever. When we’re not workamping, we tackle our other endeavors from the mountain retreat we call Jerry’s Acres nestled in the Rocky Mountains about an hour from Fort Collins, Colorado.
René celebrates her new life on the road atop Carson Pass, June, 2007.
When the snow begins to fall, we pack up the mobile headquarters of Team Agreda and head south to chase the sun. You’ll find us roaming throughout the southwest with our Tripawds spokesdog Wyatt, spreading the word about how you can live life the way you want to.
connect with jim and rené
James. C Nelson, Jr.
In my previous default life I was an expert graphic designer specializing in publication design, product packaging, and the development of professional corporate identity materials and marketing collateral. After doing time as a Marketing Communications manager in the tech industry during its heyday, I married René and we escaped the rat race to start our own design and marketing firm, Agreda Communications. After years of preparing custom proposals, I decided to work smarter instead of harder and created the online graphics storefront we sold before hitting the road to follow our dreams.
Today, I have become a WordPress multisite expert, managing the largest online community for three legged pets and their people at tripawds.com, hosting more than 1,000 blogs with 11,000+ members and growing. I also help manage, train and support a team of remote marketing executives for a leading e-commerce site. I love what I do, and I always enjoy helping others learn how they can do the same.
This location independent entrepreneur lifestyle has allowed me to be selective when choosing contract opportunities, but I am always happy to consider working with corporate clients in need of assistance for quality graphic design or web development. Please review some samples from my portfolio and then drop me a line to see how I might be of assistance.
René M. Agredano
Always the square peg when it came to fitting into any kind of organized structure, I’ve always known that the key to my happiness is calling my own shots. As a self-employed entrepreneur since 1998 and a freelance writer, jewelry designer and advocacy journalist for causes near and dear to my heart, I’ve been fortunate enough to make a living in my pajamas since 1998.
How did I figure out how to make a living following my passions? Persistence, independence and clarity about what I want. For too many years I worked just to pay the bills. Now that we’re debt-free, I can work to enjoy life. It’s amazing how much of your time is freed up when you aren’t slaving away to pay off debt!
Today, my basic advice to anyone who wants the same feeling of independence is this: you can do what you love and the money will indeed follow, but supplemental income is always a must. You can’t live this lifestyle with one income stream — you can’t live any lifestyle on one income really. But when you’re on the road, you’re even more vulnerable. So between my writing, my jewelry and various other income streams like our product marketing business venture, I get to enjoy the independence I treasure, create things I love and make this world a better place for animals and people alike.