As I love a simple life uncluttered by a clutter of excess stuff, when I do make purchases, I try and make them in a mindful way. From the clothes I wear to the Airstream I bought, I will spend a little bit more money for something that works harder than its cheaper equivalent and returns better value. My Belstaff waxed cotton jacket might have cost a lot of money, but it’s smart, it’s casual, it’s waterproof, it’s durable, it’s timeless, and it can be worn when motorcycling. One jacket instead of four.
When I wanted to live closer to the kitesurfing action in the South East of England, I didn’t go for the cheapest flat that I could find, I ended up buying the most stunning designer beach house that I could never afford on my train guard’s salary.
How did I manage to pay for it? Simple. I figured out that while I was away in my Airstream, I could rent out the house to holidaymakers. Besides, I didn’t really want to be there in the busy holiday season. So that’s what I did. I rented out my beach house for the three busy summer months while I was out enjoying life on the road in my Airstream. After paying agency fees and cleaning costs, I covered my mortgage payments for the year, and lived in this beautiful home the remaining nine months of the year paying only bills and expenses.
Why not apply the same logic to a motorhome or camper van purchase? Many vans spend nine months of the year sitting still without turning a wheel. Wouldn’t it be great if your asset could pay for itself rather than just sitting there?
If you’re thinking of investing in your future with the purchase of a camper van, making some money to help with the payments might help you go for something a little newer and more reliable that you might have originally thought. After all, right now there are a lot of people out there looking for motorhome and camper van rental for a safe and autonomous UK holiday.
Recently I was approached by the peer-to-peer platform Goboony to do a sponsored video for them. Goboony helps individuals hire out their motorhomes and camper vans to people looking for something to rent.
What you may not know is that YouTubers such as myself get approached to do paid collaborations practically every single day. I reject over 99% of these offers, as I will only work with companies that I feel are of interest to my audience, and who I feel are genuine and trustworthy. I’ve even turned down massively lucrative offers from companies such as Skillshare. I don’t feel that my audience would be terribly interested in learning about animation or creative writing, and I myself tried the platform as I wanted to learn basic motorcycle maintenance skills, but there was absolutely nothing of interest. So I turned down the money in order to maintain the integrity of the channel.
However, having afforded my beach house adopting the same principles as Goboony allows people to make a return on their Camper Van or Motorhome, I checked out the company and was pleased with what I discovered. Here was a company I would be very happy to work with – but only on an open and honest basis, of course.
This meant that I insisted that the video take the form of an interview where I assaulted the UK Manager of Goboony, Jake Stone, with some very important but challenging questions. At a few points I felt a little sorry for Jake, as to answer such questions may have been uncomfortable. But through his discomfort, Jake acknowledged that the questions were important to people who were considering advertising their camper vans and motorhomes on the platform.
You can see the interview between myself and Jake by clicking here.
It was what happened after the cameras stopped rolling that I found the most interesting. After thirty minutes of chat, we continued talking off-the-record for another half hour. We had been discussing Corporate Social Responsibility, the education of newbie motorhomers, the effect of an increasing number of leisure vehicles on the road, and how to minimise the environmental impact of such. We talked about how we hate littering, how we personally collect and remove litter from camping spots, strategies that companies such as Goboony could adopt to help the wider community, and how the company could better serve the people using the platform both as vehicle owners and people looking for camper van and motorhome rental.
I came away from my hour with Jake feeling buoyant. There is always a little trepidation when you associate your own brand – one over which you have complete control – with another brand over which you have very little control. But having got to know Jake and the true nitty-gritty ethos of Goboony, as well as the open and honest way he answered my difficult questions, I knew that my confidence was well-placed.
To find out more about Goboony, or to sign up to list your motorhome or camper van, please use this link here and use the code ANDREWDITTON before 15th July 2021. By using this link and code will get a free photo shoot to accompany your entry. Better photos obviously will lead to a more attractive listing, and hopefully more rentals.