Rachel Story

About Rachel Story

I graduated from college in 2008, right into the Great Recession. There were no jobs, we were on food stamps, and we were robbed—twice. My partner had spent a year teaching English in China and loved it, so we bought one-way tickets and figured it out when we got there.We spent 3.5 years in Beijing, and the travel and community we found inspired us to take a 14-month gap year through the U.S, Southeast Asia, and Southwest China. Just before that trip, we started our travel blog, Grateful Gnomads, to keep friends and family updated. It quickly became a big part of our journey.After the gap year, we moved to Kunming, China. I went back to teaching English, and my partner focused on freelance blogging. Later, we moved to Bali for a year so he could study on a cultural scholarship. I used that time to learn how to monetize our blog.That’s when I discovered VIPKid, which gave me a stable online income and allowed us to continue traveling. In 2017, I partnered with Bridge Education Group as an affiliate to promote their TEFL courses—something I’d taken myself to land a legit visa-backed job in China. I began writing about teaching English online as a path to location independence and in 2019, launched Teaching For Freedom, a digital course that helped others do the same.When the pandemic hit in 2020, our blog traffic plummeted—and in 2021, China shut down the online schools that had fueled my income. It was a double blow. So in 2022, I pivoted again, launching my own online English language coaching business for international professionals. A few months later, Bridge invited me to create the Teacherpreneur Academy, a course for English teachers who want to build their own businesses.That led to a part-time role in 2024, and today, I serve as Marketing Manager of TEFL Products at Bridge. I focus on growing our audience and promoting our global library of TEFL certification courses—designed for teachers working in every context, from schools to startups.I still work with a small number of professionals each year through my 1:1 English language coaching program, Globe TALKers: English Mastery for Career and Travel Success. And through Grateful Gnomads, we continue helping aspiring digital nomads plan long-term travel and create location-independent lives.I’m always open to collaborations, podcast interviews, and virtual coffee chats about remote work, travel, education, and building a meaningful career on your own terms. I also offer coaching and consulting for those who want to create their own location-independent lifestyle. Let’s connect!

Experience

1. English Language Coach

   Langu

   Jun 2020 — Present

   I coach working professionals from Europe and Latin America to improve their English language skills so they can have more confidence when speaking in English.

Education

• Bridge Education Group

  60-hour Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate

• Bridge Education Group

  20-hour IELTS Test Prep TEFL Certificate

• Bridge Education Group

  40-hour Teaching Business English TEFL Certificate, Business English

• Appalachian State University

  Bachelor of Science, Music Industry Studies; Music Management

  2004 — 2008

Skills

• Concerts
• Teaching
• Music Industry
• Talent Management
• Social Media
• Event Management
• Facebook
• Music Production
• Record Labels
• Band
• Event Planning
• A&R
• Music
• Booking Systems
• Business Planning
• Entertainment
• Festivals
• Publicity
• Social Networking
• Social Media Marketing