We Asked 6 Leaders in the Digital Nomad and Remote Work Space This Question | TNE050

I got in touch with 6 industry leaders from different parts of the world in the digital nomad and remote working space and asked them a particular question that will help my listeners just starting out along their journey. You’re going to want to stay tuned because these leaders jam-pack their answers with massive value. 6 leaders in the digital nomad and remote working space were asked the question:

"Think back to when you first started your journey. From your experience- if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring online entrepreneur, remote worker, or digital nomad, what would it be?"

Show Notes: 

3:36 How to be an efficient and effective digital nomad

06:22 Build a relationship with your potential clients

8:44 Values that digital nomads should have to be successful

10:18 Preparation before becoming a digital nomad

17:17 Overcome your fear and get out of your comfort zone

22:51 Persist and never give up on your goals

Omar's (Host) Social Media:
Instagram - @nomadables
TikTok - @nomadables
Facebook Group - NOMADABLES - Accountability & Growth Community for Remote Workers- Perfect to meet fellow online entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads.
YouTube - Omar Mo
LinkedIn - Omar Mo Nomads Cast
Twitter - @nomadables
Pintrest - @nomadables
Clubhouse - @pods

Transcript

We Asked 6 Leaders in the Digital Nomad and Remote Work Space This Question | TNE050 TRANSCRIPT

Intro-

Welcome back nomad fam, happy 2021. Today is a very special day. We're commemorating episode number 50 of the nomadic executive. And I'm super stoked all of you guys are here to join me. So because we've had such a special milestone in the journey of the nomadic executive, I wanted to do something slightly different for this episode for you guys and gals.

I got in touch with six leaders in the digital nomad and remote working space and asked them a particular question that's going to help you gain some insight, whether you've been doing this for a long time, or you're just starting out on your journey. You're definitely going to want to stay tuned because these leaders jam packed their answers with massive value.

Now before we get started nomad fan, please leave a review and hit that subscribe button. If you're a digital entrepreneur and enjoy travel at any level, this show will help you level up your business, level up your brand, and improve your overall quality of life.

In fact, here's a recent review we got from NKDMary. So many guests and what a host. Omar has a keen eye for finding incredible talent in getting a wide variety of experienced guests onto the show. The show, it seems, is so focused on the listener sometimes I feel like I'm there with him. That was the most cinematic voiceover I've ever done on this show.

Let's pretend that that's how you meant to portray it NK, and I appreciate the kind words NK. We're all about the listeners on this show. With that being said, here we go.

My name's Omar Mo and this is the nomadic executive. You're listening to the nomadic executive, hosted by Omar from nomadables.com.

Join Omar as he sits down and speaks with leading online entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads about everything from business strategy to travel and lifestyle design. Together, we're here to help you achieve a life of happiness, health, and freedom. And now here's your host, Omar Mo.

Omar:

So we asked six leaders in the digital nomad and remote working space the following question. Think back to when you first started your journey. From your experience, if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring online entrepreneur, remote worker or digital nomad, what would it be? Each one of our six incredible leaders offered a piece of sage advice having gone through it themselves.

So let's introduce them and give their answers one by one. Starting off, we've got Dave Williams from nomadx. Dave is an American pioneer in the digital marketing and tech industries. He's also a serial digital entrepreneur with multiple exits over the past 20 years. He's been in this internet game for a long time.

Back in 2017, Dave founded Nomad X. Amazing company, a company that offers long-term rentals for travelers and digital nomads. Think Airbnb before long-term stays, they're now merged with Flydeo and the spirit of Nomad X still lives on. Oh and Dave is also the founder of the NomadX Facebook community. So here's what Dave had to say.

Dave:

Yeah. The first thing when you're first starting your journey as a digital nomad, I think one thing we see most common is that nomads will typically try and travel pretty quickly. So, you know, one week, two week, a few days here and there and every time you travel, the cost goes up.

Every time you get into a car, every time you move destinations, it also disrupts the workflow. So I think new nomads, a lot of times they want to travel to a lot of locations. They've got a lot of areas on their bucket list. But yeah, the actual, the best way to do it is actually counter-intuitive. The best approach is actually to travel slowly and we call them slowmads instead of digital nomads or slow travel.

That's what we really suggest. And typically we'll see is, you know, in terms of slow travel, usually anywhere from about one month to three months is typically the time period. And then as you're traveling too, as you hit more and more destinations, as you get to know places around the world, we also see that some of the nomads like to return to destinations they've been to before, because they know people, they know some of the locals, they know the work set up becomes very easy for them.

They almost feel like a local when returning. So, yeah, those are really kind of the main thoughts as it relates to becoming a digital nomad. I think the other main thing is just most important is just to get started, you know, sell your stuff back at home. And this is if you want to be more of a long-term nomad, you can sell everything, carry everything you own in a backpack, book a flight, and yeah head out on the road.

Or the other option is with our business, we're called Nomad X, but really the idea of it is to become nomadic. Which doesn't mean that you need to be traveling all the time, so you can have a home base and go on a trip for a month or two months. So instead of going on vacation for a week or two, go on become a nomad. Travel, work, experience the city for a month or two at a time return to home, but get rejuvenated yeah.

And really have this opportunity to explore the world while still maintaining your job, while still maintaining friendships at home, but really expanding your horizons significantly as a global citizen.

Omar:

Great pieces of advice, Dave. You can find Dave on Facebook by searching Dave Williams or by looking up the Nomad X Facebook group. He's an admin on there.

Next up we have Dina Ramadan. Dina is one of the leading digital nomad coaches in the world. And she's helped people from different parts of the globe start up their businesses, move countries, and even find remote work. Dina founded the group, we are freedom seekers on Facebook, which is a community of adventure that aren't held back by the nine to five.

Here's what Dina had to say.

Dina:

My tip for anyone who wants to run their own online business is to get really friendly with your clients. So know them on a personal level and show up every day as their friend. You can do this by simply adding them on Facebook as a friend and posting business related stuff onto your wall so that they see you every day.

And if they're interested in what you're writing about, they can click on it. And my tip for anyone who wants to be a digital nomad is to travel slower. So instead of doing six countries in six weeks, spend one month in one country, this will make sure that you don't burn yourself out. You can Wix your best effort because obviously you're still be running a business when you're traveling and you can explore the country properly.

Omar:

Thanks Dina for the great advice. Building relationships is one of the most important actions that you can take for the growth of your business. Far too many people are focused on the vanity metrics of their social media platforms, rather than actually trying to cultivate some sort of relationship with their followers who are just human beings on the other side of the phone screen. Your network is really your net worth.

We're moving forward. We have Amit Kumar. Mit's been a community centric entrepreneur for many, many years. He's built multiple communities in the digital nomad and remote working space, as well as the blockchain industry. He's also worked with companies like Uber, which I'm sure you've heard of. And has founded the first digital nomad summit in India, known as the global nomad summit. He's really a born and bred leader and he's hosted over 20 meetups in person across India, as well as over 10 virtual masterclasses during the pandemic. Way for taking the lead Amit. Here's what he had to say.

Amit:

A few points that I really learned through these two years of my nomadic job is the first one is  discipline.

And second one is like always at the task and the time management. And the third one is always accountable towards your goal or towards your, anything that you want to achieve either in terms of personal achievement or in terms of professional achievement. So obviously value traveling, you have to take care about lots of things like especially for the time, because you know, if you're working remotely as a digital nomad, so you have to be work with the company and they need report on your time as well. So these are the few advice that I really want to deliver with the aspiring digital nomads and the remote workers.

Omar:

100% agree Amit. Time management is absolutely key when you're working remotely, whether it's a business or a job for another company. You can find Amit on his Facebook group, digital nomads, remote workers, and traveling entrepreneurs. So go check that out.

Now we're at the halfway point here. So whether you're listening to this in your car, at the gym, in your room, go have a glass of water because you're going to need it after these next three value bombs are going to light fires on the inside. Seriously, though, spot number four is taken by a veteran digital nomad.

His name's Chad Wyatt. And he's a 30 year old entrepreneur from London in the UK who has been in the game for a very long time. He spent about 10 years traveling the world. So that means he left his country back when he was 20, he's lived in multiple countries building businesses, and he's even founded the remote jobs and digital nomads Facebook group, which is an absolutely incredible resource for anyone looking for remote work and, or a community of fellow travelers, just like us. Here's Chad's answer to the question.

Chad:

So the main piece of advice that I would give to digital nomads is to actually land a job or gain some sort of projects that you want to work on. Anything that's going to pay you money before you actually start traveling.

Now, I'm not a big believer in pack up your bags and just go traveling and everything will work itself out because if you want to be a digital nomad, you have to have some sort of income coming in. When you first start traveling, which I've learned myself, you get caught up in the travel, you spend money on things because you want to experience what's there in the country.

And you sort of forget that you have to have income coming in to support that. So when I first went traveling, the first time I went for a few years, and I managed to spend about 10,000 pounds in six months and I didn't have a job before I left. I didn't aspire to be a digital nomad, but this is the same principle.

So I didn't have a job. And I ran my money right down to the point where I could barely afford a flight home. And to me, it ruined the experience because then I had to worry about finding an actual job while I was in the country I was in to support building my money back up and traveling again. When it comes to being a digital nomad, you don't want to go abroad, run your money down to nearly zero.

And then have to worry about finding more projects online or finding more jobs because it's not easy. You can go and get a job in a bar or on a farm or doing something abroad, but that's not being a digital nomad. It's much harder to land jobs and projects online if you have never done it before.

So what I did when I went traveling a second time is I actually applied for tons of jobs that were remote and freelance projects about six months before I was due to start traveling. I hadn't booked anything, but in my mind, I knew I wanted to travel in about six months time. So I applied and I, it took me five months to actually land my first remote job.

And that supported my travels. So I started the job when I was still in full-time work at home. And I did it in my spare time just to see what it was like, see if it would be sustainable. And once I knew it was, I got paid my first paycheck and the hours were there, I thought, okay, well this is paying me so I can actually afford to go traveling now. I've saved up money to enjoy myself and I've got money coming in. So then I actually went traveling and I picked up more freelance projects, remote jobs, and it sort of just gave me the freedom to be able to enjoy being a digital nomad at the same time as working.

The last thing you want to do is take on too much work where you're not getting the opportunity to experience a new country or travel anywhere or take on no work at all because you think that it's going to come to you. And then have to go home after three months. I've seen people myself that have probably saved for about a year and they've had a good amount of money. They didn't get a remote job or any sort of projects. They didn't build up their skills ready. And they started traveling, ran out of money within six months or so, and then have to go straight home.

And then that process starts again. You want to make sure that doesn't happen. You want to get your job first. Know that the income's strong. Know that you're going to be able to work remotely, experience what that's going to be like, especially if you're new to it, because it's not for everyone. And then you know that you're going to be able to stay and sustain your travels.

So that's probably my number one tip for digital nomads. And I hope that helps some people. I have passed on that advice before. And it has certainly given people an idea that they need to experience that before jumping into it, because it's not just going to be sitting around on the beach with a laptop and working. First of all, the sun doesn't let you see the screen and it's just not that kind of lifestyle. So just be prepared, research and make sure you get a job before you start traveling.

Omar:

Preparation is definitely key. Thank you for those wise words, Chad. This actually reminds me of a story from back when I was in Australia back in 2018.

I remember it was my third month there and I had just moved to my second hostel in Sydney. There was this English guy that I met. We'll say his name's James in case he's listening to this. And I don't really feel like calling him out. Great guy. But he came to Australia with $800 in his pocket and no plan.

So I remember him staying in the hostel bed every single day for two weeks straight, just trying to land a job. He'd be on his phone, applying to jobs all day, calling people, doing whatever he could to land a job. And there was one day that he was so close to running out of money. I remember that we all went to Domino's together and I actually paid for his pizza simply because he couldn't afford it himself.

Don't be in that position guys, although he definitely made it to work out for himself because he actually ended up landing a six figure job after about a month's time. That is not the common theme and that is not the lesson that you should take from this. Prepare and make sure you have some sort of monetary, some sort of financial stability before you actually go to a new country.

Otherwise, you're going to keep repeating that cycle that Chad mentioned. You're going to go somewhere, make some money, burn it all have to come back home, go somewhere, burn it all have to come back home and repeat. You don't want that. Make sure to go and find Chad on his remote jobs and digital nomads Facebook group.

Now moving forward. We have Philip Figerido. Philip is a 39 year old digital nomad who spent the last eight years traveling, five of which he spent in Poland. Currently he works as a social media manager at Liber techs group and a digital marketing specialist at ENOVIA on. So if you have any sort of digital marketing questions or social media concerns, feel free to reach him out and find them in his remote work digital people Facebook group. Here's the advice that Philip has for you.

Philip:

This is a very interesting and complex question. And mostly because when you ask advice to different people, they all give you different answers. Right? So actually, you know, if I have to think about it, one of the things that people tell me often when, when we speak about traveling are things like, you know, like, Oh, I could never go abroad on my own.

Or it's difficult for me to travel and make friends get to know people, or a lot of times, you know, people tell me, Oh, I'm too much of an introvert to be traveling on my own. And you know, I get the feeling that most people think, Oh, digital nomads. That stereotype of the guy or the girl backpacks with the laptop across the world, stays at hostels, works with IT, gets to meet everyone it's super friendly with everyone else and so on.

And, and you know, that couldn't be further from the truth and you know why? Because I was super introverted, you know, I was the kind of guy who didn't hang around people much. I was shy. I was not really talkative and so on. So. When I started to travel like 15 years ago, this was the one fear I had on my mind, you know, will I be able to meet people?

Will I be able to talk with them to make friends, to, to have fun and, you know, yeah, I was afraid, but I decided I had to conquer that fear. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life being shy and being introvert, you know, so I decided I had to get out of my comfort zone in order to actually develop myself and my personality.

So one day I was at university and I saw an ad for an international students group. And these guys, they were promoting summer universities all around Europe. So I thought to myself, you know, what do I have to lose? You know, so maybe this is actually what I need. So I applied and in a couple of months I was traveling to Barcelona for two weeks to meet 30 people I had never met in my life. And guess what? I had the time of my life. And I met people with who I'm still friends nowadays. So after Barcelona, I had this quick on my mind and I was hooked on traveling, you know, so it was after this, I was going everywhere. I was going to Italy, to Hungary, to Russia, Ukraine, the United States, I was in Morocco and so on and so on.

And back in 2008, I was working as a teacher in my home country, in Portugal when the crisis hit hard, the financial crisis. So I lost my job. I couldn't apply for unemployment and I couldn't find any job at all. I had to move back to my parents' place. I became depressed. I became angry, a lot of negative thoughts and feelings.

So, you know, I decided if I couldn't find a job in Portugal, I would go abroad. I couldn't take it anymore. So I applied to Khomeini's project back then it was international exchange program for teachers. And two months later, I was flying all alone to a small city in the South of Poland, which I had never heard of back then, Rzeszow, to become a teacher there for nine months.

And one thing is to travel for a couple of weeks one month, but for nine months I was a bit scared, you know, but I was also pretty excited. And what will the end up being only a nine month job turned into a five-year stay for me in Poland, where I had so many beautiful experiences. I made friends for life.

You know, a lot of love, a lot of heart breaks, a lot of traveling around the world of fun and excitement. So I'm actually talking more for those who are afraid or scared to go out there on their own. So probably my advice would be this. You know, we all fear change and I fear change so much, you know, on my own, but how else do we know what we are capable of?

I mean, fear is natural, but it shouldn't stop you from traveling, you know, just take the freedom to rediscover and reinvent parts of yourself you don't even know you have.

Omar:

Thanks for your advice, Philip. I really think there's a certain power in chasing after your fears. Getting out of your comfort zone and growing exponentially while you travel the world.

It's really the reason that many of us decide to become digital nomads or remote workers in the first place. Now on to our final leader today. We have Daniel Claudiu Stoica. Daniel is a modern polymath, a Jack of all trades whose expertise spans a significant number of different areas. He's an entrepreneur with a career focused on IT and education.

And he's also the host of the remote work Facebook group. That's right. Remote work. This is what Daniel had to say.

Daniel:

Looking back at my experience in life, I realized that the most important decisions I took happened because I embraced change. It is my main advice for all the aspiring online entrepreneurs and professionals. Embrace change.

I started as a border police officer at 21 and at 25 because of unexpected events, I opened my first company. I did not have any business experience or studies. I failed a lot, but I never gave up. You have to embrace failure and you need to embrace change. It will happen even if you do not want it. Second advice is about rejection.

Do not let rejection affect your spirit. You are rejected because of different things that is opening for you. Do not fight it and do not worry too much since it's useless. Go look ahead and trust your instincts. I always treat rejection as fuel. It keeps me going.

The pandemic changed the way we live, the way we work, the way we study and how we interact.

There is no turning back and there is no going back to normal. This is the new normal, and we must see it as an opportunity. Many great companies will be born this year and next year. Just imagine how I will be in five or 10 years and how the needs of humans will change. Then start a new company that will solve one of those needs.

It might not look like a great idea now, but it will surely be great in the future. And if you fail, regroup, and restart. Never give up.

Omar:

You heard it right here folks, never give up. Seriously, you could be just like that person. Who's like maybe two steps away from striking gold yet decides to turn around and give it all up. Don't be that guy. Keep going, keep persevering, never give up.

Outro-

And now we've come to an end here. What a fantastic group of leaders in the digital nomad space. I really hope this helped out my nomad fam. You guys are awesome and this show would not be anywhere it is without you.

Now to properly celebrate this 50th episode, I'd like to do something special for the nomad fan. For the first three people to email me at this specific email, I'll give you a $20 Amazon gift card for free and an hour to ask me any questions related to remote work, digital nomadism, or any sort of online entrepreneurship endeavor. And if it's something that I can't answer, I'll reach out to my network of podcasts guests to get that answer for you. The email is omarmodigital@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you. Till then, take care we're just getting started, baby. Let's do this.

Thanks for tuning in to the nomadic executive. If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to leave a rating or review. Your feedback helps us reach others who need a spark of inspiration. See you next time.