What Happened to Location 180?

It’s been two years in the making, but welcome to the all new Location 180, errr, Location Rebel!

Today is one of the most exciting and nerve wracking days I’ve had a business owner. But looking at the final product, I couldn’t be more excited for the future of the Location Rebel brand.

In today’s post I’m going to share with you exactly why we decided to merge both Location 180 and Location Rebel, while also talking about the key differences of the new site, and what to expect moving forward.

Why Kill Location 180?

I’m a pretty sentimental person, but the thought of getting rid of Location 180 didn’t really effect me until a few months ago when I told my wife I wanted to do this.

She said “You’re getting rid of Location 180? The whole reason you’re here now is because of that name. Your life has completely changed because of that site.”

Naturally I got sentimental, second guessed it, but still decided this was the best way to move forward.

But why?

The Tale of Two Brands

While it made sense at the time, over the last few years having two different brands has been difficult.

When people ask “what’s your business name” do I tell them Location 180? Location Rebel?

I end up having to tell a pretty drawn out story and explain the difference between the two. And if it took me that long to explain it, other people were surely having issues as well.

Note: If you’re new here, the blog portion of this site was originally called Location 180 and resided at locationrebel.com.

Location Rebel was just our premium courses and content.

Design Issues and Splitting Traffic

We also had the issue of having a brand new, beautiful design and platform on our Location Rebel domain. Whereas Location 180 was on a very outdated 5 year old WordPress design, that wasn’t responsive, and wasn’t showing off what our brand was really all about.

On top of that, we were sending traffic to two different domains, that weren’t cohesive, and didn’t do a good job of really explaining the difference between the two sites.

You know, just working from the middle of a desert…

So the thought of having one brand, one domain, where we could clearly offer everything we were doing was incredibly exciting.

While I’ll definitely miss Location 180, and I’ll never forget what it has helped me achieve, I think that it’s the new Location Rebel that will definitely help us propel things to the next level.

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But wait, What About all of Your Blog Posts?!

After announcing I was doing this a few months ago, I got a lot of nervous people asking about the content on Location 180 and content moving forward.

Never Fear!

ALL of our 600 blog posts from Location 180 can now be found here!

You can head over to our archives section to still access all of our posts, and in fact, we’re even in the process of better organizing them, so that it will be easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Content Moving Forward

So now that we’ve established all of our old posts are still here, what about new posts?

Don’t worry those are still coming as well! We’ll still be posting at least once a week here, and really trying to create content and posts that are based around the things you want to learn about.

I also have a weekly(ish) newsletter where I share some of my favorite things I’ve seen on the internet, and give an update on the latest here at Location Rebel.

Increased Focus on Community

When I began Location 180 in May of 2009, I was miserable. I was in a job I didn’t like (I quit that), I had incurable wanderlust (I solved that), and I had no idea how to get from point A to point B (currently searching for point J).

I created my bucket list to hold me accountable for all of those things I wanted to do, and now 7.5 years later, I never could have imagined how many amazing things would happen simply because I decided to take a chance and hit publish.

But Location Rebel has evolved. This isn’t just about my journey any more. It’s about the thousands of people in this community and the journey you’re on.

We have people who haven’t even take the first step towards leaving their job or starting their own business, we have 7 figure entrepreneurs who are crushing their businesses, and we have people at every stage in between.

I want to do a better job of sharing those stories, providing resources for people at each stage of the game, and truly making Location Rebel a movement when it comes to building businesses and living lives that make you happier.

But I’m Not Forgetting Where We Came From

While the emphasis will be on growing and amplifying the community, the reality is, the reason we’ve gotten to this point is because of the people behind it.

While I want to grow the site and expand its reach, at the same time I also want to find more ways to make it even more personal. I’m a real person, and I want to connect with as many other real people as possible.

First off, we have a new team page. Many of you know that Liz Froment has been my right hand woman here for years. She is incredible, and these days she is just as much a part of Location Rebel as I am. You can find the full bios on both of us on this new page.

But in the spirit of keeping things personal, I also added new favorites pages. I want you to get to know a little bit about us (and hopefully discover some cool things in the process). On these pages you’ll learn everything from our favorite bars across the world, to our favorite cities, books we love, and music we’re listening to.

Sometimes all it takes is one common thread between you and me, to start that relationship – so I figured I’d give us a starting point.

See Sean’s Favorites Page Here.

See Liz’s Favorites Page Here.

What About “Location Rebel”

So now that the entire site has been renamed “Location Rebel” – what about our flagship course, that for the last 5 years has simply been known by the same name? Don’t worry, it’s still here, and as good as ever!

However, it has been renamed Location Rebel Academy (or LRA for short). We’ll still be updating it with new content on a very regular basis, managing our forums, and giving support to the people who are truly serious about making a change in their life.

That’s a lot of members and forum topics!

I’m excited because now our 3,000+ registered members of various levels will be able to access their premium accounts, forums, videos and more without having to logout or switch domains.

We’ve integrated the products, community, and blog in a much tighter way, which should greatly enhance the user experience.

You can learn more about Location Rebel Academy here.

But that’s not all!

Introducing: The New Location Rebel Marketplace

Back in 2012 I made one of the best decisions I could have when it came to my business. Rather than creating new product after new product, I doubled down on the one that was working the best: Location Rebel Academy.

I took my two other premium courses Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty and Hacking the High Life, and rolled them into LRA.

From there rather than worrying about new launches and new products I focused simply on making Location Rebel Academy as good as it could possibly be.

Nearly all of our new content became part of Location Rebel Academy, and I just had to focus on growing one premium product. Well that was fantastic, but now we’re at a point where things are a little different.

We have so much premium content, that covers such a wide variety of business, travel, and marketing topics – that it’s time to make a change.

So we’re introducing the Location Rebel Marketplace. For the first time ever, you’ll be able to have a little bit more freedom in terms of the premium content you buy on Location Rebel.

I recognize that Location Rebel Academy isn’t perfect for everyone. Some people are still at an even more basic starting point. Others just want help on marketing funnels, or sending better emails.

So while Location Rebel Academy is still our flagship and most popular course, there will be other options depending on your goals and what stage in your journey you’re on.

We’ll be adding more to the Marketplace over the coming months, but here’s what you’ll find today:

Location Rebel Academy Premium ($497) – This is our flagship community with access to our forums and all of our blueprints. Hundreds of people have left their jobs and built successful businesses through this program

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Lifestyle Entrepreneurship ($47) – Know you want to make a change, but have absolutely zero idea where to start? This walks you through everything you need to know

The Rebel’s Guide to Mastering Email ($97) – Start sending emails that not only get responses, but get the responses you want. We have strategies and templates for pitching guest posts, creating freelance proposals, trying to build relationships with influencers, and much more.

Coming Soon: Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty ($47) – Sometimes we’re so bogged down in fear and uncertainty we can’t make progress on what we really want. This will help.

Coming Soon: Rebel Launches ($297): My formula for creating a product, building an email list, and doing five figure launches, all while building meaningful one on one relationships with your readers and potential customers.

Coming Soon: Hacking the High Life ($97): How to travel hack and leverage media to create win/win scenarios and build incredible stories.

Coming Soon: Location Rebel Academy Ultimate ($749) – Finally we have a new price tier for Location Rebel Academy. Our Ultimate Package includes everything you see above and more. Want it now? Email me.

Liz and I have worked so hard to create the premium content that we get asked for most often by you – and couldn’t be more excited to provide you with more ways to access it.

What Else is New on Location Rebel?

Obviously a lot has changed with the merging of our two brands, so what other changes can you expect to see?

All New Success Stories Page

We’ve had so many fantastic stories come out of our Location Rebel Academy community, that we want to do a better job of highlighting them.

We’ve got a newly designed testimonials page, and soon we’ll be creating more in depth case studies about some of these stories and others! See the Success Stories Here.

Style Changes on the Blog

Responsive Site!

You probably noticed the old Location 180 site was well, not the most reader friendly…on any device!

It was tough to read long posts on your computer, and the site was not responsive, so it made reading on your phone or tablet a miserable experience. No more!

Our new site has been completely redesigned to be both responsive, and much more reader friendly. So all of those old posts that were a nightmare to read (check out this), should be much more enjoyable.

Where’s Waldo? This was even more precarious than it looks.

New Menus!

We’ve completely revamped our entire menu system and structure to make it as user friendly as possible for both LRA members and non-members.

The main navigation will change depending on whether you’re logged in our not.

We’ve also added a much more robust footer menu to help make it easy to navigate the site and find what you’re looking for.

What’s Next for Location Rebel?

Obviously, this is a pretty big change – and is something we’re still wrapping our heads around a bit. But we couldn’t be more excited for where things are going.

We have lots of ideas, but a few things you can expect in the coming months: Location Rebel Vlog Since taking a few months off after doing my 31 day, daily vlog, I’m finding that there are aspects of it I really miss.

While another daily vlog won’t be happening anytime soon, at the very least I’d like to start doing weekly posts again.

So keep an eye out for those soon, and make sure to subscribe to be notified of when the next one is released.

It wasn’t a vlog, but if you haven’t seen this, you probably should watch it:

Location Rebel Partners

In the past, we’ve had various iterations of a partner or affiliate program. While there are pros and cons to doing this, I definitely like the idea of rewarding people who help us grow our brand.

So we’ll be looking at doing a big of a wider partner program for LRA members and other influencers – while also expanding some of our live training webinars in the process. Details on all of this TBD, but it’s something we’re excited about pursuing!

More Courses and Blueprints Inside Location Rebel Academy

We’re working on an updated “Content Writing” blueprint for Location Rebel Academy members, and we’ll also be adding at least another 5 courses to our marketplace by the end of the year.

A Few Quick Thank Yous

I still have to pinch myself on a regular basis when I think about my life and this community. You guys are amazing and I couldn’t be more excited to build something even better to help you with your goals.

So first and foremost, thank you, because without our readers and members, none of this would be possible.

Second, I want to thank Liz again. Liz, you’ve been amazing over the last 4 years of working with me on this, and I can’t wait to see what we create together over the next 4.

Big thanks to Scott Ellis for helping with the new site design and transition over to the Rainmaker Platform from WordPress. If you’re ever looking for design or development work involving WordPress or Rainmaker, definitely get in touch.

Finally, thank you to Brendan Tully. The scariest part of all of this whole transition is the potential to lose all of our search results, across our Location 180 posts. Brendan has helped us make sure we did everything right from a technical stand point, and helped me feel much more confident about making the move.

Fingers crossed it all works out 🙂

And with that, cruise through the new site and let me know what you think! As always, both positive and constructive thoughts are totally welcome, and I’d love to hear more about what you want to see here on Location Rebel.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.