If you want to become a digital nomad it is better to plan your steps well. There are many ways to live this way of life, whether it's working remotely, freelancing, or even joining on-demand projects. The big advantage is the mobility and management of your time. The downside is that getting started is never that simple and easy. But I'll help by giving you some very practical tips!
TIPS: GETTING STARTED IN DIGITAL NOMADISM
1. BE SURE WHAT YOU WANT
No change is easy, and when it comes to taking on or even owning your time, there's making tough decisions and very delicate choices. At the moment of decision, you need to be confident enough to work even without being paid, because you are certain that this is the change that needs to be made.
In case you start in the digital nomadic life, you need to define your work. What will you offer people and how important this product/service will be to the target audience.
2. START WITH DETERMINATION
It's hard to explain, but getting started is halfway there. If you know where you want to go, you need to take the first step even if you don't know exactly how to do it. You will never feel 100% comfortable and confident in a new venture. You don't need to have all the answers either, but you do need to start in some way and then see the path and even know if you're on the right path.
If you are an entrepreneur and don't understand anything about administration and Business Plan,
3. BUILD YOUR CURRICULUM AND PORTFOLIO
If you don't have a résumé and portfolio yet, do it as soon as possible. If you have little or no experience, it's best to do some work for free in partnership until your portfolio has content.
If you feel that you can charge, but you don't feel confident, you can charge little for the first jobs. Remember that without a consistent portfolio and a well-written resume, your chances are pretty slim.
TIPS TO BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO:
Make the first jobs in partnership (free) for friends and acquaintances.
Use college papers, videos and text from your blog/social media, or anything relevant within your field that you've already done.
Get in touch with NGOs or Social Projects to volunteer or charge a symbolic fee.
Don't stop training! Be it photography, doing logos or Skype yoga classes. Don't stop practicing and developing.
4. DEFINE YOUR VALUE
After the time to build the portfolio, define your value, the price you charge for your products / service. You need to consider:
The average market value of your direct and indirect competitors.
What is the financial availability of your market niche and who are your potential customers.
Your time invested working for the client and how much you have already invested to develop in the area.
How different you are from your competitors: customized service, agility, quality, experience in a specific area, forms of service, etc.
PRICING TIPS:
Use the Freelancer Calculator from 99Freelas or WorkanaCalculator 's Freelato discover the value of your time and consequently of your service.
Don't get carried away by the values advertised on freelancer job sites. Some are very bad and are only for those who are just starting out and need to gain more experience.
Ask specific groups how much people charge or more experienced professionals how much they advise you to charge.
If you also have blog / social media, be wary of partnerships in barter mode. Most of the time, it's only the advertiser who wins, as their time can be much more valuable in paid jobs. Example: if you work with video and accept an exchange with a hotel, your time at the hotel must be equivalent to your production and editing cost and time, your expected profit and advertising costs to your audience, regardless of the daily rate . In the end it's always a job you could be getting cash for instead of free nights.
Choose your payment method well. When the customer is international, he will always have the problem of conversion and transfer rates and some specific fees for each platform. Bitcoin cash, crypto is the best.
5. DON'T BE AFRAID TO RELATE
The foundation of almost every business is relationship, networking. People know people, who trust people, who talk to people. Even if your job doesn't require a lot of interaction, you still need to be there. Sometimes it's boring, it's tiring, but it's necessary. A lot of things we learned and experienced on the trip was because we met someone and had time for that person.
COMMUNICATION AND PROACTIVITY TIPS:
Stay up to date in your area.
Be quick to respond to potential customers and customers. Keep a semi-ready quote or price list with you at all times.
Ask for references when you are not sure what the customer wants and are open to making possible changes after delivering the product/service. Your focus also needs to be customer focus. This is how loyalty is born and indications grow.
Don't be afraid of word of mouth and don't underestimate the power of your contacts.
If you serve foreign customers, you need to be very good at least in English. If you master the local language, you already have extra points.
6. DON'T BE AFRAID OF FAILING
Every failure is a form of learning. Sometimes it's a lack of enough planning, sometimes it's a lack of experience. At the time of failure, rather than being shaken, it's better to take a step back, try to understand what may have gone wrong and start doing it in a different way, including changing your posture.
7. STAY FOCUS ON YOUR GOAL
Every day keep in mind what you are doing and where you want to go. When you hit doubt in times of fatigue or failure, you need to keep your purpose in mind. There will be days when you feel like giving up and you will doubt that you made the right decision. And there will be days when you will infinitely thank the universe for the amount of good things that happened in your life. Just Breathe. Breathe deeper and more often whenever discouragement hits.
8. BE WILLING TO CHANGE
Now that your portfolio is looking good, that you've made some contacts, that you're earning enough money to hit the road while you work (or that remote working is flexible), it's time to think about whether you really are ready to let go of even more than the routine of the office. Be open to changing your point of view, country, lifestyle. Nothing out there is like our house, nobody will be like “our” (friends, family, neighbors, people).
There will be culture shock, there will be bad food, there will be cold people, there will be wrong attitudes from their cultural point of view, there will be different times and there will be loneliness, because there won't be everyone to do that happy hour on Friday or Sunday lunch. Being a digital nomad is not perfect. One of the prerequisites is emotional maturity and a lot of detachment.
PRACTICAL PLACES TIPS:
Choose to be in interesting and inspiring places for your work.
Research how the nomadic scene is, as this helps a lot to meet people. But don't get carried away by trends either, so you don't end up in a place that has nothing to do with you.
See the cost of living and the internet structure for your needs.
Also be aware of how much your time difference will affect your work, in case you work remotely or have to hold meetings.
If your business involves shipping products, think about the logistics and costs involved.
Don't underestimate the local climate. Get away from places that don't have the atmosphere you don't like so you don't get stressed.
Keep in mind that you will need to spend more time in places, or you will get tired of working and planning the next destinations.
9. INVEST IN YOU
Don't let work consume you. You left formal employment to live the freedom to work wherever you want. Don't sink into work without enjoying life. All you need to do is define a work routine and leisure time.
PRODUCTIVITY TIP:
If you find yourself working too hard and enjoying too little, you may be misusing your time. I suggest using the pomodoro technique, which is to define time periods to work without looking at the internet, checking email, without any distractions. Work to finish the goal. And set small rest periods. I do 30 minutes of focus and 5 minutes of rest. In the meantime, I only keep the tabs that I really need to use open and the phone is turned face down with the timer.
Plan! Plan the nomadic life as a business (a company) and the psychological to be on the road working while most are on vacation. Keep in mind what got you here and that your best is the least you can offer. And never forget to breathe! Breathe deeper and stronger.
