For many people other than the digital nomad, seeing the world and experiencing the richness of different cultures is something that they need either squeeze into their annual leave from work or wait to do when they retire. This can mean that your travel options are pretty restrictive. But, there is an alternative option.
An increasing number of people are making the decision to leave behind their employed roles and to forge a new career as a digital nomad. This means that they can spend large chunks of their time traveling while still managing to support themselves with a freelance income. This sounds great in theory, but you may be wondering how this idea can be made a reality. Keep reading to discover some ideas on how to get started as a digital nomad and realize your travel ambitions.
Assess Your Skills
Before you quit your day job, it’s vital that you take a while to think about how you can make being a digital nomad work for you. The first part of this is to assess your skill set. Thinking about the qualities and skills you have to offer, along with the experience you have gained through your employment so far is essential.
Some jobs naturally lend themselves to remote, flexible working. For example, starting a dropshipping ecommerce business, or providing digital marketing or IT support to other businesses. These roles can be performed anywhere, so long as you have an internet connection.
Build Your Client Base
Before you quit your day job and buy your one-way ticket around the world, you need to build a client base. Setting out on your travel adventure and then discovering you don’t have enough clients to finance the trip is a situation you need to avoid. So, before you go, and probably before you quit your day job, it’s wise to work on building a client base.
Networking and pitching to potential clients can take time, so you will need to factor this into your travel plans.
It helps to set a budget for your travels, so you realistically know how much you need to earn from your clients. You then have a target to aim for when you’re building your client base.
Evaluate the Practicalities
Once you’ve established your customer base and your freelance business has launched, it’s time to evaluate the practicalities of your plans to ensure that your experience runs as smoothly as possible. You will need to think about the equipment you will need to perform your work while you are away, and how you will navigate issues such as intermittent or unreliable internet connections.
It’s also important to factor in potential time differences between your clients back home and the countries you will be working in. Thinking through each of the practicalities of your new career as a digital nomad is vital. But the more you travel, the easier it will be to determine what works best for you and your situation. You can then focus on the fun parts of your new career.