Working from the beach. Client meetings via Zoom while you enjoy a coffee in a far off land. Completing work for clients while you fly from country to country while you chase your wanderlust muse. This is the dream for those who long to become a digital nomad.
But living the digital nomad life and earning a sustainable, dependable living are often two very different tales. Far too many individuals romanticize the digital nomad life without paying attention to the realities of freelance freedom. If you want to ensure your traveling troubadour time doesn’t turn into a nightmare, incorporate the following tips into your travel strategy.
– Don’t think of your digital nomad time as a lifestyle choice. Treat your life on the road as a business choice and focus your efforts on maximizing your efficiency and outreach. While other nomads are drinking beers with their new buddies, you can be hunting down new networking opportunities and clients.
– Make over-delivering part of your business mantra. If you make a concerted effort to exceed client expectations on every job, not only will you have repeat business, you will enjoy client referrals too. Companies that have found awesome digital nomads to work with are happy to share testimonials and refer you to their network. Just because you earn a living while traveling, that doesn’t mean you should take a lackadaisical approach to customer satisfaction. Always do more than is expected and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your client list grows.
– Working in new locations or foreign countries doesn’t have to mean your professional growth stops. You can still create new career advancement opportunities for yourself by continuing to network regardless of your location. Investigate local gatherings and casual meet-ups related to your career ambitions. Whether you are working in Thailand or Trinidad, you can find professional gatherings of like-minded individuals. You never know who you might meet or how serendipitous those connections can be later in your career.
– Document your life on the road in explicit detail. Take notes on everything from food to places to stay. Turn your notes into an ebook once you return to your home base and earn ongoing revenue from sales. Another option is to blog about your digital nomad escapades while they’re happening and use Amazon affiliate ads to monetize your blog. You’ll be surprised how many readers will purchase products like backpacks and travel supplies via your Amazon advertisements. (#AlwaysBeEarning should become the hashtag you live by while on the road).
Maximizing the potential of your digital nomad lifestyle is the key to making your time on the road worthwhile. You don’t want to look back on your nomadic adventures and wish you had made more of your opportunities. Integrate these tips into your wanderlust adventures and you just might be able to spend even more time traveling the globe.
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