The Truth About Making Money Online While Living Abroad

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Moving Abroad Resources:

👉 Moving Abroad Relocation Roadmap Guidebook that walks you through the five phases of moving abroad ($27): https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/relocate

👉 Moving Abroad Relocation Blueprint Course which offers step by step guidance on everything from choosing the right country to immigration to taxes and everything in between: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/blueprint

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👉 Free Moving to Mexico Guide: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/mexico

👉 Free Moving Abroad Checklist: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/abroad 

Remote Work and Online Income Resources:

👉 Expat Income Accelerator course which shows you the multiple ways you can make money globally based on our 15+ years of experience in online business, investing internationally and living in multiple countries: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/income

👉 Get Your First High Paying Client Online Bootcamp which walks you through the first four foundational steps of creating and monetizing an online business based on 15+ years of experience in online business: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/firstclient-yt

👉 YouTube Mastery Workshop which shows you how we’ve built two YouTube channels that bring clients and passive income from digital course sales (including turning Entrepreneur Expat into a six-figure business in six months): https://www.YouTubeMasteryWorkshop.com

👉LinkedIn Mastery Workshop which shows you how to use LinkedIn to find remote work, clients and connect with recruiters based on Justin’s experience building a six-figure business and finding remote work on LinkedIn: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/linkedin

👉 Free Make Money From Anywhere Guide: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/money-guide 

V I D E O S    T O    W A T C H    N E X T :

Online Business Tips to Working and Traveling In Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGH0voCyOc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j&index=2

Moving to Mexico: 10 Reasons Why We Chose to Live in Guadalajara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK23vD8_xjc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_LAY7UV78YMgms-f2e1UcwN&index=23

Tips for Moving Overseas: Top 5 Remote Work Skills That Make Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzjCrlNAL8&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j

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Inquiries: community@entrepreneurexpat.com

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Transcript

0:36

Let me be the first to tell you a secret that almost nobody admits publicly. Many people aren't struggling to make money online because they lack the skill, the ambition, or the discipline. They're struggling because they're trying to build an online income inside of an environment that drains their energy, their time, and their creativity before they ever get a chance to succeed. When you're constantly stressed out about the bills. When you're exhausted from the pace of life, when you don't have breathing room in your schedule or in your nervous system, online income becomes 10 times harder than it needs to be. But here's the twist. The moment you step into a calmer, more affordable, more supportive environment, whether that's Mexico, Portugal, Thailand, or Uruguay, everything changes. And why 2026 is the best time in history to build remote income that gives you real freedom. Hi, I'm Justin Keltner from Entrepreneur Expat. We help freedom minded professionals build global lives. Without sacrificing comfort, income, or security. If you've been dreaming about creating online income, but feel overwhelmed or stuck, this video will show you why the problem might not be you. It might be your environment. Let's get right into it. Now, if you love content like this, you're gonna wanna make sure to subscribe to this channel because we're coming out with new videos every single week about how to build a location, independent lifestyle and make money from anywhere, as well as how to get visas and. Work permits and business licenses and deal with taxes and so much more internationally. So subscribe to this channel and don't forget to check out all the free resources below this video. So what's actually happening right now in terms of online businesses? Well, here's the real story. The world has shifted to remote work. Clients don't care where you live. They care about results. Even if perhaps an employer says you can't work in Mexico. A client really does not give a flying F where it is in the world that you are. They care about the results that you can produce for them. Technology has also democratized opportunity. You can build a business from your laptop with near zero overhead. And by the way, for all of the haters that comment on our video and say, oh, but the Mexicans can't do that, so you're coming there and you're living in their country or in, in Thailand, they can't do that, and these people can't do that. You're just an American that's going and colonizing and making money from, from your laptop and making money in dollars and spending it in pesos. Yeah. Number one, that's a little racist. What makes them any less capable than me? Number two, it's complete BS because we have clients all the time in different countries, including Mexico, that follow us, that buy our programs, that are colleagues of ours that are, even people that we know here locally that are building their own businesses online. They're making money from the Middle East, from the us, from Canada, from Europe, from clients all over the place. I know dozens of people like that, both personally and in our community. That are doing those things that aren't from the US or Canada or a Western nation at all. So before you go and say, you know, say, Hey, you, you are just doing this because you're from the US or you were born in the us. Absolutely not. It's because I've learned to develop a skillset that allows me to make money from. Another thing that's happening is countries more and more abroad are giving you the breathing room that you just don't have right now. You've got lower rent, lower stress, and more creativity. Because of that, a slower pace of life is gonna give you more clarity, and more clarity, gives you more consistency. Your nervous system becomes your business partner instead of one of the problems that's keeping you stuck when you're right. When you're regulated, ideas flow, execution becomes easy, and you stop reacting and start building. And you stop reacting and start building. This is why so many people finally succeed after leaving the us, Canada, or Western Europe. It's not magic, it's margin. Now I want to jump into why making money online abroad is actually easier than even doing it in your home country. There are really four key structural advantages here. Number one is the obvious lower financial pressure. You simply don't need$8,000 per month to survive. You can live beautifully on two to$3,000 a month while building. Number two is the higher quality of life you've got walkable cities, sunlight, much more integrated communities. Your mental state changes, and so does your performance. Number three more time. There's no commute to the office, no social pressure and no overbooked lifestyle. Suddenly you've got 20 plus hours per week extra to actually build something meaningful. Number four is the currency arbitrage you can earn in USD and spend in pesos bought l ring it or cologne, and your income instantly becomes more powerful. Now, before you just jump right into this lifestyle and think that, Hey, I'm just gonna snap my fingers, and then tomorrow I'm gonna be landing clients without any experience, without any practice, without, without any sort of formula. I want to talk about the common mistakes that actually sabotage people when they're getting started to help you not make those mistakes. The trap number one is thinking that geography replaces skill. Moving abroad will not magically build your business. It's simply helps to remove the blocks that may have been killing your momentum before. Trap number two, trying to do everything. Most people don't need 10 income stream. They need one simple service or offer that solves one real problem. Now, Amanda and I do run a couple different businesses. Now, the difference though is with us, most of those businesses are directly related in one way or the other to that other business. So for example, I run Entrepreneur Expat, which is this brand, and then I've also got an online real estate agency. Those are directly correlated. They're directly connected. In addition, because I've been doing technology and consulting in that space, I run another brand called Liberate Your Cloud, which helps people with their enterprise infrastructure and things like that. And I just love doing it. I love being involved with technology. We're able to do so many things now, some of which are very related, some of which are a little bit less related because we've already built the businesses over the last five to 10 years up to this point. And because they have synergy together, and also because so many of the things in, for example, this business are completely automated, so I've got free time to move on and do other things at the same time, but that's not where most people should start. I'm simply addressing that because some people in the comments might say, but you're doing this and you've had a marketing agency and you've, you've done this and that. But it's not quite that simple. The the easiest way to start is really just with one thing, one problem, and then eventually if you get bored. You can move on if a business is producing money on its own or if there's some other service or offer that you can provide to the marketplace, but never start there. That's an easy way to get very, very distracted and take your eye off the prize and sabotage yourself. Trap number three is staying in learning mode. Courses, don't make you money. Execution does. Trap Number four is undercharging because you live abroad. No, don't do this. Your clients are not paying for your rent abroad or the fact that it's more or less expensive than it was before. They're paying for the transformation they're paying for the result that you give them. Now here's the practical blueprint to actually. Start doing this yourself. Number one is you wanna start with the skill that you already have. Perhaps that's business, operations, writing, design, consulting, coaching, technical support, strategy, or marketing. You really only need one. Number two, you want to choose a simple business model that might be freelancing, consulting, coaching, creating digital products, having done for you services or maybe even remote employment. Yes, that's still online income. Now, I would hesitate to recommend this very strongly, but if you're just starting now and perhaps you wanna move abroad, you might find that your current employer will let you. It's not the best case scenario, but if you're looking for something to transition into, eventually being able to do your own full-time remote business, then you can definitely get started with that remote employment. Number three, build one offer, not 10. You wanna start with a clear problem and then transition that to a clear solution and have a clear price. Number four, use platforms where clients already exist. LinkedIn is great for this to to network with people, especially if your services are B2B. Upwork is good for that as well, especially if you're just getting started. Use email, even cold email or email to past clients or people you've worked with before, past colleagues. Partnerships are great too if you've got companies. That might have your clients, but that are non-competitive. Talk to those people about referring you business and then direct referrals from friends, from family, from past clients and more. Number five is become consistent. You don't wanna become perfect. That's not possible. You just wanna become predictable, do the things you need to do every day, whether that's recording YouTube videos, whether that's posting on LinkedIn once a day and then interacting with other people on LinkedIn. You want to build habits and execute those habits. Every single day. One cool app for this, there's, there's a bunch of them obviously, but if you're on iOS, one cool app that I recommend is called Strides. We don't have any affiliate relationship with them, but we use it, uh, internally to make sure that we're meeting our goals and making sure that we're doing things and, and, uh, checking the box every single day. Hey, I've sent, you know, 10 sales emails. I've done the work I needed to on LinkedIn, whatever you want to get into that habit, it takes at least 21 days. To start to build a habit, so you make sure that you're doing those habits every single day that make you become consistent, especially the sales and marketing. You don't want to get distracted by all of those other habits and things that don't really make you money. Focus on the sales and marketing because that's what's gonna get you paid. Number six, use geography to your advantage if your cost of living drops by 50%. Then your financial runway grows by two to 300%. This alone is enough to go from stuck to thriving and on your way to getting that location independent business off the ground. Some countries really do make online income easier because they reduce stress, increase inspiration, and stretch your financial runway For most people. These are your top contenders, Mexico. You've got warmth, affordability. Community and creativity. Portugal, they're calm, safe. There's a lot of nature and a gentle rhythm of life. Malaysia. It's shockingly modern infrastructure as well as low cost. Wai, there's stability, privacy, and peaceful living in Albania, you get Mediterranean lifestyle at a fraction of the cost and even more. We've done plenty of videos about different countries to check out. You can definitely. Take a look at some of those videos around this one, but there's so many places, Columbia, Panama, Thailand, and so many more. There are a lot of places that are more than just beautiful. They're actually productive environments. Environments where your work becomes lighter, your creativity expands, and your potential can finally breathe. So if you've been spinning your wheels trying to build an online income and an environment that constantly drains you, it's not your fault. Sometimes the system you're in is the problem, not your ambition. And once you get into a calmer, more affordable environment, making money online becomes simpler, faster, and far more sustainable To help you start building the income that you can really take anywhere in the world. I put together a free Make Money from Anywhere Guide. It breaks down the best online income models for beginners. The skills you already have that people will pay you for, and the exact steps to land your first clients, even if you're starting with zero experience. You can download that@entrepreneurexpat.com slash money. Your freedom starts with income that you control. Make sure you, you're subscribed to this channel. Check out that Make Money From Anywhere Guide, as well as our courses and resources below this video, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon.