They Called Us "Non-Professional" — So I Reclassified My Travels as Business Expenses

In 2025, The U.S. Department of Education just decided that nursing, social work, counseling, teaching, and therapy degrees aren't "professional" enough to deserve the same federal loan caps as medicine, law, and dentistry.

Meanwhile, I just booked a flight to an energy tech conference in Tokyo. And yes, it's a business expense.

Not because I'm trying to game the system. But because I finally understood something that changed everything: the whole concept of "remote work" was never about freedom—it was about making us better employees from anywhere.

What if we stopped asking employers for remote work permission and started building remote businesses instead?

The Remote Work Trap Nobody Talks About

Let me paint you a picture. You're a teacher, a nurse, a social worker—fields they just reclassified as "non-professional." You're exhausted. You see travel influencers on Instagram living their best lives, working from Bali, sipping cocktails in Tulum, and you think, "If only I could do that."

So you dream about a remote job. Work from anywhere, they said. Laptop lifestyle, they said.

But here's what they don't tell you: remote work just means you're chained to a different desk. You're still trading time for money. You're still asking permission for time off. You're still building someone else's dream—just with a prettier background.

And when they decide your degree isn't "professional" enough? When they cap your loans, cut their budget, eliminate your position? That remote job disappears just as fast as the in-office one did.

Remote work was never the revolution. Remote business ownership is.

My Wake-Up Call

I have two degrees in merchandising and an ESL teaching certification. I've been in boardrooms where my campaign ideas were stolen by supervisors who got the credit and the raise. I've watched how women's work—especially Black women's work—gets absorbed into someone else's success while we're told to be grateful.

Then health issues forced me off the career ladder. I took part-time work. Then 2020 hit and everything shut down. My income disappeared overnight.

The only thing that kept me going? Bitcoin I'd bought in 2017 and held. That digital asset—something I owned—carried me until I could move back home and regroup.

That's when it clicked: I didn't need to find another job. I needed to build assets I owned and income that traveled with me, no matter what happened in the world.

So I bought a Bitcoin mining rig through my LLC. It generates $300-400 in passive income every month. I started a YouTube channel teaching other creators how to use AI to scale their content. I began investing in the companies whose tools I use—Alphabet because I use YouTube, MicroStrategy because they hold Bitcoin, Fundrise Innovation ETF because they hold Anthropic (the company behind Claude AI).

And then I discovered something that changed my entire relationship with travel: when you own a business, your travels stop being vacations you have to save up for and start being strategic investments you can write off.

Decoding the Future of Remote Work (Hint: It's Not Employment)

That picture you see above? That's what we all thought the future looked like—digital nomads, virtual meetings, working from beaches.

But we were looking at it wrong.

The future of remote work isn't about where you work for someone else. It's about building a business structure that lets you work from anywhere for yourself—and deduct the experience.

Here's what I mean:

Old thinking: "I wish my job would let me work remotely so I could travel more."

New thinking: "I'm building a business that requires me to attend industry conferences, meet with potential clients and collaborators, create content in different locations, and stay current with emerging technologies—all of which happen to take place in cities I want to explore."

Suddenly, that trip to Art Basel in Miami isn't just a vacation. It's market research for your art consulting business and content for your YouTube channel.

That tech conference in Austin isn't just fun. It's professional development and networking for your AI content strategy services.

That food festival in New Orleans isn't just eating well. It's field research for your culinary travel brand and collaborations with local Black-owned businesses.

This is Bitcoin and Bleisure—where your passion for travel becomes your business model, and your business model funds more travel.

For My Travel Influencers: Stop Creating Content, Start Owning Assets

If you're a Black woman travel influencer trying to make the transition from full-time employee to full-time content creator, I need you to hear this: being a "content creator" is still trading time for money if you don't structure it correctly.

You're creating gorgeous content that builds platforms you don't own (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube). You're promoting hotels, airlines, and tourism boards that pay you once—if they pay you at all. You're working around your PTO, your boss's schedule, your limited budget.

And the algorithm can disappear your reach overnight.

But what if you flipped the script?

What if your travel content was the marketing for your actual business—not the business itself?

What if you were attending tech conferences to learn about AI tools that help you create better content faster? What if you were scouting locations not just for photos, but for future group retreats you'll lead? What if you were investing in the travel, hospitality, and tech companies you feature, so when they win, you win?

That's the difference between being an influencer and being an owner.

They're Systematically Devaluing Us. Here's How We Respond.

This loan reclassification isn't random. It's strategic. They're rolling back women's financial independence by making it harder and more expensive to get the credentials required for care-based professions—nursing, teaching, social work, therapy. The fields where Black women show up, hold communities together, and get paid the least.

Professions dominated by women are the canaries in the coal mine. And they're telling us it's time to get out.

Not by getting another degree. Not by working harder at a job that doesn't value us.

By becoming owners.

Here's what that looks like practically:

Stop thinking: "I need to save up vacation days to travel."

Start thinking: "I'm attending this conference for professional development and creating content to market my business. It's a legitimate business expense."

Stop thinking: "I'm a travel influencer who posts pretty pictures."

Start thinking: "I'm a business owner who helps other women build wealth through strategic travel, AI-powered content systems, and asset ownership. My travel content is my marketing."

Stop thinking: "I wish I could afford to go to that tech conference."

Start thinking: "This conference teaches me skills I can use in my business and introduce me to potential clients and collaborators. It's an investment, not an expense."

What "Bitcoin and Bleisure" Actually Stands For

Bleisure is usually defined as blending business and leisure travel. But I'm redefining it.

Bitcoin and Bleisure is about building a business model where:

• Your money works for you through assets like Bitcoin, stocks, and passive income streams

• Your travels serve your business through conferences, content creation, market research, and networking

• Your content markets your actual services—1:1 coaching, group retreats, digital products

• Your lifestyle is the proof of concept that your system works

Imagine this: You're at a tech conference in Los Angeles learning about the latest AI tools for content creators. You're networking with other Black women entrepreneurs. You're creating content about the experience for your YouTube channel. You're scouting venues for a future group retreat you'll lead.

That entire trip—flights, hotel, conference pass, meals—becomes a business deduction because it's all in service of your legitimate business activities.

And you're not asking anyone for permission.

You're not using precious PTO. You're not wondering if your boss will approve the time off. You're not stressing about whether you can afford it on your salary.

You're a business owner making strategic decisions about where to invest your time and resources. And the tax code—the same system that just reclassified your care work as "non-professional"—actually rewards you for it.

The Real Reparations: From Culture to Capital

Black women are the culture. We set every trend. Fashion, music, food, travel, beauty—the world copies us, profits from us, and then underpays us.

I'm done with that. And if you're reading this, I think you might be too.

The real reparations isn't them finally paying us what we're worth (spoiler: they won't). It's us deciding to build our own wealth systems using the very things they try to exclude us from—crypto, AI, business ownership, strategic tax planning.

It's redirecting even 10% of what we already spend on travel, fashion, beauty, and experiences into assets that work for us. It's learning to use AI not to replace ourselves but to scale our businesses. It's structuring our passion for travel as a legitimate business model instead of a luxury we save up for once a year.

It's being the culture AND owning the capital.

What This Looks Like in Practice

I'm building something I haven't fully launched yet, but I want you to see where this is going.

I offer 1:1 coaching sessions for Black women transitioning from employee to business owner. We use AI for market research, YouTube content strategy, and building your actual business model—not just your content calendar.

But here's the vision: eventually, I'm leading group business retreats for new business owners. We attend a tech conference together—AI summit, creator economy conference, Bitcoin conference, whatever aligns with your business. We brainstorm wealth strategies. We learn together. We network with each other and industry leaders.

And yes, we do fun stuff. We explore the city. We eat at Black-owned restaurants. We create content for our channels.

Because that's what Bitcoin and Bleisure means. Business and pleasure aren't separate—they're integrated. Your passion funds your business. Your business funds your lifestyle. Your lifestyle generates content. Your content attracts clients. Your clients build wealth alongside you.

And all of it—the conference pass, the flights, the hotels, the meals during business discussions, the coworking space rental, the content creation equipment—becomes a legitimate business expense.

Not because you're scamming the system. Because you're finally playing the game the way business owners have always played it.

For the Teacher, the Nurse, the Social Worker Reading This

They just told you your degree isn't "professional." That your field isn't worth investing in. That you should accept less.

But here's what I need you to know: you have skills they can't reclassify.

You're great with people? That's client relations, coaching, consulting.

You create lesson plans? That's content strategy, curriculum development, course creation.

You manage chaos? That's project management, operations, business systems.

You care deeply about helping people? That's the foundation of every service business that actually works.

You don't need another degree. You need to audit your resume for transferable skills and figure out how to turn your expertise into something portable.

And if you love to travel? Even better. Because now you're not just taking vacations—you're doing market research. You're attending conferences. You're creating content. You're scouting retreat locations. You're building relationships with other business owners in different cities.

You're building a business that travels with you.

The Choice That's In Front of You

This loan reclassification is a message. They're telling you what they think you're worth. They're making it harder to access the credentials you need. They're systematically limiting your options.

You can stay on that path—keep trying to prove your worth to people who've already decided, keep getting more credentials they'll continue to devalue, keep building someone else's dream.

Or you can start building something they can't touch.

It will be hard work. I'm not going to lie to you. Building your own business always is. Learning about assets, investing, tax strategy, business structure—it's a lot.

But the alternative? Less freedom. Less income. Fewer options. That's guaranteed if you stay where you are.

Or you can become an owner. You can build wealth in the spaces you already love. You can turn your passion for travel into a legitimate business model. You can use AI to scale, Bitcoin to own, and strategic business structure to fund the lifestyle you're already creating content about.

What I Want You to Remember

You've already worked hard enough. You've already proved yourself. You've already mastered skills that translate directly into business ownership—you just haven't been taught to see them that way.

They called you "non-professional."

So stop trying to be professional by their standards.

Become a business owner by yours.

Use their own system—business deductions, strategic tax planning, asset ownership—to fund the life you want. Let them keep their "professional" designation. You'll be too busy building wealth, traveling strategically, and teaching other women to do the same.

This is what decoding the future of remote work actually looks like. Not better employment. Ownership.

Welcome to Bitcoin and Bleisure. Your girls are here. And we're building something beautiful.

If you're a Black woman travel creator, educator, or care worker ready to explore what building your own business could look like—one where your travels become investments and your passion becomes your business model—connect with me at Balance Muse on YouTube. I'm documenting my journey building passive income through Bitcoin mining, using AI to scale content creation, and yes, turning my love of travel into strategic business development. Let's figure this out together.