Welcome to my guide to working as a Digital Nomad. I am back at my desk after travelling and working for the last 5 and a bit weeks, remotely. Perhaps you could say I’m a digital nomad; working away from my main home, spending the Winters in the mountains and travelling around in our van whenever we can.
All whilst running a business from my laptop and building a sustainable income in the process.
This hasn’t happened overnight and I’m over the moon to have entered my fifth year of running a business ‘online’ and working from anywhere. So give me a holla if you’ve any questions.
It’s not all Macha Lattes and a 2 hour work week
Far from it!
In fact, in my personal experience it’s the total opposite and if you’re not fully prepared it can cause a lot of stress which in turn can ruin your adventures (and maybe even your business). Don’t get me wrong, there are so many advantages of earning an income this way and fully embracing and living that creative life you desire so much. But there’s nothing quite like hearing first hand from someone who has oodles of experience in this area.
Som, let’s dive in shall we?
Here is my guide working as a digital nomad or travelling and working remotely.
Make your clients aware of your work habits/availability.
Full disclosure to your clients on how you’re working will set good boundaries, not only for them but for yourself too. You don’t have to give them all the details, but make sure that they know when you’re available. So if you’re working on a Sunday morning it’s because you have built this into your own schedule and it’s not expected to be like that every week.
Whatever way you wish to work, ensure your clients know when they’ll get a reply from you Ie, you’ll get back to them in 24/48 hours or whatever way you want to work.
Don’t take on new clients if you don’t have the capacity whilst you’re travelling.
In my own personal experience when I’m onboarding a new client there is a lot of work that goes into the setup at the start, which needs more time and nurturing and build the relationship.
Back and forth with some messages and emails and there could be a delay in responses depending on your travel schedule. So if you are planning to have more freedom of your client work, ensure you have given yourself plenty of capacity for this in your schedule.
I learned this the hard way and would not want to repeat this. Of course if you’re travelling around for longer than 5 weeks (like me) you’ll need to plan in your onboarding. See below for planning tip!
Map out your working week/work days in line with your travel.
This is tough when you’re visiting new places and want to explore especially when client work takes priority. But if you’ve planned both work and adventure into your schedule then there should be no issues for you or your client. So if you want to work every Monday morning, ensure you have everything geared up to do that;
Find the right space for you to work so you can have good productivity and not be interrupted. Co working spaces can be hired by the hour or look for coffee shops that have space where people are working from.
Be aware that some spaces highly encourage you NOT to work from their location, sometimes with notes on tables. I’ve even been asked to leave a table before, because I simply got my laptop out of my bag to check something and was asked (politely) to move to a designated place for working (ie a breakfast bar by the window).
What about the tech?
When we travel we always ask for electrical hook up so we can charge everything and I can have at least 2 hours working from the front seat of the van whilst we’re on the move or at our camping location (if no electric available).
We have power banks and able to use the van to charge up our phones. We’ve even seen portable solar panels on our travels which are a great idea and something we may invest in the future.
We’re looking to upgrade our battery systems this Summer – so we can be fully capable without the need for electric hook up.
Plan plan plan
Don’t underestimate how much time you may need to spend in your business.
Mapping out your travels in line with your work schedule will provide ease and less stress. So if you have a new place to visit and you know there are certain activities you want to do, be realistic in how much time you have available to do that.
Be honest about your own expectations too. I know there’s a time of the day when I am most creative and productive (which is first thing in the day) so I ensure that I do my work before we head out for a day of exploring. That way I can relax and not be worried about client work that’s on the list. That way I can fully immerse myself into the adventures of the day knowing everyone is happy.
Again, lesson learned in that I wanted to spend time walking around a beautiful city but had to cut that short and sit in a cafe to work, whilst my partner did the exploring. This is not the creative life I want.
Pros & Cons Guide to working as a Digital Nomad
I love this creative life I have built and continue to build and there will always be learning experiences along the way – in life and business. To finish I wanted to share the pros and cons of my own experiences.
Pros
– I can work from anywhere and travel at the same time.
– My work schedule can be as flexible as I want it to.
– Some days I have beach or mountain views which can give the best inspiration.
– Earn an income wherever I am in the world.
Cons
– Worried about 4g/wifi signal
– Having charge on my laptop/phone.
– Having a dedicated workspace to be productive isn’t always available.
– I can always be available (pro and con) and unhealthy boundaries with your time.
These are my own personal nuggets of advice of my ‘work from anywhere’ lifestyle I have created.
Life and travel will evolve with new ways to work and tech, but for now, this is where I’m at.
Thank you for reading a guide to working as a digital nomad, I hope this has inspired and answered some of your questions.
Let me know how you are building your own creative lifestyle or perhaps you want to build one and need more guidance and support?
Drop me a DM on Insta, I’d love to hear your story or if you’ve any questions, let me know! My inbox is also open if you want to stop by hello@wearethesocial.co.uk
I love a chat!
Vick x
If you’re looking to take on more of a creative life and need someone to support and guide you of how you can run your business remotely. My Mentoring space is a space where I’ll be Vick In Your Pocket to support and give you the direction on how to make this a reality.
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