Markus Castro
How To Be A Digital Nomad
In this day and age, you really don’t have to have a regular job. Gone are the days where you had to go to college and then work really hard to get a corporate job to be successful. In fact, as much as we may all want to go to college, it really doesn’t have to be a requirement for success. Because in this modern world, we have the internet. And the internet makes anything possible. If you know that you want to do things differently, or that you might want to think about launching your own business, then a new-age way of creating career could work out for you.
Enter, the digital nomad. Or, a traveling freelancer to you and me. These days, with a laptop and an internet connection, you can work from just about anywhere. Of course, this means that you need to have the right kind of job and a will to travel. But if you’re someone that has always longed to see the world and carve their own way in the world, you’ll already be excited about starting something like this. But now, you need to know exactly how you can make it work. So let’s take a look.
Work Out What You Want To Do
The very first step here, is for you to work out what you’re going to do. Will you be a freelance writer? Blogger? Designer? Is there something that you’re already doing in your career now that you can do freelance? Make sure that you choose something you will enjoy, and that you believe you can make a successful career out of.
Create A Website
When you’re ready to start working on this, you need to think about getting a website together. Because you have to have a space that you can show off what kind of work you can do, and allow clients to find you. So think about the right domain name, purchase a hosting package, and start building a site that will show off the work you do.
Get Some Experience
Now, you’re going to need some experience. Because if you want to start getting freelance work in, then you have to have some kind of portfolio to showcase what you can do. And when it comes to getting your first clips, you may need to work for free or exposure, just to get them. But the important part is being able to build up pieces that will allow you to land the clients you want.
Pitch Yourself
With a bit of experience under your belt, it’s the time to think about getting some pitches out there. Because if you want to be thinking about landing yourself some freelance work, you have to ask for it. You are not just going to have clients land at your feet. You need to be sending out enquiries and asking for the work.
Brand Yourself
And then, you absolutely need to make sure that have some kind of branding in place. If you want to be successful and you want to stand out, you need to look professional. For this, it’s great to start positioning yourself as an expert in the niche that you’re working in. Get a professional brand image in place, and aim to create a name for yourself on social media too.
Reach Your Earnings Goals
Something that you will find is really important when it comes to working out if you can make a sustainable living freelancing, is setting and reaching income goals. You will want to make sure that you can earn the money necessary to quit your job and live off of your freelance work. And you need to start doing this before you even think about traveling.
Start Saving
And now that you’re making money, you can start to save. The first savings pot you need is an emergency fund. Because when you freelance full-time, none of your income is every really a guarantee. So it’s important to have savings behind you. Then, you also need to make sure that you have some savings together ready to travel. Because it can be expensive to take trips or go on a constant vacation – so you need to have the money ready to do it.
Freelance Full-Time
Then, all that’s left for you to do is get to the point where you’re ready to leave your job. Here, it’s ideal to be making at least the same amount you do in your full-time job OR enough that you can pay all your bills, it’s time to make the leap. And don’t worry if you’re scared, because it’s always a good idea to go for it just before you’re ready!
Do A Practice Run
Before you book any big trips, you may find that it’s helpful to do a bit of a practice run to see how this is going to work. Because you need to work through any teething problems that may come up with your work. So book a short trip to start with. Make sure that your hotel or studio apartment has wifi and a workspace, and see how it goes. If you find out that you’re working too much to explore, then you know you still have things to work on.
Aim For Efficiency
The next thing that you absolutely need to work on is your productivity levels. Because if you want to be able to travel as much as you can, you need to make sure that you’re on top of your work. So before you start to take any ambitious trips, you’ll want to think about the most productive methods for getting your work done.
Ask For Help
Another really handy resource for you, is outsourced help! If you want to get an assistant or a marketer, designer, or any other professional to help you get your work done, then go for it. Anything that allows you to be more productive and get the work done on the go, will be worth it.
Work Smart
But then also, you have to make sure that you’re able to create a schedule for how you will work when you travel. Will you have set days to travel on? Will you work in the mornings and explore in the afternoons? Will you take time off? Really make sure that you have a system in place for how you can stay as organized as you can when you’re traveling. And this will allow you to enjoy your travels and stay on top of your work.
Enjoy Your Travels
Finally, you just have to make sure that you’re enjoying your travels. Yes, you need to work – but remember that you’re traveling too. And it’s just so important for you to make the most of the time you have in each place that you’re visiting. So really start to perfect that routine, your productivity, and find experts to make your digital nomad lifestyle all the more enjoyable!
And that’s all there is to it. So right now, you may have found yourself wishing you could travel the world, or looking to those that do and feeling jealous, but now you can make it happen too. Sure, this is not going to be something that you can make happen overnight. As you can see, it takes a lot of thought and planning and preparation to make happen. But it’s far from impossible. So it’s time to get your business mind in gear, to build up your work, start saving, and take that first trip.
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