122) How Lorna Built THREE Remote Businesses That Let Her Travel the World

Today, I am recording this episode live in Bali and I am joined by my now dear friend, Lorna, who actually started off as one of my clients in the Digital Nomad Life Academy four years ago. 

She's gonna be telling us all about her third business that she has created since she stepped into her entrepreneur journey, which all began with the Digital Nomad Life Academy way back in the day.

This week's episode is proof that you don't need to have it all figured out before you take the first step.

When Lorna first found me, she was working as a scientist in Michigan, checking all the "right" boxes: college, corporate career, stability. But deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that there had to be more.

Fast forward a few years...

Today she's living in Bali, gets paid to travel, runs a fully remote business, and has already built THREE different online businesses on her journey to becoming a digital nomad.

And honestly? Her story is exactly why I always say your first business doesn't have to be your forever business.

Sometimes it's simply the bridge that gets you to your dream life.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Why quitting corporate felt terrifying—but staying felt even scarier 
•  How Lorna transitioned from scientist to digital nomad 
•  Building her first, second, and now third remote business 
•  Why you don't need years of experience to start an online business 
•  The mindset shifts that matter more than having the "perfect" skills 
•  Why sales isn't sleazy (and how it can actually change lives) 
•  What it's really like getting paid to travel while working remotely 
•  Why your dream life starts with saying yes before you feel completely ready 
•  How to know if you're actually ready to start a remote business 

If you've been dreaming about becoming a digital nomad, starting a remote business, or finally finding the courage to quit corporate, I hope this conversation reminds you that your dream life is probably much closer than you think.

Connect with Lorna: 

Want to follow Lorna's journey or learn more about her work in remote sales?

📲 Connect with her on Instagram: @lornapolo

Ready to build your own remote business?

If you've ever wondered whether you're actually ready to create an online business that allows you to work from anywhere, book a Remote Readiness Rating Call.

We'll help you figure out where you are, what's holding you back, and what your next step should be.

Send me a DM on Instagram @christabellatravels with the keyword RRR, and we'll get you started.

If you loved this episode...

Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with the friend who's constantly saying: I wish I could get paid to travel the world 

 digital nomad, quit corporate, paid to travel, start a remote business, remote entrepreneur, online business, location independence, work from anywhere, remote work, entrepreneur journey.

🎧 Ready to take action on starting a remote business? Watch Christa’s free business training “5 Steps to Work From Wherever:” digitalnomadlifeacademy.com/biztraining

Transcript

Welcome And Bali Setup

SPEAKER_03 0:00

I get to literally travel the world and be wherever I want to be, and I get to take my calls from literally anywhere. It's it's my dream life.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hey there, and welcome to the Digital Nomad Life Podcast. I'm your host, Krista, also known as Kristabella Travels, on social media. You can always feel free to slide into my DMs on Instagram. Let me know that you're a listener, and let me know if you have any questions about how you personally could become a digital nomad or a remote entrepreneur. Today I am recording this episode live in Bali, where I live. And I am joined by my now dear friend Lorna, who actually started off as one of my clients in the Digital Nomad Life Academy like four years ago. Four years ago. Four years ago. And now she's here. She's going to be telling us all about her third business that she has created since she stepped into her entrepreneur journey, which all began with the DNLA way back in the day. Sorry if you're new here, DNLA is Digital Nomad Life Academy. And that's my one-year long program where I will teach you everything that you need to know about how to create an online business that can obviously be run from anywhere. That's the point. Location independence, digital nomadism, et cetera. So anyway, I can't wait to uh get into this episode. We'll hear Lorna's story and we'll also hear about why everyone should be falling in love with sales. Now, this is uh the business that she has today, which is she's doing, she has a sales business. So can't wait to hear all about that and also your perspective on it. And also can't wait to hear about your lifestyle as a remote entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Welcome, Lorna. Thank you so much, Krista. I am so excited to be here today and to talk about sales and my journey of, you know, seeing you evolve because I know I joined pretty early on when you had started your business. So I can't wait to talk about how it used to be versus how it is now and how it's even more um, I think it gets people even more prepared than even before it back then.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yeah. So true. I mean, I'd love to hear that the program had definitely has evolved quite a bit over the years. Um, but while, of course, we will talk about the DNLA in this episode, uh, I do want it to be, of course, focused on you and your journey and your success and how you've gone from being someone who was uh in Michigan working a pretty normie type job. And now you are here in Bali. Yeah, you're here in Bali, and it you're seemingly living your best life. Are you?

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Yeah, I am. Yeah. Tell me about your best life. Ah, I get to literally travel the world and be wherever I want to be, and I get to take my calls from literally anywhere. It's it's my dream life. This is what I always wanted, and I get to just experience the world in different cultures, and I don't have to be tied down to a certain location. Location independence has been my dream since I started seeing like people traveling and the whole like influencer life coming about. I think as far as like when I was in high school. So yeah, like social media was like kind of new, and so people were posting about it, and I'm like, wow, that seems so far away. Like I could never do that, but it seems so interesting. And now here I am. So crazy.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Now here you are. You're one of those girls. You are that girl. I know. You are her. She is here. You made her. Yes. Um, what you said about like that feels so far away, that common. I think that probably is something that many people that are listening low-key feel about the whether it's a digital nomad lifestyle

From Michigan To Bali Dream

SPEAKER_00 3:35

or whatever their dream lifestyle is. Um, they might see people on Instagram living the lifestyle that they desire and feeling like that could never happen for me.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So can you tell me a little bit about like why did you think that it was so far away? What did you believe then that you don't believe now?

SPEAKER_03 3:57

Um, I think I grew up like I didn't grow up with a lot of money. I didn't grow up with like parents who like had like we didn't travel. Like my parents are immigrants. They wanted me to have this like American lifestyle where I went to college, I got a good job, I got a house, all of this, you know, the American dream, so to speak, right? And so doing this, like traveling, not having like a regular job was just so insane, I guess, to my family and also like the people around me. Um, I don't want to like actually, I'm not gonna say anything about Michigan.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

I like talk shit about Boston and New York all the time. It's not that I think these places are terrible for everybody. I just personally didn't resonate with these places. So, what is it about Michigan that never resonated with you?

SPEAKER_03 4:44

It feels very cookie-cutter. Okay. So, like the whole getting a job, going to college, or no, getting going to college, getting a job, buying house, having the white picket fence, having a family. Like it was very, like, very common. A lot of my friends did it too. And I just like never felt like that was for me. And so I felt very out of place. And all my friends were like going and getting married and all this stuff, and I was ending a relationship, and I'm like, ah, I want to be free. I want to go experience the world. So it was it was a kind of a disconnect. And I think that when I started traveling, especially like bigger cities like New York, some places in Florida, California, even like LA, like you know the phrase that they're like, you are 30. If you're 30, you're it you're like 40 in a small city, and when you're 30, you're like 20 in like a very lively city. Yes. That's Michigan to me was like I was young, but I felt like you were living like an older person life. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yeah, I think it, I think when you this is my hot take. I feel like when you're in a suburban type place or you know, a place where things are just moving at at that cookie-cutter pace, we still want novelty in our lives. So we're constantly looking for like, okay, what's the next thing? Okay, what's the next thing? Okay, I'm kind of bored. What's the next thing? And if you're just following the path of society, the next thing is, okay, now go get a job. Okay, now go get a better job. Okay, now now find your spouse. Okay, marry them. Okay, now go buy a house. Okay, now have a baby. And like that's kind of how you keep things interesting.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

And then suddenly you wake up and you are 40 with three kids and living in the suburbs, and now you've kind of like really dug yourself into that, into that. It's not that you're dug yourself out. I definitely know people that have traveled with kids and like live an unconventional lifestyle. I plan to be one of those mothers, by the way. Um, but uh, it's just obviously harder.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

A little bit harder to set yourself free when you are, when you're the matrix of a family.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

And they were, but they were excited about it. Like I'm so happy for them because like that's what they wanted. Yeah. And I just felt like that was not what I wanted. I was not fulfilled. Essentially, at the end of the day, I wasn't fulfilled by that. I got a really good job. And everybody was like, oh my gosh, like that's so great. Like you're a scientist right out of college. I worked my way up as much as I could without getting a master's or a PhD. And then I thought to myself, okay, this is literally it. I either keep going on this trajectory and keep going back to school and spending more money on that, or having my company pay for it in a job that I wasn't fulfilled in. Like, this can't be my future. And then you came into my life on the you know, the algorithm. Uh so I saw you and I had been following you for like since 2020. So since COVID, and the remote job industry was getting more popular. So now it wasn't so crazy to be remote and to be working from home. So that sounded, I was like, oh, this is appealing. Maybe I can start working from home. This is great. Um, and then it still wasn't enough for me because I'm like, okay, they typically want you to stay in that city. Even if you're working from home, you gotta stay in that time zone or whatever it is. And you were like, I work from anywhere in the world. Sure do. And I'm like, how do I do that? Yeah. And actually like the business that I'm in because I love working, but I need to love what I do. That's super important to me. Some people are like, I just wanna clock out and not care about, you know, I can live my life after work. I don't have to love what I do. I'm not that way. I need to love what I do, I need to be inspired and motivated and all of this stuff. So you obviously are the same way, which is why you built this. Yeah. And you're so good at your job. You help people create the most amazing businesses, and also like you're just an amazing business coach. This is why I thrived. Oh, thanks. So um, I yeah, I saw you on TikTok and you were basically talking about your career assessment and saying, like, hey, if you want to live this lifestyle, be remote and having your own business, you can do it. I can help you find a business to start that you're gonna love, which is literally exactly what I needed to hear. So I'm like, shoot, I should message her. Yeah. Then I did. And uh I don't under I don't really remember the whole the details about it, but I remember doing the career assessment with you and you told me to do SEO. And I was like, I had no idea what SEO even was. Really? No. Oh my gosh, how funny. No, I was from the science world. I had literally not knew nothing about do you know what?

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Because uh we're actually living together right now. You're you're uh taking one of the guest rooms in in my house. Yep. Um so we were just talking earlier about your journey and preparing for the podcast. And obviously now you're on your third business, so you didn't stick with SEO, which for me is fine. I uh don't have any like tie over what people actually end up doing. But I was like, hmm, I wonder what it what it was at the time that I saw in you that made sense for me to suggest SEO, because I suggest something different for to every single person. It's really, really customized to to who you are. Yeah. And I probably was going on the science, scientist train because if that was the world that you were coming in, that would have been a transition that's not like that crazy. Like SEO involves a lot of research, it's like pretty analytical.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Um, there is a creative part to it, which now I'm just I don't actually remember our career so long ago, but I'm just like, oh yeah, that this is the way that my brain works. If I was like, okay, she's analytical, but she also like has, you know, maybe some creativity in her that like this is a nice way to sort of blend the two.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Um, so yeah, that's I'm assuming that's why I suggested that back then. Yeah. Probably. Yeah. Um okay, but actually, can you describe what the career assessment is? I've described it so many times in the podcast, but maybe it might feel interesting to the listeners

Finding Remote Work Through TikTok

SPEAKER_00 11:03

coming from someone who actually went through the process.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

I know it was a while ago, so from your memory.

SPEAKER_03 11:08

Um so the career assessment, she's not wrong. It does take a long time to do. And I also like I did it for a couple days. Like, I know she says it takes five hours to complete. Um, I definitely needed a lot longer to really think about my answers, but I took it super seriously. But basically, the career assessment is you gosh, how do I explain it? Um it's magic. Um you have a really long Excel file to complete. It'll tell you have to rank certain words and you have to talk about your background and really like look within and like your childhood. A lot, it was a lot of childhood memories because that is the thing that fulfills you that we kind of stop looking at like what we used to love as children once you grow up. Yeah. And the best businesses are when you go back to your childhood and like you're living that little girl's or boy's dream.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Yeah, so true. Yeah. I know one of the one of the questions on the career assessment is actually what did you want to be when you grow up?

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

I think when you work with a normal career coach, they're gonna be like just keeping it all really in the brain and like, you know, the the logical next steps to maybe climb higher in the corporate ladder. And this is just so not that. Like we're making an abstract painting kind of kind of situation. And yeah, really looking at all different parts of uh your personality, which can evolve. Our personalities can evolve, our interests can evolve, our skill set can evolve, our situations can evolve. And um, this was really something that I wanted to make sure that we touched upon in the episode today, because um I have some disclaimers before I do the career assessment with people. I usually say something like, Okay, if you don't like my idea, please tell me. It was only one person that was ever like two weeks later, like, yeah, I didn't actually like the idea, but you were just so excited. I'm like, I know I'm an excited person, but like I want you to be excited. This isn't about me. Yeah. Um, so that, and then also um, the disclaimer is like, this is just the first step on your entrepreneur jungle gym, not on the corporate ladder where you're climbing straight up in a straight line. Yeah, we're gonna hop on and then we're swinging around. We might circle back, we might twist and turn and do all these crazy moves. And um, that's kind of been the journey that you've been on. 100%. So without going like step by step by step, maybe just um quickly, you can talk about like um maybe what your first business was, what your second business was, and now what your third business is.

SPEAKER_03 13:50

Okay, so first was SEO. So I learned everything I needed to know about SEO. And this is pre-AI. I want to put that as a disclaimer because like now I feel like it's so much easier, or maybe I don't know if people are still doing it anymore. Like maybe it's just easier to use AI.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

They are, but I think it's I think the landscape of SEO has changed significantly because you can well, I don't actually know how to do it yet, but I plan to find out is how to get ChatGPT to recommend businesses.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Ah, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

So I yeah, but there's some SEO expert making bank helping people do that right now. And I need to find them. If anybody listening knows how to do that, hit me up.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

Okay. Uh so I

The Career Assessment And Jungle Gym

SPEAKER_03 14:33

yeah, I did SEO first. Yeah. And then I realized doing it, it's a lot of writing and it is research. It was a phenomenal to learn about because it's super important to starting your own business. It basically taught me how to um make myself known and be sh show up on social media and how to get people to find me, which is great. Um, but as far as doing it for other people, um, I was just I wasn't inspired enough. And also I just felt like there was too much to learn and I was not, I wasn't in my heart wasn't in it essentially. But I do love research and I do love social media, and I love um wellness and spas and beauty and all of that stuff. So I was like, how do I combine these two? That's when I found social media managing. So I dove into that and tried to learn everything I could about it, and I thought I'd be a really good one. And I was like, I don't know basically at the time, all I knew about social media managing was having influencers or content creators have social media managers. I didn't really think about businesses having them per se, but you had mentioned like everybody needs a social media manager or an agency or something if they're a business, um, if they want to grow and like be found. So, you know, it's worth looking at different industries. So and then you also mentioned doing local SEO, which I had no idea about. Not SEO, sorry, uh local social media managing. And I'm like, okay, like what's that? And you're like, you just help businesses in your area. And I'm like, oh, okay. Oh, interesting. So I had gone to a lot of spas and in my area, because obviously that's the kind of world I really like. Um, and I went to one I particularly liked and I asked the owner, I was like, hey, do you think that this would be a good idea? Like, I'm thinking about this, but do you need a social media manager? Like, is this an industry that I could like actually work in? And she immediately was like, I need a social media manager. Let's work together. So I came up with my pitch for her, I came up with everything, and then we started working together for like a year and a half. So crazy.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

I like literally remember you telling me about that. You were like, I was getting a facial, and then I got a client.

unknown 16:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

It can be that easy. It can be that easy, especially when you talk about something you're so excited about. Like I was really excited about this idea. So I feel like to anybody listening, it's like just tell people your ideas. Like you never know who can either a help you or maybe they'll want to work with you.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

So true.

SPEAKER_02 17:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Okay, something that I want to pull out of that story is um, okay, first of all, there was the order of things. Like you initially came into the program and you were or just your entrepreneurship journey in general, and you were like, okay, I'm gonna pursue SEO, which by the way, we never defined. It stands for search engine optimization. It doesn't really matter. Anyway, she obviously switched from SEO into social media. Um, so even though, Lorna, you didn't stick with SEO, your journey of learning about SEO, first of all, taught you, like as you said, how to be discovered. But it also probably taught you some fundamental things about business. That when you decided to switch to social media, you already knew those fundamental things about business. And when you were talking to this uh spa owner, you knew how to present yourself in a way that you were a business owner, which maybe you wouldn't have known before the SEO business.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

Oh my gosh, yeah. That's so true. I never thought about that. But you're right.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Because I'm like, I know this, I know that. She didn't know any of that. Yeah. So, and I remember you telling me, because I was always scared to pitch myself because I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. Not really. Like, I'm still learning. And you're like, all you need to know is 10% more than somebody else. And I did know 10% more than her. So I pitched her, I told her my knowledge, and she was like, I trust you. I trust you enough to let's let's try it out.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Yeah. And also I think it's worth noting that you were just there. Like you were with her, like you actually had some kind of relationship with her. I think a lot of people get really fearful about starting an online business because they think about competition or market saturation. Like everybody needs a social media manager, therefore, there are a lot of social media managers out there.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

But I think if you're starting to think, oh, I might pursue social media, oh no, there's so many other people that do it, it's like, yeah, there is, but it's because there's a demand. Yes. And when there are so many service providers, so in this case, social media managers to choose from, what who people end up hiring is the person that they know.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

Yeah, very true.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Not not necessarily the person that like they've seen to be the most famous on social media.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Yeah. It's also really hard to pick a good social media manager or an agency. Like there are, like you said, so many. So, like, how do you how do you pick? So you might as well just go and um what's the word I'm looking for? Like pitch yourself to somebody.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Yeah, for sure. And and you would be so surprised, like your charisma and just your energy and the the way that you like can hold an intelligent conversation will get you so far. And um, I'm saying that to you, Lorna, obviously, and also to the listeners. Like um, in Lorna's situation, what we just heard is she came into the entrepreneurship world from a very uh traditional background. S being a scientist, like, how is that relevant to online work?

Landing A Spa Client Fast

SPEAKER_00 20:17

It's not. No, it's not, it's literally not. I'm not here telling you, like, oh, we can take anything that you know how to do and turn it into no, you might need to learn something new. And in this, in your case, you had to learn new things. You had to learn SEO and you had to learn social media, but you did. And even though you weren't a freaking expert with years and years of experience under your belt, your presence and the way that you were able to talk about who you are and what you do and how you can help, that was what made somebody hire you. I can almost I don't actually know the answer to this. Did she ask you how many years of experience you have?

SPEAKER_03 20:55

No.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Did she ask you to see a portfolio? No. Wow. Okay. So if you're listening, please don't be so scared. Get out of this, like, oh my God, I'm not prepared enough. Like, I'll train you. Actually, the DNL is entrepreneurship training. It's not just like I'm teaching you how to build a specific business. I'm training you how to be and be embodied as an entrepreneur, which you prove that you are with business number two.

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Um, okay, so what about business number three?

SPEAKER_03 21:25

So yes, business number three, I started my own remote sales business. So I basically sell for different creators who have their own programs, and I only work with people that I truly believe in. Um, that is something that is very core to me because I do love working. So I only want to work with people that I truly think are changing the world or changing people's lives. So yeah, I love what I do now. I'm so happy to be doing it. Um, I don't know how long I'll be doing it for, to be honest, just because I am a manifesting generator. Anybody knows human design. We love it. Um, I loved switching up my careers. I guess you do. I like doing, I like doing everything. I want to do it all. Obviously, in this lifetime, it's probably not possible to do everything. But um, yeah, I'm gonna stick with this for a little while and then who knows what my future holds.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Okay, I love that so much. What I was saying earlier about the entrepreneurship on the entrepreneurial jungle gym, not the corporate ladder, but the jungle gym where you hop on and you can swing around and twist and turn. Like you seem so embodied in that. And I love what you just said about how you're like, yeah, I this is just who I am. I'm not the kind of person that's gonna be doing one thing until I retire. Like, boring, like I'm gonna mix it up and um just like live your career in the way that feels inspiring to you. What you said earlier, you that you love to feel inspired is so, so great. And um, it's like good for now because you're working with people that you like.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

And um, I'm proud to say that I've actually hired Lorna to support me in the Digital Nomad Life Academy. She's actually hosting not not exactly sales calls, they're called um remote readiness rating calls. Maybe if you're listening, you might be interested. But um, actually, Lorna, why don't you share what an a remote readiness rating call is?

SPEAKER_03 23:18

So, what that is, is people who are interested in uh a remote life or location independence, you're interested in business and creating your own business, online business, I should say, um, but you don't know for sure. Are you so are you ready? Like, are you like do you have what it takes to be doing an online business by yourself? Um, that's kind of where I come in. So obviously you'd probably been following Krista for a little bit and you message her, and that's how we get on a call together. Um, but sh it's really just to see if you are ready or not. And I honestly think that a lot more people are ready more than more so than they think. They rank themselves really low. Like they'll rank themselves so on the intake form, you have to say, like, where are do where do you feel like you're at? So many people think they're like 25% readiness. And I'm like, and I talk to them and I'm like, you guys are so much more ready. Like when they have, if you have big dreams and you have a clear vision for your future of what you want your life to look like, that to me signals that you're so much higher than you really think you are. Yeah. You don't have to have the skills. You don't have to know what you want to do. All you have to know is what the vision of your life looks like.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Yeah. Because you didn't know what you wanted to do and didn't necessarily have any specific skills, but you did know what you wanted. What did you want your life to look like?

SPEAKER_03 24:42

I wanted to be able to travel all over the world and like see different cultures, try the different foods, and be able to work from my laptop. So, like basically what you did, like I had a vision board. I like made a vision board of like people on their laptops, specifically

Building A Remote Sales Business

SPEAKER_03 24:59

on tropical beaches, which is probably what drew me to you the most because you also love that.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

Love me a palm tree, love me a love me a surfing beach. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

So I I'm from Michigan. So I'm it was always cold there. Like our summers are very short, our winters are long. So I'm like, I need out of here. And funny enough, being a scientist, you can't like there's not jobs in warm locations, not really, anyways. So like I wanted, I thought about Florida, I thought about like California. The science jobs that are like paying well are in the middle of nowhere. And I'm like, this is not for me. No, no, I love science. I mean, I still have like research is a huge thing of mine. Like, I love researching. Um, I will always be a researcher at heart, but yeah, I just wanted to be somewhere tropical and enjoy the warm weather.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what? Sometimes so the the house has like huge windows upstairs. And when I open the curtains in the morning and I just see the blue sky, I feel so grateful that I'm like, yeah, this is what I'm opening my eyes to every day. I get to fill, fill my corneas with like bright sun and palm trees in the distance, and I know that the ocean is right over there, and it's just the best. Like I used to dream of that too, being from Boston. It's super, super cold, icy in the winter, and just like the summer's too short. And um it's just not fair. I'm like, why do we live here? But now we don't have to. We can live, we can live where we want. Literally. Yeah. Do you think you'll um stay in Southeast Asia for a while? Like, actually, what is your what are your travels?

SPEAKER_03 26:33

I'm here all summer. So I'll be here for a couple more months and then I'm gonna head back to Florida, where I cur that's like my home base right now. Um, and then after that, I am, I don't know. I guess we'll see what the future holds. I'm not I'm not the biggest planner anymore. I used to have like a five-year plan, and now I'm

Remote Readiness And Confidence

SPEAKER_03 26:53

just like, we'll see where the wind takes me.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Obsessed. It feels so good to be able to just say yes to what you feel, yeah, rather than being like, oh, but I have to, I I have to book a flight home because I have to go to work on this day or whatever. Like it's so nice to just be to say, like, oh yeah, I'll go back to Florida, but like maybe if you have a reason to come back to Southeast Asia and then you want to come here, or maybe you'll want to go to Australia or London or South America or like somewhere if someone something pulls you to another place that you can say yes to that. Yes. And I think that's a very yeah, whimsical way to live. And I think more people should live whimsically. Yes, I agree. Um, so back to the remote readiness rating calls. You were saying that people rate themselves lower. So um I totally agree that when people have big dreams, it they deserve a higher rating. But why do you think that people rate themselves that low?

SPEAKER_03 27:55

I think it's mostly because they don't think that they have skills. Skills. I think it's I think it's skills. It's typically not, it's sometimes it's like they don't have a clear vision of their future, but for the most part, they're like, I don't know what to I don't know what to do. I don't know what I could do to be online, especially everything is so online. I feel like everybody thinks everything is saturated when that's like so not the case. Yeah. Even a saturated industry, you can still be big in.

SPEAKER_00 28:21

Exactly, because if it's saturated, it's because there's a demand. Exactly. It's because of the demand. Yep. So, okay, so people are rating themselves low because they are um yeah, feeling like they're unskilled. So people come to the calls, they rate themselves, and then you rate them. Yep. You rate them like anywhere from zero to a hundred. And um have you ever given someone a low rating?

SPEAKER_03 28:46

I have.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

Yeah. Why?

SPEAKER_03 28:49

Um, they were I feel like in order, this this kind of goes hand in hand with like you having your dream. I feel like people with low confidence sometimes don't have their like full dream. So like I feel like if they don't feel confident in anything that we're talking about, like on the call, we're talking about like what they've done, what they've experienced, like what they want their life to look like, but they don't have much confidence in it or they don't have a belief that it's possible. I don't rank them high because I'm like, you need to believe you can do it.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Or at least to some extent, that like your desire, even if you're not there, if you're not even remotely there, your desire to believe you can actually have it has to be there because you're not gonna be successful if you're doubting yourself the entire time. So true.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

I absolutely love that. Like it because it's true. When someone has a really strong desire, it's like nothing can get in their way. And then they're just gonna figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Because the truth is, business isn't actually that hard. No, it's really not that complicated. It's just like we make it so complicated because we get stressed out about what will people think, or what if I try and I fail, or what if I don't actually really like the idea? And then, and then what? It's like they don't realize that you could just do another something else, a second business like you have, or a third business like you have, or a fourth business like you will.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 30:18

Yeah, yeah. Um I also think if they're from America specifically, they're always afraid to leave their jobs because of healthcare. I've gotten that a couple times. They're like, but but you know, I there's all this uncertainty to being your own boss, and I'm and like you don't have any more benefits and you lose your 401k and all of this other stuff. I uh that actually scared me. Don't get me started. Oh my gosh. Okay, why did it scare you? Because I like I had health insurance through my work, yeah, and then all of a sudden I'm like quitting my job and I have no more health insurance. I'm like, that's terrifying because in America it's expensive. Like, if I hurt myself, it's thousands of dollars. Side note, it's actually not that expensive. It's cheaper without insurance. Is that's a hot take? No, it literally is. But I I I got over that. Like obviously, I quit my job and I didn't have insurance, and I'm like, wow, it's actually cheaper to not now. This this is me coming from a privileged like place because I have good health. Obviously, I know if you don't, you probably need insurance, but typically the people coming to the calls are in good health, they're just scared.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Yes, you're healthy, you can do this, you're just scared. Um, also, my hot take, because I I agree I have seen some crazy things about like um hospitals. Okay, oh my god, I'm about to go on a tangent. Everything in the United States is a business. Yes, like literally everything is a business because we live in such a capitalistic economy, and um, you know, that is great in a lot of ways. And then for the regular consumer or someone who doesn't even have the the money to consume like that, it's not that great for them because the hospital is trying to make money from you and the insurance companies are obviously trying to make money from you, and they're making a lot of money, they're making a lot of money. So, what I have heard is that hospitals will literally like throw random things on your bill, hoping that you won't notice, and then when you call them out, they'll take it off, or you can literally ask for discounts and they'll just give it to you because you are one of the ones that has done that. Yeah. Um yeah, anyway, without health insurance in the US, you can how what is what are the it's like literally cheaper without insurance? Like they give you a cheaper rate, they don't charge you for as many things.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They don't charge you for as many things pro most likely, because you do ask they I think it's like itemized stuff, but I know that for an MRI specifically, I'm not sure what state this is, but I saw this on TikTok and somebody did not have insurance, and it was like I don't know, like a hundred, two hundred bucks to get an MRI. And then with insurance, it was thousands. And then they're like, Well, they didn't so the hospital didn't know they had insurance yet. So then they were like, Oh, well, can it will my insurance cover this? And they're like, Oh, you have insurance, bumped it up, it cost more. And they're like, But you just told me it was this much without insurance. Can you just remove it? They're like, Well, no, now that we know that you have insurance, it costs more. And I was like, That's insane. Yeah, it is insane. So I might as well save my money, work as a freelancer or business owner, whatever, um, wherever you are in your business and save your money.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

Yeah, or use that money to buy yourself a first-class ticket to Turkey or Mexico. Literally, medical tourism is the new thing. Or Singapore. Like there's so many places where you can get amazing healthcare. Bangkok is another place um with like first class hospitals, and yeah, it'll be a fraction of the price. Yeah. So just saying. I don't know how we got on that. On that tangent. Okay, we're gonna go back. People that are scared about insurance, it's because they're scared to not have insurance. But I think, yeah, the point

Healthcare Fear And Creative Solutions

SPEAKER_00 34:13

is just that there are options. Like there are other ways to think about it. You can also just Google like what other people in my area do when they work for themselves. And guaranteed you're gonna find some solutions. So, what are some other things that hold people back from pursuing their dreams that you have seen?

SPEAKER_03 34:32

This is an interesting one because I don't know why they would be on the call, but I've had a couple people get on on the calls and then be like, I can I think I can do this on my own. And I'm like, Okay, like you could like I give them enough encouragement to really believe that they they can do it. And they're like, Well, I can do it on my own. Sure. And I'm like, you can do it on your own. This is just like a fast track to figuring it out. It's so interesting because I'll be like, okay, well, have you tried before? And like they they've maybe like tried some time and failed, tried some time and failed. I'm like, this is why you need a business coach. I was in the same boat. I had tried like other stuff randomly to see if it would work or not. Um, like, for example, I wanted, I thought maybe about being a photographer, like a professional photographer. I don't know why I thought that would be a good idea for me, but I tried it and I was like, this is not for you have to try things. I'm the person who needs to try. Yeah. For sure. Um, and then I realized I need help. And you were mentioning that. You're like, I hired business coaches and it grew me exponentially. I was able to scale. Like I would not been able, I would not have been able to do this as fast as I did without one.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

I have a whole episode about the $70,000 that I have spent on coaches over the years. Like, I mean, oh, it's spread spread out over years, obviously. Um, but still, like I've invested significantly and it's and it has paid off. Okay, an example that just came to my mind earlier today, because I was talking to somebody who's um curious about coaching. And yeah, this whole point of like, I can do it on my own, you're right. You can do it on your own because you are the one doing it. So this metaphor that I have is like, imagine you are in a dark room, and I'm telling you, hey, there's an obstacle course that you have to run from here over to the other side of the room. I'm gonna give you a flashlight. And then you take that flashlight and you move from one part of the room to the other part of the room. And there's gonna be bumps, there's gonna be holes, there's gonna be pitfalls, things that you have to jump over. And you do have the flashlight. So you can see what's in front of you. But wouldn't it be so much easier if you had someone on a walkie-talkie that had literally just run the race before you that was like, hey, in a couple of steps, you're gonna get to a hurdle. You're gonna have to jump over the hurdle. And okay, when you get to this point, make sure that you step over the big hole and look out for that. Yep. Like you would one get to the other side, you would be much more likely to get to the other side, and you also would feel more confident moving faster. Whereas the person that only has the flashlight and is just only relying on themselves that has no intel whatsoever about the race that they're gonna run, you're gonna be moving much more cautiously. You're gonna be moving slowly, and the chances of you reaching the other side, unfortunately, are just they're just lower. You don't have any support. So, yes, you can run the race on your own. And yes, you can do this on your own, but like, why would you? It's like the difference between between getting to your dream life in six years versus six months.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

No, literally. It I don't understand those people. I don't know if it's like pride, but like, yeah, I would much I'm all about efficiency.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

I think it's money scarcity. Maybe I feel like

Why Coaching Speeds Everything Up

SPEAKER_00 38:00

that's what it is. And I think people can get into this, like, oh no, like if I spend money, uh, then I spend it and it's gone. For me, investing in my first business coach was the first time I ever invested in anything. And I don't think I really understood the concept of investing before. Like, I think I thought that if you spend money, you spend it and it's gone.

SPEAKER_03 38:21

Okay, I see. I didn't because but you had mentioned like before we started working together, like in your posts, you're like, and also you're like, I'm helping you create a business. And so like you will make your money back most likely within the time we finish working together. So it's like that's really nice when you like invest in a in like something, like a like a program or an academy or whatever it is, that you're gonna be making your money back while you're in it. Sometimes it's not like that, but it's an investment for if you're if you're trying to join anything, I think it's so worth it because you're gonna learn and take it and grow so far, probably with your mentality, not just money. Um, I think it's I think it's great, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

Yeah, for sure. And side note, this is why now the DNLA is a year versus a few months.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

I'm so jealous.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

It used to be, yeah, like I'm so jealous. Yeah, when you joined it was a four-month program because I used to do it like boot camp style, because that's what all the other coaches were doing. And I was like, oh, that's just that's just how coaching works is you just make it three or four months. Which actually, to be fair, from a from a business perspective, it would be better for me to only commit to my clients for three or four months. Because now, now if I ever want to close down the DNL, I have at least a year that I'm like that I'm in it, you know. So like I get why other business owners, like why other business coaches do all their programs boot camp style, and it's just like maximum four to six months. Um, actually, most are three months, but I was like, oh, but I I actually want to see people do the thing. Like I want them to actually make the money back in their business and book the ticket and you know, change their lives. And it just like it, the the amount of time that it takes is so unpredictable.

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Really, it really is.

SPEAKER_00 40:13

Like, how could you like I don't know how long it's gonna take you to build a business? I know there's other coaches that are gonna be like, it only takes three months. They don't know you, they don't know you, they don't know anything about you.

SPEAKER_03 40:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Um, and you don't even really know you because you've never done this before. So how can you know how fast you're gonna move?

SPEAKER_03 40:30

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 40:31

Anyway, um, I feel like I like to be transparent, maybe to a fault, but uh it's okay. Anyway, I just the point is I get so much joy from seeing people live their best lives just like you are now. And it's so cool that you're here in Bali and that we've gotten to hang out and that uh yeah, just see you like loving your career and just feeling really fulfilled. And I know at the beginning of this episode, I was saying, I want people to get this transmission from you about loving sales.

SPEAKER_02 41:02

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

And I would love to hear your perspective on that because I think um sales is something that what I've seen in the career assessments, people rate sales as like a super low thing that they're not interested in. Really? And I'm like, I think sales are so fun. And I know you think that sales are fun. Yeah. Get pitch me. Tell me why are sales so fun?

SPEAKER_03 41:25

Um, well, first, I only sell what I believe in. So I could not sell you, I mean, I could probably sell you anything because sales is really about asking questions. That's like your whole heart-centered sales too. Like you're asking somebody why they would need something. Like if you're trying to sell them like the the Wolf of Wall Street, like sell me this pen. Yeah. It's about like asking the right questions and then them selling themselves. So I am just a vessel to getting people to get something that's really gonna change them. So that's why I like this type of sales that I'm in, which I sell programs, courses, all of that stuff. Um, but yeah, I love talking to people who like kind of like have an interest in something, but they're nervous. Yeah. They're like, oh my God, do I wanna do this? Do I not want to do this? And then I just have a full-on conversation with them about their desires, especially for yours specifically for the remote readiness. It's all about what their desires are, what their dreams are. Like, can we do it? Are they ready? And a lot of the time people are a lot more ready than they think, and they're scared. And I'm that vessel for them to take a chance on themselves. Yeah. And that's why I love it.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Yeah. And I was actually curious about like some other people that you um do sales for as well. Like, like you are supporting other people through other challenges that they're having. Can you talk a little bit about that? Sure.

SPEAKER_03 42:51

So, one in particular that I've been on for a while is a health offer. And so, this is people who have kind of been wronged by the Western world of medicine. So, you know, they're they're on prescription medications, they don't want to be on them anymore, their labs are normal, whatever that may look like for them, and they're like seeking help from somebody else. And I kind of walk through to see if like we can help them and I give them hope again that we actually can, because a lot of these people have lost hope. Like they've been having these illnesses or these symptoms for years. And then I'm like, we have a solution for you. And and it it works. Like there's a crazy high success rate when working with us. And I get them to join, and what do you know? They get cured essentially. And it's amazing. It feels so good to know that I was a part of that. I had them like be scared, but willing enough to do this new thing. And it worked.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Love that. It's it's it's actually a lot like coaching, actually, is when when you're doing sales for a Someone that's like about to do something transformational. Because most people that are gonna get on a call curious about joining a transformational program, whether it's a DNLA or whether it's the health um offer that you're on. Either way, it's like people are getting on that call because they have a dream, because they're curious, because they are like, oh, can I do this? And they're not just diving all in because of course there's gonna be hesitations.

Falling In Love With Sales

SPEAKER_00 44:29

Yeah. Like everybody naturally would have a hesitation before jumping off of a cliff. Yeah. I hop hopefully. Hopefully, hopefully they would. Oh, hopefully, you would hope so. Um, so it's like natural and normal for someone to be nervous about about making a big change, but then it's like you're here standing on the edge for a reason.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:52

You know, it's like, are you gonna jump or exactly or not? What are you gonna do about it? So it's it's so cool that you get to be a part of people making the decision to change, to change their lives. Yeah, it is. Side note, do you remember how you felt making the decision to become an entrepreneur and join the DNL?

SPEAKER_03 45:13

I remember I was so excited, but I was also so freaking scared and I was like, what did I just invest in? Because you know, I didn't think you were like a scammer or anything like that, but it's just so daunting when you invest thousands of dollars.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

No, I'm a stranger on the internet. Exactly. I am a literal stranger on the internet, and I could be anybody dun dun dun.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

Um, and you were my very first investment into this world, and everybody was like, actually, I didn't really tell anybody. I told like one one friend, and she was like, What did you do? You spent thousands of dollars on some random program that says that they're gonna help you start a business. And I'm like, Yeah. But I went all in and here I am today. So worked. Also, I think what's underrated about your program is that like you change people's mindsets. Like, more, like, yes, you help them start a business, but like you literally change their entire mind to be super open and optimistic and actually embody their dream life, which is so important.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

I mean, it's literally all that there is. We kind of talked about that of like people that are on the remote readiness rating calls. If you're like, hey, if you if I don't see that you even have the capacity to change your mind about this, if you don't have the ability to believe in yourself, then what are we even doing here? Like, I can't, I can't make someone choose a dream life. Like you have to be the chooser.

SPEAKER_03 46:43

Yeah. So But you can't be as scared as you want to be. I had a lot of shadow work I had to do, but you helped me through it.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Yeah, that's what I'm that's what I do. That's what I'm here for. I'm here to support you and and help you move closer to dreams. And just like the example that I gave earlier about like um on the sideline being like, hey, you're gonna have to step over this hurdle and this is what's coming next for you. Um, it's like I'm I'm still on the sidelines, but you're the one running the race. Like you're always the run running the what running the race. So I I like to say the coach can't want it more than the client. Exactly. The client has to want it the most.

SPEAKER_03 47:22

And that's what I see on the readiness ranking calls. And I would only want to pass over to you those people who are actually ready.

SPEAKER_00 47:29

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and that's why it's uh yeah, that's why we do what we do so that we can vet people and make sure that the DNLA is protected because it's such a vibe once you're inside. Um, which side note, I guess I haven't fully explained what the DNLA is. And now that we're towards the end of the episode, if you are still here and you are curious about becoming a remote entrepreneur, maybe you want to be like Lorna and you want to have the ability to be based in a warm state or a warm country and then book a one-way ticket for the winter time and be able to not know what you're doing in a few months and to let that be a fun, cool part of your life, to allow yourself to be spontaneous, to live whimsically, if that is what you want, or maybe if you want to, I don't know, spend more time with your loved ones. Like, oh my gosh, the people that join my program that don't want to be in a long-distance relationship anymore, low-key have the highest success rate. I'm serious. They're like, I that's someone just joined the program that is dating someone that's in Thailand. And I'm like, I know he's gonna really go for it because he's in love. He's in love. He has to start a business. Um, so whatever your motivation is for starting a business, I just think that um, well, I just think I would love to support you with that. In the digital nomad life academy is my business that I've had for years. It's evolved so much, it's grown so much, it's improved so much, it's constantly improving. There's a hundred plus people from all around the world that have the same dreams as you do. Like people that are big dreamers, people that want to be inspired by their career and by their life, people that are willing to learn new things, people that are willing to shift their identity and be more open-minded and just like take life by the horns. That is who is in the DNLA. So if that sounds like you, your people are waiting for you to say yes. And actually, you only have to say yes to a remote readiness rating call. If Lorna gives you a rating that is sufficient, then we will invite you into the DNLA. If your rating is not sufficient, we will happily just send you in another direction and maybe tell you to go work on something or learn something or, you know, we'll we'll customize it to you. Um, but chances are you're probably more ready than you think. So hit us up, send me a DM on Instagram at Christabella Travels with the keyword R R R for remote readiness rating. And then I will send you a link to get on a call. You'll get to meet Lorna. And yeah, if you join the DNL, you and I will be working very closely together. And uh who knows, you could be sitting on this couch in Bali in far fewer time than you think, andor far less time than you think. And uh you could be talking about your third remote business. Who knew? So crazy. I know, amazing. Um, Lorna, if you had any words that you wanted to share with somebody who's listening, I I always like to imagine somebody that's on their commute to work. Um, so someone that's commuting to work, they are maybe they're a scientist, maybe they are just yeah, working some kind of normal job, maybe they really resonated with your explanation earlier about just suburban white picket fence life and how that's just not it for everyone. If you encountered somebody like that, what would you like to say to them?

SPEAKER_03 50:57

I would say I think it's a bigger risk to stay in that rather than just trying out your dream. Because what's the worst that can happen? You go back to that, I think it's a bigger risk. I think you might as well try it out and give it your all. Cause what's the risk? The risk is your dream

How To Join The DNLA

SPEAKER_03 51:16

life. Or well, what's the risk of staying? Oh, to staying in the exact job unfulfilled.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

And what are you risking if you stay in the exact job unfulfilled? Nothing.

SPEAKER_03 51:28

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 51:29

You're risking your life. Oh, that's you're like risking your life satisfaction. You're like risking, you're like risking the fact that you are gonna get to the end of your life never knowing. Yeah. I just personally can't think of anything worse. So I couldn't either. Moral of the story go for your dreams and be like Lorna. Be like Lorna, who tries shit, who just says yes, says yes to life. I just your your comment about being like, I don't know how long I'll do this. I might start another business. And I'm like, yeah, why wouldn't you? You're already a number three. Like, that's epic. Yeah. And um, yeah, just like letting life be be fun and inspiring, and it's amazing. I'm inspired. I absolutely love this episode. This was so fun. Yes, it was so happy to have you. Oh my god, my literal absolute pleasure, like so much. Thank you everyone for listening to the Digital Nomad Life podcast, and we'll see you in the next episode. Bye.